Resident Alien (2021) s02e04 – Radio Harry

This episode has six plotlines going. Or maybe five and a half, since kids Gracelyn Awad Rinke and Judah Prehn kick off the A-plot, which has Sara Tomko suspicious Alan Tudyk’s alien radio is actually a bomb. The first scene has Tudyk trying to bully the kids into returning his silver alien ball—he’s only got the one left—and Rinke is suddenly convinced he’s got ill-intent with his new device.

So the kids warn Tomko, who decides she and dad Gary Farmer will accompany Tudyk to the transmission site to make sure he’s not going to nuke the planet. The site is on the reservation, so they all visit Tomko and Farmer’s family first; they’re celebrating the return of relation Tommy Puco. It’s never clear how he’s related.

Puco’s hilarious. Since the episode’s got so much going on, he’s only got a couple big scenes. His first one is opposite Tudyk and having an inevitably awkward conversation about belonging. Tudyk prefers spending time among the Native family on the reservation, finding them less obnoxious (and callously destructive) than the white people in town. It softens his resolve to save the humans and has him considering maybe he does need to destroy all human life to save the planet, after all.

Farmer’s got some magnificent scenes on during the reservation visit too. Because it’s Farmer, give him a scene, and he’ll nail it.

Then there are a series of sometimes interconnected subplots, starting with deputy Elizabeth Bowen getting interested in sheriff Corey Reynolds’s love life. Bowen will be in Reynolds’s subplot, Alice Wetterlund’s family subplot, and have one of her own running throughout–a dress she thought she’d lost turned up at the dry cleaners, and she doesn’t remember bringing it in.

Wetterlund’s got a flirtation subplot with charming baseball opponent Justin Rain, but we also get to meet her parents—Barclay Hope and Lini Evans—when she goes to Hope’s birthday dinner. She brings Bowen along because Hope and Evans are so awful to Wetterlund. It’s a quick scene in a quick subplot, but it turns out to be the episode’s best scene; lots of good work from Wetterlund, though it resolves real quick since it’s not one of the main plot lines.

The most significant subplot is Linda Hamilton’s return and the revelation new town doctor Michael Cassidy is still alive. Hamilton’s holding him captive as an alien in her alien jail. Mandell Maughan’s back as her faithful subordinate. While it’s a developing C-plot in the episode, it feels like a bigger plot since it’s returning special guest star Hamilton (and Maughan’s first time back this season).

Similarly, Meredith Garretson and Levi Fiehler have a purely comedic subplot about Fiehler’s rivalry with the nearby town. Sturdy comic acting from Fiehler, and then Garretson gets to do all the big work when the time comes. It’s real funny.

And I just realized there’s a whole sixth plot, not a half one, because the “kids” plotline isn’t just Tudyk versus Rinke and Prehn; it’s also got to do with Tomko’s relationship (or lack thereof) with daughter Kaylayla Raine.

The episode ends with a cliffhanger out of the comic series, which is a big surprise since the show has only used a handful of plot points from the source material.

There’s some terrific acting from Tudyk and Tomko, who gets some great scenes together—including one where Tomko’s got to maintain against an increasingly absurd, but also serious, Tudyk.

Good, packed but never too full script, credited to first-timer Timmy Pico (who’s had story editor credit before), and direction from Shannon Kohli. Kohli’s one of “Alien”’s most reliably strong directors at this point.

The show remains rock solid.

Resident Alien (2021) s02e03 – Girls’ Night

I kept wondering why they weren’t using any recognizable licensed music during this episode, even though it’s about (as the title suggests) a “Girls’ Night.” They’re listening to music multiple times, and then there’s a sequence with an accompanying song, but nothing big.

Then the finale uses a very famous, very recognizable theme song, and I imagine licensing it ate up the music budget for the episode. To great effect too.

The episode begins with a flashback to the nineties, with the main townie cast all kids out camping. There’s some good old sexism and toxic masculinity—intentionally—before establishing Elizabeth Bowen’s gotten the poop end of the stick since childhood. It comes up later, with the main plot involving Bowen never getting a raise as sheriff’s deputy, but the scene primarily serves as a tension break from last episode’s cliffhanger.

Bowen and boss Corey Reynolds had just discovered Alan Tudyk killed someone (not Tudyk the alien, Tudyk the human, before the alien killed him—making alien Tudyk a “murderer murderer”). There’s a fast, simple resolution to the cliffhanger—and the entire subplot—because “Resident Alien: Season Two” is also introducing new alien powers for Tudyk. Rarely used ones, like his silver Starman balls, discussed at one point to good comic effect.

