Falling Skies – “Prisoner of War”

Season One, Episode Three

As we left off of the season premiere, we know that our hero Tom Mason and a small group will be looking to rescue his son, Ben, from the Skitters who have a bunch of kids harnessed (which basically means they’re slaves to the aliens). When the episode opens, we see the small group scouting out the area, realizing that they won’t be able to take the children by force since there’s only six of them and there are five Mechs. They think of a plan and arrange to return the next day.

Back at the school where the 2nd Massachusetts have made themselves home, Weaver, Tom, and other soldiers find out that there are other groups around the nation fighting back against the aliens. They’re planning to meet up together eventually for what I’m assuming to be one hell of a battle. But for now, the commanding officer is concerned with another task for Mason. There’s a new doctor around, Michael Harris, and he’s been undergoing some procedures into removing the harnesses off of the slaved children. During the past three experiments, they were able to remove the harnesses, but then the children died. But Harris has an idea that might be able to keep them alive. They ask Mason if he’d rescue his son for the experiment, and he agrees.

The rescue mission doesn’t go as planned when another soldier tries to rescue his own son, which jeopardizes Hal and his girlfriend. Later on, we see that the Skitters take Hal’s girlfriend, then shoot a few children in front of Hal and release him to be the messenger. Take one child, put the rest in danger. Quite a strong and clear message those aliens sent. Meanwhile, Mason comes into contact with a Skitter and after shooting two of the six legs off, knocks it unconscious and brings it back to the base.

Now for the most interesting part of the episode, we find out more about Mason’s wife and how she died. Her name was Rebecca and she knew Michael Harris pretty well. They were together when they were attacked by the Skitters. She died and Harris survived. When Mason dug a little deeper into the story, it was revealed that Harris made a split-second decision to abandon Rebecca for his own safety. He hid and he lived. But after being punched in the face, Harris put the blame as much as Mason, reminding him that he was supposed to be with her that morning (looking for food?). Instead, Mason didn’t go and Harris accompanied her. That sort of thing will drive you crazy, huh?

So that was our third episode of Falling Skies. The first half was action-heavy while the second half was a bit slower with explanations. It was good to be brought to speed with some of the science of the show. The harnesses are attached to the spine of the children and if they stay too long on them, it will be too late to save them.

I must say that the show is doing a very good job at having the audience back up Mason thus far, but I just hope they don’t over-do it and make him some kind of bulletproof, God. He needs flaws and we really haven’t seen any yet. Also, with the show concentrating so much on Mason, we don’t know anyone else, nor do we care about anyone else. From the last episode, it looked like Pope was going to steal the show, but he had very minimum screen-time here (we learned that he can cook – that was it).

I’ll leave with my favorite quote from the episode. It was Harris telling Mason, “Because I’m alive, we have a chance to get that harness off your son. Rebecca’s death may save Ben’s life.” Strong words from a man who is definitely on Mason’s shit-list. But in the very end of the episode, it seems that Harris might not be close to figuring out how to save the children from the harness after all. I look forward to next week.

Governors Ball 2011

My Experience at Governors Ball

So finally the day arrived. Saturday, June 18, 2011. The inaugural Governors Ball Music Festival featuring plenty of electronic, dance, and hip-hop acts to keep everyone dancing for the whole 12 hours. The event took place at Governors Island in New York, and for those who aren’t familiar with the venue, it’s an island with large, open fields that are perfect for these sort of events.

My friends and I decided to hit up the diner prior to the event, figuring it’ll be nice to get a full meal in before paying $10 for cheese-steaks on the island. I also had a coffee plus five Cafe Patron shots to keep me awake throughout the entire day. We were running a little late and didn’t hit the ferry line until around 1 p.m. I have to admit, compared to last year’s Passion Pit / Tokyo Police Club show at the same venue, the ferries moved at a much quicker pace this time around. I think we only waited for about ten to fifteen minutes before boarding a ferry. After a short ride, we walked through the entrance and took in the festival grounds.

Right in front of us was the merchandise tent. Jazz and I bought the colorful, plastic sunglasses with Governors Ball printed on the side. We were surrounded by food and beer vendors. It was like I was in heaven. In the distance, Passion Pit’s DJ set was going on and people were already dancing. Instead of watching, we explored the grounds and got ourselves acquainted with where everything was. We located the basketball and volleyball courts, the two main stages, and a few meeting points in case we all get separated (since there was almost no reception throughout the day).

Finally, it was time to watch some performances. First was a hip-hop duo called Das Racist. Since we weren’t too familiar with them, we stayed for a few songs before departing for the volleyball courts. We jumped on the court and started playing a few games. There’s nothing like playing some drunken volleyball with even drunker people.

Once we got our v-ball fix out of the way, it was time for Mac Miller and his high-energy, hip-hop performance singing about girls, alcohol, and weed. He even said that the best thing about these type of festivals is that you can smoke all the weed you want. Even though I wasn’t too familiar with all of his songs, his set was very entertaining and the crowd was definitely into him. I left after he played my favorite track “Knock Knock” for more beer.

This was the portion of the festival when we didn’t really want to see anyone in particular. We had a few hours to kill, and mostly everyone took that time to lay on the grass and relax (or nap). While my group was sleeping, I took that time to venture to the basketball courts, shot around a bit and eventually played a pick-up 2-on-2 game (which we won 11-9). Not going to lie, I immediately regretted the decision to play basketball when I returned to my group. As they were well-rested and ready to tackle the remainder of the festival, I was exhausted with two jammed fingers. But I sucked it up and continued on.

Empire of the Sun took the stage around 8 p.m. and boy, they were not what I expected. They were one of the only bands to play throughout the day, but their style of rock blended with electronic and beats to dance to fit perfectly in. What surprised me with was how weird their stage presence was. The singer was wearing blue tights from neck to toe, there were a number of dancers who frequently had costume changes, and then psychedelic videos playing on the large screen behind the band. But through all of the glamor, they sounded great and people were having a fun time listening to them. I have to admit I felt a little bad leaving early to get a good spot for Girl Talk, but I’m sure I’ll see Empire of the Sun sooner or later.

GIRL TALK! This was the third (maybe fourth?) time seeing Gregg Gillis and his mash-up performance. Why do I keep coming back to a relatively similar show so often? Because it’s simply one of the most fun live experiences I’ve had through all my years of attending concerts. It’s hard to explain the joy of dancing to his mash-ups with thousands of other people while being bombarded with confetti, beach balls, and being blinded by a spectacular light show. This show was no different and Girl Talk completely raged for 90 minutes. I have to say that the two moments when the crowd went the craziest is when Girl Talk sampled Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” and Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone.” Like usual, Gregg put on one amazing show. Can’t wait to see him again.

After Girl Talk, my group had to locate everyone and catch our breath. Because of this, we were at the very back of the crowd for Pretty Lights, but that didn’t matter to me. Pretty Lights (Derek Smith) put one one hell of a show. With his insane stage set-up illuminating the entire crowd with stunning visuals, strobes, and (pretty) lights, I haven’t been this amazed as a light-show since seeing the Electric Parade in Disney World as a five-year-old. Oh, and he had some impressive beats and rhythms that had his fans dancing non-stop. I wish I could’ve stayed longer, but we decided to get an early jump on the ferry to get home.

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Is it too soon to say that Governors Ball was the best concert of the entire year? Well, so far it is for me and I doubt this can be topped. As for the whole experience, for the most part everything went smoothly. The only complaint I would say was how they marketed the event as one with “no over-lapping sets,” but with only a few minutes in-between sets and about a five minute walk, you were going to miss some of the next artist’s music. Oh, and that if you didn’t leave the current stage early for a good spot on the next stage, you were stuck all the way in the back behind the beer tents. These complaints didn’t take away from the amazing time I had, it’s just an observation that could possibly be fixed for next year (hopefully!).

Oh, and I guess another gripe would be how expensive the food and beer was, but I doubt that will change. There was only two types of beer all event long: Magic Hat 12 oz. can for $7 or SixPoint Sweet Action 16 oz. can for $9. Somehow towards the end, I bought a four-pack of the SixPoint for $32. Score… but yeah, I spent $110 on beer + one cheese-steak. Yowzaas!

Once more, kudos to the job done for the Governors Ball Music Festival. When I first bought the tickets, I thought a $90 admission fee was steep, but now I realize that it was just the right amount to pay for a memorable concert. Can’t wait until next year!