Terra Nova, 12/19/11

In 2149, Lucas chats with … some guy; they plan their Terra Nova invasion. Some Guy asks Lucas something I’ve been wondering: how’d he get those scars on the back of his neck. Nikoraptor attack, Lucas explains. HA. Commander Taylor lived alone and unprotected in the jungle for months; he doesn’t have any scars. Taylor is clearly made of infinitely more win than his son. In Terra Nova, the soldiers head to the portal to oversee … whew! It’s just the 11th Pilgrimage peeps arriving. A young family … Josh’s girlfriend Cara … oh wait, then a dude with bombs strapped to himself. BOOM! Jim is knocked unconscious. He wakes in the hospital disoriented, stumbles outside into a ravaged and ruined Terra Nova. Elizabeth explains the explosion was three days ago, it destroyed the portal, and before Taylor et al. could get back, Lucas et al. opened another fracture closer to TN and took it over, forcing Wash to surrender by killing civilians. Twenty six people are dead, Taylor’s missing, and the evil bad guys are in control.

(One of the deceased is Cara. Skye is so off somewhere googling “How long should you let a guy mourn before putting the moves on him?”)

Wash and Jim put their heads together and start planning how to get things unFUBARed. Jim visits Malcolm, who’s busy repairing a new portal, which he was forced to do when his assistant was killed when he originally refused. Ugh. Can you imagine dying just because your boss decided to take a stand? I’d be the world’s most pissed-off ghost. Lucas, Mira, and Some Guy drop by looking for Jim to interrogate him about Taylor’s whereabouts; Jim and Malcolm pretend Jim is deafened, hobbled, and mentally impaired because of the explosion. The next day, Some Guy tells Mira that “our employers” (Oh, just say their names already!) want her to take a trip to an area called The Badlands. Meanwhile, Lucas has Skye brought to see him and tells her he knows she warned Taylor about him; she better not betray him again. ::eye roll:: Lucas, please stop talking like you’re Jesus. Thank you.

Elizabeth removes some bullets from a bad soldier who got shot in a skirmish with some good soldiers, notices somebody etched a bunch of numbers into them. She shows Jim; he realizes that they’re map coordinates to a rendezvous point. A message from Taylor. YAY! (And gosh, how clever. I’d’ve been trying something wack, like flashlight signals.) Malcolm and wheelchair dude Casey arrange a diversion so that Jim can stow away on a convoy manned by Lucas and Some Guy, who’s complaining about some big ugly bug that bit him. OTG, Lucas and Some Guy-whose-name-is-Weaver discuss how much money they’re going to make strip mining TN for ore; a bad soldier mentions that the only problem is the wildlife. Weaver grabs a gun and kills … a brachiosaurus. (We’re meant to contrast that with how Taylor and the good soldiers took care to tranq, not kill, any dinos if they could help it.) Nope, not a nikoraptor or a T Rex, but a big, slow-moving, plant-eating, sort-of-cute brachiosaurus. Weaver: not just evil but stupid. (Lucas, who’s evil but is still a scientist, tells Weaver that the dinosaur he killed was harmless.) Jim listens to Weaver and Lucas’s plan to detonate pyrosonic charges to clear out the vegetation and wildlife, then sneaks off to meet Taylor and the good soldiers (Yay! Hot Mark is alive!) and tell them the plan. They get to the charge, deactivate it, steal it. A furious Lucas grabs a rocket thingy and shoots a missile thingy, but misses. “SON OF A BITCH!” he screams. (And lol, he screamed it the way you really scream it when you’re super-mad, so it sounds like “SON OF A BETCH!”)

With Jim and Wash’s help, Taylor and the good soldiers wage war. They steal supplies from the bad soldiers’ rover convoys, interrupt their little forays into the forest, etc. (Which, lol, is exactly what the Sixers used to do them.) It’s driving Lucas ape-crap crazy, so he goes to the bar for a drink, and orders Skye to join him. He gets a little handsy; valiant Josh, mad about Cara, comes to her defense, and Lucas has the soldiers beat him up. Skye runs to get Jim, who comes and beats up several soldiers, thus revealing that he is, in point of fact, not deafened, hobbled, or mentally impaired. Lucas has him searched, and they find the transponder he’s been using to communicate with Taylor. (Really? It didn’t occur to him to leave that with somebody else before he went looking for trouble?) Lucas has Jim and Josh sent to the brig.

