I SAW ALIEN: EARTH (2ND TINGLING REFLECTION)

I commented on FX/Hulu/Noah Hawley's Alien: Earth's opener in August (see post), but upon experiencing the entire season (and pleased to report that it wasn't blunted by Dune: Prophesy's gnawing verbosity), I'm sad to see it go, since it's been artful, creepy and multi-layered. In other words, each episode was so tasty that it made me salivate for more. 

In a large way, the series captured the mood of Ridley Scott/Ron Shusett/Dan O'Bannon's Alien. Certain segments within the stretch, in particular the startling flashback, "In Space, No One ...," echoed the 1979, 20th Century Fox blockbuster when it came to its sequestered, USCSS Maginot menagerie. The wee, spidery-eye specimen (T-Ocellus), rather reminiscent of O'Bannon's beachball creature from Dark Star, was a discomforting, scene stealer, but so were those plump, spine-tingling, flying insectoids (as well as their unsettling, cocoon-ish nest), with the tried-and-true Xenomorphs (in chestburster and facehugger forms) still dominating. (H.R. Giger would no doubt be proud that his 1976, Lovecraftian blueprint still holds its nightmarish grip fifty years after its conception, and perhaps it's even more unsettling in the bright light of day.)    

Another important part of Alien: Earth rode off its Peter Pan motif, pulling J.M. Barrie's fable back to its roots, which as some do know, holds a dark side, as Scott Chambers' Neverland Nightmare has shown.   

Sydney Chandler's intuitive hybrid Wendy, aka Marcy Hermit, was an ideal conduit for the Neverland darkness. (BTW: Her relationship with her brother, Alex Lawther's Joe D., was convincing for its cynicism and therefore, heartfelt.) The way she communicated with an "affectionate" Xenomorph, using her soothing trills and throaty coos, was mesmerizing. In the same vein, the way she and her hybrid "lost boys" contended with not only New Siam's otherworldly beasts, but adult deceit (the residue of "the real monsters") was as enthralling, as it furthered the heart-pounding terror.

As with Scott's Prometheus and Covenant, a Frankenstein motif was there, too, thanks to those hybrids, but it came as well through Timothy Olyphant's synthetic Kirsh and his cyborg rival, Babou Ceesay's Morrow. The rights and entitlements of such cognitive "machines" (of the many contentions and loyalties that denote them), tapped Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?/Blade Runner, which also alludes to Mary Shelley's mythology. In the end, whether the characters were organic, man-made or both, they were no more than corporate puppets for Samuel Blenkin's Pan-ish Boy Kavalier (of Prodigy) and Sandra Ye Sencindiver's Yutani (of Weyland-Yutani), each an engineering, Prometheus and/or Victor Frankenstein understudy in his/her own ambitious right.

With all this said and ruminated upon, it should come as no surprise that the Alien franchise is one of my favorites. There isn't an entry I dislike or feel apathetic about (and that includes David Fincher's much maligned Alien 3). Though I'd like to see another big-screen chapter, Hawley's home-viewing extension has allowed me to experience a new, Alien installment weekly. (This treat reminded me how Ultraman, Space Giants and Johnny Sokko served me a nice, pre-supper serving of daily kaiju when I was a kid.) Because of this, I do hope Alien: Earth is renewed, and if it should be (thanks to a positive rating's grab for FX/Hulu/Disney+), I trust that the new season doesn't take forever and a day to descend. 

ALIEN: EARTH KEEPS THE TERROR TINGLING

FX (Hulu/Disney+)'s eight-episode saga, Alien: Earth, is another feather in the fearsome cap of the franchise started in 1979 by creators Ridley Scott/Dan O'Bannon/Ron Shusett, famous for all of its fond nods to It! The Terror from Beyond Space, Planet of the Vampires (aka The Demon Planet), Queen of Blood (aka Planet of Blood) and (though often overlooked in its symbiotic relation) The Tingler. 

For the sake of this small-screen, Alien offshoot, built by Fargo/Legion's Noah Hawley, we're given another prequel, this one taking place two years prior to the founding film's events and relegated to a quadrant of Earth that becomes impacted by a crashed craft, the USCSS Maginot, which carries a variety of deadly creatures. (The jarring turn is the result of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation having reached into the vast, dangerous beyond to attain powerful predators for bio-weaponry purposes or maybe, just maybe, it's more a push to find the ironic, new means to instill A.I./human longevity. Take your pick or just blend them.)  

Xenomorphs occupying Earth is nothing new, for we've seen these specimens roam our turf both within the past and "present," thanks to the Alien vs Predator set. For Alien: Earth, it's the classic Xenomorph (H.R. Giger design) that clinches the intense continuity, as it helms the extraterrestrial menagerie, from which its freakish members could (if so chosen) spawn their own movies, series, comics, novels and action figures. 

However, the true, distinguishing element of this prequel is its novelty crew: sickly, Neverland Island children (lost but now found, so to speak) whose minds are implanted into formidable, synthetic, adult bodies (an Avatar-ish deal), led by a full-fledged synthetic called Kirsh, played the Timothy (Deadwood/Justified/Die Hard 4) Olyphant. 

In addition to Olyphant's cool, instructional android, whose looks recall a 1960s, Italian, sci-fi groove, we're introduced to Sydney Chandler's Marcy Hermit, aka Wendy, as in Peter Pan, the story's lead and the first human/synthetic hybrid, accompanied by others of her J.M. Barrie-namesake: Adarsh Gourav's Slightly, Kit Young's Tootles, Erana James' Curly, Jonathan Ajayi's Smee and Lily Newmark's Nibs. 

To accompany these pioneers, we're treated to Babou Ceesay's Morrow (a security cyborg, who survived the Maginot crash), Essie Davis' Dame Silvia, David Rysdahl's Arthur, Alex Lawther's Joe D. Hermit (Wendy's brother), Adrian Edmonson's Atom Enis and Samuel Blenkin's Boy Kavalier, the quirky CEO of the synth-bound Prodigy Corporation, one of Weyland-Yutani's high-stakes competitors. Who's good; who's bad, and for what causes and effects? That's part of the tit for tat, and the tiers should become more evident as the season closes. 

As for the first two episodes launched, they hold a definite draw, but are slow, nail-biting burns with occasional attacks, more concerned with instilling the right, ominous atmosphere above all. (For the success of such, much credit goes to the production's stunning, cinematic effects; Colin Watkinson and Bela and Dana Gonzales' smoky cinematography; and Jeff Russo's Jerry Goldsmith/James Horner-influenced score). Also, by simulating the decor of Ridley Scott's original, as well as Prometheus and Covenant, with perhaps fragmentary shades of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Resurrection, Fede Alvarez's Romulus and Scott's Blade Runner, the backdrop can't help but keep the plot centered, even during those moments when a few spokes in the wheel (including a crucial, Christmas reference) are reinvented and/or contradicted. In this regard, it's seems safe to say that, even as it emphasizes its furnishings, Alien: Earth won't be the decorative dead weight that Dune: Prophesy became.  

Of course, I can't say whether Alien: Earth will constitute the franchise's peak, but I've always been into this frightful universe, and the more of it, the better, I say, no matter the spin. Alien and Predator (and their tireless, mega-buck sequels/prequels/crossovers) have held up well over the decades, while other franchises have grown stale, and it's understandable why these two prevail: They're quality, monster sagas at heart, and there's always room for any and all such creepy mythologies, particularly when the new foes present themselves as old friends.