Live and Learn (Falling Skies)
Encyclopedia
"Live and Learn" is the first episode and the series premiere of the TNT science fiction
drama Falling Skies
.
The episode was written by series creator and executive producer Robert Rodat
and directed by Carl Franklin
. The episode first aired in the United States on June 19, 2011, alongside the second episode
.
Six months after an alien invasion, history professor Tom Mason is made second-in-command of the 2nd Mass, a group of soldiers and civilians. Weaver, 2nd Mass' commanding officer, sends Tom, Hal and a small group of soldiers on a mission supplies for the rest of the troop. While on the mission, Hal catches a glimpse of his missing brother Ben, who has been enslaved by the aliens.
In the United States, the two-hour series premiere achieved a viewership of 5.91 million, making it the most-watched series premiere of 2011. The episode garnered a 2.0 rating in the 18–49 demographic, translating to 2.6 million viewers according to the Nielsen ratings.
In a dark street, Tom and Hal look for food. They grab a food kart, but are ambushed by robotic aliens, known as "Mechs", which destroy the food. As Tom and Hal run away, soldiers fire guns at the aliens behind barricades. The aliens destroy the barricade and kill the soldiers. Tom and Hal hide in an empty store. They exit, finding Weaver and other soldiers armed with guns. An airship flies overhead and fires, causing a bright light to consume the atmosphere around them. The group runs away back to their base.
Upon arrival, Tom sees his son Matt asleep and picks him up. He talks to his friend, Anne who tells him about his son's drawings. Tom is then called by Col. Porter for a meeting. There, Porter discusses his plan to leave the city and break off into groups. The alien air ships can detect groups of humans over 600 persons so he splits his brigade
into smaller groups consisting of 100 fighters and 200 civilians. He puts Weaver in charge of the 2nd Mass and Tom as his second-in-command.
The following day, the fighters and civilians begin to move. They search for food in stores but find none. Weaver tells Tom that they can't go back looking for more food as the numbers are too large. Tom volunteers to go back. Weaver gives him six fighters and a pickup truck. Hal, Karen, Dai, Anthony, Click and Jimmy join Tom in the hunt for food. Hal and Karen leave the group to search for aliens. Hal sees Mechs and harnessed kids with them. It is there that he sees his brother, Ben. He immediately returns to tell his father. They are both overjoyed, yet Tom insits that they stick with the mission at hand. Hal disagrees and tries to go and find his brother. Tom wrestles him to the ground and convinces him to do the job the "right way".
The group finds a supply store with food and scout the area for aliens. Finding none, they load the food into the truck. Hal is attacked by a Skitter. Tom fires at it and his son runs away. A Mech is alerted and comes after Tom. Hal stops the it by firing at it. It then runs after Hal. Tom puts C-4
in a shopping cart and wheels it next to the Mech, killing it. The Skitter comes after Tom, but Dai shoots it. The alien dies slowly after its gun wound and the group observes it before it dies.
The six fighters return and Tom informs Weaver of their success. He then tells Weaver that he and Hal must go looking for Ben. Weaver declines and says they must raid the armory for weapons. Tom tells him after that, they will go and find him.
Before the 2nd Mass leave the city, Hal gives his brother his birthday gift. The children of the 2nd Mass play with it as the adults watch. Weaver tells Tom it is time to leave and they all mount out on foot.
an untitled alien invasion project. Robert Rodat
wrote the pilot episode from an idea which was co-conceived by Rodat and Steven Spielberg
. In January 2010, TNT ordered a 10-episode first season, which premiered in June 2011.
Wyle, who worked with TNT on the The Librarian films, was sent scripts for various shows on their network. Wyle said part of the reason he chose the part was to gain credibility from his children. He said "...with the birth of my kids, I started to really look at my career through their eyes more than my own, so that does dictate choice, steering me toward certain things and away from other things." Wyle also decided to do it as he could relate with his character, stating "I identified with Tom's devotion to his sons, and admired his sense of social duty."
