Falling Skies

The first few seasons were great - I would rate them 8/10, but my goodness is it let down by most of season 4 and season 5.

Season 5 is just painful to watch. The plot lines they've concocted feels so disjointed from the first 3 seasons and gives the show a completely different vibe. I think the problem is they tried so hard to hold on to the original cast that they came up with these wacky subplots to keep them relevant.

It just doesn't work and make any sense. And don't get me started on Popes character development - totally thrown out the window. Ended up disliking pretty much all of the main characters in the end. A shame.

Having read so many "reviews" which consist of watching 1-5 episodes I would like to comment myself having watched the entire series. This is not one of the best sci-fi series i've ever watched. However it is much better than anything else out there now. I wasn't too sure about the series after the first couple episodes and it had a strong Stargate Universe feel to it. I'm not going to post any spoilers but I can say the story significantly improves in my opinion and so does the care factor for the characters and where its all going by the end. The finale is a blast and had my girlfriend look at me with her mouth wide open after the ending and that we need to wait until next summer for the follow up... She wants to see it right now! As do I. The season ended very well and the show has been massively underrated on here.

If you haven't seen the show or you've seen a few episodes and aren't sure. I encourage you to use your own opinion and give it a chance i'm sure you will like it much more by the end.

Finished series with my kids (2023). As good or better than anything on TV / streaming now. The changes brought after the first two seasons helped advance the story and characters. Very entertaining. Special effects are good enough if not spectacular. Successfully deals with the effects of insurgence warfare on people. The villains turn out to be more complex and interesting as the show progressed though there are no characters really from that side. Starting with third season treats the female characters much better without being obvious about it. Has really aged well. You can watch with your kids/teenagers without worrying about inappropriate content. Worth watching again.

So I'm not familiar with the source material this is based on. Never read any of that and I'm making this known from the get go. So I can't really give you an insight about any differences about any comparisons there. Having said that, the general theme and the idea behind the show is quite nice.

Human survival and struggle is something we can identify with. Aliens on the other hand may be a stretch for some - though let's keep it real, with such a big universe out there ... who is to say if there isn't any other lifeform out there. But if there is, would that be how things played out? Probably not. From a very engaging and quite draining (in a good sense) beginning ... well this takes some directions that I would not always agree with.

Too many coincindences, too convenient at times and quite a lot of cliches storylines combined. But it is still possible to get you, to make you care to quite an interesting degree. You get accustomed to the characters after a while and even the wildest ups and downs - you just get with them. Having a very bad apple becoming a part of the group, as backup to stir things up every now and again ... it's either clever or cheap writing.

Science Fiction - you may like the soap opera elements or not. But you can have fun (to a degree) with this

I disagree with the negative comments about the show. This show is about family and the lengths that one man will go to provide and protect his family. It just happens to be set to the backdrop of an alien invasion and global armageddon.

There are a few points in which the writing/editing seems a bit choppy and confusing, specifically at season changes three to four and four to five. In both instances a perceptive viewer will catch up. The show flows much better watching it without commercials and in three hour segments than it did on its original airing on TNT. The commercials and episodic gaps made tough to watch. I recommend rewatching it on HBO without commercials.

In closing, it is a fun show with good baseline values shared by very flawed people whom are facing the everyday challenge of making difficult choices that others are unwilling or unable to make.