Lucas releases Josh, thanks to Skye’s begging; after he leaves, Lucas whips out an electric zapper cattle prod thingy. (*SHUDDER* Torture? I wouldn’t last 17 seconds before I’d give up Taylor’s whereabouts, reveal who really shot JFK, and admit to masterminding every bank heist in the last quarter century if you’ll, please, for the love of God, just make the pain stop.) In the hospital, Weaver gets a shot for a hella bad rash that he’s developed from that bug bite. Then Elizabeth sweetly tells him that that wasn’t medicine. Nope, it was a very nasty disease, which she’ll give him the cure for only if he gets Jim released. HAAAAAAAA! Elizabeth is so boss. But we should expect no less; she already broke Jim out of prison once. As Lucas repeatedly zaps Jim with the cattle prod, we FINALLY get to the bottom of Lucas’s hatred for Taylor. So, back in Somalia, rebels overran the camp and made Taylor choose if his wife or his son would get to live; Taylor (probably with his wife’s blessing, wouldn’t you think?) chose his son. The rebels “took their time with her.” :( And ever since that day, Lucas has felt that Taylor hated him and blamed him for his mother’s death. I’m slightly less mad at Lucas now. Not because Taylor did anything wrong, but because having to go through that at age 14 and carry around that memory for the rest of your life would screw anybody up.

Weaver bursts in just then claiming that Taylor’s camp has been found; Lucas leaves; the Shannon fam sneaks in and gets Jim; Elizabeth knocks Weaver out with a sedative. “Mom? That was cool,” Josh says. I second that emotion. Wash gives Jim a message for Taylor, then blows something up and gets arrested to distract the bad soldiers so the Shannons can escape. She won’t tell Lucas where they went, so he kills her. :( Childhood trauma notwithstanding, I am soooooo going to enjoy when he dies. Mira returns from her trip to The Badlands with … something that we’re not shown. Weaver promises her that as soon as the portal’s fixed, she’s free to go back to 2149 to her daughter. The Shannons take up residence in the good soldier’s camp. Taylor’s staring morosely into the fire, sad about Wash; little Zoe comes and gives him a hug. Awwww. Taylor interprets Wash’s message: they need to destroy not only the portal but also Hope Plaza so Lucas and Weaver can’t bring hordes more soldiers through and raze Terra Nova. Doing so would mean permanently cutting themselves off from 2149, but it’s the only way. Jim agrees. Me too.

Lucas and Weaver toast to the portal being repaired. Weaver heads out to ready the first shipment of ore for transport. Skye stops in to tell Lucas she’s had a change of heart and wants to be all cool with him now. This is obviously a trick and Skye’s up to something, but Lucas totally falls for it. On the way, Skye tells him she knows how to contact his father. He stops the truck—and Hot Mark and another soldier swoop in, tie Lucas up, switch the truck for one with Jim hiding in the cargo hold, and carry on to the portal. Stowaway Jim is sent through to 2149. Lucas realizes Taylor wants to obliterate Hope Plaza, gets free, knocks Skye unconscious, and tries to radio the bad soldiers at the portal, but there’s too much interference; he heads off on foot. (I’m glad he didn’t kill Skye, but he left her unconscious and alone. She could have been eaten by a passing nikoraptor! Jerk.)

In 2149, Weaver explains to a couple employers how much money they’re all going to make mining ore: “Gentlemen. Today, you’re rich. Tomorrow? Well, it’s just going to be stupid.” Ha hahahaha ha ha ha ha ha ha! High five to the writer responsible for that line. The employers ask Weaver if he looked into that other matter, in The Badlands. He says yep and opens the cargo container Jim’s hiding in … but not before Jim gives the sedated carnotaur inside a shot to wake it up. The container opens, the carnotaur bursts out and eats an employer, and Jim sneaks off. (Wait—so what was it that Mira brought back from the badlands that had everyone so fascinated? They better explain that. That was like the breakfast scene in Pulp Fiction when Vincent opened the suitcase and stared transfixed at the glowing contents.) Weaver sends the other employer running straight to the carnotaur; as he’s eaten, devious Weaver run in the opposite direction to get help. Jim sets the stolen pyrosonic charge.

Skye radios Taylor that Lucas got away. Taylor finds him running through the forest and beats the living hell out him (as I cheer). But then Taylor falls for the I’m-so-upset-please-hold-me-daddy ruse, and Lucas stabs him. NOOOOOOOOO! Then just as he’s about to slit Taylor’s throat, BAM! Skye shoots him. He tries again to kill Taylor; Skye shoots him dead. YAY SKYE. Back in 2149, Weaver is about to kill Jim when the carnotaur kills him. YAY CARNOTAUR. (Somewhere, the murdered brachiosaurus is laughing.) Jim takes off running for the portal and makes it through just as Hope Plaza is blown to bits. In the forest, Jim finds Elizabeth; Skye and Taylor realize that Lucas is gone. As in, not dead. DAMMIT. One of the bad soldiers tells Mira that they’re stuck on Terra Nova forever; she looks (understandably) furious. Bartender Tom radios Taylor to tell him that the bad soldiers have all left Terra Nova, inexplicably heading north. So come home.

