Alien: Earth (FX)

[The hitcher]

Expository dialogue is what killed Strange New Worlds for me. It's the least immersive thing I've ever experienced

[saxomaphone]

Why does the alien look so fake and rubbery with the up close shots? Did Ridley Scott forget to tell them you gotta spray some water on that bih and moisturize the surface? Couldn't they burrow a puppet from Alien: Romulus? what da dealio

[JoeKryten]

Originally Posted by Kolkusz

Alien3 is a follow-up to Aliens only it he most literal sense, but it's pretty clear looking at the movie that Fincher was far more interested in making a successor to the original Alien, not the sequel.

Whenever or not he succeeded it's the entire conversation entirely, but the more I have gotten disillusioned with Aliens and JC with age, the more I appreciate the direction and choices A3 made.

Heck, I don't think JC himself even care that much anymore (despite complaining about it for years) because he pulled off the exact same thing with his own recent legacy sequel.

And yet Alien3 was a Fincher film in name (and look) only. Yes, everyone knows he hated dealing with the Fox penny pinching but he also hated the constant on set rewrites coming in from Hill & Giler. He hated it so much that he tried to get another screenwriter (David Twohy) to take a pass on what they had. Hill & Giler got wind of this and went to Sigourney Weaver and agreed to add a plot point to the script that she wanted (presumably Ripley's death) so she would back their script choices over Twohy's.

Hill & Giler won, Fincher (and most of the fans) lost. At least the first 2/3rds of Alien: Resurrection was shot from a completed script by a talented script writer. That third act though :woof:

(Also Jeunet's visual style did not mesh with the Alien sensibilities...AT ALL)

[Ben_C]

I think the atmosphere is probably the main thing I’ve been enjoying so far.
Definitely not a good show for decent haircuts though. We have one character looking like he came third in a Roy Batty lookalike competition and another resembling Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber.

[morris_schaffer]

Random thoughts on the first two:


* NITPICK #2: It's really quite silly how a

[Show spoiler]single alien gets stunned by an electricity gun, dragged off in a bag, only to escape and subsequently massacre a squad of (armed) soldiers in literally 1-2 seconds, and I mean redecorate a pristine hallway in a nice burgundy color. One could argue that emphasizes just how vicious they are

, but you wouldn't have these nitpicks in Alien and Aliens.
[/SPOILER]

Quoting myself now, oh boy. One other thing that was a bit odd was the following:

In that same scene as described above, the

[Show spoiler]WY robot tells the soldiers the alien can sense fear. Is this a new thing in the franchise? Moments later we see a closeup of the WY robot and I could swear it looked pretty unsettled

.

EDIT: my first post is actually below this one, so I've gone back in time. Somehow...

[Socko]

Originally Posted by morris_schaffer

* NITPICK #2: It's really quite silly how a

[Show spoiler]single alien gets stunned by an electricity gun, dragged off in a bag, only to escape and subsequently massacre a squad of (armed) soldiers in literally 1-2 seconds, and I mean redecorate a pristine hallway in a nice burgundy color. One could argue that emphasizes just how vicious they are

, but you wouldn't have these nitpicks in Alien and Aliens.

That's my nitpick as well.
If this thing was in Alien (1979) the movie would be over in 5 minutes.
It takes away the horror the first one did so well.

[morris_schaffer]

Random thoughts on the first two:

* This is good stuff so far, but it's early on, plenty of time for things to go wrong and maybe I'm lenient because in the past it was sometimes so depressingly average.

* But I feel just a little conflicted about it being good. If it sucked, I could have happily ignored it, pretended it didn't exist and the 1979 movie would have still been first in the timeline. Except it doesn't suck and I'm now faced with the realization that when I watch the 1979 entry again, it no longer will be the first time humanity got a close encounter with the xenos. As if that fore-knowledge reduces just how pivotal, seminal and extraordinary that first encounter was. Much will ride on how Alien Earth will end and how that ties into the 1979 movie so still keeping an open mind here. But I will say this: So far it beats finding the alien intact amongst the Nostromo's debris after it went supernova at the end of Alien.

* The opening moments, phenomenal first impression. Hello glorious retro look, familiar font lettering and recognizable music cues, good visuals, just minor chills there, until I realized: This is the easy part, just cope + paste from the 1979 movie. I'm 5% less enthusiastic suddenly, but still happy with the opening.

* It's good that this is trying, and for now succeeding, to chart its own course narratively rather than the writers forcibly trying to have everything tying into the earlier movies. It's almost as if it's a story about the hybrids first and foremost, and the xeno story just so happens to intrude.

* I like the children sufficiently in this, I think they feel a bit more apt to the story than those fashion youngsters in Romulus but I agree with what someone said, t

[Show spoiler]he decision to send the kids on a mission seemed rash, it happened on a dime.

But when the boss of the company is called Boy Kavalier, I guess one shouldn't be too dismayed by that.

