Falling Skies

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Earnest alien drama gets hostile but holds back on gore.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

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Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that violence drives the plot of this sci-fi drama, but it's surprisingly light on blood and gore. That said, characters use weapons of every sort -- from guns to explosives -- and death is a common occurrence. (The aliens themselves are pretty creepy, too.) You'll also hear low-level curse words like "hell" and "damn," and see light sexual content (like kissing).

  • The show drives home positive messages about building community, working together, and protecting human life whenever possible. Most families are no longer intact, but the concept of family is still very important.
  • Most characters are fighting for the common good and are willing to risk their lives to protect each other. That said, the human survivors take orders from a largely male leadership. A few women play important secondary roles in camp (one is a doctor, two are fighters), but for the most part, the men seem to be in charge.
  • Violent acts aren't excessively shocking or gory, but there are frequent gun battles, laser fights, and bombings with bouts of blood and death. Most characters have experienced life-altering moments of violence. Children taken prisoner by the aliens are outfitted with controlling devices that look painful and invasive.
  • Sex isn't the focus in a survival situation, but there's some mild innuendo/flirting/interaction between select characters. Some kissing.

What's the story?

Executive produced by Steven Spielberg, FALLING SKIES follows the dramas of human survivors living in the wake of a global alien attack and their collective efforts to fight back and reclaim their planet. The action centers on the 2nd Massachusetts, an organized band of resistance fighters and civilians who have an ace up their sleeve with Tom Mason (Noah Wyle), a former professor with expert knowledge of military history and combat tactics. But Mason must balance the facts in his head with the sadness in his heart after losing his wife -- and watching his teenage son, Ben (Connor Jessup), become an unwilling alien hostage.


Is it any good?

 

If it's possible to add a "family" feel to a show about an alien apocalypse, then Falling Skies manages to do it. But it does so with such heavy-handed sincerity that, at times, it feels oddly insincere. As a result, the show gets mired in earnest moments about sticking together and working collectively for the common good -- which are great messages, to be sure, but unfortunately don't help to advance the plot.

Couple that with the show's dialed-down realism (you're largely spared the blood and guts you'd see in real life -- and on most shows of this nature), and you're left with a big-budget, high-concept series that, while watchable, feels surprisingly bland.


Explore, discuss, enjoy

  • Families can talk about the show's premise and the messages it sends about survival and human nature. If the world ever suffered a catastrophe of this scale (alien or otherwise), how do you think humans would behave?

  • How does the level of violence in this show compare with that of other movies and television series that have dealt with the same topic? Would real-life conflict on this scale be more or less violent than what you see here?

  • Are the aliens themselves too scary, not scary enough, or just right for TV?


This review of Falling Skies was written by
Kid, 12 years old
June 20, 2011
 
Great Sci-Fi Show Teens Will Love!
Just watched this season premiere last night, and loved it. I mean, it was Steven Spielberg so it kinda had to be cool! Pretty violent and between occasional and frequent language (d***, h***, s***, a**). Falling Skies is a story about a post-apocalyptic crisis where "Skitters" and "Mechs" (alien bad-guys) have invaded Earth. The S&M's run down Boston, so a settlement is forced to leave to get more food. Lots of trouble along the way though! A very good, but violent, spawning TV series!
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Teen, 13 years old
June 26, 2011
 
