|
Post by fantasyarchipelago on Jun 20, 2011 10:51:35 GMT -5
More like "FAILING SKIES", AM I RITE?
I was pretty underwhelmed by the first episode. It was some pretty mediocre Spielbergness. The entire episode seemed like a bunch of ragtag guerrilla warfare vs. superior alien technology cliches with a few touching Spielberg "adult relating to child in crisis" cliches thrown in.
In addition, I got the feeling that the aliens would have very little trouble finding and eliminating the rag tag groups of humans, as they weren't doing a very good job of hiding themselves while "in camp."
|
|
|
Post by obiwanwasabi on Jun 21, 2011 4:46:09 GMT -5
I liked it. We also wondered why the aliens seemed reluctant to simply wipe them all off the face of the earth during the day (and why destroying or even attacking a mech didn't result in a citywide alert that saw a hundred ships converge on the site) but figured it'll all get explained later. They're piloted by human children, which is why they're bipedal and the aliens aren't too fussed if they're destroyed. If it turns out there's some sort of Invid caste system, from blobby ships to crabby infantry to bipedal mech pilots with blue hair, I'll be a little disappointed.
|
|
|
Post by fantasyarchipelago on Jun 21, 2011 11:05:03 GMT -5
That's a pretty interesting theory, actually. I wouldn't be too surprised if you were right.
I'll probably end up watching more of it. I watched the entire first season of Walking Dead even though I thought it was terrible... mostly just because I loved the comic books.
|
|
|
Post by PhoBWanKenobi on Jun 21, 2011 11:46:10 GMT -5
I dig that theory. It makes SF-sense.
I'll say this all with the caveat that, after the first few minutes, I only half-paid attention (and man, that pilot was LONG), but I was surprised by how flat the pacing was. It seemed to be one action sequence after another, intercut with fairly mawkish emotional scenes about BOYHOOD(TM)! "The Walking Dead, but with aliens" seems like a pretty spot-on descriptor.
I honestly wonder how good either show does with a female demographic. Not that shows need to be filled with WomanStuff--ponies or whatever--but because the genuine concerns of women seem sort of fundamentally subjugated. Instead, the focus is on men reconnecting with their sons, the relationship between men, men's relationships with women as protectors. And, oh yeah, fighting.
Because given just one really dynamic, realistic, awesome female character, and I'd probably be so very THERE. Noah Wyle + Aliens should = WIN for me.
|
|
|
Post by misslapin on Jun 21, 2011 13:32:38 GMT -5
I was also sincerely underwhelmed. Wylie spouts off as a military historian, but doesn't show a lot of ability in terms of APPLYING that knowledge in strategic ways. I mean, that sadistic group of yahoos out smarted him without much effort of thought, and, more disturbingly, given the brainstorming of the rebels, the yahoos also figured out a lot MORE about the aliens! I'm willing to bet sadistic yahoo #1 will end up being used by the rebels in the same way the #1 terrorist in the world ended up being recruited as a champion for humanity in V.
I like your idea, obiwanwasabi. I have to admit, my first though was what happened in the Children of Earth-that the kids are being farmed as a form of kick-ass alien high. (The alien on the back that controls people reminded me of the "Bad Eggs" episode of Buffy.)
Oh and PhoBWanKenobi, I totally agree on the female demographic-not just in terms of son-fathers etc, but in terms of the female characters on the show, which basically break down into "altruistic doctor who thinks with her heart not her head" (seriously? she agrees to get taken hostage potentially depriving an entire community of a doctor to treat a sadistic thug?!), "hard on the outside, tender on the inside abused beauty", "army girl" (who is far more concerned about her boyfriend than, you know, the ALIEN APOCALYPSE), and, of course, the soul of the camp, the Pollyanna. Not a lot of dimension here, and certainly not the types of female characters I can embrace. I really hope they are able to give them more depth.
|
|
artw
Junior Member
Posts: 79
|
Post by artw on Jun 21, 2011 18:05:01 GMT -5
I got bored watching thsi and went off to do something else. Should I try again? Sounds like not.
|
|
artw
Junior Member
Posts: 79
|
Post by artw on Jun 21, 2011 18:06:22 GMT -5
Also points for the most parodically Speilbergesque opening sequence ever, except possibly if they put it in black and white and gave a kid being updated by space-nazis a spot-colour coat.
|
|
|
Post by misslapin on Jun 21, 2011 18:14:52 GMT -5
I think if they had done that, V might have sued their asses off. (That's for those of you who have seen the original, not the remake, which did away with the overt Holocaust references.)
|
|
artw
Junior Member
Posts: 79
|
Post by artw on Jun 21, 2011 18:22:57 GMT -5
Gah, NuV and it's false promises of dog-lizard-alien action!
|
|
artw
Junior Member
Posts: 79
|
Post by artw on Jun 21, 2011 18:25:01 GMT -5
(You couldn't even root for the aliens in NuV as they were EVEN MORE PATHETIC AND CLUELESS than the PATHETIC CLUELESS Hu-mans, which takes some considerable doing. )
|
|
|
Post by armyofkittens on Jun 21, 2011 19:16:45 GMT -5
Ooh hurrah, new sci-fi I hadn't heard of!
*runs off to the internet*
|
|
|
Post by PhoBWanKenobi on Jun 21, 2011 20:05:28 GMT -5
(You couldn't even root for the aliens in NuV as they were EVEN MORE PATHETIC AND CLUELESS than the PATHETIC CLUELESS Hu-mans, which takes some considerable doing. ) But but but . . . they had SOUL SCANNERS!
|
|
|
Post by fantasyarchipelago on Jun 21, 2011 20:08:04 GMT -5
I wouldn't be afraid of an alien invader which was wasting its time trying to find and extract the human soul. Enjoy the fine dining opportunity provided by our planet's many rats .
|
|
|
Post by furiousxgeorge on Jun 21, 2011 21:54:05 GMT -5
I liked how SY#1 pointed out they might be native Americans fighting Europeans, not American revolutionaries. It was the first thing I thought about when he was spouting off about the revolution before.
I found this show entertaining enough to stick with for now, but I'm not in the mood for sappy child acting after Game of Thrones.
|
|
artw
Junior Member
Posts: 79
|
Post by artw on Jun 22, 2011 11:54:44 GMT -5
So I tried watching it through. Oh god, the pain, the pain.
History guy really needs to shut his yap and stop giving us stupid talks about history - ubfortunatly asside from that he has no personality, except moping about his kid.
There is a dog that belongs to a kid. At some point it runs up to a robot, barking, and gives away their position - of course.
The aliens are too dumb to outwit the fuckwit hu-mans, which makes it hard to root for them - shades of V again. Appearances of aliens and robots are strictly rationed - you better be prepaired to sit through a minute of moping or pointless dick waving argument for every second of robot.
There are some "normal family life" scenes, establishing that even during the apocalypse kids can whine about birthday parties. Ugh ugh ugh.
Oh and there's some kind of outlaws or rebels or something that are supposed to be frightfully interesting but I kind of gave up at that point.
So, in short, every last inch of this is made of cliche and dullness, except for the bits tgat are stupid and dull, and I will take horrible joy in it's eventual cancellation.
|
|