Alien: Earth Breathes New Life Into The Alien Universe

Alien: Earth, now streaming on FX and Hulu, does something for the Alien universe that Alien Convenant couldn’t do – it brought new life into the series.

The Alien universe, which started with Ridley Scott’s Alien movie way back in 1979, has evolved into a rich tapestry of stories and imagination. The mythos fits well with a paced TV series, and such a production has a lot of history to draw from (or project into, I suppose, considering that it is a prequel taking place two years before the original movie.) And fans of the movies should be happy, because we have more of the hallmarks that makes the series great – Xenomorphs on the prowl for unlucky humans, synthetic beings that you just can’t quite trust, and a new surprise or two.

But the series points out the same issues I find with Star Trek movies – such a rich universe (and yes, Star Trek dwarfs the entire Alien universe, but it compares well) deserves to let the viewer stay a while. This lets them take it all in and explore what’s going on, instead of a wild, quick ride that strives to be the next seasonal blockbuster.

If you are a fan of the movies and get a chance, check out the Aliens: Earth series. You may be pleasantly surprised as it retroactively builds the underpinnings for the first chapter in the movies franchise. I think It’s a fun ride.