Channel: SyFy
The concept of Resident Alien is not unique. An alien crashes on Earth and pretends to be human until it can complete its mission or escape. Robin Williams did it in Mork and Mindy and John Lithgow did it in 3rd Rock from the Sun. It is a tried and tested formula, but Resident Alien approaches it a little differently, by adding a healthy dose of drama and mystery to the folly.
What’s it about?
A UFO crashes in a small town in Colorado. The alien; a two legged and four armed monstrosity sneaks up to a cabin on the lake and kills the owner, before morphing into the owner himself as camouflage. The alien then learns how to speak by watching episodes of Law and Order and develops a rather unhealthy obsession with Jerry Orbach, star of the series. The alien is preparing to go out into the human world to firstly find the missing parts needed to repair his damaged spacecraft and secondly, to complete his mission. His plans though are hampered when the local doctor is murdered, and the Amazing Grace beatboxing, action craving, and sharp tongued Sheriff turns to him for help. You see, the person who the alien killed and whose likeness he stole is Harry Vanderspiegel, a doctor who vacations at the cabin. Unable to resist the excitement of living a real Law and Order case, ‘Harry’ agrees to assist with the investigation – dun dun. All seems to be going well, until he encounters the Mayor’s son who can see past his disguise. Now Harry has three missions – repair his space craft, murder the Mayor’s son and complete his mission…which is to destroy all of humankind.
The true strength of Resident Alien is the casting. There isn’t an actor who could have played the character of Harry Vanderspiegel better than Alan Tudyk. He approaches the role with a childlike innocence when he discovers pizza and whiskey for the first time, but he’s also able to portray a more menacing aspect of the alien when required. His relationship with nurse Asta Twelvetrees played by Sara Tomko is the one through which Harry learns the most about what it means to be human. The two actors for me though, that steal every scene they are in are Corey Reynolds who plays the eccentric sheriff, and Alice Wetterlund who plays the former Olympic hopeful turn bar worker.
What stands out is how the cast feed off of one another, giving the audience the perception of authentic relationships. This is the strength the binds the story together, and this is why this show works. So far, our favourite show of 2021.
Rating: 4/5