The pilot was filmed in 2009 and the rest of the season was shot from July to November of the following year in Toronto. Initially, the pilot was short in length, so TNT suggested adding extra ones to better explain the characters. There were two scenes included into the episode; The first scene is one where Anne and Tom talk as Anne is sewing up the injured fighters as the 2nd Mass. prepares to pull out. According to Greg Beeman
, the scene was added for two reasons. First, in the original pilot Anne was not a pediatrician. She did not have a specific career before the invasion. He stated that the scene also "...functioned to more strongly establish the Tom/Anne relationship in the show." The second scene was the one where Tom and his team look at the alien structure and discuss how they want to "kick alien ass". Beeman stated that this scene was added to "show the alien structure and to show our characters relationship to it."
The episode was written by series creator and executive producer Robert Rodat
and was directed by Carl Franklin
.
2011. The United Kingdom received the world premiere of the pilot episode in full, at the first annual Kapow! Comic Con, on April 12, 2011. It premiered on TNT on June 19, 2011. Noah Wyle, Moon Bloodgood, Will Patton, Drew Roy, Collin Cunningham, Sarah Carter, Executive producers Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey and co-executive producer Mark Verheiden appeared at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con International.
The series debuted in more than 75 countries worldwide. Falling Skies will air on TNT networks in several international markets. In other areas, the series has been licensed to networks that include Fox, Super Channel and Canal+. Warner Bros. International Television holds licensing rights for Canada.
, making it cable television's #1 series launch of the year. It also delivered more than 2.6 million adults 18–49 and 3.2 million adults 25–54.
In the United Kingdom, it premiered on FX
, with 402,000 viewers.
the first season scored 71%, based on 26 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."
Tim Goodman of the Hollywood Reporter wrote "...the entertainment value and suspense of Falling Skies is paced just right. You get the sense that we'll get those answers eventually. And yet, you want to devour the next episode immediately." Thomas Conner of the Chicago Sun-Times
called it "...a trustworthy family drama but with aliens." He continued, "It's 'Jericho
' meets 'V
', with the good from both and the bad discarded. It'll raise the summer-TV bar significantly." Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly
gave the series a B+ and wrote, "A similar, gradually developed, but decisive conviction makes Falling Skies an engaging, if derivative, chunk of dystopian sci-fi." He continued, "...Falling Skies rises above any one performance; it's the spectacle of humans versus aliens that draws you in."
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
drama Falling Skies
Falling Skies
Falling Skies is an American science fiction dramatic television series created by Robert Rodat and produced by Steven Spielberg. The series picks up six months into a world devastated by an alien invasion...
.
The episode was written by series creator and executive producer Robert Rodat
Robert Rodat
Robert Rodat Robert Rodat Robert Rodat (born Keene, New Hampshire, 1953 is an American screenwriter. Best known for Saving Private Ryan (1998), Rodat also wrote The Comrades of Summer (1992), Tall Tale (1995), Fly Away Home with Vince McKewin (1996), and The Patriot (2000). He recently worked on...
and directed by Carl Franklin
Carl Franklin
Carl Franklin is an American actor, screenwriter and film and television director. Franklin is a graduate of University of California, Berkeley and continued his education at the AFI Conservatory, where he graduated with an M.F.A. degree in directing in 1986...
. The episode first aired in the United States on June 19, 2011, alongside the second episode
The Armory (Falling Skies)
"The Armory" is the second episode of the first season of the TNT science fiction drama Falling Skies, which originally aired June 19, 2011, alongside the pilot episode.The episode was written by Graham Yost and directed by Greg Beeman....
.
Six months after an alien invasion, history professor Tom Mason is made second-in-command of the 2nd Mass, a group of soldiers and civilians. Weaver, 2nd Mass' commanding officer, sends Tom, Hal and a small group of soldiers on a mission supplies for the rest of the troop. While on the mission, Hal catches a glimpse of his missing brother Ben, who has been enslaved by the aliens.
In the United States, the two-hour series premiere achieved a viewership of 5.91 million, making it the most-watched series premiere of 2011. The episode garnered a 2.0 rating in the 18–49 demographic, translating to 2.6 million viewers according to the Nielsen ratings.
