thatcomicsguy

I began watching because of Josh Holloway (LOST), and was mildly interested for the first few episodes. It was a well-made story about surviving under an enemy occupation in modern America. Then it got good. Then it got really good! Season 1 was about living under the stress of an occupied, inform-on-yer-neighbors society. Season 2 was about living in the woods, guerrilla warfare in a broken world. Season 3 is where the sci-fi kicks in, and the secrecy surrounding the alien invaders becomes less opaque, (and thankfully, doesn't become predictable or goofy. These are not your Daddy's alien invaders.) This is a slow burner of a show, but has always maintained its production quality, smart writing and scope. The story takes place across the U.S. with points in Europe, -the budget version, to be fair; we see lots of houses and bunkers and facilities and woodland camps, but the acting pulls it off handily; the characters believe and so you believe, and thus the world doesn't seem nearly so small as the same budget might allow under less capable producers. The politics and exo-politics are engaging and believable and tension build-ups pay off well. I find now, into the third season, that during the week between episodes, I'll catch myself pondering What-If and How? I want to know what's going on, what's going to happen next, and the writing team has inspired the confidence that they actually know and are taking their time in their reveals. -And that those reveals aren't going to disappoint. This isn't a Saturday morning cartoon alien invasion, or one from the 1980's (remember "V"?); the characters on the ground don't get daily information packets and even the leadership is largely running on innuendo. At certain points, you slip, as the characters do, into a feeling of false security, and then when big changes occur, you realize, "Oh yeah. The hiding and paranoia and excruciating caution was all for damned good reasons! The survival of Humanity isn't just a tee shirt slogan here." The aliens are powerful in ways we don't grasp and there is no hope of Patrick Stewart and Steven Spielberg saving the day in 45 minutes. Humans don't get to win in this story just because they're Humans and 'special'. No childish solution, computer virus or smuggled nuclear weapon or similar day dream is going put a dent in the occupying forces. The enemy is wickedly advanced, intelligent, and worst of all, indifferent. Exciting, clever and unconventional, this show is currently my favorite thing on TV. That's quite an accomplishment. When an episode ends, I want to turn to the other audience members and cry, "Holy crap! Did you see that?" But we all watch alone on our computers these days. Hence this review. You gotta see this show.