Resident Alien (2021) s02e06 – An Alien in New York

There are a couple big surprises this episode, which sees Sara Tomko and Alan Tudyk going to New York City to find another alien from Tudyk’s species. It’s not New York, New York, it seems to be the more Manhattan-y streets of Vancouver, but they do a decent enough job of it. Tudyk hates all the people, the smells, and probably the noise. There’s a lot of street noise; it’s particularly good sound for a show where they don’t have to think about constant background noise very often.

The trip to New York doesn’t start the episode—they first started talking about it in the episode before last but got busy with more pressing matters—instead, it’s trip prep, which includes the two big surprises. If you haven’t read the comic, I guess there’s another surprise later on, but the New York stuff is the most faithful adaptation of the comic’s plot to date.

One of the surprises is a profoundly affecting character death (including a montage with Bee Gees accompanying—lots of great songs this episode); it follows a hilarious scene for Tudyk and Gracelyn Awad Rinke. Judah Prehn and Meredith Garretson aren’t in this episode, which means Rinke’s got to tell Tudyk she lost his silver Starman space ball on her won, and then Levi Fiehler will be free for a character development arc with Alice Wetterlund since wife Garretson and son Prehn aren’t around.

The other surprise involves Tudyk’s human version before the alien arrived and killed him. The episode opens with a flashback to human Tudyk and town doctor Jan Bos in some kind of trouble with a New York company; serious trouble. And, of course, human Tudyk’s going to be a bad guy who kills Bos, but the show hasn’t explored their relationship (or Tudyk’s motive) until now. The surprise isn’t that flashback, however. It’s alien Tudyk having found a big bag of cash hidden in the house, presumably a pay-off. He doesn’t tell anyone about it until now when Tomko complains they’re low on spending money for their trip.

The bag of cash also has some clues about Bos’s murder, which gets Tomko into investigation mode. When they get to New York, she wants to investigate since the company’s there, while Tudyk’s fixated on finding his alien brethren. The investigating has some ups and downs, and ends with them in a trendy gallery where someone gets Tudyk to take LSD.

At first, it seems like LSD doesn’t work on aliens… but, no, it does, and gloriously so.

While Tudyk and Tomko are out of town, there are character development arcs for some of the other cast members. First, sheriff Corey Reynolds makes an effort to help mayor Fiehler, leading to Fiehler and Wetterlund’s arc. Then deputy Elizabeth Bowen toggles from her unapproved UFO investigation to trying to figure out what Reynolds has been so upset about lately.

It’s a nice arc for Fiehler and Wetterlund, with some good comedy moments. The Reynolds and Bowen arc is a lot more dramatic, again with some great acting from Reynolds.

The cliffhanger’s a little abrupt, but otherwise, it’s a very strong field trip episode. The show’s never gotten out of its little mountain town like it does here before, and they do a good job of it.

Lea Thompson’s directing again and just as solidly capable as last time.

Resident Alien (2021) s02e05 – Family Day

Describing “Resident Alien” as ‘“Northern Exposure” with an alien’ is reductive (and doesn’t properly acknowledge “Alien”’s R-rated but PG-13 executed humor). But it’s where my mind goes when trying to shortcut describe the show, especially this season. “Alien” is an ensemble. Though Alan Tudyk’s semi-reformed alien invader is the lynchpin, the core relationship is Sara Tomko and Alice Wetterlund. The character development all ties back to how Tomko and Wetterlund are experiencing their hometown as it changes, and they change and how everything around them affects those experiences.

Including Tudyk.

Tomko and Tudyk’s friendship has been one of the show’s greatest successes. No matter how wild the plot can get, no matter how absurd Tudyk can get, there’s a calm, comfort to their scenes. Whereas Tomko and Wetterlund’s scenes often bring the drama. In this episode, Wetterlund’s pissed-off Tomko spent the night at abusive ex Ben Cotton’s, and Tomko claps back, bringing up Wetterlund’s drinking problem. Wetterlund gets hangover IVs at the clinic from nurse Diana Bang (who gets a bunch of great material this episode).

Wetterlund resents Tomko for the secrets she’s kept—given-away daughter Kaylayla Raine—and Tomko resents Wetterlund’s present-day friendship with Raine. Their relationship is currently the only one on the show where there’s room for actual growth.