So while that leftover thread from the first season is resolved, there’s still the matter of calling off the alien armada from destroying Earth; Tudyk needs more technology than his small mountain town can provide, so it’s good there’s a guest star.

Alex Borstein guests as Meredith Garretson’s cousin, who’s just hanging out. They happen to meet Tudyk, and Borstein’s quite taken with him, eventually leading to both a hilarious seduction sequence (complete with Tudyk in a cravat) and Borstein getting to do a Tudyk impression. Borstein’s fantastic.

She and Garretson go out with Sara Tomko, Alice Wetterlund, Bowen, and some other female semi-regulars for a night on the town. At the same time, Garretson’s husband, mayor Levi Fiehler, organizes a boy’s night for him, sheriff Reynolds, and Reynolds’s dad, Alvin Sanders. Since it’s a small mountain town, they all end up at the same bar.

It’s a funny episode, which eventually gets serious as the women realize Bowen’s lack of pay raise might not be exceptional for the town’s women. Also, Tomko charges Tudyk to think about things from women’s perspectives.

The last subplot is the kids’ one, with Gracelyn Awad Rinke finally figuring out what’s going on with Judah Prehn’s testosterone boost.

It’s a really good episode, with the show—script credit to Jenna Lamia, directed by Shannon Kohli—showing it’s got places to go with many of its characters, not just Tudyk. It’s still mostly Tudyk’s show, plus Tomko’s, but it’s got some well-executed and robust ensemble tendencies.

Resident Alien (2021) s01e09 – Welcome Aliens

It’s the penultimate episode of the first season and it’s got a couple big cliffhangers. Not funny ones either, very, very dramatic ones, which might not be easily resolved in a single episode… and they might also greatly affect the second season.

So while “Resident Alien” is out of the the two episodes ago rut—excellent direction from Shannon Kohli this time, plus a good script credited to first-timer on the show Nastaran Dibai—the show’s not assured. The season’s backloaded with a bunch of rush-to-resolve. Who knows, maybe not dealing with these threads made the first half of the season stronger. Though there seems to be an entirely different set of writers.

Anyway.

This episode has Alan Tudyk recovering from last episode’s fall, with Sara Tomko taking care of him, and discovering he needs another part to repair his device. Luckily sort of pal and former nemesis Judah Prehn (I’m not sure if Prehn’s really good or just really well directed; it doesn’t matter here but he’s so effective) tells him where he can get alien materials—a UFO convention. Gracelyn Awad Rinke tags along with Prehn, leading to another great showcase for her.

Hopefully they’ll someday do an episode just with Tudyk hanging out with kids Prehn and Rinke, who until last episode were the only ones to know his secret. They’re really funny together.

Tomko tags along to the UFO convention—Tudyk’s on painkillers and can’t drive himself—where Tudyk offers commentary on all the various alien abductor races and so on. Lots of smiles and some laughs. Special guest star Terry O’Quinn eventually shows up and it turns out he’s able to see through Tudyk’s human disguise.

Meanwhile back in town, Alice Wetterlund’s got an arc about resenting Tudyk and Tomko for shutting her out after last episode’s daredevil rescue, which leads to one of the big subplots. It’s okay, but pairing Wetterlund with one note (character or performance, it’s unclear) Jenna Lamia for most of the subplot (eighty-sixing a far more interesting subplot sidekick in Kaylayla Raine, who’s actually got emotional involvement in it too) is a mistake. So qualified okay. We’ll see.

It doesn’t matter so much because the show is able to fix the Elizabeth Bowen situation. She’s still on the outs with Corey Reynolds, who gets to do a bunch of character development this episode before they get around to the fix. The fix is phenomenal, leveraging Bowen and Reynolds’s ability a lot more than the writing. Some great acting from Reynolds throughout the episode.

Then there’s another subplot for evil army intelligence people Mandell Maughan and Alex Barima hoodwinking unsuspecting Meredith Garretson and Levi Fiehler. It’s an effective subplot—Maughan’s onto Tudyk through Prehn and therefor parents Garretson and Fiehler—but the show is really overemphasizing Fiehler the dipshit husband. Garretson’s mostly support for him, when it’s been far stronger the other way around.

It’s a good episode and maybe they’ll figure out how to land it next time. But it’s hard to believe they’re not going to shove a bunch off to next season. Some outstanding acting from Tomko too.

