In anticipation of the Season Three Premier of Falling Skies[i], I have been rewatching the first two seasons. The show has a little of the usual Steven Spielberg schmaltz, but otherwise it is pretty good. In fact, I would go so high as to say it’s bordering on one of my current favorite sci-fi shows. The special effects are pretty high quality for a basic cable genre show. I loved the cold open at the start of the series, where the viewer is just dropped into this post-apocalyptic world with the back-story coming very naturally. I even liked the decision to focus on Tom Mason – 2nd in command, father, etc. – instead of having the main character be in command.
I don’t want to seem like I am gushing. A couple of little things bug me. The end of the second season was a little rushed and I’m still not sure how Ben Mason managed to collect all those harnessed kids and get them to Charleston in the space of about three days.
But, since this is a blog about politics in science fiction, there was one other major problem: the writers apparently think that the United States has a parliamentary system. And this is not an isolated gripe. There are at least three instances in which they fail to understand basic aspects of the U.S. political system.
Number 1: John Locke – I’m sorry, Arthur Manchester[ii] - refers to himself as “Majority Leader.” This U.S. does have majority leaders, but they are typically party leaders within the legislature, and I saw no evidence of an actual legislature in Charleston. The government seemed to subsist entirely of John Locke (damnit, Arthur Manchester) arguing with a sad-sack general played by that guy.[iii] Where is the Charleston legislature? What party is Locke/Manchester a member of? Did the two major U.S. parties, Democrats and Republicans, survive the Alien Apocalypse? It only took the Civil War to destroy the Whig party and make way for the GOP. I have to assume that the political disruption of an alien invasion might have an impact on the established party system. Either way, a “majority leader” needs a party and a legislature and Manchester has neither.
Secondly and related, MAJORITY LEADER IS NOT AN EXECUTIVE POSITION, except in a parliamentary system. Locke/Manchester[iv] is obviously serving in an executive capacity. He controls access to resources, acts as commander-in-chief,[v] and addresses the citizenry. He even admits he is an executive official. To quote: “Majority Leader. President felt presumptuous.” That’s a cute bit of hand-waving, but majority leaders in the U.S. are strictly legislative officials. They have no executive power.[vi] In a British-style parliamentary system, however, the party majority leader usually becomes the Prime Minister, a position with executive power. If the head of government is a majority leader, then it seems to indicate that Charleston has a parliamentary rather than Presidential system.
Also, seriously, where is this Charleston legislature Locke/Manchester is supposedly majority leader of? I’m beginning to think that Charleston’s reestablished American government might just be in Locke/Manchester’s head. If just one person controls the government he is, in the words of Pope,[vii] “a tin-pot dictator,” not majority leader.
Which brings us to my final bit of evidence: The no-confidence vote. During Season 2, Episode 9 “The Price of Greatness,” Manchester asks Tom Mason to support him during an upcoming vote of no-confidence. This is a cool plot device, no question, but it’s the nail in the ‘writers don’t understand the U.S. government’ coffin. Seriously. Did the writers take eighth-grade government? The U.S. system does not have no-confidence votes. Well, to be pedantic, Congress can have symbolic no-confidence votes, but they are extremely rare and have absolutely no formal impact.
What is a no-confidence vote, you ask? Wikipedia has a good definition, but basically the no-confidence vote is a parliamentary motion that indicates that the legislature[viii] no longer supports the head of government, usually the Prime Minister. Essentially, it serves to remove the chief executive from power if they lose the vote. It’s somewhat analogous to impeachment in the United States, but it doesn’t necessarily have to indicate that the chief executive committed a crime. Churchill faced a vote of no-confidence during WWII. He won, but even if he lost he wouldn’t have lost his seat in the House of Commons or been imprisoned. Nixon would almost certainly have been imprisoned.
Anyway, the introduction of a political subplot made me happy. More sci-fi could use some political intrigue. Especially political intrigue that doesn’t revolve around a ‘stirring speech’ rip-off of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington or that is as poorly thought out as the Galactic Senate in the Star Wars prequels.[ix] However, the subplot could have been better thought out. All the relevant plot points (spoiler alert) – like the need for legislative support, the rationing, and the military coup – could easily have happened within the framework of the actual U.S. political system. Like I said, nifty plot device, but the particulars indicate that the U.S. Constitution has either been tossed out or at least radically altered. Details matter, especially when obsessive fans like me sweat the details. Still, great show.
[i] Sunday, June 9th at 9:00pm EST on TNT.
[ii] Terry O’Quinn from Lost for those in need of a quick refresher.
[iii] That guy being Matt Frewer, a great character actor and frequent guest star in sci-fi shows. Spoiler Alert!!! Also becomes kind of a dick and leads a military coup at one point. Later backs off. Come to think of it, this guy is kinda flighty for an Army General.
[iv] Seriously, I feel bad, but Terry O’Quinn is forever connected with Lost’s Locke for me. A character named after a great political theorist, John Locke, largely responsible for the principles of the U.S. Constitution. Jefferson lifted “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” almost directly from Locke’s writings.
[v] The President’s job, according to the Constitution.
[vi] See the discussion of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
[vii] Possibly my favorite character.
[viii] Remember, this legislature that currently has “no-confidence” in the executive is controlled by members of the executive’s own party. This is a serious issue.