Mainly because everyone else’s development is in some way tied to Tudyk. For example, this episode has kids Judah Prehn and Gracelyn Awad Rinke discover they’ve lost track of Tudyk’s silver alien space ball. Unfortunately, they can’t tell anyone about it because it’s a big secret, meaning Prehn’s relationship with parents Levi Fiehler and Meredith Garretson has a significant constraint. Similarly, as Elizabeth Bowen becomes more and more convinced there’s been an alien incident (her lost memories from a day, which Tudyk indeed did wipe) when she and Corey Reynolds bond over it… it’s only going to go so far before alien space magic gets involved.

The episode actually opens with Reynolds, flashing back to the tragic end of his career in Washington DC (and the introduction of adorable puppy Cletus), and he’s got a few excellent dramatic scenes. Not really any comedic, just a handful of reminders Reynolds can act the hell out of any tone.

The A-plot involves everyone—including Tudyk—discovering human Tudyk has a teenage daughter, played by Taylor Blackwell. Thanks to bad dad tropes, they’re quickly able to get to absolutely hilarious montages of Tudyk trying to ingratiate himself to Blackwell; they just keep getting funnier as the episode progresses. The only missed opportunity is Blackwell getting to hang out with Prehn and Rinke (but she can’t because she can’t know Tudyk’s an alien).

Everyone ends up at the town’s annual Family Day, which mayor Fiehler has partially reimagined as a way to better advertise the town to tourists. There’s a play starring kids, involving lots of blood, guts, and boulders. It’s awesome.

The script, credited to Biniam Bizuneh (first-time script credit, though previous story editor credits), is fantastic. Not just in the comedy, but in the multiple tough talks the characters have to have with one another. Lots of good acting from Tudyk and Tomko opposite a wide variety of supporting cast members. Also, Blackwell’s a perfect foil for Tudyk (and Tomko). Her appearance, just as Tudyk’s understanding liking babies (before they turn into shitty teens) and Tomko’s got her… trauma arc? Oh, yeah. Okay. “Resident Alien”’s core plotline is Tomko’s trauma and recovery arc; I’m embarrassed it took me so long to describe it as such.

Anyway. It’s the right time and the right character to introduce. And Blackwell’s the right performance. She’s appropriately sullen, sardonic, and sympathetic. I also can’t believe how well they integrated her into the plot on her first appearance.

Lea Thompson directs, which seemed notable as trivia during the opening titles, but she does a fine job balancing the absurd comedy and the human drama.

“Resident Alien” keeps impressing in new ways; season two’s outstanding.

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) s02e02 – The Wire

This episode allays sophomore slump concerns, maybe completely.

While there are still leftover plot threads from last episode and season, the show seems to be going full ahead with sheriff Corey Reynolds and deputy Elizabeth Bowen investigating Alan Tudyk as a serial killer. There’s a very funny moment when they confront Sara Tomko about it; however, she knows the easy explanation is he’s a formerly genocidal alien visitor but can’t tell.

Reynolds and Bowen’s investigation is the B-plot, but the show plays it more like a comedy plotline, where they’ve got to pose as a married couple to find out details into Tudyk’s past. But Tudyk’s an entirely different “person” now; the revelations would surprise him just as much as anyone else, which sort of figures in.

The A plot is Tudyk building a bunker so he and Tomko can hide out when his alien species sends someone else to nuke Earth. Tudyk’s now got a regular roomie—Nathan Fillion voicing a rescued-from-the-kitchen octopus (Fillion’s outstanding)—and so there’s constant banter. Tudyk still gets some great narration, including a lengthy bit during a diner scene with kids Judah Prehn and Gracelyn Awad Rinke. Will it ever stop being funny when Tudyk’s alien is super-shitty to ten-year-olds? Possibly, but probably not. It remains absolutely hilarious, especially since Rinke keeps up with Tudyk’s malarky, and then they both can laugh when Prehn’s behind.

Tudyk’s got to use his Starman balls to build the bunker. Prehn’s stolen one, and it’s having odd effects, but that resolution’s not in this episode. It does create some good rancor between Tudyk and Prehn, which Rinke doesn’t understand because Prehn’s lying to her about stealing the space ball too. The balls appear to have the same rules as Starman: The Movie and maybe “The TV Show,” where Tudyk can use it once to do something seemingly magical, but really it’s alien technology. One he uses to build the bunker, the other he saves for something else. There are four total, so there are two left. “Resident Alien”’s not wasting its time moving through them either.

