Alien: Earth (Disney +)
Alien: Earth stands as the gold standard of what a new entry in a legacy series can be. It does not exist to provide easy fan service or familiar visuals but instead takes the Alien franchise and utilises it as a springboard to launch a brand new and exciting experience.
In relation to previous entries in the Alien franchise, I would compare this the most to Prometheus. Not because I find it similar in terms of story content or atmosphere but because of its disregard for being just another Alien entry. Alien: Earth uses the property in a way which simply takes the setting of this franchise and expands around it to explore its own ideas. This series is largely a rumination over life, questioning what it exactly is that makes us human. Is it our memories? Our familial and inter-personal relationships? Our own lived-in experiences? These questions are always at the forefront of the show, and it will take pieces of Alien’s world building and flesh them out to dive into these themes. For example, the series takes the franchise’s lore around robots and introduces new mythology with new kinds of artificial life, like the new hybrids - robotic bodies with human minds installed into them. Whilst this does serve the purpose of introducing new lore to the series, these new kinds of life that blend humans with machines raises many questions in regard to the humanity of these people. The world and franchise is always in service of the story and themes.
However, that’s not to say the show is completely foreign to the Alien series. The show displays a deep understanding of the first film and what makes it work, harkening back to the series’ roots by lining the show with a consistent and discomforting unease. The show is constantly using any trick it can to keep you destabilised, such as the heavy use of split dioptre shots and crossfade editing in its visual language. The show has an unnaturalness in its texture and aesthetic which heavily evokes the horror of the first film with its uneasy and on-edge atmosphere.
The show also has themes relating to corporate and working-class struggles like in previous series entries. A key aspect of this show’s world building is exploring future Earth, which is now run by a collection of corporations. The show displays the trillionaires running these corporations to have an inhuman fascination with life. Whether the life is alien or human, we see these trillionaires viewing life as something to experiment with and as a way to play god, both connecting this series thematically to the rest of the franchise as well as grounding the show in its own ambitions to explore ideas about life. This further exemplifies the show’s understanding of the series’ foundation as well as its willingness at the same time be fresh and original.
This is a show that belongs among the likes of Andor as what the future of legacy IP should be: an original exploration of a pre-existing world that pushes the boundaries of what the series can do. In a sea of franchise-based films and television, this is a show that quickly floats to the top for its originality, boldness and willingness to experiment.