* NITPICK #1: I don't like the rock music over the end credits. I don't care if the lyrics tie into the narrative, It's almost as if the heady themes and narrative depth gets swept away and we've just seen a Paul W.S. Anderson flick. And the Alien movies, and indeed this show, have such atmospheric and ominous music cues. Let things simmer, sink in, god it's so jarring right now.

* NITPICK #2: It's really quite silly how a

[Show spoiler]single alien gets stunned by an electricity gun, dragged off in a bag, only to escape and subsequently massacre a squad of (armed) soldiers in literally 1-2 seconds, and I mean redecorate a pristine hallway in a nice burgundy color. One could argue that emphasizes just how vicious they are

, but you wouldn't have these nitpicks in Alien and Aliens.

* How did Hermit

[Show spoiler]know the Alien was armored when he radioed for help

?

* This comes oh so close to replicating that dumb, and much maligned, moment

[Show spoiler]in Prometheus when someone decides to stroke an extra-terrestrial snake thingie. In Alien Earth the inherent curiosity of these hybrids/synths, and Kirch saying 'we're scientists, we're supposed to be curious' or something like that, coupled with the fact that it did just look like a plant just about makes me give that moment a pass

.

[BeastCreatureTrapper]

Originally Posted by morris_schaffer

* NITPICK #2: It's really quite silly how a

[Show spoiler]single alien gets stunned by an electricity gun, dragged off in a bag, only to escape and subsequently massacre a squad of (armed) soldiers in literally 1-2 seconds, and I mean redecorate a pristine hallway in a nice burgundy color. One could argue that emphasizes just how vicious they are

, but you wouldn't have these nitpicks in Alien and Aliens.

[Show spoiler]The xenomorph here is vicious until it comes up against another character's plot armor, at which point it pauses and bares teeth for dramatic effect (to no one in particular), giving just enough time for said prey to escape.

[morris_schaffer]

Originally Posted by Socko

That's my nitpick as well.
If this thing was in Alien (1979) the movie would be over in 5 minutes.
It takes away the horror the first one did so well.

If there was just the single xeno in Aliens, the outcome would be the same because in that movie the logic does hold up.

[Portista]

Originally Posted by morris_schaffer

Random thoughts on the first two:

* NITPICK #2: It's really quite silly how a

[Show spoiler]single alien gets stunned by an electricity gun, dragged off in a bag, only to escape and subsequently massacre a squad of (armed) soldiers in literally 1-2 seconds, and I mean redecorate a pristine hallway in a nice burgundy color. One could argue that emphasizes just how vicious they are

, but you wouldn't have these nitpicks in Alien and Aliens.

Yes the

[Show spoiler]Ninja-Alien that can completely demolish a group of people / soldiers (via multiple dismemberments) in nanoseconds

is utterly ridiculous.

[The hitcher]

Originally Posted by saxomaphone

Why does the alien look so fake and rubbery with the up close shots? Did Ridley Scott forget to tell them you gotta spray some water on that bih and moisturize the surface? Couldn't they burrow a puppet from Alien: Romulus? what da dealio

Yeah it looks terrible.

[Geoff D]

Originally Posted by morris_schaffer

Random thoughts on the first two:

* This is good stuff so far, but it's early on, plenty of time for things to go wrong and maybe I'm lenient because in the past it was sometimes so depressingly average.

* But I feel just a little conflicted about it being good. If it sucked, I could have happily ignored it, pretended it didn't exist and the 1979 movie would have still been first in the timeline. Except it doesn't suck and I'm now faced with the realization that when I watch the 1979 entry again, it no longer will be the first time humanity got a close encounter with the xenos. As if that fore-knowledge reduces just how pivotal, seminal and extraordinary that first encounter was. Much will ride on how Alien Earth will end and how that ties into the 1979 movie so still keeping an open mind here. But I will say this: So far it beats finding the alien intact amongst the Nostromo's debris after it went supernova at the end of Alien.

* The opening moments, phenomenal first impression. Hello glorious retro look, familiar font lettering and recognizable music cues, good visuals, just minor chills there, until I realized: This is the easy part, just cope + paste from the 1979 movie. I'm 5% less enthusiastic suddenly, but still happy with the opening.

* It's good that this is trying, and for now succeeding, to chart its own course narratively rather than the writers forcibly trying to have everything tying into the earlier movies. It's almost as if it's a story about the hybrids first and foremost, and the xeno story just so happens to intrude.

* I like the children sufficiently in this, I think they feel a bit more apt to the story than those fashion youngsters in Romulus but I agree with what someone said, t

[Show spoiler]he decision to send the kids on a mission seemed rash, it happened on a dime.

But when the boss of the company is called Boy Kavalier, I guess one shouldn't be too dismayed by that.

* NITPICK #1: I don't like the rock music over the end credits. I don't care if the lyrics tie into the narrative, It's almost as if the heady themes and narrative depth gets swept away and we've just seen a Paul W.S. Anderson flick. And the Alien movies, and indeed this show, have such atmospheric and ominous music cues. Let things simmer, sink in, god it's so jarring right now.