After an awkward interaction with Tudyk, Gary Farmer advises Tomko she needs to get Tudyk caring about more humans than just her. The A plot then turns into Tudyk trying to bond with the locals, including a poker game against Reynolds, mayor Levi Fiehler (whose absurdist kinky sex subplot with wife Meredith Garretson gets back-burnered, but they leave the flame on), and some other folks, including nurse Diana Bang. Bang’s been in the show since the pilot or soon after, usually giving Tomko crap at the medical clinic where they work, but now she’s loose amongst more cast, and she’s incredible.

Besides being around for Tudyk’s bunker-building plot (though she knows nothing about it), Tomko gets the C plot, which is just she and Alice Wetterlund being best friends and figuring out how to support one another. Even though Tomko can’t dump all the secrets on Wetterlund (only dad Farmer also knows Tudyk’s an alien, well, plus the kids), the scenes give Tomko a space to decompress from the rest of her adventures.

Sarah Beckett gets the script credit. It’s excellent; lots of good jokes for everyone and peculiar character moments for Tudyk. Robert Duncan McNeill’s directing again and doing well. There are still some very CGI-looking backdrops, but the show’s also got an extended mountain lake boating sequence, which widens the scope for a bit.

And the cliffhanger’s good.

“Resident Alien”’s fantastic as ever.

Resident Alien (2021) s02e01 – Old Friends

It’s been nine months since the first season finale of “Resident Alien” aired, and this episode picks up the following day. So, long enough I’ve forgotten who was doing what and where; other than Alan Tudyk finally free of Earth and his evil pursuers, headed into the stars, on his way home.

Only to discover kid nemesis turned pal Judah Prehn stowed away.

This season premiere starts with Prehn back home with mom Meredith Garretson and dad Levi Fiehler, who successfully defeated assassins last time and are now very into each other. Obnoxiously kinky on main, basically. Sara Tomko and Prehn have a great moment uncomfortably watching Garretson and Fiehler canoodle, with many other cast members getting similarly great moments throughout the episode.

Prehn knows where the spaceship crash-landed but not where Tudyk has ended up. The audience, however, knows he’s in the hospital somewhere (a nearby town, it turns out), and he’s got amnesia. But only of his cover story; he’s more than happy to tell everyone he’s an alien come to Earth to decimate the population.

The main action is getting Tudyk back home and back to normal—it’s a bumpy road to recovery, including a diversion into pretending he’s Jerry Orbach’s Lennie Briscoe character from “Law & Order Prime,” which is hilarious. There are several subplots, including Tomko and best friend Alice Wetterlund checking in after Wetterlund found out town teen Kaylayla Raine is Tomko’s kid. It’s season finale resolve material held over for the next season premiere, but it’s what happens when you’ve got big cliffhangers.

But the biggest subplot is sheriff Corey Reynolds’s investigation into Tudyk; he and deputy Elizabeth Bowen don’t think he’s an alien monster, of course, just a serial killer.

Lots of great acting. Tudyk gets numerous showcases thanks to amnesia, then Tomko and Reynolds both get subtle and profound arcs. The stuff with Garretson and Fiehler’s hilarious. Also really funny—as always—is Gracelyn Awad Rinke as Prehn’s friend. Rinke’s actually superfluous, but she’s so delightful it doesn’t matter. Kind of like how Gary Farmer seems a tad extra—very, very welcome, but he’s mostly around for the one-liners, even when he and Tudyk have a nice bonding moment.

“Resident Alien” doesn’t seem to be suffering any sophomore slump—there’s a little more CGI composite shots than before, presumably because of COVID-19 restrictions—and the cast is strong as before. Especially Reynolds. Tudyk, of course, but it’s his show. Reynolds has always quietly walked off with “Alien,” but even more now, since he gets to share his scenes with Bowen instead of crowding her out (due to character hubris, not Reynolds’s performance).

The episode—script credit to series creator Chris Sheridan, directed by Robert Duncan McNeill—also makes sure to check in on the friendship between Tudyk and Tomko after the latest developments have settled, including her knowing he’s a genocidal alien invader.

Last thing—great cameo from Nathan Fillion. He only does a voice, but his timing opposite Tudyk’s so outstanding it’s an even better performance if they recorded asynchronously.

Season two’s off to a fine start.

Resident Alien (2021) s01e10 – Heroes of Patience

I’m worried I’m overthinking the season finale. I’m also worried I’m under thinking it. It’s a good season finale, with show creator Chris Sheridan getting the script credit—something he hasn’t had since early in the show’s run—and nice direction from Robert Duncan McNeill. It wraps everything up neatly while getting things in shape for a second season, including some big character development for some of the supporting cast.