A Great, Sci-Fi Show That Is Sure To Please Teens Young And Old
I saw the trailer for this in a theatre before a movie and was immediatly put on my must watch list. I just saw the pilot episode last night and it took me on a thrill ride from the very beginning. It had everything perfectly set to make it seem real, and not cheesily overdone. I will go through each category one by one. This show has a very positive mesage. Aleins have taken over the earth after killing most of the worlds population. The remaining people form scattered malitias, as the aleins made sure to wipe out all of the army bases, all ships, and a majority of capitols and armorys. Everyone joins together as a team called the 2nd Massachusetts. They are all strongly bonded and are very strong with human rights and the value of life. The role models are all very strong characters, (all male, i might add) and are intent on saving the world and all of the people remaining on it. The violonce is a large part of this show, but the blood and gore are at the bare minimum. No blood is shown even when a man gets shot through the body twice with two diffrent arrows, and the alien "skitters" die without any goopy mess, as they do in other sci-fi shows. Gun fights are frequent, but mainly against the aliens. Gunfight does break out among other people as our group of main characters runs across a rogue group of surviving outlaws taking refuge by the armory that they attempt to search. One man of the 2nd Mass. is taken out, and one of the outlaws is shot in the leg. They are promptly taken hostage, and visiosly handled and threatened with a variety of weapons. They are held hostage by the outlaws, with demands of the rebels strongest weapon. A girl that is with the outlaws suddenly turns against them, and hints that she was taken captive by them and sexually abused. after shooting them, She says "after what they did to me after they took me, they deserved to die" One of the main characters has two girls fighting over him (subtly, i might add) and he comes close to kissing one of them. Language use is infrequent, and when it is used, it is not just out of the blue. That character at the moment he uses the language was in extreme pain or shock, a moment that we may have heard people use languag in in real life. There is no brands advertised, but gun types may be recognizable to those who know them. One of the main characters, while held hostage, asks for a beer as it is obvious the outlaws hideout is scattered with discarded beer bottles and other liqour bottles. The monsters/ aliens/ "skitters"/"mechs" are animated, but not overdone. They do have some pretty nasty weapons, including wicked "harnesses" that they put on children to control them. The name harness is misleading, as it is a strip of alien materials attached to the childs spine and neck base. Doctors attempt to remove them, but every child so far had died in the proscess. The aliens are merciless when it comes to killing, but the animation is not really obvious. I loved it, and teens (possibly older tweens) will be dying to watch this show if they catch a glimspe of the trailers. In review, a not overdone, violent but not gory, and sure to please kind of show.
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Parent of 14 year old
June 25, 2011
 
falling skies
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Teen, 16 years old
June 22, 2012
 
My favorite character is Ben Mason!! :)
This is my all time favorite show! Language is occasionally used but the worst it gets is h---, d--n, and a--. Since the characters are fighting off alien "skitters" and "mechs" there is a lot of violence. However it is not usually gory (only the scenes of medical surgeries and things are slightly graphic). There are many battles against the aliens that involve the use of varieties of guns and also a few bombs. The skitters will most likely frighten young children (they sort of scared me at first, they look very real). The aliens are also abducting teens and controlling them with these creepy harnesses that may also scare younger children. Not so much in the first season, but as the show has gone on, characters have started to form interests in one another. These relationships are respectful and sweet, nothing you wouldn't want your kids to see. Aside from a few kisses now and then there are no worries. Tom Mason is a deeply caring father who only wants to do what is best for his three sons: Matt, Ben, and Hal. He is a role model for everyone throughout the series. Since season 2 is just starting as I type this it may be a bit confusing if you start watching the show now... You will probably want to start watching from the amazing episode 1.
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Kid, 11 years old
June 28, 2011
 
Ok
This is a pretty good tv show. Me and my parents watch it together. It isn't inappropriate at all. The most inappropriate thing is the language. and the worst they use is "d-mn".
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Teen, 14 years old
July 23, 2012
 
Good
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Teen, 14 years old
June 26, 2012
 
Falling skies
I absolutely love the show, at the present time I am 14, but I began to watch the show when I was 13. I've watched bones, fringe, ncis and horror genre ever since I was little so I don't think any thing of concern for this show. I think the show is appropriate to watch, but I would stray away from presenting the show to kids who don't wach action or survival shows that are frightened easily. I have a cousin who finds Harry potter and some scooby doo movies/ episodes frightening (she is 9 years old) so I wouldn't show her this show. I have another cousin who is 7 and she choses to watch shows like ncis, bones, medical surgery documentaries and I would allow her to watch this show and not think twice. The show in total doesn't have a high concer for children, there aren't any sexual references, sex scenes or inferred sexual referenced. The only thing relative to this section is a teenage girl and boy kiss, an adult man and woman kiss goodbye and a conversation between two people wondering how the aliens increase in numbers asking if they are hermafridites or reproduce like humans There is ONE occasion when a man over the age of 40 has a sip of scotch and another occasion where the same man says to a 13 year old boy "If you were older we would give you a glass of whiskey," it is said quite lightheartedly , this statement is expressed after the teenage boy was attacked by an Alain and is in the medical bay suffering from shock.
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Kid, 9 years old
September 6, 2012
 
Not a kids show
This show is not for kids. there's too much violence, kissing and language like he-l and -amn!
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Kid, 12 years old
November 14, 2012
 
Best Show Ever
Barely any blood shown (alien blood). My favorite show. Great and interesting storyline. I'd even suggest it to some 8 year olds!
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This review of Falling Skies was written by
TV rating:TV-14
Network:TNT
Cast:Moon Bloodgood, Noah Wyle, Will Patton
Genre:Drama

This review of Falling Skies was written by
 

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