Alien: Earth – “Neverland” and “Mr. October” Review

Alien is an enduring franchise and gets its first TV spin-off with Alien: Earth, with Noah Hawley, the showrunner of Fargo and Legion, taking on the challenge.

In 2120, five corporations control Earth, and there is a race to gain immortality through technology. On an island controlled by the Prodigy Corporation, five terminally ill children have their minds transferred into synthetic bodies. They get a chance to prove themselves when a Weyland-Yutani research spacecraft crashes into Prodigy territory.

Since Disney acquired 20^th Century Fox, they have revived some of the studio’s big franchises. Dan Trachtenberg resurrected the Predator series with Prey and Predator: Killer of Killers, and the Planet of the Apes series had a sequel with Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes. Even the Alien series had a revival with Alien: Romulus, which was a back-to-basics film that referenced the other films in the series in some way. It was entertaining but a bit safe.

The Alien franchise has been expansive. The films have been about more than the Xenomorphs killing people. The first two episodes of Alien: Earth focused on the advances in robotics, Weyland-Yutani’s genetic research, and the rivalry between mega-corporations. Robotics has played a major role in the series, and the first episode showed a group of terminally ill children getting put in adult bodies. It’s a great story since the children think of the potential they now have, especially being put in near indestructible bodies. However, when the Hybrids were at the crash site, their fear was more palpable since they had the minds of children.

Sydney Chandler was a great character as Wendy, the first person put into a synthetic body, and acted as the de facto leader of the group. She was maturing more quickly than the others and needed to guide the other Hybrids. Wendy also had a personal reason to go to the crash site since her brother was working as a medic in New Siam and she wanted to reunite with him. Even though the higher-ups at Prodigy were aware of Wendy’s motivation, they were willing to send in the Hybrids as a field test, and they had an opportunity to take Weyland-Yutani’s research.

This focus on robotics and artificial life made Alien: Earth more like Westworld and Raised by Wolves, and a little bit of Ghost in the Shell. Yet there was still some classic Alien action. Weyland-Yutani had retrieved a Xenomorph and treated the crew of the Maginot like all their spaceship crews: expendable. The scenes on the Maginot were reminiscent of the first Alien film. The Maginot also conducted numerous genetic experiments, resulting in many creepy monstrosities. The second episode had two of my triggers rolled into one: eyeballs and a cat getting harmed.

The second episode of Alien: Earth fulfilled a promise that was made in 1991: a xenomorph on Earth. The one xenomorph was able to cause havoc in a spacecraft and a building. It was a blending of Alien, Alien 3, and Alien: Romulus since the xenomorph was a predator who stalked its prey. It was tense sci-fi horror.

There was an emphasis on world-building, especially in the first episode. Life on Earth was marked by rivalries between corporations and their domination over ordinary people. A scene involving Joe (Alex Lawther) felt similar to how Rain’s introduction in Alien: Romulus. There was also a brief look at civilian life, from people walking on the streets to a reenactment of a 17th-century aristocratic party. The special effects in the first episode were exceptional and could easily fill in the recent Alien films.

“Neverland” and “Mr. October” did an excellent job at setting up the series with its characters, premise, and sci-fi ideas. Hopefully, the series will be another success for the sci-fi franchise.