海角大神

FALLING SKIES debuted last summer to record breaking numbers as fans across the globe avidly tuned into see the mesmerizing aliens and to figure out how humans were going to reclaim their planet.听During a recent press conference at Zoic Studios, executive producers Remi Aubuchon, Justin Falvey and Darryl Frank provided some insight on how they approached the second season of the alien occupation series that has the whole world buzzing.

The first season finale was clearly a game-changer?听 What were you thinking ending it with Tom Mason walking onto the alien ship?
听REMI:听 Well, I wasn鈥檛 involved then.
听DARRYL:听 When we hired him, he was like, 鈥淭hanks a lot guys.听 Now I鈥檝e got to write my way out this one!鈥澨� 鈥楥ause he wasn鈥檛 involved in the first season. He was only involved in the 2nd season.
听REMI:听 I only got involved when we started talking about possibly me coming and running the 2nd season.听 I was literally thrown in a room on a Saturday and I watched all of the episodes, and as I was watching I was going, 鈥淭his is cool.听 This is cool.鈥澨� Then it got to the end and I went, 鈥淥h my god, what am I going to do?!鈥澨� So someone else painted me into that corner.听 But the truth is that I love a challenge.听 It was really fun to figure out: why did he go there?听 I called up the writers of the first season and they all said, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know.鈥澨� But the truth is we came up with an awesome way to move forward from that; and actually in many ways, that final sequence ended up informing much of the energy, thrust and engine of the second season.
听DARRYL:听 We had ideas.听 I mean, we had ideas of where we would go 鈥� possible different directions 鈥� but we sort of left it up to Remi and the writers. We have some writers from the first season that stayed on and some new writers who sort of come up with what they wanted, and we鈥檙e really happy with where it ended up.听

What鈥檚 the balance like?听 For example, in the first season there was a good balance between the sci-fi elements and the relationships and the more homosapien drama.
听REMI:听 I think we follow basically the same balance.听 The one thing that I鈥檒l say is that the stakes are upped on both sides of that equation.听 I think we have incorporated a lot more of what I鈥檇 call science fiction elements into the second season.听 But at the same time, I think the emotional stakes for our human drama has also risen a lot.听 People are more comfortable with each other.听 They were just thrown together literally in the first season.听 They were trying to figure out who they are and what their roles were.听 Those roles are a little more defined in the second season, and so the consequences in that with familiarity comes actually increased conflict a lot of the time; or certainly more interaction between characters.听 The one thing I鈥檒l say is that most of the writers 鈥� we all come from genre backgrounds and we鈥檙e all basically science fiction geeks and we love that sort of stuff 鈥� but we always forced ourselves to have the center of the story be emotionally based from our characters.听 We surround them with a lot of fun science fiction elements, which I think makes it cool, but ultimately it鈥檚 about our own characters鈥� needs, wants and conflicts.听
听DARRYL:听 I鈥檒l concede that the dual franchise was critical from the get-go.听 It was important for Steven [Spielberg] and certainly our partners at TNT 鈥� and it is something we never want to lose sight of. There鈥檚 certainly more mythology in the second season, and, as Remi said, as we鈥檝e gotten to know these characters, it all of that moves along at a brisk pace 鈥� a really satisfying one at that, I think.

Is there more pressure on you after a successful season and the bar has been raised really high to try to keep the bar that high?
听DARRYL:听 The first thing that Steven [Spielberg] said to us about Season 2 was: 鈥淲e have to deliver on the promise of the first season.鈥澨� I remember when we first brought Remi in, it was no real pressure.听 We鈥檝e need we had the first 2 episodes since we were talking about doing a 2-hour premiere.听 But Steven鈥檚 like, 鈥淚t鈥檚 got to be bigger and badder than the first season 鈥檆ause we鈥檝e delivered at such a high level in the first season that if you don鈥檛 reach that in the second season, you鈥檙e going to let the audience down.鈥澨� Steven was very clear that we need to take it up a notch 鈥� to amp it up.听 These were all the words he used; and I think we totally delivered.
听JUSTIN: I鈥檓 already anxious about the third season!听 But the 2nd season is mostly attributable to [Remi]. It鈥檚 fantastic.听 I mean it really does deliver in听 a meaningful way.听 It鈥檚 going to be fun.

Can you talk about how you upped the ante in the second season?
听REMI:听 I think that the first thing is that the 2nd Mass, which is the group that we鈥檙e following, have decided to take the fight to the enemy; and the enemy has responded to that by taking the fight back to us.听 I think that makes us more mobile and on the move.听 I think that as relationships have developed 鈥� specifically, I鈥檓 thinking of the relationship between Captain Weaver and Tom and then Tom and Pope, and other factions in the group 鈥� that those stakes have been raised also.听 It鈥檚 questions of: 鈥淲ho鈥檚 direction do we follow?听 Where do we go? What are we going to do?鈥� Those have also helped amp it up.听 I think largely what we are doing is we鈥檙e more mobile; we鈥檙e going to learn more about the aliens; and during the course, we鈥檙e going to have more interaction with the aliens 鈥� and that immediately amps things up.听 It is one thing to see them from a distance.听 It鈥檚 another thing to see them face-to-face and to have to deal with them.听 So a lot of that is involved.
听DARRYL:听 It鈥檚 also: 鈥淲hat鈥檚 the motive of the aliens?听 What鈥檚 the mythology behind the harness and how that has repercussions on some of the folks that have had those put on them?鈥澨� All of those things are answered in a really satisfying and interesting way.

Speaking of the harness, Ben seems to be at the forefront of this season.听 Can you talk about the evolution of his character?
听DARRYL: It was interesting.听 Connor came back as an actor and had really blossomed physically.听 He was a boy who became a man over the course of our hiatus and it really worked well into that character and the changes he is undergoing, without giving much away.听
听REMI:听 We had a nut of an idea with what we wanted to do with Ben and, in early discussions with Greg Beeman who is our director/producer, he said, 鈥淵ou know, Connor is a really smart kid and even though he鈥檚 not as experienced an actor as others in the cast, I think he can handle this.鈥澨� So we had several discussions with him.听 He goes through quite a journey this season and I think all of that has been set up in the first season 鈥� what ends up happening to him and the rest of the 2nd Mass, it has repercussions for everybody.
听DARRYL:听 His character really breaks out.听 Every member of the Mason family is critical, but he really steps up in a meaningful way. Not only as a character on the page, but in the maturity of the actor, Connor, himself in a satisfying way.

Where is this season going?听 Last season it was about discovering that they could fight back.听 What鈥檚 this season really about?
听REMI:听 I think this season is about finding a way for humans to establish a hold on their home. The reason that sounds more vague than I mean it to be is just because there鈥檚 so many twists and turns that I really don鈥檛 want to give away because it will be fun.听 But I think that a lot of what we are exploring in the 2nd season is:听 鈥淗ow much do we want to survive?鈥澨� Which I think is a relevant question.听 鈥淗ow much do we really want to make this our place and our home? What are we willing to sacrifice in order to make sure that we prevail over some species that has decided, without asking permission, that they want what we have?鈥� We鈥檙e not putting that on big billboards, but I think that is the underlying engine that is driving the motivations of our characters.听 I am fascinated by the human ability to survive the most horrible things and out of that comes usually amazing stuff.