Falling Skies Resume Falling This Week In Science Fiction
TNT's alien-invasion drama returns for a second season.
Falling Skies
TNT, Sunday 9/8c
TNT’s apocalyptic alien-invasion show returns for a second season Sunday night with two back-to-back episodes. In the first, “Worlds Apart,” Pope takes charge of a renegade group within the Second Mass. called “The Berserkers” (you can see more about them right here). Meanwhile, Tom returns to the group, but some question his loyalty. The second episode, “Shall We Gather at the River” focuses on Tom’s memories of his time with the aliens, and he begins to wonder if they may have futzed around with his brain (to say nothing of the inevitable anal probery). If you missed out on the surprisingly good first season, you’ve still got a week to catch up. While the core concept of survivors in the aftermath of an alien invasion is hardly new, Falling Skies manages to refresh it with interesting characters, a solid cast, and the ongoing mystery surrounding the aliens’ motives and intentions toward both the Earth and the survivors’ children. It’s like V and The Walking Dead made a baby. If you watch only one Steven Spielberg-produced science fiction show from last year, make it Falling Skies. Not that you have much of a choice, because Terra Nova has gone the way of the dinosaurs…
Eureka (Syfy, 9/8c) – “In Too Deep”
Carter and Allison’s romantic outing is ruined by a “submarine mishap,” thus proving correct my rule to never take a date underwater. There are only five episodes left in Eureka‘s final season, so enjoy ’em while ya got ’em.
Doctor Who: The Seeds of Death Special Edition
The Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) and companions Tegan and Turlough wind up in 1984 London after the TARDIS is sucked down a “time corridor” (not to be confused with a time tunnel). Unfortunately, the other end of the time corridor links to a future battle cruiser containing one of the Doctor’s least favorite species: the Daleks.
Doctor Who: The Seeds of Death Special Edition (DVD)
The Second Doctor investigates the breakdown of a system called “T-Mat,” which the inhabitants of late-21st-century Earth rely on to transport food, medicine, and people around the world. Unfortunately, he finds more than just a machine on the fritz; the T-Mat has been hijacked by the villainous Ice Warriors.
Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files (Syfy, 9/8c) – “Graveyard Lightning/Truck Stop Terror”
The investigators check out strange goings-on at a Mississippi graveyard and an abandoned Missouri truck stop. That would totally be my first choice to hang out for eternity as a ghost: a Missouri truck stop. At least if it’s abandoned maybe the bathroom is clean.
Sarah Jane Adventures: Complete Fifth Season
While Doctor Who is sometimes dismissed as a “kids’ show,” fans are well aware that the modern incarnation of the show often ventures into dark and heavy territory. The Sarah Jane Adventures, however, are still intended to be fun, all-ages entertainment, following The Doctor’s beloved former companion. Here’s what this season holds for you:
Season Five sees the bubbly Sky, the Starchild given to Sarah Jane by the Doctor to look after, settle into Bannerman Road and discover she has telekinetic powers… although she has no idea how to use them! Her loveable enthusiasm and zest for life combined with her natural curiosity give Sarah Jane more than one heart-stopping moment.
Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman (Science, 10/9c) – “Is the Universe Alive?”
Babylon 5‘s Minbari viewed the universe as a living entity composed of many individual parts, each contributing to the universe’s attempts to understand itself. That heady hypothesis is the focus of this week’s episode:
Could our universe’s collection of stars, galaxies, and black holes follow the same rules of existence as biological life? The cosmos itself may be a superorganism, a collection of separate bodies that act like a single being — just like ants in a colony.
TRON: Uprising (Disney XD, 9/8c) – “The Renegade, Part 2”
Beck and Cutler’s continued ass-kicking in the games is cut short when they’re forced to flee retaliation by the Occupation.
Piranhaconda (Syfy, 9/8c)
Let me just say, whatever your opinion of Syfy’s Saturday-night original films may be, I think we can all agree that it’s kind of astonishing that it took them this long to come up with the title “Piranhaconda.”
MythBusters (Discovery, 9/8c) – “Hollywood Gunslingers”
The ‘Busters once again take on Hollywood concepts, this time examining eight firearm-related myths including silver bullets and nail guns.
