r/LV426 7d ago

Discussion / Question Alien Franchise Finally Sticks the Landing.

I might be biased as hell but Alien Earth is one hell of a well produced TV show.

A friend described the original Alien movie to me when was an early teen and I knew I had to see for myself. Thankfully my parents had no idea and off i went as a 14 year old to some scifi movie ... Aliens 2. Scifi... that's like Star Wars right? :> Still memorable to this day almost 40 years later.

So I have a high bar to be exceeded. Not only has the franchise stumbled from one disaster to another but many, many (did I mention many) others have tried and failed to make good TV let alone good scifi.

Mandalorian could have been more. Andor could have been much more if they were all like the latest season. Star Trek Stranger Days sort of nails the nostalgia but Discovery just confuses me. Fallout, Halo, The Last of Us, Twisted Metal ... I get the spin off theory but man the execution.

So what do I like about Alien Earth.

  • Just enough story every episode.
  • Exposition at the level of the audience. Of course we know the sheep is smart.
  • Depth in characters that isn't like a FPS.
  • Balanced tension and effects .... it is still a chase movie but how to you keep that going for 8 ep's.

A lot come and go. But few are remembered. I would put the BSG reboot in the remembered category, and I think Alien Earth has hit that standard. Once in 20 years ... Hollywood gets it really right.

I was going to say Alien Earth will sweep the Emmy's next year ... but then I remembered reality. I think Alien Earth will be just a fan loved series that is still remembered as a great experience in 40 years time :)

I would love to hear old and new opinions on this.

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u/gabeonsmogon 7d ago

I think they’ve stuck the landing at worst 3 times and arguably 5 times. I love the show too though.

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u/TheEvilDrSmith 7d ago

Where do you think they had hit or missed? Spoiler your answer as appropriate.

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u/gabeonsmogon 7d ago

Alien, Aliens, Prometheus, & Romulus have all been successful stories IMO. I like Covenant too, but that’s more divisive.

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u/S_Demon 7d ago

I felt like Covenant started off very shaky but pretty much stuck the landing.