Inspiration comes in many forms. When someone gets into the creative process they can draw from many different sources as they muse about their subject matter. Sometimes these sources can come from the conscious mind and sometimes from the subconscious. I've always liked to explore where the writers of various TV shows get their material from. It's nearly impossible to be 100% original in the creative process and there are times when writers deliberately borrow from other source material so they can pay homage to their inspiration.
So let's take a look at our first example. When I see the character of Lt. Fisher, played by Luvia Petersen of "Continuum" fame, I think to myself, "Where have I seen something like this before?" As you may remember, the Fisher character was discovered when Tom Mason and Col. Weaver took out a snipers nest that was praying on Pope's 2nd Mass outpost. Mason was heartbroken when he discovered he had shot a fellow human as he came to Pope's rescue. Upon reaching the remains of the shattered snipers nest they rolled over the shooter to discover that it was a woman.
As in reality, it is no longer a surprise to see a woman in a combat role. In Falling Skies it is equally important have all hands on deck as they battle the alien invasion. So why do we reflexively gasp when the reveal is shown to be a woman as the shooter and have it punctuated by the TV show when they suddenly break to commercial?
There was a time when woman weren't seen as combatants and society was less tolerant of their role in wartime. The movie "Full Metal Jacket" explored the moral complexity of women in combat from a 1960's perspective. There was a helicopter gunner in that movie that shot indiscriminately at innocent women and children as they scurried for cover. The movies heroes were aghast at this practice but the gunner explained to them that it was all the same to him. As far as he was concerned, everyone was a combatant.
As the movie wound down to a dramatic conclusion the squad of heroes found themselves pinned down by withering sniper fire. They took heavy casualties and as they outflanked the sniper and invaded the nest they returned fire with deadly accuracy only to find they had shot a woman much as they had seen done so cruelly before. Now the moral complexity was theirs as they decided whether to put her out of her misery or not.
The above scene from Full Metal Jacket no doubt inspired the sniper scene from Falling Skies. We who had seen the movie had a visceral reaction to the TV scene. Even those who hadn't, have it in their collective subconscious. That's how impactful the movie scene was on popular culture.
Let's take another look at source material and inspiration.
There was a famous Twilight Zone episode called, "Time Enough At Last" where a recluse character played by Burgess Meredith was the sole survivor of a nuclear holocaust. The Meredith character of Henry Bemis had little time for people and spent his time removed from humanity just so he could read his books. As it was, Bemis had hidden himself from prying eyes in the bank vault where he worked when the nuclear strike hit. When he emerged he found himself utterly alone but surrounded by his beloved books. Bemis now had "time enough at last" to enjoy his books without being bothered by the rest of humanity.
As he reached for a particular tome his eyeglasses slipped off his nose and shattered at the ground below.
Now Henry Bemis was truly alone and cursed to live out his days without any help from the people he eschewed and unable to pursue his book reading passion.
Falling Skies gives us a similar character in the form of Robert Sean Leonard's "Dr. Roger Kadar" also known as the "Rat King". Like Henry Bemis, Kadar has chosen to seclude himself from humanity deep underground and perfectly happy to conduct his business as long as he doesn't have to go topside or deal with people.
Like Bemis he is bespectacled. As soon as humanity invades his little world he immediately loses his comfort zone and acts out his societal angst. He is forced to come up with a solution to help the 2nd Mass and Charleston and just as he about to complete his mission his glasses break leaving him nearly helpless.
Kadar has had his Bemis moment.
The two characters are eerily related and I have no doubt the writers of Falling Skies found their inspiration for Kadar in Henry Bemis.
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