Resident Alien (2021) s01e08 – End of the World as We Know It

Since last week’s big cliffhanger and series low episode (way low), “Resident Alien” has gotten its second season renewal. Apparently it wasn’t in danger of not getting a second season; it’s Syfy’s highest rated original in years or some such.

This episode does nothing to assuage about the overall quality of the show. It’s an all-action episode—with asides—as Alan Tudyk, Sara Tomko, and Alice Wetterlund try to stay alive in a glacier crevasse, the townsfolk perturb their arcs (not knowing the three are missing).

Shannon Kohli directs, doing a fine job; Taylor Christine writes (or gets the writer credit), also doing a fine job. Though the stuff with Tudyk, Tomko, and Wetterlund is all high stakes action drama, so it’s sort of a gimme. But the episode starts and finishes a character development arc for Levi Fiehler, playing off last episode’s events, and while it can’t right the ship (or it can’t guarantee righting the ship), it’s very nice to see the character work getting done.

Also Corey Reynolds isn’t cruel in this episode and his now even more troubled relationship with deputy Elizabeth Bowen gets some promising work done here too. It’s measured—the episode also ends on a cliffhanger so they’re definitely getting it geared to the season finale, but it’s less passively arranged chess pieces and more character agency.

Good performances in town from Reynolds (obviously) and one of Fiehler’s best performances in the series. His wife, Meredith Garretson, ends up playing support to him—other than when she bumps into evil Special Forces lady Mandall Maughan (Garretson and Maughan could be twins; seriously, when they run into each other—in a very obvious homage to a famous bit—I thought another shapeshifter alien had arrived). Bowen doesn’t get much but she’s real good too. Things seem in better shape. Also Gary Farmer’s around a bit, which is never bad.

But the spotlight is on Tomko as she has to help Tudyk survive some unpredictable injuries as they have some lengthy heart-to-heart conversations. Tudyk’s good too and often really funny, but half his face is in makeup because of aforementioned injuries; not to mention he doesn’t emote a lot in the part. But when the heart-to-hearts hit, they hit well.

It’s going to be interesting to see what happens next—not just in the plot (though it’s certainly getting a lot more familiar having read the comic)—but in the show’s quality level. Like I said, this episode doesn’t resolve quality pitfall of the previous episode… it just delays that verdict.

Fingers crossed. Especially after the episode reminds of Tomko’s considerable ability.

Supergirl (2015) s05e06 – Confidence Women

Okay, so Steven Bauer is Julie Gonzalo’s dad, who’s been mentioned since the first episode of the season but never seen. It doesn’t appear to be a great part for Bauer but whatever, he’s fine. Though he does act to launder a bit of Gonzalo’s performance. He’s able to make it at least seem legit for a scene. Almost. Because it’s not a good performance—Gonzalo’s—in fact, it’s really, really bad. Because she’s not just the evil new boss at CatCo, she’s also a literal super-assassin who works for a mega-secret evil society, Leviathan (which I thought was from a Grant Morrison Batman but I don’t care enough to look). And she was a bad best friend to Lena (Katie McGrath), even though she and Lena had totally awesome early 2000s adventures together when they went drinking underage and bonded over Titanic. Really. Lots of Titanic remarks. Including one about how Lex Luthor responded to it.

Though, technically, most of Gonzalo and McGrath’s conversations do pass Bechdel, which is more a curiosity than anything else. Because what they’re talking about is dumb. They have this Hardy Girls adventure where they go to South America—because they’re rich—in search of magical treasure. They find it but Gonzalo takes it instead of giving it to McGrath, who wants to use it to save the world from her evil brother. The show’s done in flashbacks set in different eras, which is a terrible idea because Gonzalo is godawful in all the eras and McGrath can’t do anything with her abbreviated flashbacks.

There’s a little in the present day at the end, but really it’s just Lena turning into a porto-supervillain. She’s just going to need a push.

It’s another Arrowverse show where the main cast has very little to do… possibly because they’re shooting something else (Jon Cryer cameos as Lex for a flashback and not for another one of them and he’s in the Crisis). But maybe McGrath isn’t, which seems like a major slight as she’s the one getting all the lousy material. Except the flashback to when she chats with Melissa Benoist and all of a sudden you remember enjoying the characters interact. Seasons ago.

Gonzalo’s indicative of a larger problem with the show and the main female supporting players it introduces. Or the show’s casting. Or both. She drains positive energy from the show, which is runny super-low already.