Plot
In the opening scene, young children tell their versions of the invasion. They draw pictures of their families, kids with harnesses and the alien airships. Tom Mason's son, Matt, tells Anne Glass that his mother died during the attacks and his older brother, Ben was kidnapped. He then shows her a picture of his father and older brother, Hal. Matt informs Anne that they are fighting.In a dark street, Tom and Hal look for food. They grab a food kart, but are ambushed by robotic aliens, known as "Mechs", which destroy the food. As Tom and Hal run away, soldiers fire guns at the aliens behind barricades. The aliens destroy the barricade and kill the soldiers. Tom and Hal hide in an empty store. They exit, finding Weaver and other soldiers armed with guns. An airship flies overhead and fires, causing a bright light to consume the atmosphere around them. The group runs away back to their base.
Upon arrival, Tom sees his son Matt asleep and picks him up. He talks to his friend, Anne who tells him about his son's drawings. Tom is then called by Col. Porter for a meeting. There, Porter discusses his plan to leave the city and break off into groups. The alien air ships can detect groups of humans over 600 persons so he splits his brigade
Brigade
A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of two to five battalions, plus supporting elements depending on the era and nationality of a given army and could be perceived as an enlarged/reinforced regiment...
into smaller groups consisting of 100 fighters and 200 civilians. He puts Weaver in charge of the 2nd Mass and Tom as his second-in-command.
The following day, the fighters and civilians begin to move. They search for food in stores but find none. Weaver tells Tom that they can't go back looking for more food as the numbers are too large. Tom volunteers to go back. Weaver gives him six fighters and a pickup truck. Hal, Karen, Dai, Anthony, Click and Jimmy join Tom in the hunt for food. Hal and Karen leave the group to search for aliens. Hal sees Mechs and harnessed kids with them. It is there that he sees his brother, Ben. He immediately returns to tell his father. They are both overjoyed, yet Tom insits that they stick with the mission at hand. Hal disagrees and tries to go and find his brother. Tom wrestles him to the ground and convinces him to do the job the "right way".
The group finds a supply store with food and scout the area for aliens. Finding none, they load the food into the truck. Hal is attacked by a Skitter. Tom fires at it and his son runs away. A Mech is alerted and comes after Tom. Hal stops the it by firing at it. It then runs after Hal. Tom puts C-4
C-4 (explosive)
C4 or Composition C4 is a common variety of the plastic explosive known as Composition C.-Composition and manufacture:C4 is made up of explosives, plastic binder, plasticizer and usually marker or odorizing taggant chemicals such as 2,3-dimethyl-2,3-dinitrobutane to help detect the explosive and...
in a shopping cart and wheels it next to the Mech, killing it. The Skitter comes after Tom, but Dai shoots it. The alien dies slowly after its gun wound and the group observes it before it dies.
The six fighters return and Tom informs Weaver of their success. He then tells Weaver that he and Hal must go looking for Ben. Weaver declines and says they must raid the armory for weapons. Tom tells him after that, they will go and find him.
Before the 2nd Mass leave the city, Hal gives his brother his birthday gift. The children of the 2nd Mass play with it as the adults watch. Weaver tells Tom it is time to leave and they all mount out on foot.
Development
In May 2009, TNT announced that it had ordered to pilotTelevision pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
an untitled alien invasion project. Robert Rodat
Robert Rodat
Robert Rodat Robert Rodat Robert Rodat (born Keene, New Hampshire, 1953 is an American screenwriter. Best known for Saving Private Ryan (1998), Rodat also wrote The Comrades of Summer (1992), Tall Tale (1995), Fly Away Home with Vince McKewin (1996), and The Patriot (2000). He recently worked on...
wrote the pilot episode from an idea which was co-conceived by Rodat and Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
. In January 2010, TNT ordered a 10-episode first season, which premiered in June 2011.
Wyle, who worked with TNT on the The Librarian films, was sent scripts for various shows on their network. Wyle said part of the reason he chose the part was to gain credibility from his children. He said "...with the birth of my kids, I started to really look at my career through their eyes more than my own, so that does dictate choice, steering me toward certain things and away from other things." Wyle also decided to do it as he could relate with his character, stating "I identified with Tom's devotion to his sons, and admired his sense of social duty."
