The thing with long
running franchises is that they become increasingly tangled up in lore and
continuity so its ultimately best to take each iteration as it comes and judge
it on its own merit. Alien Earth is set just before the events
of the original film though of course that took place deep in Space, a long way
from Earth. “On Earth everyone can hear
you scream” is the cheeky but promising tag line for this eight part series and
the opening two episodes certainly fulfil that promise.
Spoilers after the
break
At times there are
uncanny parallels with the 1979 classic; the interiors of the deep space
research vessel (the Maginot) that is at the centre of the plot closely
resemble familiar images and the sense of unease and then dread that the best
of the films convey is definitely present here. Even the opening scenes seem a
deliberate homage to the way Alien starts; the crew waking up, making
small talk, eating etc. As the mission returns to Earth it becomes apparent
that some dangerous samples have been taken including that of a certain species. We have a brief time to get to know this crew
before all but one of them are brutally slaughtered, mostly in clever
background shots or sudden blood splattered attacks. This particular Xenomorph
seems even more eager to tear flesh apart than some of his predecessors.
The other strand
concerns topics closer to our understanding. With the debate about AI kicking
up a lot of angry dust in real life, the scientists of 2120 have come up a
different option- taking a person and transplanting them into the body of a
synthetic human. The first selected are terminally ill children who become healthy and super energised adults though its apparent that their full potential remains untested. The work has been funded by a young
tech genius with the unlikely moniker of Boy Kavalier who never wears shoes but
always sports pyjamas as if he’s just got out of bed and has a louche style of
carrying out business or conducting meetings.
The main character is
Wendy, the adult version of a girl called Marcy. After the transformation while
she looks like an adult she still shares some of the wide-eyed wonder and
enthusiasm of a child. Sydney Chandler is excellent at conveying this and
bringing the audience along. It’s certainly different to see someone wander
into a dangerous environment with such joy, contrasting with the strained looks of the search and rescue team. There are hints that she can do
things beyond what even her enablers imagined; she keeps hearing strange transmissions
for example- is this a suggestion she is learning the alien’s language?
In a plot development
that seems a bit unlikely her brother Joseph- who believes Marcy died in
childhood- is a medic attached to the soldiers sent to deal with the Maginot
after it crash lands in the middle of a city. Two menaces are roaming around the crash site-
out blood hungry Xenomorph and Morrow, the ship’s cyborg with a dangerous
agenda of his own. For good measure there are also some smaller aliens that are
just as creepy. You soon forgive the convenience of this narrative after the
results are so effective.
Rather than try to expand this premise, the episodes wallow in the possibilities of what has happened. A massive spaceship crashed into the side of a very tall building presents all manner of potential issues and the production uses them one after another. There is plenty of death yet the most effective sequences are when a character thinks there is something following them. The sets are hugely effective, packed with dangling cables, glitching monitors, sparks, fires and fallen metal work. The alien attacks take place almost faster than real life, the creature shown sparingly for the most part as it zips about leaving a trail of victims. If the films prefer to hold off for as long as possible this series has no qualms about letting the monsters draw blood sooner rather than later. In that respect the series is channelling Aliens. The dialogue isn’t deep but then given the situation it doesn’t need to be and each soldier we meet has just enough character for you to feel something when thy inevitably perish.
I
felt very anxious for Joseph who must have had more near misses than anyone
previously attacked by the aliens only for him to plummet into a very deep hole at the end of episode two with the alien having grabbed him. I hope he makes it to part three as he’s
played well by Alex Lawther who brings a resignation to the role that makes him
the polar opposite of sister Wendy and the gung-Ho troops he’s surrounded with.
I hope he and Sydney Chandler do get to have more scenes together. Morrow is played
with dead eyed intent by Babou Ceesay. As in Alien Romulus, the viewer
is pushed into really hating these cold calculating cyborgs while at the same
time admiring the actor playing them. There are definitely moments when
Ceesay’s performance and the script make him just as deadly as the alien.
Written as perhaps a little self-consciously eccentric, Boy Kavalier gives Samuel Blenkin a lot of possibilities though I feel we may come to dislike the character as things progress. He seems to have a streak of vain ambition in him and that’s going to cause problems. He's playful yet this obviously conceals a dangerous individual who always gets his own way. Essie Davis also makes an impression as the calm, smiling Dame Sylvia.
This is not really a
series for subtlety of course with some life changing moments either rushed by
in a montage or quickly interrupted by the next peril, the intent underlined by
the use of heavy rock tracks at various points and under the closing credits. I
felt more could have been made of the kids’ reactions to the change they had
undergone though I suppose there isn’t time for that. In terms of the likelihood
of this really ever happening we’re in the realm of pretend science in
which they lie on a bed on top of flashing blue lights and – voila- their
consciousness has moved to the synthetic being.
On the whole though
this is a strong series and while there are definitely callbacks especially to
the first two films, Alien Earth establishes its own identity in a very
promising opening two episodes.
(The rest are being released once a week in a move some people are calling
innovative. Have people forgotten all TV used to happen like that??!!)
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