By Jim Hoover

I watched the pilot to Falling Skies and the only thing that fell was my high regard for Steven Spielberg. Spielberg’s films have covered many themes and many genres, but we have grown to expect quality from his film-making endeavors. His Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan, Jaws, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Jurassic Park provided a consistent quality not seen coming from other film-makers.

There was spectacle in different flavors for the above mentioned films, but it was authentic, sensations that were real and viable, not tired technology and scenes given to cheap explosives, bodies flying through the air, and cars hurtling through space.

But for me the worst part of the Falling Skies pilot was the science of the invaders and the believability of the story. The technology of the robotic invaders is barely above our own; yet we are to believe they defeated all of Earth’s armies and killed 90% of its population.

Moreover, the monolithic force of machines, octopus-like creatures and harnesses for kids were transported from light-years away by a super-advanced technology that can span stars, but only have machine-gun-like weapons and lasers. That strains credulity.

Then in terms of imagination and creativity, the whole invading army appears sparse as well as conventional, at least in Massachusetts. Spielberg seems to have imported the pounding footfalls of the T-Rex from Jurassic Park,  but his creatures are more like a less ferocious version of the live-action film, Transformers, which were franchised first some twenty years ago as toys.

Spielberg does partly overcome the incredulity felt by his audience with some fairly-good acting. Noah Wyle is a resistence leader, transformed from Boston professor, and the lovely Moon Bloodgood is the healer, the doctor who has joined the resistance. Also, the story smartly centers around the resistance effort rather than the invasion process that annihilates most of Earth’s population.

However, it’s not the fact that ETs wouldn’t send automatons to do their bidding, but for what purpose – to gather scrap metals with kid captives? While the robots seemed to lead the charge against human civilization, they used some biological entity with tentacles attached to the back of kids, inaptly and unimaginatively called harnesses, to enslave their minds and bodies.

The alien means of control seem to be more simplicity and drama than leading-edge technology, for near-light-speed travellers.

I’m not saying that it’s a bust for TV viewing. I’m just saying I expected more from the fertile mind of Steven Spielberg and the inventive forces behind Dream Works. Maybe his genius is spent or maybe it’s a temporary lull in excellence.

But then again, maybe he knows that viewers don’t expect much from TV fare.