It is the same series produced by Spielberg. Why are the two sets of works different? Perhaps it can be discussed slightly from the direction of production and creation. The background of Falling Skies is the earth after the aliens invaded. The U.S. military force has to disperse the guerrillas, and the surviving civilians also follow different teams for protection. And the angle of selection of the series is to focus on one of the small legions, narrating how they survive and fight back under the pursuit of aliens. Such military sci-fi themes were once carried forward by Japan's Gundam series. The past Gundam MS08 team series can be said to be an absolute masterpiece of individuals and weak forces discussing war and star wars. From this perspective, you won't see a battle full of CGs flying across the screen, but it can describe the choices and behaviors of characters of various personalities when they are weak from the perspective of human nature. And Spielberg chose this entry point to avoid the individual heroism on the big screen for the box office. He also has his past several successful productions of "weak against the strong" film and television works. Therefore, Falling Skies succeeded in narrative and setting. In half.
What's more visible is that the time set by Falling Skies is not the future, but the present. In the play, we can see him discussing Harry Potter novels with his son, and we can see the good or evil supporting actors laughing and scolding American media or TV people, using these living allusions in the dialogue to create a very realistic It feels as if alien invasion may happen at any time. Terra Nova is set in the future, and its ambition is too broad, but it can't be spread for a while. After all, there are about ten episodes in a season of summer dramas, and the plot can be developed calmly from the subtle point of view. The world view is too large, even if there is space for more than 20 episodes of autumn dramas, the deployment will fail if you carelessly deploy it.
In terms of character setting, Falling Skies is definitely more successful than Terra Nova. The former takes the widowed American history teacher as the leading actor, and focuses on describing him and his three different sons. The four male characters have different characteristics and are easy to distinguish, and they also have their own wonderful psychological changes. The eldest son was supposed to be at the age of love, but was forced to take up arms and become a warrior. The second son was captured by aliens. He was originally a frail otaku. After he was rescued, he became physically strong. A character is quite plump. The latter describes the family of a police officer and a doctor’s wife. The three children are either in puberty or pursuing innocence. The setting is more deliberate and not very successful. We only see that the eldest daughter often deliberately flaunts his scientific knowledge, while the eldest son antagonizes his father everywhere for no reason. This is a very common and stereotyped image in American dramas, and it is not new.
And the fluency of the plot, Falling Skies is also worth talking about. It does not cover every episode with fast action and horror scenes. Instead, it focuses on interpersonal relationships, interspersed with action scenes, and has a degree of relaxation. In the middle and the end of the first season, the two big suspense presentations were also steady and steady. There was no show off and gimmicks, but the progress of the plot was controlled very well, and the conception was clever, quite unexpected. As for the character-based TV series, Spielberg has not forgotten to add the contradictions of various characters to the plot, but it is just right to explain the profound things in simple terms. For example, the betrayal of soldiers, the group conflicts between soldiers and civilians in the community, and the lack of people's religious beliefs in the face of disasters are all described in this series. It can be said to be approachable and comprehensive. The only shortcoming can only be that it is too fast-food, not the kind of action drama where bullets fly from the beginning to the end. Fans who look forward to a sense of drama will be disappointed.
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