Season Two of Falling Skies Begins

Tonight (June 17) you can catch the start of TNT's Falling Skies second season premiere.  This two-hour episode will resolve last seasons cliff-hanger when history professor Tom Mason (Noah Wyle) goes aboard the alien ship.  Last season was a riveting tale of a rag-tag group of civilians, military-types, and criminals trying to reclaim their small part of New England after the Earth had been occupied by an alien race that so far seems bent on using child labor.  No this is not a Chinese occupation with children making Apple parts.  But the intent of this extraterrestrial alien race is still unclear.

Tom Mason and his three sons form the center (and heart) of the resistance group, though the suffering Captain Weaver (Will Patton),  potential girlfriend pediatrician Anne Glass (Moon Bloodgood), and criminal mastermind John Pope (Colin Cunningham) all add to the drama and fun.   Of course, the enemy also has a pretty good cast, including the spider-like Skitters, armored robot Mechs, and the recently introduced Overlords.

TNT and Steven Spielberg have created an entertaining adventure that keeps you at the edge of your seat as you await the next alien attack.  As I have noted earlier, the story itself brings to mind War of the Worlds combined with the scrappy resistance of townsfolk seen in TV's Jericho. I do not think Wyle's talents have always been well used over the years, but here he finds a solid and believable role as a concerned father and geeky professor forced to do things he would not normally want to do (a bit like his role in the The Librarian series, which was actually pretty fun as well).  

Comingsoon.net interviewed Wyle on his acting choices.   What is interesting is that he went back to ER rather than The Librarian:

Comingsoon.net:  This is a very different character that what you've played in the past. Was that a big draw for taking the role?

Wyle: Sure, that's a big part of picking and choosing work, assuming you get to pick and choose work. More often than not, it's less of a grand design and more about the opportunities that are presented to you. But I was looking to do a character that was very different from Dr. John Carter, but still looking to find one that had as vast an arc ahead of him as that one did. The pilot episode of "E.R." was his first day on the job in the hospital, so he had the longest road to travel professionally. Similarly, Tom Mason, as an academic character, had the farthest road to travel to become a military leader. That seemed like an interesting challenge, plus it's a physically demanding and dynamic character, which I hadn't really done a lot of. It's also a totally new genre as well. 

And should you want to learn more about tonight's program, you can watch Wil Wheaton's interview with the cast following the episode.

Update:  Good news!  Falling Skies has been renewed for a third season, according to Deadline.  That gives the 2nd Mass a fighting chance.