FALLING SKIES - Aliens invade Sunday, June 19th

TNT's new show Falling Skies airs Sunday June 19th at 9pm. I watched the two-hour pilot and the second episode, so I can give you the scoop. A dirty job… ☺ The opening explains that "they", meaning the aliens, came and blew up Earth's major cities, our ships and defenses. Now their clean-up crews have landed and are killing humans on sight – except for the teenagers. They are fitted with an organic "harness" that turns them into mindless drones for the aliens.

The aliens look like large (twice the size of a human), multi-legged bugs. Their head look like a cross between that of the predator and the alien from the movies of those names.

A very poignant scene has Tom Mason's son Hal, played by Drew Roy, telling his Dad that just seven or eight months ago he wouldn't let him ride his bike at night because his bike didn't have a light. Now he's sending him orders to fight invading aliens. Tom, played by Noah Wyle, is a history professor forced into the role of soldier because most of the military has been annihilated. His wife died while gathering food and his middle son, Ben was at a friend's house when their neighborhood was under attack. He and his other sons suspect that Ben has been harnessed by the "skitters".

Tom often gives impromptu history lessons as he makes connections with their situation and historic battles against human invaders or conquerors. He befriends a pediatrician, Dr. Anne Glass, who lost her own child. Dr. Glass (Moon Bloodgood) buries her grief and, instead, helps Tom's youngest child, Matt, and others deal with theirs. One of the most heartbreaking lines is when someone asks Matt if his Dad and brother are ok. He replies, "They were OK this morning. I don't know about now- they're fighting."

I had no complaints about the acting, and the script was excellent. At first I thought it highly improbable that the whole group of several hundred civilians and soldiers would watch while Matt plays with the birthday present his brother scavenged, but then I realized that if I were there, that's what I would do: Look, there's a kid enjoying a birthday present, riding around having fun. Enjoying an oasis of quazi-normality. I'm sure many would. The interplay between family members also rang true for me.

There were many night scenes in which they encounter the aliens and naturally don't want to alert them to their presence with light. But, my imagination can take it. Let me see what's going on! I can pretend that it's actually darker than that.

Any alien apocalypse is not complete without human bad guys, too. Hal and his girlfriend encounter a man named Pope with his gang of thugs to complicate their lives a whole lot more. Pope added needed flavor to the plot. My favorite line so far is his, "Being the leader of a post-apocalyptic gang of outlaws has been exhausting."

I'm looking forward to watching more. TNT says it knows drama. What's more dramatic than alien invasion? And I'm not just saying this because of the way-cool, olive-drab shoulder bag that will double as awesome Firefly gear. ;)

Fantastical coastal scenes, fantastical shows coming

We've just returned from a lovely vacation in Pt. Arena. It rained off and on the whole time we were there, but it's so much more dramatic and scenic at the ocean when it storms: the crashing waves, the waving cedars, the circling gulls. Some of the things we witness were a bit fantastic. Don't these things look alien? They reminded us of Kolob & Sylvia from Star Trek's "Cat's Paw" episode.

Photo by Patrick Wilkes

Watch this video and see what you think.

On the way home I wasn't able to get my camera out fast enough for the bird cloud. They actually made three different shapes while we watched. One looked like shmoo. And then shmoo lost his head, then it went back into an ovoid. It was the biggest, most fantastically orchestrated one I've seen. I just wish I could have shared it with you all. But fear not, I found an even more impressive one to share with you.

Don't know what I mean by Shmoo? Here you go:

I'm excited about the new U.S. Being Human. I love the UK one and don't think this one will be better, but at least I can double my pleasure.

TNT is getting into the whole spec fic scene with a new Steven Spielberg series premiering in June of 2011. From the description of the show, Falling Skies sounds like fans of Jericho and Invasion got together and collaborated. I miss them both. The only problem here is the commercials. My nickname for TNT is Too Nany Tommercials. But for Stephen Spielberg, I can make an exception, especially since I can record it on the DVR and zap through them. For now they're building a web comic and have a journal written by one of the characters.

FALLING SKIES opens in the chaotic aftermath of an alien attack that has left most of the world completely incapacitated. In the six months since the initial invasion, the few survivors have banded together outside major cities to begin the difficult task of fighting back. Each day is a test of survival as citizen soldiers work to protect the people in their care while also engaging in an insurgency campaign called 2nd Mass against the occupying alien force.

Written by Paul Tobin and illustrated by Juan Ferreyra, the Falling Skies Web Comic will bridge the gap between the 12-page Falling Skies comic released at New York Comic Con. Be sure to check back every two weeks for a new chapter.

Paul Tobin is a writer from Portland, Oregon, who works on Marvel Comics titles such as Spider-Girl and Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man, among many others. In addition, Paul works for Dark Horse (Predators movie adaptation, Conan) and DC Comics, and has an upcoming graphic novel (Gingerbread Girl) from Top Shelf, created in collaboration with his wife, artist Colleen Coover. Paul is also very bald and works on novels.



Juan Ferreyra began drawing comics with Small Gods for Image, and then Emissary and Lazarus for Image's imprint Shadowline. He worked on Dark Horse's Rex Mundi while at the same time coloring Conan and the Midnight God and Solomon Kane: Death's Black Riders. Now he's working on a creator-owned book called La 6ème heure for French publisher Soleil. He lives in Argentina.



Andrew Dalhouse made his first appearance coloring comics with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre for Avatar Press. Andrew followed this macabre masterpiece with such books as Marvel Zombies: Evil Evolution, Lady Death, and Hack/Slash, to name but a few. Mr. Dalhouse's work currently can also be found in Disney's Darkwing Duck, Boom's The Incredibles, and Dark Horse Comics' The Occultist.



Nate Piekos, AKA Blambot, graduated with a BA in design from Rhode Island College. Since founding blambot.com, he has lettered comic books for Marvel, DC, Oni Press, and Dark Horse. Nate's designs have also been featured worldwide in print, on television, and in feature films.



For more information visit www.TNT.tv