Rob
That was a harsh call to reality! There is potential considering the available technology, cast, producers and premises.. So far .. Truly ho-hum at least for me .. When's the next episode?
Sorry to return to the thread topic
Just saw the most recent episode -- some unusual stuff at work (or not) for this kind of ensemble series.
- Virtually no subplots yet and we're already through episode 4. Almost no other threads developed at all, character or story, beyond the issue at hand of saving the kids (now done for the time being and stretched over 3 episodes as the main issue), and the overall of survival. No hints of mystery or intrigue, plants for future episodes. For ex. -- they did very little with the captured alien -- we/they learned about the radio waves (unresolved for future use, mild intrigue) and killing thru the mouth. Not much story mileage out of the capture.
- Some small character subplots, mostly romantic w/o any story attached: Noah Wyle/ the Doc, Noahs' son and the blond biker chick (high school sweetheart captured in #3 seems forgotten). A little bit of conflict between Will Patton (commander) and Noah, but they're on good terms now.
- Only other wisp of a subplot is Will P popping some pills -- we'll see if that's anything other than him dealing w/the pain of lost children.
Usually by this time you'd have a few or more storylines going (think Lost, BSG, etc) creating multiple intrigues and places to go/crosscut within an episode. FS has been single minded on the kids for three episodes now (though this is done), with little else going on. This is a good chunk of why it feels a little slow IMO -- the other MAJOR chunk is that whenever we're in the school, we feel almost zero sense of threat. This is killer -- we're too relaxed as an audience. Yeah, you can't sustain that kind of tension all the time (although BSG just about pulled this off), but too much soccer, candles and sappy music -- it's slack.
As the whole season and probably the next couple have been mapped already, I've got to think given the talent involved, this pacing/tension at the moment is all by design. As an aside, I hope the bring back Carl Franklin who directed the pilot for some more episodes -- he did 'One False Move' and 'Devil in a Blue Dress', two excellent movies. I don't think episode 3 and 4, done by a different director were particularly well done. Don't think the shooting is vivid, and a lot of missed opportunities moment-wise. For ex., think about when the alien 'cuddles' the kids -- this could have been far more creepy and effective.
Ad nauseum, but if you haven't seen, check out the 2 hr pilot movie for BSG that is the invasion of Earth. It''s a great point of comparison.
As Mark Twain said, if I had more time, I would have made this shorter.