It also does a big reveal regarding the mystery, which otherwise gets forgotten—presumably it’ll matter next season because it fundamentally changes some assumptions characters have about one another. But that big reveal also makes one of the other parts of the episode a complete waste of time. Vaguely amusing depending on how much you like when Alan Tudyk treads water—and he’s perfectly good at it—but it’s still just treading water while the currents rage around him.

This episode’s got big arcs for kids Judah Prehn and Gracelyn Awad Rinke, teenager Kaylayla Raine, and then Prehn’s parents, Meredith Garretson and Levi Fiehler. There’s also a lot for Alice Wetterlund, who bounces around the main cast like a pinball; Wetterlund and Raine have the most “human” arcs of the episode. There aren’t any more aliens revealed—well, not exactly—but everyone else’s arc either directly involves alien Tudyk or suspicions of aliens.

Just to mention it before I forget. Couple great seventies songs this episode, plus a wholesome Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds remix. There’s some big special effects sequences for the season finale stuff, but the emotion and humanity they find using the songs is what’s really impressive. Good special effects are just a given in 2021. A good, song-driven action sequence? Not as easy.

Lots of great performances. Sara Tomko gets a couple big scenes, a couple little ones; she’s actually in the episode the least of the regulars (outside maybe sheriff Corey Reynolds and deputy Elizabeth Bowen, who are around but support). Some really good stuff for Tomko, though it definitely seems—even if I’m not overthinking it—next season will give her even more opportunities.

Prehn and Rinke are fantastic as always. Particularly strong work from Fiehler, Wetterlund, Garretson, Raine. Reynolds and Bowen get a bit of good stuff but just a bit. They too have a lot of promise going forward.

Outside the one “wasted” scene and a little bit too distant narrative distance in the third act, it’s a very nice performance from Tudyk, who’s mostly by himself this episode with a momentous character development arc.

“Resident Alien” started the season getting better and better only for a big wipeout. It’s been building itself back up since and the season finale’s a nice, sturdy finish with setup. I’m back to eagerly anticipating season two.

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.

Resident Alien (2021) s01e07 – The Green Glow

Something seems off this episode. I tried to ignore it through the opening, which resolves the previous episode’s cliffhanger while also introducing another alien species to the show. The alien species introduction is solid, the cliffhanger resolution is not. In fact, by the time Elias Benavidez’s name shows up as the writer credit… well, it’s good Jennifer Phang’s directing. She can’t save it entirely, but I imagine it could’ve been a lot worse.

The episode manages not to give anyone particularly good material, with some of the cast getting far worse than others. Corey Reynolds, for example, not only doesn’t get to do any great comedic scenes but is additionally so static a character he becomes unlikable for the first time. Willfully cruel. Benavidez’s development on Elizabeth Bowen—deputy to Reynolds’s sheriff—also takes a nose dive. It’s like every plot point the episode needed to hit, it fumbles. Also Benavidez seems dedicated to failing Bechdel, pairing Sara Tomko and Alice Wetterlund for a series of nothing scenes where they talk about one dude or another, until they bring in a third woman to talk more about dudes. It’s a spin-out for Tomko as second lead, but given the episode also whiffs hard on new town doctor Michael Cassidy—he’s useless to have around the show seems to realize—nothing should come as a surprise.

Though the pairing of Judah Prehn and Tudyk—the titular Green Glow is something only Prehn can see emanating from Tudyk’s space ship materials—is delightful. Except it’s not Tudyk, it’s Keith Arbuthnot in the alien mask and presumably Tudyk doing a voice. But Prehn’s great. Even if his character’s a little bit too forgiving when Tudyk (or Arbuthnot) and Benavidez immediately flush some character development from previous episodes just to create three or four minutes of drama here.

The episode does really badly by the other characters who all happen to be women—Levi Fiehler gets to be a man’s man by being shitty to wife Meredith Garretson and the resolution to Elvy’s current arc as Tudyk’s wife should have her telling her agent to negotiate better. It’s rather disappointing.

The cliffhanger sets up what’s got to be the end run to the season (and potentially series) finale in a few episodes. The subplot with Linda Hamilton’s alien-hunting army general gets a lot of rapid, silly expository dump development—even though I don’t remember Hamilton actually having any lines, which would be a heck of a way to keep guest star costs down, nickel-and-diming SAG rules?

Or did something happen behind the scenes to result in such a big opening cop out?

Fingers crossed it’s just a bad script from Benavidez. Because otherwise, if the series is going to stall out so immediately and so badly… well, no second season is better than a garbage second season.

Three cheers for Phang though, especially her direction on the Prehn stuff.