Freddy_Boy

The amount of flag waving and overt patriotism in Falling Skies is by no means lacking. The film clearly take cues from the spirit of films such as Independence Day where it pitches remnants of humanity striking back against a superior enemy.

In the midst of the action is history teacher Tom Mason, played by Noah Wyle, and his three sons: Matt, Hal and Ben. Tom, throughout the series, delivers a ton of references to the American Revolutionary War which. Sometimes in the most contrived and forced way imaginable.

Tom himself, despite being a mere teacher, turns out to be an excellent military strategist and combatant. Aside from, in the midst of all that, being a great dad, moping over his dead wife and finding a new love. I got to hand it to Falling Skies, on one hand it manages to squeeze in almost every trope possible while still taking you by surprise. More along the line of you thinking: "They really went with that?" than a positive surprise, though.

Still Falling Skies actually kept me entertained though, as guilty as I am to admit it because there's a lot that should have driven me away from this show. But eventually it found it's footing, Noah Wyle really seemed to grow into the role and watching his sons grow up on camera made you care all the more for them all the more. Also, it's fascinating to see how Tom and his three sons pretty much excel at everything they do. If ever a script writer was playing favorites the Mason family is a great example.

Aside from Noah Wyle there's a few actors worth mentioning. Moon Bloodgood as doctor Anne Glass, for instance, doing what she can with a somewhat underdeveloped role. Sarah Carter as bad boy (or girl) Maggie, with a rough exterior, harsh attitude but a heart of gold. Will Patton as Daniel Weaver, a drunkard but stern military captain who grieves his family.

But the performance of Colin Cunningham is probably the one I really want to highlight. He had a small but recurring role as a clean cut Major on Stargate SG-1. Here he turns from disciplined military man into a rough outlaw stereotype named John Pope. Leather jacket, long hair and scruffy beard Pope always looks a little bit like a rebel without a cause and pretty much behaves the same. Ever the outsider Pope consistently works against the establishment often coming to disagreement with Tom Mason, despite that the two men's goals align. It's fascinating to see an actor turn in a role that's so different from what you're used to seeing, so cliché as well and yet he owns it completely and without shame. Ultimately John Pope turns into a really, in lack of better words, cool character that you really find yourself rooting for.

In many ways John Pope also defines the show: Rough on the outside, cliché-riddled but still perfectly lovable. Falling Skies gets two thumbs up from me, but I'm hiding them behind my back so you can't see.

Walter White (Bryan Cranston) is a high school chemistry teacher who seems trapped in his own life. He works part-time at a car wash and worries about money. His wife is pregnant and his son has cerebral palsy. In the midst of all this he is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.

Seeing as he hasn't amounted to much in life Walter wants to leave something behind. He's looking for easy cash. By chance he meets up with a former student. The student is now a drug dealer, real name Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), who goes by the street name "Captain Cook". Walter, who was once a genius chemist, produces some of the best methamphetamine Jesse have ever tried and he starts to push it.

Walter, who already had to deal with his cancer, now also has to deal with his new life as a criminal and a world that might be too much for him to handle. He's also struggling to avoid to catch the suspicion of his brother-in-law Hank who is a D.E.A agent.

Personally, I love the set-up, and the theme. Drug romanticizing and criminal shows always have some moral ambiguity and as such, with very little spoiling, Walter is forced to do bad things. It's intriguing to see a show that doesn't push these things to the edge nor does it ignore them blatantly. Walter displays a gradual and small change. Not overwhelming development from scene to scene as in other TV shows. He also reacts and show disgust for gruesome acts of violence instead of the regular indifference or even reveling in it as we're so used to see in other shows. But it still affects him. And that is another thing I like about this show. Walter has a conscience. But each of his morally ambiguous choices push him closer and closer to the edge. Which raises another point of interest in the show: Will his family tolerate the person he's becoming and will they stick around?

Bryan Cranston has created a very living character with his portrayal of Walter White. Not putting down everyone else's performance for that matter. Even the more apparently superficial characters such as Jesse and Hank have a lot of subtle nuances to them. It's a refreshing contrast to the otherwise exaggerated and stereotypical Hollywood characters who can be summarized in two or three words.

As far as inspirational sources goes the theme of a making the character a bad guy is recognizable from Dexter or The Shield. Breaking Bad however is not as fast-paced as the later (although seasons 2 does crank up the speed) and not as vivid as the former. Not saying that it's not inspirational but Breaking Bad, so far, seems to reward the patient. If this had been CSI: Miami they would probably have told this story in one episode but lacking the great photography, excellent acting and hilarious black comedy.

If you're looking for a show that will grow on you and with refreshing ideas and character development, look no further, Breaking Bad is here.

There have been few directors and writers who creates as much ruckus as Joss Whedon. There are the dedicated fan-base, the crowd who loves to hate him and those who simply scratch their head and wonders what the big deal is.

Joss Whedon's "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" has been described as "influential" on the entertainment industry. He proved that throwing monsters and demons in the mix doesn't make a show that appeals to an audience. It requires a good writer and actually relating to the audience.

He's a writer that prefers to build momentum as the show progresses with each season being bigger, better and badder than the next. In many ways this is also true for the "Dollhouse". It started out in a crawling speed with less of a general storyline and more of the standard episodic narration.

Dollhouse is the story of Echo, a doll in a veritable Dollhouse, who is imprinted with different personalities in order for the rich and influential to enact their fantasies with her. Not their sexual (primarily at least) but their emotional desires. Thus far the show had a pretty unique opportunity and actually did venture into many different genres placing Echo in love, crime, action and mystery stories.

But as things evolved it turns out Echo remembers more and more of her "imprints" even though she's not supposed to and a grand scheme of things are uncovered.

And as of lately the show really caught some speed. What started off as a slow-moving little model train has suddenly turned into a huge, derailed locomotive. May it be that the show has been canceled that has forced Whedon to progress the story quicker. But regardless the fact of the matter is that right now the show is at a great place. Few TV shows right now offer this amount of suspense and surprising plot twists within and between each episode.

If the show quietly had progressed along and died out after the first season things might have been different. But as it stands now I will miss the "Dollhouse" and Fox will be blamed for canceling what could have been one of the best shows on TV.