Steven Spielberg's Gritty Sci-Fi Series With The Pitt's Noah Wyle Is Streaming On Max

When Steven Spielberg lends his name to anything (a movie, a television show, an Arby's franchise), expectations are immediately juiced. Any new project from the man who brought us transporting blockbusters like "Jaws," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," "Raiders of the Lost Ark," "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," and "Jurassic Park" carries with it the promise of the extraordinary. When he's directing, that promise is almost always fulfilled. When he's producing movies, his batting average is very respectable. As for television, that's a bit of a crapshoot.

Spielberg actually got his professional start by directing episodes of "Night Gallery" and "Marcus Welby, M.D.," before breaking through with the brilliantly directed TV movie "Duel" (which was so good it received a theatrical release). The first show he created for television, "Amazing Stories," was a mixed bag. You expect a bit of inconsistency from an anthology series, but there seemed to be a ceiling to how good an "Amazing Stories" episode could be. The best of the live-action bunch by far was the Spielberg-directed "The Mission," but what could've been a classic hour of television gets undone by a disappointingly fantastical finale. For the next decade, Spielberg would have much better luck with animated shows like "Tiny Toons" and "Animaniacs" before finally accomplishing something truly Spielberg-esque for the small screen with the HBO World War II miniseries "Band of Brothers."

Spielberg's track record as a producer of pure dramatic series has been impressive since then, but his attempts at live-action genre shows continued to miss the mark. So, when he brought an alien invasion project to TNT in 2011 that was created by "Saving Private Ryan" writer Robert Rodat, and boasted "ER" and "The Pitt" star Noah Wyle in the lead, people perked up. How did it turn out? If you're a Max subscriber, you can find out for yourself!

"Falling Skies," as hardcore NBA fans can probably still tell you (because the series was promoted incessantly on TNT during that year's NBA Playoffs), premiered on June 19, 2011. As a DreamWorks Television production personally shepherded by Steven Spielberg, one in his cherished genre of sci-fi (with a title that recalled the director's tantalizingly unmade sci-fi horror flick from the 1970s, "Night Skies"), this seemed like it just might be the one. TNT certainly hyped it like it was. And Spielberg proudly promoted it.

The biggest problem with "Falling Skies" is that its premise, which centers on a human resistance fighting back against an alien race that's conquered the Earth, is heavily reminiscent of "V," which was a pretty nifty sci-fi series back in the 1980s. The production values of "Falling Skies" were decidedly superior to those of "V," but there was an inescapable same-iness to the proceedings that the show could never quite overcome.

At least, that's how I feel. "Falling Skies" stayed on the air for five seasons and received mostly positive (if not enthusiastic) reviews. And, if nothing else, it really is, to a certain extent, Spielberg's vision. As Wyle told The Hollywood Reporter in 2011, "[His] fingerprints are all over this. He shaped the script, cast the pilot, watched all the dailies, made the editing suggestions, worked on the post and on the aliens and spaceships."

As for why Spielberg continues to be fascinated by science-fiction stories, here's what he told TV Guide in 2011:

"I just had a crazy, wild imagination all my life and science-fiction is the greatest outlet for me. I love history, so I do a lot of movies about history. But I also love to be able to let my mind wander, and science-fiction gives you permission to wander to the extremes."

You can currently take a trip to the extremes with Spielberg on Max via all five seasons of "Falling Skies."