Review: TNT's Falling Skies is wicked awesome, watch it

By April MacIntyre Jun 19, 2011, 20:08 GMT

Once again, the fine people of Massachusetts rally for the nation and band together in plucky little bands of critical thinkers and save the day in the latest summer adventure "Falling Skies," on TNT.

Once again, the fine people of Massachusetts rally for the nation and band together in plucky little bands of critical thinkers and save the day in the latest summer adventure "Falling Skies," on TNT.

Steven Spielberg's new alien-invasion adventure, Falling Skies, will feel like a dash of Independence Day, a taste of War of the Worlds with a smidge of the Walking Dead thrown in for good measure. This effort was the joint collaboration between Spielberg and Robert Rodat, with 'Justified's' Graham Yost serving as an executive producer.

My home turf, the North Shore of Boston, has alien ships hovering over landmarks like Kelly's Roast Beef of Revere, Red Rock of Swampscott and even the ancient Tides restaurant of Nahant, though the latter, my tiny hometown is never mentioned by name.  The aliens must have a hankering for wicked good roast beef, 'rings, pizza and fried clams.

Noah Wyle is academic-turned-alpha leader Tom Mason, a military-history professor who uses the history of the 1776 revolutionaries of the Bay State who bedeviled and defeated the mighty British army.

The series begins post-invasion, which gives it the 'Walking Dead' vibe.  The people are dodging "skitters" and trying to keep their young from being harnessed by some spine attaching alien thing that controls them as a labor force.

Too many spoilers to delve into the meat of the series, but the spirit and the build is a fun summer ride, and not too hairy for younger viewers to enjoy.

Wyle's a post-invasion widower with three sons (one captured and harnessed) who is fighting alongside a group of adept people who can lead and manage medical situations.

Wyle's Tom Mason is assigned to Weaver (Will Patton), the commander of 2nd Mass. Moon Bloodgood plays Anne Glass, a pediatrician who lost her family but now is the chief medic in the action.   Mason's eldest teenager Hal (Drew Roy), is a fighter, his middle child Ben (Connor Jessup) was the one kidnapped and "harnessed" by the aliens; and 8-year-old Matt (Maxim Knight) is grappling with the loss of his mother and his brother's enslavement.

Grief and resolve make Wyle's character one to enjoy, and cheer for as he concocts plans of action and fights to keep his sons together, save the one in the alien clutches and help people accept the new reality of life, and how to rebuild it.

This is a fun summer series that has many wonderful qualities, and is a great family watch. You cannot say that about many TV dramas these days.

Falling Skies
TNT, Sunday, 9 p.m. ET/PT