Taylor, Malcolm, Shannon, and the good soldiers arrive back at TN to hugs and applause from all the colonists. Rebuilding of their ravaged home begins immediately. Hot Mark tells Taylor and Jim that the bad soldiers have been spotted headed toward The Badlands. Jim remembers the switched cargo container; they open it to find … the prow of an ancient ship. Huh? How it got to The Badlands or why the bad soldiers are headed there, no one knows. Taylor says to keep the whole prow thing hush hush. The episode ends with the Shannons safe and sound at home, watching a meteor shower. RIP, everybody who died. Especially Wash. :( Hope they name the school or the hospital after you.

Sooooooo many mysteries to delve into in season two! Wtf is going on in The Badlands? Are they really cut off forever from the future? Once he’s able, what complicated revenge scheme will Lucas come up with?

Falling Skies, 8/7/11

Part I

*sigh* I guess we should have seen this coming. After Weaver’s breakdown last week, he’s embarrassed about his moment of weakness and taking it out on the one guy who witnessed it. But explain this: once Tom et al. got the lowdown from Dai, why didn’t they just call in everybody else and have him repeat the story? That way, everyone would know that Weaver is acting recklessly and not fit for command; then he would have been relieved of duty. This whole running-around-being-secretive plan seems unnecessarily complicated.

Dai shirtless: unexpected hotness.


Eff. If Ben and Rick can feel that they’re changing and can hear radio waves, guess it’s not just a theory anymore. This fact makes me sad cuz even if humans do win the war, that process does not seem reversible. I doubt there’s a “Reverse Human-to-Skitter Transformation” button to be pushed. Ok, I tried to be mad at Pope when he pulled that gun, but I couldn’t, because a. nobody got hurt and it accomplished nothing since Weaver changed his mind, and b. same as when he saved the kids, Pope is driven — and driven hard — by his desire to kill skitters. I gotta respect that. But still, I was glad when Monotone Maggie put him in his place. And Matt, too, with that, "What's it like, having hair like a girl?" Heh. Shut up, Matt. I like Pope’s hair. Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay, Weaver’s not a secret pill-popper anymore! Hugs, not drugs.

(Sci-fi randomness: naming the technician/science guy “Scott”—Star Trek reference? The first time someone makes a “Beam me up, Scotty” joke, I am so screaming aloud: “I called it!)

Part II


UGH at the massively creeptastically creepalicious image of Rick CRAWLING UP A WALL :( Noooooo, I don’t want that to happen to Ben. Ew! That harnessed chick in the woods had green scales growing on her! :( Noooooo, I don’t want that to happen to Ben. Maybe … *grasping at straws* … maybe if you fight the process instead of giving in willingly, it won’t happen so fast. Fight, Ben, fight! Gosh, I can’t believe how nice everyone’s being to Rick! Tom didn’t get mad after finding out Rick had told the skitters the 2nd Mass was attacking, Scott(y) didn’t come back for some vengeance after Rick returned to the school, and nobody saw the need to lock him in a cell or at least keep him under armed 24-hr surveillance despite the fact that he was CRAWLING UP A WALL. The only person showing one iota of wit about this Lourdes. Stupid enough to play piano when being hunted, she was smart enough to hesitate when told to go to the infirmary with Rick. Alas, she eventually went. With the boy who was CRAWLING UP A WALL. *sigh*

Random: Am I the only one who woulda been thoroughly confused by Weaver’s “Squad One: North Leg! Two: East!” etc.? I’d have needed to tap someone on the shoulder and be all, “So, um … which one is ours? No — just point to it.” Lol.


Call me Cheesy McCheeserson, but whenever Tom launches into I-used-to-be-a-history-professor speak to try to boost spirits, I get all riled up, too. I mean, he’s right! A few colonists did kick the ass of the entire British empire. Honestly, when he whipped out Patrick Henry’s “The battle is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, and the brave,” I came THIS close to starting a “SKITTERS DIE!” page on Facebook and buying a rifle. And I cheered, loudly, when those goosestepping mechs were forced to retreat.
Tom kissed Anne! Tom kissed Anne! Finally! Finallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

The attack on the spacecraft went pretty much as I thought it would: it failed (God, you suck so hard, Rick.), and almost everybody died except Pope and Weaver. I just wanna say one more time how much I like Pope’s hair—AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHH nooooooooooooooooooo not the scary silver humanoid alien things!!!!! No, aliens, don’t take Tom! NO, EPISODE, DON’T END!


