Assembled mostly from parts of other alien-invasion and post-apocalyptic movies and TV shows, Falling Skies wraps brief moments of suspense and excitement in a series of repetitive inspirational speeches and a cast of mostly stock characters. With Steven Spielberg as executive producer and a writing staff including veterans of genre shows like Lost and Battlestar Galactica, Skies certainly has the right pedigree, but it lacks the ingenuity and boldness of those other shows.

The Details

Falling Skies

Sundays, 10 p.m., TNT

Premieres June 19, 9 p.m.

Instead it takes a predictable route in depicting a group of survivors trying to stay one step ahead of Earth’s alien invaders, with even the most interesting twists playing out in a bland, safe manner. Each time a potentially game-changing cliffhanger comes along, the next episode steps back to keep things at the status quo. When the world ends, anything is possible, but Falling Skies ignores almost all of those possibilities in favor of recycling what has come before.