A different approach to the Alien franchise that works really well.

• Scare factor: ★★★☆☆
• Gore and violence factor: ★★★★★
• Science fiction factor: ★★★★★
• Alien factor: ★★★★☆
• Philosophical factor: ★★★★★ 

Alien Earth is a FX tv-series and the first tv-series in the Alien franchise. It is set in 2120, 2 years before the original Alien (1979) movie took place, before Ripley and her crew come across planetoid LV-426 and discover all the Alien eggs. Now another spaceship has collected multiple alien species among which the Xenomorph and some eggs and it’s headed for earth. It stars Sydney Chandler, Alex Lawther, Essie Davis, Samuel Blenkin, Babou Ceesay, Adarsh Gourav, Erana James, Lily Newmark, Jonathan Ajayi, Kit Young, Davis Rysdahl, Timothy Olyphant. It is created by Noah Hawley. 

It consists of 8 episodes. 

Plot

On an island called Neverland a scientific research lab has developed a new way to defeat death. First there were Cyborgs, people with technological enhancements, then Synthetics, artificially intelligent beings and now they have created Hybrids. Scientist’s couple Dame Sylvia and her husband Arthur Sylvia work for one of the five richest companies of the world, Prodigy, founded by boy genius Boy Kavalier and have created these Hybrids. 

They have found six children dying of a deadly illness, to transfer their brain into a synthetic body. Their family was told they died. The first one is Marcy Hermit who now is called Wendy. Then comes Curly (formerly known as Jane Mita), Nibs (f.k.a.Rose Ellis), Smee (f.k.a.Christopher Okafor), Slightly (f.k.a. Aarush Singh) and Tootles (f.k.a. Steven DiMarco). They are guided by a Synth called Kirsh. The Hybrids are all named after Wendy and the Lost Boys from Peter Pan, and Boy Kavalier thinks he himself is Peter Pan. 

Wendy was not only the first but she is special and has special powers the others don’t have like having control over the computer networks and a very special power that has to do with the Aliens. Through this network she is watching her older brother Joe, who works as a medic for the Prodigy company, whom she misses very much.

Meanwhile a spaceship owned by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, that is headed for earth, has collected alien species among which a Xenomorph and eggs. Of course things go badly wrong and the ship crashes on earth with Cyborg Morrow as the only survivor. 

Wendy sees her brother helping at the crash site and wants to go there to find her brother. She and the Lost Boys and Kirsh go to the crash site where the spaceship has crashed into a building. She not only finds her brother but also the Xenomorph. While people of Prodigy secure all the alien species to bring back to Neverland, Joe and Wendy get hurt and are both brought back to Neverland. 

Although the alien species are experiments in Boy’s eyes, they are not that helpless or passive as they might seem. On top of that, Yutani wants her property back. When Wendy finds out she can talk with the Xenomorphs, things are about to change. 

Short Review

One of the best parts of this series is the decor, the stage-setting and design. The spaceship has a control room which is also called Mother (as in Alien 1979) and looks exactly like it. The sleeping pods are the same and even all the computers, the keyboards, the screens and buttons, look like they are from the seventies. Not only in the spaceship but also in the lab in Neverland. They could have gone for a more modern update, but the choice to keep the same set design as in Alien (1979) gives off such nostalgic vibes that fits perfectly in the Alien Universe. Even the clothing, the way they are dressed have that typical seventies style.

While it’s a series in the Alien Franchise, and it is strongly set in that Universe, the story is quite different. The story is more about the six children who are now living in a synthetic adult body who now have super powers, both mentally and physically. It poses questions what is ethical in science in search of immortality. There are also a lot of scenes that have philosophical questions and ideas about what makes us human. And of course there’s the whole ethical issue about stealing alien species, taking them from their home and claim them as your property. The children as Hybrids feel they are not treated any different than those alien species. Man still thinks he’s the supreme being, but this series shows us that they are in fact not, they are prey, vulnerable and even the biggest monsters of them all. 

The alien species don’t have much screen time, neither does the Xenomorph, or the Facehugger, or the Chestbuster. But the last episodes they can show more of themselves. Especially the eye with tentacles is a very cheeky and smart being, and plays a big role in the story. What’s totally new is their role in the story. They are not the vicious mindless predators who only breed and kill. The story could have used the Hybrids to fight the Xenomorphs as they invaded earth, but they chose a very different path. A path that is more interesting and makes the Alien more than just a killer, but a predatory living being. This approach works very well especially when you think that the Hybrids are in fact still children. 

The Hybrids each have their own distinctive character. Curly is very competitive and a bit selfish. Slightly is insecure and a bit afraid. Nibs is emotionally unstable, but fierce. Smee is very kind and sweet. Tootles is very eager and friendly. And Wendy is the leader. She’s the oldest, but she also grows as a Hybrid. She’s strong, smart and asks the hard questions, and she doesn’t take crap from anyone. Her relationship with her brother is a key storyline and influences her actions.

Of course there are a lot of gruesome kills throughout the whole season. Especially the fifth episode where we are shown what happened at the spaceship before it crashed and why it crashed. But also the last episodes contain a lot of gore and violence. On that side the series doesn’t disappoint. Although the series is slow paced, it takes it’s time to set everything up, it offers the chance to pose the ethical and philosophical questions and issues and to get to know each character better, their motivations and their goals. 

It’s a great new addition to the Alien franchise. Where the brutal kills are present but maybe secondary to the ethical and philosophical themes. It’s not only the question what makes us human, but also the question what makes us monsters.