And now begins the long wait for season two. Where’s Hal? Now that humans have not only tricked-out bullets but also a way to obstruct alien communication, will the tide turn in our favor? Have Porter and the 3rd and 4th Mass been annihilated? Will Ben and Rick be sprouting green scales and extra legs when next we see them? (Noooooo!) Will Tom be harnessed? Will Dai take his shirt off again?

Falling Skies, 7/31/11

True story: I once lost a $100 bet I couldn’t jump rope for 15 minutes. I was fat and out of shape, but heck, I thought, little girls jump rope! It’s not exactly hauling logs! Well, it might as well have been. I made it all of three minutes. So at the beginning of this episode when we learn Ben has been jumping rope for TWO HOURS AND FORTY MINUTES straight, I got the sads, wondering if that’s a subtle hint that he, like Rick, has been irrevocably evil-ized by the skitters. (I keep almost typing “Skittles.” Taste the rainbow.)

ARRRRRRGH! Ok, skitters are ugly and scary, but those emaciated silver giant humanoid aliens are CREEPY.

When the old lady invited Tom and Hal to her place, you may have been worried it was a trap. But this is Lady Killer Hal the Heartthrob, remember? She’s probably just his love interest this episode. Observation: motorcycles make a LOT of noise. Yes, they go fast, but any aliens in the area can hear you coming a mile away. I’d be riding bicycles.

YAY BEN. “I hate the skitters!” he screamed. But why’s his back not healing like all the other ex-harnessees (except Rick)? Oh—because Rick and Ben are slowly transforming into skitters. :( But, so, is Ben evil? Why doesn’t he tell anybody that Rick is a lost cause? Will he stop Rick from warning the skitters that the humans have figured out how to shoot through mek armor? Pardon the barrage of questions, but this the most interesting subplot of the whole show. It’s cute how little Mac and might-be-evil Ben look alike, but Heartthrob Hal looks like he wandered into the family off the street. Lol. Speaking of Heartthrob Hal, the old lady told the aliens where to find him, Tom, and General Sergeant Major Lieutenant Corporal Commander Colonel Captain Weaver because “they promised they’d bring you back.” Toldja she had the hots for him, heh. ARRRRRRGH at seeing the CREEPY emaciated silver giant humanoid aliens through her peephole. Awwwww. :( Poor Weaver. Take note, show writers: after all he’s been through, it would be oh-so touching if his wife and daughter were indeed alive.

FAIL to Anne and Lourdes for dissecting the skitter wearing nothing more for protection than glasses and gloves. Yeah right. I’d have been in four layers of plastic with my entire head Saran Wrapped, breathing through tiny nostril holes. LOL at Pope’s “That is so three weeks ago” and the dirty look he gave the soldiers for pointing their guns at him. I effing love Pope. Hey, where’s Monotone Maggie? I need my weekly dose of her deadpan.

Two-hour season finale next week? This awesomeness is almost over already? :(

Falling Skies, 7/24/11

Wow. Am I psychic or what? Cuz I totally called Pope coming to the kids’ rescue. Granted, he did it because he was more furious that those people were colluding with skitters than he was concerned about the kids’ welfare, lol, but still. It’s the thought that counts. Plus, I dig his sarcasm. And his hair. Lol.

Ok, any points that General Sergeant Major Lieutenant Corporal Commander Colonel Captain Weaver lost for being a little slow to realize that RAD the Pied Piper had lied to them, he gained back by helping to deliver a breech baby. Impressive! Kudos, Weaver. I figured it would be Maggie who helped out, since she and Pregnant Chick are totally all BFF now. (Random: “Charlotte”? Boooooooring! There’s a dang alien invasion taking place! I woulda named my daughter “Revolution” or “Fighter” or “Dta,” pronounced “deeta,” short for “death to aliens.”)

