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Resident Alien (2021) (1 Viewer)

AlexF

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Didn't see a thread about this anywhere, but the first episode aired the other day on CTV's SciFi channel here in Canada and SyFy in the US and I wanted to see if anyone else had watched it, and if so... what they thought.

It's based on a a Dark Horse comic book by Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse and features Alan Tudyk (Firefly, Con Man, Suburgatory, and Doom Patrol) as the main character who happens to be an alien stranded on Earth... and has taken the appearance of a Colorado doctor. The first episode played out as a comedic take on the mystery procedural (think along the lines of Monk or Psych... just where the main character happens to be a pop culture obsessed alien...) but if they plan to follow the comic series, it might even wander into more of an X-Files-esque vein.

SyFy's page about it: https://www.syfy.com/resident-alien

The trailer for the series is here:

 

Malcolm R

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I have it recorded, but have not yet watched. I'm not familiar with the source material.
 

sleroi

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My wife and I stumbled across this and we really enjoyed it. I thought it was quirky, mysterious and really, really funny. Great premise, Im curious to see where this goes.
 

Johnny Angell

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My wife and I stumbled across this and we really enjoyed it. I thought it was quirky, mysterious and really, really funny. Great premise, Im curious to see where this goes.
That’s the trifecta for me. Will be watching tomorrow.
 

DaveF

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Alien Resident is the most Alan Tudyk-y show I’ve seen in ages! I’d heard about it, so set TiVo‘s Season Pass a few months ago. Watched it last night. I enjoyed it. I was surprised—because the previews managed to keep this secret—that it’s a dark comedy. The character details and overall plot motivation were... unexpected!

Fun, looking forward to what’s next.
 

Johnny Angell

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I’m a little disappointed the series starts with the
alien murdering a human and attempting to murder a child.
. Yeah, it’s got dark, and I want to like it and I did enjoy the first episode.
 

DaveF

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I’m a little disappointed the series starts with the
alien murdering a human and attempting to murder a child.
. Yeah, it’s got dark, and I want to like it and I did enjoy the first episode.
Given that the alien wants to kill all humans, starting off by killing a human, and plotting to kill a kid who could disrupt his big plan, it all fits.

Key takeaway, this is dark comedy, anti-hero story. This isn’t a “friendly alien” story.
 

Malcolm R

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The first episode was pretty good. Though one needs to be careful when Googling unfamiliar words. :D
 

jayembee

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To be honest, I was waffling about watching this. The boom in new shows to watch (via the streaming platforms) has made me more than a little picky about picking up new shows. That said...

My wife and I decided to give this one a try solely because of Tudyk. For the most part, it seems to be treading all-too-familiar ground, but we both enjoyed Tudyk's performance enough to keep going with it for at least a few more episodes. Pilots can be hit or miss in giving a viewer a good sense of what the show will be like.
 

Adam Lenhardt

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There was a lot to like about it. The main character is truly alien, with the show documenting how he learned English (via "Law & Order" reruns) and how despite months of study was pretty darn shoddy when he had to actually attempt social interaction. His assumed identity is also more plausible than many stories like this; the doctor he murdered and replaced primarily lived elsewhere. The cabin was a vacation home that he visited infrequently, and he didn't come into town much when he did visit.

It seems clear from the pilot that the alien comes from a race that observed humans from afar, judged them dangerous and irredeemable, and then sentenced the species to death.

Given that he was essentially a bomber pilot dropping the ultimate WMD, it makes sense that the alien wouldn't have any qualms about killing the doctor whose life he took over, or the kid who can see his real form.

At the same time, the view from the ground is different than the view from outer space. As the show goes on, his appreciation for humanity will presumably continue to grow.

I do hope that he either gets better at pretending to be human, or the consequences of his mistakes start to grow. It just stretched credulity that the humans he interacted with weren't more suspicious than they were -- especially the dead doctor's nurse.

I am a bit confused about his appearance, though. In the comics, the alien has telepathic abilities that allow him to mentally influence people into not noticing his different physiology. Here, the visual effects and the terminology seem to point to him actually shapeshifting to appear identical to the man he killed. But the fact that the show intercuts shuts of his alien appearance, and the fact that the boy can see the "real" him, would seem to point to it being some sort of illusion.

Sara Tomko, who plays the nurse at the town clinic, has some Native ancestry and has played Native American characters in the past, but is not affiliated with any recognized tribes. It seems like her character on this is supposed to be Native American, but it also seems like she has been alienated from that community.

My first thought was that the girl who works as the clinic's receptionist was supposed to be the child the nurse put up for adoption. But without knowing how old either of the characters are supposed to be, I'm not sure the math works.
 

DaveF

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I am a bit confused about his appearance, though. In the comics, the alien has telepathic abilities that allow him to mentally influence people into not noticing his different physiology. Here, the visual effects and the terminology seem to point to him actually shapeshifting to appear identical to the man he killed. But the fact that the show intercuts shuts of his alien appearance, and the fact that the boy can see the "real" him, would seem to point to it being some sort of illusion.
Havent read comic, so that’s interesting. That approach makes more sense. The shows approach is incoherent, but whatever. :)
 

AlexF

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I am a bit confused about his appearance, though. In the comics, the alien has telepathic abilities that allow him to mentally influence people into not noticing his different physiology. Here, the visual effects and the terminology seem to point to him actually shapeshifting to appear identical to the man he killed. But the fact that the show intercuts shuts of his alien appearance, and the fact that the boy can see the "real" him, would seem to point to it being some sort of illusion.
He mentioned how it worked after the scene where the kid saw him (~13m or so) saying "only one in a million humans have the genetic mutation that enables them to see through our molecular reconstruction."

So, it seems like it's a molecular reconstruction that isn't perfect or something, or perhaps it's aided by telepathic abilities.
 

DaveF

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Since the Alien has no medical experience, how is he managing to pass as a doctor?
He binged Law and Order reruns. You can get a amateur law degree from that show, we all know. Presumably, a hyper-intelligent alien could glean a medical degree from all the ME and autopsy scenes. :)
 

DaveF

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He mentioned how it worked after the scene where the kid saw him (~13m or so) saying "only one in a million humans have the genetic mutation that enables them to see through our molecular reconstruction."

So, it seems like it's a molecular reconstruction that isn't perfect or something, or perhaps it's aided by telepathic abilities.
Yeah, they gave it some iso-linear circuits techno-babble. But it makes no sense. They show him going through an intensely painful physical transformation. If you're transformed, there's no reconstruction to "see through", you're physically different.

If it's really a mental projection, the show didn't depict that as happening.

So, it's internally incoherent. But, doesn't matter. It's a thing. The kid sees past the ruse. I accept it and enjoy the show. :)
 

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