So far so good...
Critics may be right. This certainly looks like the season's most promising new genre program. My initial impression of the premiere? Well, I was struck by the similarities to American Gothic: particularly the setting of a Southern town; the importance of a local Sheriff (with a dark side...) and a reporter among the dramatis personae.
However, if there are similarities between the two series in the concept of characters, the set-up is completely different, and the first episode of Invasion actually reaches some poetic heights in its visualizations. The view of the alien lights landing lightly in the water, like glowing snow-drops, is a beautiful and resonant image. The appearance of a hurricane survivor - mysteriously naked and unconscious on the shore - is terrifying and creepy. And the storm itself is dramatized off with tense aplomb, though the views of the Hurricane Plane are obviously C.G.I. and not particularly convincing. Can anything be done to make computer generated effects look less cartoony? Probably not, at least not on a TV budget.
Most of Invasion's first hour is consumed by set-up; so a lot of time is spent introducing characters and relationships. That's okay though. If we're in this for the long haul, we need to like and relate to the characters, so it is time well-spent. You can just tell that this is going to be one of those "slow burn" series like Lost or Millennium, where new plot developments come few and far between, but when they do, you're hooked.
Not too much else to say at this early stage, except that Invasion looks decent. The characters seem three-dimensional, and the story (so far...) is tantalizing. I'll continue to watch, and see how things develop.
Critics may be right. This certainly looks like the season's most promising new genre program. My initial impression of the premiere? Well, I was struck by the similarities to American Gothic: particularly the setting of a Southern town; the importance of a local Sheriff (with a dark side...) and a reporter among the dramatis personae.
However, if there are similarities between the two series in the concept of characters, the set-up is completely different, and the first episode of Invasion actually reaches some poetic heights in its visualizations. The view of the alien lights landing lightly in the water, like glowing snow-drops, is a beautiful and resonant image. The appearance of a hurricane survivor - mysteriously naked and unconscious on the shore - is terrifying and creepy. And the storm itself is dramatized off with tense aplomb, though the views of the Hurricane Plane are obviously C.G.I. and not particularly convincing. Can anything be done to make computer generated effects look less cartoony? Probably not, at least not on a TV budget.
Most of Invasion's first hour is consumed by set-up; so a lot of time is spent introducing characters and relationships. That's okay though. If we're in this for the long haul, we need to like and relate to the characters, so it is time well-spent. You can just tell that this is going to be one of those "slow burn" series like Lost or Millennium, where new plot developments come few and far between, but when they do, you're hooked.
Not too much else to say at this early stage, except that Invasion looks decent. The characters seem three-dimensional, and the story (so far...) is tantalizing. I'll continue to watch, and see how things develop.
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