I don’t have cable so it took a year after Falling Skies originally aired before I watched the first season on DVD when it was released in 2012. Falling Skies finished during the summer of 2015. I prefer watching a show after it finishes so it isn’t shocking that I didn’t resume watching the show, i.e. Seasons 2 through 5, until October 2015 through early January 2016 streaming on Amazon because of my Prime membership.
Seasons 2 and 3 were the strongest ones because they integrated other forms of resistance in humanity’s struggle, which was provocative and exciting, but ultimately minimized if not entirely eliminated until the final season, which is more inexplicable than previous incarnations. Season 4 was the weakest because it culminated in the half-human hybrid trope though Falling Skies never explained when the pregnant woman was kidnapped and experimented by the aliens to create. I think that Falling Skies got carried away and confused by aliens with advanced technology and mystical powers. Falling Skies got back on track during Season 5, but barely.
Falling Skies sported some notable guest stars: Terry O’Quinn, Melora Hardin, Jeff Fahey, Michael Hogan and Aaron Douglas, but disappointingly their story arcs usually didn’t last very long-only a handful of episodes.
Falling Skies is like Father Knows Best, but with aliens. The real story is primarily the family and romantic relationships, which would be dull as dirt if it were not set in an alien apocalypse. Falling Skies also became an infomercial for the awesomeness of Tom Mason even when he seemed like a bit of a jerk. Weaver became more moderate, humane and likeable, but ultimately took a back seat. I felt like Lexi, who basically should have had the emotional maturity of a toddler, got a raw deal. Other female figures rarely got forgiven and usually ended despised if they went astray through no fault of their own, but there was no limit of what we could understand and forgive for the Mason boys. The storylines became repetitive: who was the real leader-president, military vs civilian, Pope vs Tom, love triangles. The big reveal at the end for the Espheni’s motivation was a bit disappointing and convenient, but at least it was over.
Falling Skies was perfect multi-tasking, mindless grade B television. Tom Mason aimed to be Rick Grimes, but was more like a post apocalyptic Michael Landon.