What Have You Been Recently Watching

[Sock Monkey]

I am loving it! Sad that it is ending soon. (Next week, I think.) I love the variety of extraterrestrials, the scummy corporate overlords, the morality and ethics of the children in the hybrid bodies...That said, I'm hoping they wrap up the story in one season, rather than milk it out over additional seasons. I've pretty much had it with big-budget streaming shows that go years between seasons. Bring the show back, but make it an anthology show, like Fargo or American Horror Story.

Nice to hear you're enjoying it. It seems the fans are a split--as to be expected--with one side liking the expansion and the other pretty much just wishing it was just more of Alien and Aliens. I, too, like the new creatures and curious as to where it leads. I've read a lot of complaints about the script, and even my wife 'noped out' after three episodes, stating she felt the show wasn't well-written. I see the concerns, but I also get the feeling Hawley's playing the long game here. I will say, though, that Alien: Earth doesn't feel as narratively tight as Hawley's Fargo. I also think that Hawley was stuck between a rock and a hard place with making sure enough xenomorph action was happening from the get-go to head off any complaints from fans.

I haven't heard anything about a renewal for future seasons, but Hawley has mentioned that he has a multi-season (five, I think) plan. I'm not sure what that would look like, but I think I'd like an anthology show, where each season is tangentially linked or built upon the last but without relying on the same characters. That being said, I am enjoying Sydney Chandler as Wendy (the only actor I think nails the whole "kid in an adult body thing" without feeling forced), Essie Davis (who I just realized is the mother from The Babadook) as Dame Sylvia, and Timothy Olyphant as Kirsh. I'm also getting the feeling that I might enjoy the season more on a rewatch.

[Sock Monkey]

No. I hadn't gotten to that one yet. My Brother In Law mentioned to me that the timeline/sequence of events doesn't work within the overall story arc.

I'm curious as to your thoughts once you get a chance to watch it. I've also heard complaints about the timeline and how it relates to the movies--particularly that Alien and Aliens imply that there has been no contact with the xenomorph prior to these films, but clearly with the show, we have the xenomorph on Earth prior to Ripley's exploits. I'm sure there's a plan to sort this out, but I've also read that the idea is that Alien: Earth is kinda on its own and not necessarily beholden to the films. I'm kinda torn on where I land with this aspect of the show myself.

[dannyboy121070]

Nice to hear you're enjoying it. It seems the fans are a split--as to be expected--with one side liking the expansion and the other pretty much just wishing it was just more of Alien and Aliens. I, too, like the new creatures and curious as to where it leads. I've read a lot of complaints about the script, and even my wife 'noped out' after three episodes, stating she felt the show wasn't well-written. I see the concerns, but I also get the feeling Hawley's playing the long game here. I will say, though, that Alien: Earth doesn't feel as narratively tight as Hawley's Fargo. I also think that Hawley was stuck between a rock and a hard place with making sure enough xenomorph action was happening from the get-go to head off any complaints from fans.

I haven't heard anything about a renewal for future seasons, but Hawley has mentioned that he has a multi-season (five, I think) plan. I'm not sure what that would look like, but I think I'd like an anthology show, where each season is tangentially linked or built upon the last but without relying on the same characters. That being said, I am enjoying Sydney Chandler as Wendy (the only actor I think nails the whole "kid in an adult body thing" without feeling forced), Essie Davis (who I just realized is the mother from The Babadook) as Dame Sylvia, and Timothy Olyphant as Kirsh. I'm also getting the feeling that I might enjoy the season more on a rewatch.

I just read an interview with one of the cast members (I won't spoil who, since their character obviously survives the finale), and they said they are filming season two "about a year from now", which probably means a two-year break between seasons, and that the current storyline will be the focus of the entire series, as long as it continues.

As for the continuity...eh. The movie continuity was screwed up as soon as Ridley Scott introduced the dopey Engineers, and none of the films ever really dwelled on what was happening on Earth, so whatever they do in the series, I can accept it.

[dannyboy121070]

I'm curious as to your thoughts once you get a chance to watch it. I've also heard complaints about the timeline and how it relates to the movies--particularly that Alien and Aliens imply that there has been no contact with the xenomorph prior to these films, but clearly with the show, we have the xenomorph on Earth prior to Ripley's exploits. I'm sure there's a plan to sort this out, but I've also read that the idea is that Alien: Earth is kinda on its own and not necessarily beholden to the films. I'm kinda torn on where I land with this aspect of the show myself.

I always assumed that, at least by ALIENS, there had been extraterrestrial contact, as the Marines talk about "Bug-hunts" repeatedly, which I figured meant that the Marines had been in regular conflict with some type of alien lifeform that was up to no good.