The pilot was filmed in 2009 and the rest of the season was shot from July to November of the following year in Toronto. Initially, the pilot was short in length, so TNT suggested adding extra ones to better explain the characters. There were two scenes included into the episode; The first scene is one where Anne and Tom talk as Anne is sewing up the injured fighters as the 2nd Mass. prepares to pull out. According to Greg Beeman
Greg Beeman
Greg Beeman is an American director and producer best known for his work on television series Smallville, JAG, and Heroes. As well as numerous comedy films.- Career :...
, the scene was added for two reasons. First, in the original pilot Anne was not a pediatrician. She did not have a specific career before the invasion. He stated that the scene also "...functioned to more strongly establish the Tom/Anne relationship in the show." The second scene was the one where Tom and his team look at the alien structure and discuss how they want to "kick alien ass". Beeman stated that this scene was added to "show the alien structure and to show our characters relationship to it."
The episode was written by series creator and executive producer Robert Rodat
Robert Rodat
Robert Rodat Robert Rodat Robert Rodat (born Keene, New Hampshire, 1953 is an American screenwriter. Best known for Saving Private Ryan (1998), Rodat also wrote The Comrades of Summer (1992), Tall Tale (1995), Fly Away Home with Vince McKewin (1996), and The Patriot (2000). He recently worked on...
and was directed by Carl Franklin
Carl Franklin
Carl Franklin is an American actor, screenwriter and film and television director. Franklin is a graduate of University of California, Berkeley and continued his education at the AFI Conservatory, where he graduated with an M.F.A. degree in directing in 1986...
.
Release
Scenes from the pilot were screened on April 1, 2011, as part of WonderConWonderCon
WonderCon is an annual comic book, science fiction, and motion picture convention, held in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1987.The convention was conceived by retailer John Barrett and originally held in the Oakland Convention Center, where it remained until 2003, when it moved to San...
2011. The United Kingdom received the world premiere of the pilot episode in full, at the first annual Kapow! Comic Con, on April 12, 2011. It premiered on TNT on June 19, 2011. Noah Wyle, Moon Bloodgood, Will Patton, Drew Roy, Collin Cunningham, Sarah Carter, Executive producers Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey and co-executive producer Mark Verheiden appeared at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con International.
The series debuted in more than 75 countries worldwide. Falling Skies will air on TNT networks in several international markets. In other areas, the series has been licensed to networks that include Fox, Super Channel and Canal+. Warner Bros. International Television holds licensing rights for Canada.
Ratings
In its original American broadcast, the two-hour premiere of Falling Skies was seen by an estimated 5.9 million household viewers, according to Nielsen Media ResearchNielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, making it cable television's #1 series launch of the year. It also delivered more than 2.6 million adults 18–49 and 3.2 million adults 25–54.
In the United Kingdom, it premiered on FX
FX (UK)
FX is a television channel in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, owned by Fox, launched in 12 January 2004. It was originally branded as FX289 in reference to its Sky EPG number. It was rebranded to FX in May 2005 as the channel moved in the Sky EPG.FX targets a demographic between 25...
, with 402,000 viewers.
Reviews
At review aggregator MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
the first season scored 71%, based on 26 critic reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews."
Tim Goodman of the Hollywood Reporter wrote "...the entertainment value and suspense of Falling Skies is paced just right. You get the sense that we'll get those answers eventually. And yet, you want to devour the next episode immediately." Thomas Conner of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
called it "...a trustworthy family drama but with aliens." He continued, "It's 'Jericho
Jericho (TV series)
Jericho is an American action/drama series that centers on the residents of the fictional town of Jericho, Kansas, in the aftermath of nuclear attacks on 23 major cities in the contiguous United States...
' meets 'V
V (TV series)
V is a science fiction franchise created by American writer, producer and director Kenneth Johnson about an invading alien race known as the "Visitors" – reptilian humanoids disguised as human beings – trying to take over Earth, and the human Resistance group attempting to stop them.It...
', with the good from both and the bad discarded. It'll raise the summer-TV bar significantly." Ken Tucker from Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave the series a B+ and wrote, "A similar, gradually developed, but decisive conviction makes Falling Skies an engaging, if derivative, chunk of dystopian sci-fi." He continued, "...Falling Skies rises above any one performance; it's the spectacle of humans versus aliens that draws you in."