First impressions on Steven Spielbergs 'Falling Skies' + Trailer

The first episode of the new, Steven Spielberg-produced sci-fi series Falling Skies had its world premiere at Kapow! Comic Con in London this weekend

Falling Skies stars Noah Wyle as Tom Mason, a former history teacher turned resistance leader, following the invasion of Earth by aliens that have absolutely nothing in common with E.T. It features Spielberg's trademark synthesis of world changing events coupled with human drama as Mason tries to hold the shreds of his family together and also lead a band of human refugees across a broken world where there may be no place of safety left. The invaders are monstrously alien and unstoppable, slaughtering the adults and 'harnessing' their children, transforming them into mindless servants. In tone it is strangely reminiscent of Gene Rodenberry's Earth: Final Conflict, only bigger budget and (as-of-yet) not half as bizarre.

The first episode opens strongly, deftly laying out the premise in the words and crayon drawings of Mason's young son Matt (Maxim Knight) before heading straight into the action. Mason and his eldest child Hal (Drew Roy) fight in the streets of their home city until it becomes clear that the surviving humans must flee or die. Mason is put in second command of a group beneath the wonderfully grim Captain Weaver (Will Patton). The focus of the episode is on a motley scouting party that the hero leads into dangerous territory to retrieve rations for the starving refugees.

Noah Whyle (Tom Mason)

Moon Bloodgood (Anne Glass)

Wyle is well cast as the everyman Mason, a man caught between his unwilling role as a leader of men in a time of war and a widowed father trying to keep his remaining family together while he watches his sons have the childhoods stolen from them. Roy puts in a fine performance as Mason's tearaway teenage son Hal, with some genuinely touching moments shared between the two. Moon Bloodgood's paediatrician Anne Glass is well cast as a calming counterbalance to the sci-fi action firing off about her, and, for a child actor, Knight's Matt Mason is tolerable enough and not overly precocious. Wyle and Patton probably prove the most compelling characters in the opening episode, their antagonism masking conflicting priorities that promise to explode to the surface as the show progresses.

Falling Skies is off to a promising start, a solid, fun and handsomely produced debut that holds the promise of more to come. The first episode treads familiar, alien invasion ground, but there is more than enough here to set up an air of intrigue. From the invaders' intentions and the fate of Mason's missing family members to the ambiguities and mysteries of the various cast members, we will be tuning in again to see if the makers of the show can keep up the pace they have set for themselves.

The show launches on TNT in the US on June 19 and on FX in the UK later in the summer. Watch the Falling Skies trailer below.