Alien: Earth Is Even Better If You Ignore The Biggest Thing About It

by

Noah Hawley’s ‘Alien: Earth’ is a bold new direction for the ‘Alien’ series. It’s a compelling story that combines the thrilling action and sci-fi mystery of the original ‘Alien’ film with the deeper, thought-provoking themes explored in ‘Prometheus’. The series delves into corporate maneuvering, the nature of artificial intelligence, and, of course, terrifying encounters with aliens.

As of now, it’s uncertain whether there will be a second season of Alien: Earth. However, even if the show isn’t renewed, the existing eight episodes offer a fresh and imaginative take on the Alien universe while still honoring the original films. Interestingly, Alien: Earth is even more enjoyable if you can overlook its most prominent characteristic.

Alien: Earth Could Easily Be An Original Series With No Connection To Alien

Okay, let me tell you, the biggest shock about Alien: Earth is just how…standalone it is. I mean, you could seriously strip away everything connecting it to the Alien universe, and the movie wouldn’t really suffer. It’s surprisingly disconnected from its own roots, which is…well, a bit of a surprise when you’re expecting a strong connection to the franchise.

The show Alien: Earth doesn’t quite fit neatly into the established Alien timeline. While it’s meant to take place two years before the first movie, its look and technology feel more connected to the overall series than the story itself. It’s largely self-contained and could realistically happen at almost any point surrounding the events of the first two Alien films – the exact timing isn’t very important.

It’s especially difficult to reconcile the events of Alien: Earth with the established storyline from the Alien films. While it doesn’t directly contradict previous stories, the idea of Xenomorphs already being on Earth and Weyland-Yutani being so heavily involved with them before the Nostromo feels inconsistent with what we’ve seen before.

What Part Of Alien: Earth Actually Needed The Alien Franchise?

Patrick Brown/FX

Imagine Alien: Earth with a different company name instead of Weyland-Yutani, and a brand new, equally scary monster replacing the xenomorph. It could easily stand on its own as a fresh sci-fi show, completely separate from the Alien franchise. With a few minor tweaks – like changing the synths’ unique white fluid – viewers wouldn’t even realize it was connected to Alien. Surprisingly, the story itself would remain exactly the same.

The show’s retro-futuristic style will probably remind viewers of the movie Alien, but that look has been common in science fiction for decades. Because the story takes place on Earth – something the Alien films haven’t really done – and includes a variety of alien creatures, Alien: Earth could have seemed like an original production if not for the recognizable design of the xenomorph.

Only one part of the story in Alien: Earth uses familiar elements from the Alien series: Arthur being infected by the chestburster. Once Arthur is attacked, the audience understands he’s going to die, and this creates suspense as Smee and Slightly unknowingly bring him to Morrow.

The facehugger-to-chestburster lifecycle is so strongly associated with the Alien franchise that it’s the hardest part to use in a story not connected to it. If you could resolve that issue, removing all other Alien elements from Alien: Earth would actually be quite easy.

Would Alien: Earth Be Better As An Original Sci-Fi TV Series?

Being part of the Alien franchise gave Alien: Earth a significant advantage in terms of visibility, but it also restricts the show’s future storylines. While Noah Hawley is taking some creative liberties with established lore, there are limits. The series can’t fundamentally change major elements like the Weyland-Yutani corporation or show a massive xenomorph invasion of Earth – something a completely original series would be free to do.

As a film fan, I’ve always found that when you know certain things can’t happen, it subtly changes how you experience a story. It’s like watching the Star Wars prequels – knowing Obi-Wan Kenobi is safe removes some of the tension. Alien: Earth is really good at making you connect with the characters themselves, so you get invested in their journeys rather than worrying about some huge, world-ending threat. Honestly, though, I think the show could have benefited from raising those stakes later on – maybe expanding to a global or even interplanetary level where the fate of humanity was truly on the line.

Thinking about connections to the movie Alien can sometimes be distracting. You might find yourself constantly searching for references or hidden details, which can be fun, but also pull your focus away from what’s important.

Just like other installments, Alien: Earth sometimes falls short of the high expectations set by the Alien brand. The way Wendy interacts with the xenomorphs – treating them almost like collectible creatures – feels out of place considering how dangerous and terrifying they are in the original Alien films. However, if this were a story about a completely new creature, this approach wouldn’t seem so strange.

One of the best things about approaching Alien: Earth as a starting point is that it opens the door to more content. Because it’s part of the Alien franchise, we already know it fits into an existing story. If it were a completely original series, the potential for future stories, spin-offs, and expanding the universe would be much more exciting and limitless.

Read More

2025-11-09 01:24