What do you do when you're big friends in real life, if you both love science fiction, if you both create science fiction movies and TV shows, and if you love each other's work? Well, if you're Steven Spielberg you do a micro second tribute in your science fiction show of your friend's science fiction work.
Steven Spielberg's new TV sci-fi drama Falling Skies starts Monday 4 July at 20:15 on Fox Entertainment (TopTV 180). Fox Entertainment made the first few episodes of this great new TV show available as a preview screener to a select group of South African TV critics. Exactly 8 minutes and 16 seconds into the first episode of Falling Skies I noticed a micro second don't-blink-or-you'll miss-it moment: a shout-out tribute by Steven Spielberg to his buddy George Lucas's Star Wars mythology.
The commander of the ragtag group of humans still left forming the resistance after Earth's been invaded by aliens in modern-day Boston, moves his hand on the map whilst discussing strategy. In a split second in Falling Skies, almost too quick to catch it, what viewers will see is Star Wars figurines - a Battle Droid and Anakin Skywalker action figures from Star Wars The Clone Wars (The Cartoon Network, DStv 301, Thursdays, 17:55). The Battle Droid represent the Mechs - the one type of alien attacking humans. Anakin Skywalker of course represents the remaining humans.
Below I have another image from the first episode of Falling Skies, the other type of alien called Skitters, who run and surround a human they just shot:
