Well, we could be right…
After watching the first episode of Resident Alien on Syfy, it was clear that there is NO show like this on television right now. Is it a sci-fi thriller? Is it a comedy? Is it a come to ages discovery story? Yes, yes and yes. That’s just season one that ended last night. It is already renewed for a season two.
PLOT:
An alien crash lands on earth (complete with a ship we actually see) and takes over a human body named Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle. The alien now posing as a doctor in small town uses his advanced intellect to help the town’s people to blend in. In his spare time he searches for parts to repair his ship to complete his mission on earth. The alien, slash human is played perfectly by sci-veteran actor Alan Tudyk, who hysterically and clumsily shows us what we look like from a so called, advanced species point of view, complete with a voice in your head narrative of what Harry is thinking with each encounter
Resident doesn’t 100% ride the burnt out, humans-are-stupid script. Tudyks’ Harry learns day by day that the earth he learned about is not the earth he landed on. This became shockingly clear when Harry discovers that the mayor’s kid sees him in his alien form, not human, making it fun to watch the kid try to convince the town what he saw. Of course, no one believes him, creating an odd bond between Harry and the kid.
As hard as I try, I can’t find a fair comparison to any other show that comes close to Resident Alien. It’s Stranger Things, meets Star Trek, meets A.L.F.
After a few episodes, don’t be confused if you end rooting for the bad guy.