‘Alien: Earth' isn't just good — it's the best thing to happen to the franchise in decades
'Alien: Earth' occurs between the latest two Ridley Scott films — 'Prometheus' (2012) and 'Alien: Covenant' (2017), which had somewhat philosophical bents — and Scott's original 1979 'Alien.' Set two years before the events of 'Alien,' it reveals the company-mandated detour that sent Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) and her crew to investigate a 'distress call' wasn't the Weyland-Yutani corporation's first attempt to bring xenomorphs back for R&D.
The series finds company science vessel Maginot returning in 2120 from its 65-year mission to gather specimens of alien life. But let's just say the delivery of its very special cargo doesn't go as planned, setting off a perilous collision course involving humans; invasive alien species; a ruthless cyborg, Morrow (Babou Ceesay); the preternaturally calm 'synth' Kirsh (a manga-haired Timothy Olyphant); and a fascinating group of newly constructed hybrid life forms nicknamed 'The Lost Boys.'
The latter consist of synthetic bodies, manufactured by Weyland-Yutani rival Prodigy, that are infused with human consciousnesses of children whose bodies were doomed by illness. Their leader, once a 12-year-old girl named Marcy, is a synthetic-human hybrid named 'Wendy' (Sydney Chandler). Her adult, android body — with Marcy's mind — is one that will never age. It's also incredibly tough, powerful and armed with a supercomputer's processing power (and Wi-Fi!).
Atmosphere and ideas are abundant in 'Alien: Earth,' but the storytelling is gratefully streamlined where it counts. Instead of yet another restaging of folks discovering the loving embrace of the face huggers, etc., the Maginot (as effective a line of defense as its World War I namesake) has already learned those lessons the hard way. Kirsh downloads its logs and knows all.
Creator Hawley, who's also behind FX's 'Fargo,' connects us to the world executive producer Scott introduced us to in his 1979 classic with callbacks to its production design, technology and hints of Jerry Goldsmith's superb score. Then the show's storytelling emerges from that host and evolves into its own thing. The cinematography is of theatrical quality, as are the production design and visual effects. Once the story and filmmaking settle into their idiosyncratic groove, the series only becomes more and more engrossing.
In 'Alien: Earth,' five corporations have officially replaced governments. Its questions about sentience and personhood are not obligatory or lightly touched upon; they're the show's fabric. We compare and contrast the Lost Boys, especially Wendy, with other synthetic and partially synthetic people, as well as organic people who behave with varying levels of humanity.
Most of all, the characters are compelling. Chandler's Wendy grows up before our eyes. We witness her moving beyond the limitations she had perceived of herself. In the back half of the season, her performance really takes off, elevating the show even higher. The complexity and ambiguity of Olyphant's Kirsh and Ceesay's Morrow keep us guessing whether they're allies, antagonists, both, or neither.
Among the other Lost Boys, theater veteran Jonathan Ayaji most embraces the child-in-adult-body given circumstance. Meanwhile, Ajayi's Smee is a lot of fun to watch, with physical and vocal choices and shifting moods that disarmingly remind us who's inside that grownup form.
So there's all that, and then there's sheer awesomeness. The new alien species are trippy and full of surprises. There are some new dimensions to the xenomorphs (no spoilers here) that are cool without violating canon, further demonstrating the show's intelligence and creativity.
Balancing its disgustingly enjoyable 'ick' factor with the undeniable 'it' factor of its characters, the show hurtles to a slam-bang finish for its debut season's finale.
'Alien: Earth' is the most satisfying entry in the franchise in a long, long time — and one of the best television shows this year.
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