Shall We Gather at the River (17 Jun. 2012)

Tom dreams feverishly about Red Eye, his nemesis skitter, creeping into his bed and attacking him. He wakes up with a start. The next day... See full synopsis »

Director:

Greg Beeman

Writers:

Robert Rodat (creator), Bradley Thompson,

Stars:

Noah Wyle, Moon Bloodgood, Drew Roy

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Noah Wyle	...	Tom Mason
Moon Bloodgood	...	Anne Glass
Drew Roy	...	Hal Mason
Connor Jessup	...	Ben Mason
Maxim Knight	...	Matt Mason
Seychelle Gabriel	...	Lourdes
Peter Shinkoda	...	Dai
Sarah Carter	...	Margaret (as Sarah Sanguin Carter)
Mpho Koaho	...	Anthony
Colin Cunningham	...	John Pope
Will Patton	...	Captain Weaver
Dylan Authors	...	Jimmy Boland
Brandon Jay McLaren	...	Jamil Dexter
Luciana Carro	...	Crazy Lee
Ryan Robbins	...	Tector

Storyline

Tom dreams feverishly about Red Eye, his nemesis skitter, creeping into his bed and attacking him. He wakes up with a start. The next day... See full synopsis »

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 June 2012 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks Television, TNT Originals

Technical Specs

Runtime:

42 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Falling Skies (Main Title Theme)"
(uncredited)
Written by Noah Sorota
Performed by Falling Skies Orchestra

User Reviews

Unbalanced second part plagued by Captain Stupid and weak military aspects but saved by Ben-alien and darkness

Shall we ? Why not ! The broken bridge-driven story would have been captivating to follow if it had anything in common with cult films like "The Bridge on the River Kwai" and "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly". Sadly it was flawed by plenty of mistakes and bad ideas. However it also had some redeeming elements and even a few scenes that should appeal to hardcore sci-fiholics.

The very first annoying thing was the dumb way Captain Dan Weaver acted around Tom. What a disappointing reaction to the warning he was given ! Second after what happened to them and specially Ben I'm amazed that the survivors aren't more careful. I mean even if Tom was my twin brother I would have never trusted him when he came back. To sum things up Noah Wyle's character isn't smart, it's just that many others are plain idiots. However what happened to him at some point was both shocking and exciting. It actually reminded me of Fringe's horrific spirit. In the same vein was the creepy part featuring a character walking in the woods at night and using a torchlight. Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are eternal !

This time in the science department we hadn't history but biology. And who better than Margaret to discuss reproduction ? Sarah Carter has done a decent job so far even if her character could use a darker attitude and muscles. Imagine how awesome it would be if they decided to turn her into a Connor ! I'm not asking the actress to train as hard as Linda Hamilton for her charismatic role in Terminator 2 : Judgment Day but for the moment she's just a babe who can hold a gun. It leads us to the lack of strategy and tactics on both sides. Sure the French Resistance was armed but more significant was its intelligence and ruse. In Falling Skies it's already hard to believe that the aliens aren't bullet proof or protected by force shields but the constant firing is dead boring and it gets worst when a kid holds a gun like in Worlds Apart. That's why I wish the writers had more imagination and that the military aspects were more accurate. Fighting an invader isn't just about killing, it's also about surviving even if it implies hiding. How is it possible to ignore stealth when it has become such an important genre in video games for instance ? I also just can't comprehend why the aliens are so slow to catch up with them, like if they were unable to communicate, and why they don't just blast them as they're almost waving their hands on the road in bright daylight.

Why is the show ruined by such things when Ben's arc proved that there're very talented individuals onboard ? So I can't wait to see what they have planned for him because the more he mutates the better for the show. Rambo : First Blood Part II ? Predator ? He's no John Rambo or Dutch and the actor is no Sylvester Stallone or Arnold Schwarzenegger but he's actually the only character I would like to "play". In general everything that blurs the lines between humans and aliens is entertaining. That's why I instantly embraced Tom's mysterious return and I'm glad its development was that surprising. And if it wasn't for John Pope, the bad guy played by Colin Cunningham, both the resistance and show would already be dead to me. Again it reveals how much Falling Skies sits on the fence because we're supposed to hate him when after this episode he has become my official guilty pleasure.

Note : This review was first posted on Kritikenstein, my weblog.