Led by Captain Weaver (Will Patton), a by-the-books military man, with mild-mannered college professor Tom Mason (Noah Wyle, ER) as his second-in-command, the struggling community fights to stay alive and tries desperately to reclaim their lost children, since the aliens have kidnapped and "harnessed" them to keep them as slave labor. With the help of pediatrician Dr. Anne Glass (Moon Bloodgood) and later, Dr. Michael Harris (Steven Weber, Wings), the group is able to rescue a handful of kids, including Tom's son, Ben (Connor Jessup) and another 2nd Mass member's son, Rick (Daniyah Ysrayl). But despite all efforts, the kids are not what they seem.
Meanwhile, the 2nd Mass also discovers that they are not the only survivors. Fate brings them into contact with a man named John Pope (Colin Cunningham), a ruthless mercenary type whose only goal is to kill as many alien Skitters, or "cooties" as he calls them, and he doesn't mind stealing weapons from others to do this. However, not all of the members of Pope's team are on his side and Pope's balance of power just might shift.
Tom's oldest son, Will (Drew Roy, Hannah Montana) has problems of his own, as he walks the thin line between child and man, and his troubles only compound when the Skitters capture someone very close to his heart when a botched rescue occurs. Worse yet, the 2nd Mass meet up with another regiment who might not be exactly what they appear.
Everything boils to a head in the season finale when a daring attempt is devised to take down the enormous enemy ship parked boldly in the middle of Boston, with all of the regiments meeting up to bomb the ship. The idea is to show the enemy that Americans are a force to be reckoned with, but as they say, the best laid plans... Before the season draws to a close, Tom and company will not only make some shocking discoveries about the Skitters and their handlers, but Tom will have to make a very difficult decision.
Rounding out the terrific series itself are a handful of special features including featurettes on the Dark Horse comic of the same name, animating a Skitter, the Comic-Con 2011 Falling Skies panel, several behind-the-scenes featurettes and audio commentary. There's even a brief sneak peek into next season.
Falling Skies is simply fantastic. It reminded me a great deal of The Walking Dead, because it mostly focuses on the people dealing with this apocalyptic tragedy, rather than honing in on the monsters themselves. The cast gels together beautifully to create a very believable mix of people struggling to survive. My favorite character is Pope, but truly everyone is great and integral to the plot.
If you love sci-fi, Falling Skies is can't miss stuff. Do yourself a favor and check it out.