And now to go completely ballistic, cuz some stuff in this episode made me yell at the tv.
1. Hal.
Are you kidding me??? You’re on the run from a group of people who want to GIVE YOU TO THE ALIENS, and you a. choose a house with massive windows to hide in, b. let people sit in front of /play board games in front of said massive windows, and 3. let Lourdes play the piano in an otherwise completely silent neighborhood?? COME ON! I know Hal’s only a high school senior, but my elementary school niece has better survival skills than that! And Lourdes is in medical school. Old enough to know better. Idiots!
2. Hal’s sex appeal.
The kid is cute. No argument there. But just how the hell many love interests is he going to rack up? First his blonde girlfriend (does he even remember her name?), then Lourdes and her crush (If he’s only 17, somebody needs to explain “statutory rape” to her.), then Monotone Maggie, then Tessa at the ranch. It’s getting old. Newsflash, writers: we wanna see Anne and Tom get a little closer. ANNE AND TOM. Not Hal and his weekly female. Thank you.
3. Rick.
HELLOOOOOOO???? Can nobody see that Mike’s son (Rest in peace, Mike. *sad*) is not quite right? For the love of sanity, the kid is practically screaming “I’m no longer human, you fools!” I get that once-harnessed children may be a bit weird (Ben is super strong and seems “like an adult”), but Rick is waaaay beyond that. And he keeps repeatedly blatantly telling people that he’s Team Skitter! I get why Mike (Rest in peace, Mike. *still sad*) may have overlooked Rick’s weirdness, but everybody else needs to WAKE UP!

Falling Skies, 7/17/11

Ok, yes, Eli’s parents were douches for trying to steal the medicine, but I kinda understand where they were coming from with wanting to leave. I agree that it was extremely dumb to keep a skitter alive at home base. Having said that, however, I would NOT go on the run by myself in a lawless, alien-inhabited world, esp with a wife and small child! I would stay with the people who have food, guns, and ammo. Duh!

I called it I called it I totally called it! The second that Mr. Random Army Dude (RAD) asked to be sent ahead with the children, I knew he was not to be trusted. Skitters are harnessing kids to use as slave labor and also – I’m still grossed out by this – sleeping with them, so children are clearly a hot alien commodity. Knowing this, I would never ever ever let my kid outta my sight. And anybody who showed up requesting all kids be sent off with him would immediately be elbowed and then kicked in the face and locked up under suspicion of working with the enemy. This group is waaaaaay too trusting. And I know! You’re mad at Pope, right? Cuz he told RAD where more children could be found. Me too — but as with Eli’s parents, I kinda understand where he’s coming from. Locked up and at the mercy of a lunatic, I too would’ve said whatever I could to make myself useful so said lunatic would not kill me. And I predict that Pope becomes instrumental in helping get the kids away from RAD.

Anne continues her foray into Tuff Girl Town. Last week it was knocking skitters unconscious; this week it’s getting handy with a gun. You go girl! (Although, may I just say that the second an alien invasion starts, learning to shoot a gun is the FIRST thing I’m gonna do.) And Anne and Tom held hands! Yay! Could they actually smooch next week? One hopes. Most touching subplot of the night: little Jimmy and General Sergeant Major Lieutenant Corporal Commander Colonel Captain Weaver. Awwwwww. GSMLCCCC Weaver’s not such a hard-ass. Well—wait. Blowing that skitter to kingdom come was some severe hard-assery. I meant, Weaver’s not *just* a hard-ass. When he and Jimmy hugged, I almost got teary...

Falling Skies, 7/10/11

Wow. That Maggie is pretty useful, ain’t she? Killed the rapist racist rednecks, is a great soldier, knows where vast stores of medical drugs are to be found, knows the layout of the hospital, joined the group just in time to be Hal’s replacement love interest. Now, if they can only get her to talk in something other than a monotone.

Whoa! They killed Dr. Douchebag just like that? From the sec we found out he let Tom’s wife die, I knew he was a gonner, but still. That was unexpected.

Oh no. Is General Sergeant Major Lieutenant Corporal Commander Colonel Captain Weaver is a secret pill-popper? Cuz once the supply runs out, bad things could happen. Trust. YAY ANNE: not only is she now the head doctor in charge, but she totally went all girl power and knocked that alien* unconscious. Color me impressed! Ok … just … ewwwwwwwwww. I don’t know why, but I was hella grossed out when the skitter curled itself protectively over the harnessed kids and stroked their heads protectively as they slept. And so relieved when it was killed. Killed Anne style. YAY ANNE.

I know the baby shower scene was supposed to remind us that even in the most dire of circumstances people strive for normalcy blah blah blah, but it just made me sad that that chick has to have a baby during an alien invasion. :( But I was cheered right back up when Ben awoke. “Dad?” YAY BEN. :)

*Really? Nobody (except the pregnant chick) saw a problem with keeping a skitter alive and imprisoned at home base? And even after it killed Dr. Douchebag, GSMLCCCC Weaver still gave it a few hours!..