* NITPICK #2: It's really quite silly how a

[Show spoiler]single alien gets stunned by an electricity gun, dragged off in a bag, only to escape and subsequently massacre a squad of (armed) soldiers in literally 1-2 seconds, and I mean redecorate a pristine hallway in a nice burgundy color. One could argue that emphasizes just how vicious they are

, but you wouldn't have these nitpicks in Alien and Aliens.

* How did Hermit

[Show spoiler]know the Alien was armored when he radioed for help

?

* This comes oh so close to replicating that dumb, and much maligned, moment

[Show spoiler]in Prometheus when someone decides to stroke an extra-terrestrial snake thingie. In Alien Earth the inherent curiosity of these hybrids/synths, and Kirch saying 'we're scientists, we're supposed to be curious' or something like that, coupled with the fact that it did just look like a plant just about makes me give that moment a pass

.

Is "cope + paste" a new saying or just a typo? If the latter then I've not seen such an apt slip of the fingers in quite some time

[dyne]

Originally Posted by morris_schaffer

In that same scene as described above, the

[Show spoiler]WY robot tells the soldiers the alien can sense fear. Is this a new thing in the franchise? Moments later we see a closeup of the WY robot and I could swear it looked pretty unsettled

.

This is where I'm a bit hung up atm. There's three types of being in this universe. The all robot/synthetic which is Olyphant. The mind transferred to the synthetic which are the "kids" and the third which is just an enhanced human/cyborg which I'm assuming is what the WY guy is. If that's the case then it stands to reason he'd get scared eventually.

[Jeyl]

I just wish there was something else 'going on' with the xeno that no one has discovered yet, like from ALIEN: Isolation.

[Show spoiler]Everyone believes they're dealing with one single Xeno that's killing everyone, when it turns out that they've been dealing with several xenos since so much time has passed that the original Xeno had tuned into a queen, converted the reactor area into a nest and laid several eggs that infected several living hosts. It was a briliant way of fooling the player and the characters into believing that there was just one Xenomorph when that hasn't been the case at all.

I wish this series did something similar, but it looks like it's all face value here in the series.

[LexInHD]

Originally Posted by saxomaphone

Why does the alien look so fake and rubbery with the up close shots? Did Ridley Scott forget to tell them you gotta spray some water on that bih and moisturize the surface? Couldn't they burrow a puppet from Alien: Romulus? what da dealio

Romulus had more money and the creative resources from the OG Xenomorph crew behind Aliens (and sequels), allowing for better effects with animatronic and suit work. Earth just had WETA doing what they could with a single suit performer, within the parameters of the time and budget and the design was changed for Hawley's creative sensibilities and the smaller suit actor.

[The hitcher]

Oh that's why it looks so bad

[dyne]

Also, it's assumed that it was the WY cyborg that dropped the bug on the soldier from the crawlspace, right?

[Jay H.]

Originally Posted by saxomaphone

Why does the alien look so fake and rubbery with the up close shots? Did Ridley Scott forget to tell them you gotta spray some water on that bih and moisturize the surface? Couldn't they burrow a puppet from Alien: Romulus? what da dealio

It should have been CGI, am I right?

[saxomaphone]

Originally Posted by LexInHD

Romulus had more money and the creative resources from the OG Xenomorph crew behind Aliens (and sequels), allowing for better effects with animatronic and suit work. Earth just had WETA doing what they could with a single suit performer, within the parameters of the time and budget and the design was changed for Hawley's creative sensibilities and the smaller suit actor.

Originally Posted by Jay H.

It should have been CGI, am I right?

Nah, all they gotta do is spray some water on that bih. Seems like they only got his mouth lol.

[Show spoiler]

Also, we got some chonky Aliens up in here.

Originally Posted by morris_schaffer

* The opening moments, phenomenal first impression. Hello glorious retro look, familiar font lettering and recognizable music cues, good visuals, just minor chills there, until I realized: This is the easy part, just cope + paste from the 1979 movie. I'm 5% less enthusiastic suddenly, but still happy with the opening.

I really dont like how the just copy + pasted the intro, Alien: Covenant harked back to Alien with its music+intro font, as did Romulus. This thing just goes full clone, meh. We get it, you're gonna honor the first movie, god damn. It also takes impact away if you watch all the movies in order now and you get Alien (1979).

Originally Posted by morris_schaffer

* NITPICK #1: I don't like the rock music over the end credits. I don't care if the lyrics tie into the narrative, It's almost as if the heady themes and narrative depth gets swept away and we've just seen a Paul W.S. Anderson flick. And the Alien movies, and indeed this show, have such atmospheric and ominous music cues. Let things simmer, sink in, god it's so jarring right now.

I didn't like that either, they can at least wait until the title credits roll. Again, I'm thinking in terms of continuity (viewing order) and it would be oh so jarring.
And please dont besmirch the word of Paul W.S. Anderson, he's good at what he does, he's not trying to bore the audience like that other Paul Anderson. Fantasy popcorn action flicks are his jam, and he has a great sense of style.

[SleazyForWeasley]

Not sure how long I'll last. Every frame is so dark... until they show the alien, and then it's like the lights are all on. And yeah, the modern music is very out of place.