ALIEN: EARTH: Episode 1.1

ALIEN:  EARTH is a science fiction, horror series on Hulu about a girl named Marcy who transfers to a synthetic body due to cancer, changes her name to Wendy, and must save her brother from an unknown threat. A spaceship containing alien life-forms crashes on Earth, and Wendy’s brother and a tactical team go to the crash site to help. She and her friends set out to save them. 

 The opening episode of ALIEN:  EARTH begins with title cards that establish humanity’s focus on immortality with three groups. They include cyborgs (humans with cybernetic enhancements), synthetics (artificial intelligence that looks human), and hybrids (when someone transfers a human’s consciousness into a synthetic body). In 2120, two years before the events of Ridley Scott’s 1979 movie ALIEN, a ship called the USCSS Maginot travels in space with a captain and a crew who wake up from cryosleep. The characters discuss five new corporations operating on Earth, including Prodigy, a new entity run by trillionaire Boy Kavalier. Kavalier specializes in working with synthetics and hybrids. With 850 miles left before they arrive on Earth, they eat and go back into their cryochambers. 

 As the ship crash lands on Earth, Wendy decides to go with her group of friends, known as the “Lost Boys,” to the crash to rescue her brother and his team. They have no idea what awaits them when they arrive. However, Wendy knows that with her new body and the Lost Boys, she has a chance to save her brother and reunite with him. 

 As evidenced by the first episode, this TV series boasts high production values, from its sets and special effects to its alien creature design. It also features an engaging story and a main character viewers can get behind and support. Sydney Chandler does a terrific job as Wendy, switching seamlessly back and forth from her naivete to her newfound confidence in herself. She asks many questions because, as a child in an adult body, she naturally wants to learn more about the world around her. Her new synthetic body saved her from cancer. However, she still expresses the human side of her in a touching scene where she misses doing an everyday, normal human task she doesn’t need to do anymore.  

 ALIEN:  EARTH has an intriguing mystery to it, where viewers don’t know what a cyborg’s intentions are. Morrow’s questionable actions will make the audience dislike him, as it should be for any antagonist. It will be interesting to see what he does in the next episode. Babou Ceesay does a tremendous job with his serious delivery amid the different personalities with whom he interacts. Despite his brief appearances here and there, Timothy Olyphant gives a remarkable performance as a synthetic character who watches over Wendy. Not much can be said about Alex Lauther as Wendy’s brother, but he does decent work after his memorable performance in Season 1 of ANDOR, the STAR WARS series.  

 Episode 1 of ALIEN:  EARTH The show presents interesting, thought-provoking questions about the consequences of humans becoming hybrids and their place in a world with advanced technological developments. Negative consequences could follow on the journey to achieve immortality. Other standouts include the tense atmosphere, which comes with the occasional, roll-your-eyes, fake out jump scares. With Wendy and her friends, the Lost Boys, the Peter Pan metaphor of these youths never growing up pervades throughout in a borderline, annoyingly obvious way. This subplot even includes a trite scene where a character reads from the book PETER PAN. 

 Nevertheless, the positives outweigh the negatives and hook the viewer right from the get-go. It may remind viewers of the 1986 sequel, ALIENS, because of the emphasis on character development and action, though the horror elements still exist. 

 Episode 1 of ALIEN:  EARTH presents a light moral worldview, with the main character striving to do the right thing and using her new abilities to save her brother. It also has strong, humanist elements where people can transfer their consciousness to synthetic bodies to enhance their physical attributes and possibly live forever. The opening title card even says, “The race for immortality will come.“ Since this is the first episode, it’s too soon to tell whether the filmmakers are for or against such transhumanism. 

 Episode 1 of ALIEN:  EARTH has strong foul language and some very strong violence. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution.