Series Review: Alien: Earth (FX/Hulu)

By: Shawn McKee

In the beginning, Ridley Scott’s Alien (1979) redefined the horror/sci-fi sub-genre. The script by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett borrowed elements from nearly every space alien film before it, while modernizing the genre with visceral, atmospheric horror.

The legendary Xenomorph design by Swiss artist H.R. Giger has become one of the most recognizable movie monsters of all time. Of course, Alien also introduced face-huggers and chest-bursters, creating an interesting dilemma for a deadly species reliant on host bodies to reproduce.

Alien gave us one of science fiction’s greatest characters, Lt. Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), who only wishes to eradicate the Xenomorphs from existence. Ripley represents humanity in an inhumane world, where an omnipresent, faceless company (Weyland-Yutani Corp) wants the alien species at all costs.

In 1986, writer/director James Cameron delivered one of the greatest sequels ever made with Aliens. The film’s strong focus on action distinguished it from its predecessor, broadening the story’s scope with thrilling and memorable scenes throughout.

Though visually impressive, Alien 3 (1992) began the steady downward trend that continued with Alien Resurrection (1997), Alien: Covenant (2017), and the ridiculous Alien vs. Predator films.

I’m no fan of Prometheus (2012), and I moderately enjoyed the much praised but forgettable Alien: Romulus (2024). Ultimately, my interest in the series barely extends beyond Alien 3. So, color me skeptical when Disney and FX announced a TV series set two years before the events of Ripley’s first encounter, called Alien: Earth.

How does the show measure up? Seven episodes in, I can confidently declare its ranking as one of the best TV events in years.

The concept of Xenomorphs on planet Earth dates to the production of Alien 3. The idea was floated until they ultimately ended up with Ripley crash-landing on a prison planet. All the preceding films were unable to expand on this idea until now.

Alien: Earth is an eight-part series featuring a large cast and a complex, multilayered plot. Its grand scope and high production values result in the cinematic quality of HBO’s Game of Thrones or other big-budget shows. The special effects (from Wētā Workshop), set design, performances, and music are all top-notch. What the show accomplishes most effectively is capturing the primal horror of the original Alien while blending it with the thrilling action of the sequel.

This is thanks in part to series creator Noah Hawley, who clearly understands the style, motifs, and terror of the Alien universe while enriching the source material. Hawley also created the equally impressive FX series Fargo, based on the Coen brothers’ classic film. Alien: Earth has a lot to say, and its dizzying plotlines may overwhelm some viewers. But for those attuned to it, the experience is as gripping as anything in recent memory.

The story is set in 2120, where five companies control the world and lead commercial exhibitions throughout the Solar System. Mankind’s endless search for immortality has led to the creation of Cyborgs (cybernetically enhanced humans), Synthetics (AI beings), and relatively new Hybrids (Synthetics with human consciousness). Hybrids are the secret creation of the Prodigy Corporation, where they essentially implant the mind of a human (in this case, terminally ill children) into an artificial being.

Prodigy also happens to be a competitor of the Weyland-Yutani Corp, which sponsored a 65-year space expedition to obtain otherworldly specimens (most likely for biological warfare). As the USCSS Maginot nears the end of its mission, collecting several extraterrestrial specimens, disaster strikes, and the vessel crash-lands on Earth, directly into Prodigy territory. Prodigy lay claim to the ship and all its cargo, leading to further conflict with Weyland-Yutani.

We’re given glimpses into the disastrous Maginot mission, its slaughtered crew, and a fully-grown Xenomorph wreaking havoc. The show wastes no time in delivering the carnage, but it also slows the pace to introduce multiple characters with differing motivations.

Cast standouts include Wendy (Sydney Chandler), the first hybrid, and Kumi Morrow (Babou Ceesay), the cyborg chief security officer and sole survivor of the Maginot.

There’s also Kirsh (Timothy Olyphant), Prodigy’s synthetic chief scientist, Boy Cavalier (Samuel Blenkin), the childlike Prodigy CEO tech trillionaire, and indentured medic Hermit (Alex Lawther), who also happens to be Wendy’s human brother (before she became a hybrid). Overall, top-rate acting is palpable across the entire cast.

The first four episodes center around the aftermath of the Maginot crash, resulting in a loose Xenomorph amidst caverns of biological horrors throughout the ship. The hybrids are enlisted to contain the cargo as Murrow is singularly focused on delivering the same cargo to its rightful owners.

Episode five, titled “In Space, No One…” is a stand-alone flashback to the events that led to the ill-fated Maginot’s crash. In writing and directing the episode, Hawley said it was to be his own Alien movie, which it aptly feels like. With one episode now left, we can only imagine where things will go.

Naturally, Alien: Earth has received widespread critical attention, earning praise as well as criticism of its writing, characters, and heavy focus on AI.

At its best moments, it’s thrilling and intense. At its weakest, it’s a bit talky. There’s real magic at work here. After what Disney and 20th Century Fox did to the Predator franchise, turning the deadly killer into inept fodder for unlikely plot-armored characters, I’m pleasantly surprised and relieved Alien: Earth hasn’t suffered the same fate.

The show pays tribute to the original and its legacy of fans without spoon-feeding them. It stands out as a testament of science fiction horror, where we Alien fans feel right at home.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Retrospective: Forty Years Since ‘The Terminator’ First Time-Traveled onto Screens By Jesse Striewski

Everyone remembers their first, and in the case of R-rated movies, mine was a double-whammy; grainy, rough-around-the edges versions of both the 1984 hits The Terminator and A Nightmare on Elm Street on one single VHS tape in my friend’s basement that his dad had previously taped off of cable TV (a luxury my family and I still had not yet had at that time).

I knew we were watching something unique, and perhaps even “forbidden” given our ages at the time…and I loved every single minute of each film. But something about this Terminator flick – which featured Arnold Schwarzenegger as a killer cyborg sent from the future back to modern day Los Angeles to kill the mother of the future resistance leader that will eventually bring an end to killer machines that have taken over the world – just felt so intense, and so utterly ’80s (the Tech Noir club scene where Arnold reveals himself is possibly one of my personal favorite moments in cinema history ever).

Linda Hamilton plays said mother Sarah Connor, and Michael Biehn portrays future soldier Kyle Reese sent back through time to protect her from Schwarzenegger’s cold, menacing cyborg. The film does the cat and mouse chase routine better than it had perhaps ever been seen on screen previously before, and Director James Cameron takes masterful care in each and every sequence as it unfolds.

The film shot straight to the number one spot at the box office upon original release on October 26, 1984, and would go on to gross a worldwide total of more than $78 million by the end of its run. The catchphrase “I’ll be back” uttered by Arnold in the movie would soon find its way making its rounds throughout pop culture psyche.

It would also (eventually) spawn a media franchise that included one of the most groundbreaking hit sequels of all time, 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgement Day, and numerous other entries with varying success. Aside from movies, its lasting reach would also stretch across video games, comic books, action figures (many of which I still own til this day), and both live action and animated television series.

It would not be until 2003’s Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines that I would finally see Arnold on the big screen as the T-800, but by then the series was not quite as it once had been. But for my money, nothing will ever beat the original (no, not even T2), which four decades later is still remembered as one of the greatest Sci Fi/action thrillers of all time, and always will be.

Retrospective: 30 Years Since ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ By Jesse Striewski

In the summer of 1991, there was one film causing massive worldwide hype that seemed like everyone on the planet was buzzing over; the Arnold Schwarzenegger-driven blockbuster sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Once again directed by James Cameron and co-starring Linda Hamilton as Sarah Conner (with Earl Boen also briefly returning from the first film as Dr. Silberman) along with newcomer Edward Furlong as John Conner, T2 featured breakthrough technology in movie special effects, including computer graphic imaging unlike anything else that had been seen on the big screen up to that time.

When originally released on July 3, 1991 (after premiering in L.A. on July 1), I was still just a ten-year-old kid just as excited as anyone else about the film at the time. Having already seen the first film previously at a friend’s house on a rickety old blank VHS tape (which also included the original A Nightmare on Elm Street on it), I instantly fell in love with it’s mix of action and Sci Fi/borderline horror, and still regard it as my favorite film in the franchise (it might just be me, but I preferred Arnold much more as the ‘bad guy’). But alas, when it came time for T2, I could not find anyone willing to take me to see it in the theater, even though I had the NES game, trading cards, and numerous action figures from the film, many of which I still have to this day.

In the sequel, Schwarzenegger returns as the Model 101 Terminator sent back in time, only this time around he’s there to actually protect John Conner, rather than eliminate his existence like in the first film. Robert Patrick is brought on as the new, advanced terminator sent to kill John, the T-1000. After realizing he’s a target, John entrusts the help of the Model 101 to break his mother Sarah (Hamilton) out of the mental institution she has been incarcerated in since some time after the events of the first film. The result becomes one of the most enthralling and immersive cat-and-mouse chases ever captured in cinema history.

Also notable is the the appearance of the hit Guns N’ Roses track “You Could Be Mine” in the film from the band’s then-upcoming Use Your Illusion II album. Like the movie, the song was hard-hitting, and featured an explosive music video that also saw Arnold himself briefly appear. The video helped propel the song’s success, and my want to see the film even more, and I have long since attributed it as the catalyst to my eventual love of hard rock and heavy metal music.

Actor Danny Cooksey, who played John’s equally rebellious friend Tim in the film, offered Rewind It Magazine some insight on how the song ended up being included in the film in a 2019 phone interview; “When we were in the early stages of filming, I was given a cassette of the music that was going to be used in the scene. Originally it was going to be two songs, and I believe they were “Higher Ground” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and “I Wanna Be Sedated” by the Ramones, which were, you know, both fine. But at some point I got handed another cassette, and it was an advanced copy of “You Could Be Mine,” in which case I thought I was just the coolest person on the planet since the record wasn’t even out yet!”

In the same interview, Cooksey went on to explain what it was like actually meeting Schwarzenegger on the set for the first time, in this previously-unpublished quote; “I remember somebody taking me to his trailer to meet him, and he was already dressed up in all his gear, so it was definitely a bit intimating. He was such a cool guy though, and it was such an awesome experience to be a part of it at that age.”

T2 went on to gross well over $500 million before it’s run in theaters was over, and helped define the summer ‘blockbuster’ from then on out. It would not be until 2003 before I would finally see Arnold on the big screen for the first time as the Model 101, when Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was released almost twelve years later to the date after it’s predecessor. Three more films and a short-lived TV series would also follow, all with varying results. But nothing that has come since has been remotely able to match the undeniable juggernaut that was T2. In the immortal words of Arnold himself, “Hasta la vista, baby!”