[ix] Which I categorically deny the existence of. Say it with me: THEY NEVER HAPPENED. It was a collective hallucination. One decent light-saber battle in a flaming lava pit with a way to young Obi-Wan does not excuse the 9+ hours of crap that came before it. They sucked. They all sucked and we just have to live with it or deny
I don’t want to seem like I am gushing. A couple of little things bug me. The end of the second season was a little rushed and I’m still not sure how Ben Mason managed to collect all those harnessed kids and get them to Charleston in the space of about three days.
But, since this is a blog about politics in science fiction, there was one other major problem: the writers apparently think that the United States has a parliamentary system. And this is not an isolated gripe. There are at least three instances in which they fail to understand basic aspects of the U.S. political system.
Number 1: John Locke – I’m sorry, Arthur Manchester[ii] - refers to himself as “Majority Leader.” This U.S. does have majority leaders, but they are typically party leaders within the legislature, and I saw no evidence of an actual legislature in Charleston. The government seemed to subsist entirely of John Locke (damnit, Arthur Manchester) arguing with a sad-sack general played by that guy.[iii] Where is the Charleston legislature? What party is Locke/Manchester a member of? Did the two major U.S. parties, Democrats and Republicans, survive the Alien Apocalypse? It only took the Civil War to destroy the Whig party and make way for the GOP. I have to assume that the political disruption of an alien invasion might have an impact on the established party system. Either way, a “majority leader” needs a party and a legislature and Manchester has neither.
Secondly and related, MAJORITY LEADER IS NOT AN EXECUTIVE POSITION, except in a parliamentary system. Locke/Manchester[iv] is obviously serving in an executive capacity. He controls access to resources, acts as commander-in-chief,[v] and addresses the citizenry. He even admits he is an executive official. To quote: “Majority Leader. President felt presumptuous.” That’s a cute bit of hand-waving, but majority leaders in the U.S. are strictly legislative officials. They have no executive power.[vi] In a British-style parliamentary system, however, the party majority leader usually becomes the Prime Minister, a position with executive power. If the head of government is a majority leader, then it seems to indicate that Charleston has a parliamentary rather than Presidential system.
Also, seriously, where is this Charleston legislature Locke/Manchester is supposedly majority leader of? I’m beginning to think that Charleston’s reestablished American government might just be in Locke/Manchester’s head. If just one person controls the government he is, in the words of Pope,[vii] “a tin-pot dictator,” not majority leader.
Which brings us to my final bit of evidence: The no-confidence vote. During Season 2, Episode 9 “The Price of Greatness,” Manchester asks Tom Mason to support him during an upcoming vote of no-confidence. This is a cool plot device, no question, but it’s the nail in the ‘writers don’t understand the U.S. government’ coffin. Seriously. Did the writers take eighth-grade government? The U.S. system does not have no-confidence votes. Well, to be pedantic, Congress can have symbolic no-confidence votes, but they are extremely rare and have absolutely no formal impact.
What is a no-confidence vote, you ask? Wikipedia has a good definition, but basically the no-confidence vote is a parliamentary motion that indicates that the legislature[viii] no longer supports the head of government, usually the Prime Minister. Essentially, it serves to remove the chief executive from power if they lose the vote. It’s somewhat analogous to impeachment in the United States, but it doesn’t necessarily have to indicate that the chief executive committed a crime. Churchill faced a vote of no-confidence during WWII. He won, but even if he lost he wouldn’t have lost his seat in the House of Commons or been imprisoned. Nixon would almost certainly have been imprisoned.
Anyway, the introduction of a political subplot made me happy. More sci-fi could use some political intrigue. Especially political intrigue that doesn’t revolve around a ‘stirring speech’ rip-off of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington or that is as poorly thought out as the Galactic Senate in the Star Wars prequels.[ix] However, the subplot could have been better thought out. All the relevant plot points (spoiler alert) – like the need for legislative support, the rationing, and the military coup – could easily have happened within the framework of the actual U.S. political system. Like I said, nifty plot device, but the particulars indicate that the U.S. Constitution has either been tossed out or at least radically altered. Details matter, especially when obsessive fans like me sweat the details. Still, great show.
[i] Sunday, June 9th at 9:00pm EST on TNT.
[ii] Terry O’Quinn from Lost for those in need of a quick refresher.
[iii] That guy being Matt Frewer, a great character actor and frequent guest star in sci-fi shows. Spoiler Alert!!! Also becomes kind of a dick and leads a military coup at one point. Later backs off. Come to think of it, this guy is kinda flighty for an Army General.
[iv] Seriously, I feel bad, but Terry O’Quinn is forever connected with Lost’s Locke for me. A character named after a great political theorist, John Locke, largely responsible for the principles of the U.S. Constitution. Jefferson lifted “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” almost directly from Locke’s writings.
[v] The President’s job, according to the Constitution.
[vi] See the discussion of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
[vii] Possibly my favorite character.
[viii] Remember, this legislature that currently has “no-confidence” in the executive is controlled by members of the executive’s own party. This is a serious issue.
[ix] Which I categorically deny the existence of. Say it with me: THEY NEVER HAPPENED. It was a collective hallucination. One decent light-saber battle in a flaming lava pit with a way to young Obi-Wan does not excuse the 9+ hours of crap that came before it. They sucked. They all sucked and we just have to live with it or deny