Support NeoGAF

[Robot Carnival]

wait, that's the finale!? I had hopes for the series at the start. and while I got disappointments here and there, some cool parts kept me going. but by episode 5, I just can't handle the story any more. it's so full of stupid decisions made by so call smart people. and the story just doesn't make sense. just off the top of my head:

why they used kids who still has living relatives at all for the transfer? don't tell me that a world dominating mega corporation can't find enough orphan kids to use in SouthEast Asia of all places. and why aren't there any dead switches for them? because kids, especially sick ones, are well known for how stable they are?

when you discovered that Wendy can control computers just by thought, you didn't think of looking into why that is and how to either prevent your whole fucking system get taken over by her? same goes for the controlling the xenomorph thing. why did you just let her went fully unchecked on that?

and how in the world are all these soldiers with pulse rifles can't land a single shot on the xenomorph? as far as I know, even if they're less capable than the marines in Aliens, they are still like a team of 4 or 5 people each and going out in a group. you're telling me none of them were able to get a single hit on that big ass man size target? where are the smart guns? turrets? or even traps?

these are just a few things off the top of my head and there are so much more of I bother to waste more of my energy to think about it. overall, it feels like the whole thing is basically someone got a decent idea and didn't bother to think things through when they actually started on the script. just throwing things in to try to make it work and didn't bother to go through the whole thing a few more times. what a waste.

 

[March Climber]

I was being charitable because I liked the new ideas and concepts presented in this show along with the good direction in prior episodes, and I was hovering between C+ and C- due to this, but I simply can not ignore that the writing fell off of a steep cliff in this single, final episode.

This show as a whole gets a D+ in rating at best from me and what brings it even that high is only, like I said, the setup, the tension building, and the direction of prior episodes. Otherwise, they wrote themselves into a very awkward and dumb corner.

The main three things to learn from this that they can carry forward:

1) Other alien species exist so it's not just the 'Xenomorph show' anymore
2) Human consciousness can (allegedly) be transferred into synths
3) Xenomorphs can be tamed and controlled (though this was kind of already hinted at thanks to AvP and comics)

For anyone who is curious entering this thread or who has watched some of this show so far with disdain, I implore you, instead please go watch Chief of War on Apple TV+.

No, it is not an established franchise like this show, however it is of very high quality (near Shogun-level) in quality, it is criminally underrated and underpromoted, and it is widely not being talked about (Seriously, even my thread about the show is dead). It was releasing episodes during the same window of time as this show and it is going to be in my top 5 this year whereas Alien Earth will be near my bottom 5.

 

[Dr.Morris79]

For anyone who is curious entering this thread or who has watched some of this show so far with disdain, I implore you, instead please go watch Chief of War on Apple TV+.

Cliff Curtis and Momoa?

That don't look bad

I'll have a watch

 

[March Climber]

Cliff Curtis and Momoa?

That don't look bad

I'll have a watch

Greatly appreciate it. Just as a heads up, keep in mind it will be slightly slower paced, but I consider that a strength as it lies somewhere between the best of the original Vikings show and Shogun for me.

Also, like Shogun, there will be a mixture of two languages, but the english language will enter the picture in episode 3 instead of 1.

 

[Dr.Morris79]

Greatly appreciate it. Just as a heads up, keep in mind it will be slightly slower paced, but I consider that a strength as it lies somewhere between the best of the original Vikings show and Shogun for me.

Also, like Shogun, there will be a mixture of two languages, but the english language will enter the picture in episode 3 instead of 1.

No it's good, I like slower paced shows that aren't the usual slop. Loved Shogun too!

I'll definitely be giving this a watch

Cheers for mentioning it, I probably would never have known about it

 

[Melon Husk]

If I were to rewrite Alien: Earth's script, I would change the following:

- Make Kirch the CEO, make wonder boy a boy synth. Is Kirch human? Is he an android (Blade Runner style, oooo)? His clear goal is to integrate androids better with humanity. In the Alien universe, androids are always kind of weird looking and off for a reason - humanlike Androids with a strong sense of freedom, self and purpose like Roy Bannon are hunted down. Making a better version of himself is a superior motivation to "I want to talk to people smarter than me". Don't waste a quality actor with strong screen presence by giving him a sidekick role for goodness sake.

- Make the brother an android or just remove him. He's too weird to be a human, and his relationship with Wendy is weird. (Maybe in the original script they were a boyfriend but studio's no-sex policy made him a sibling.)

- Make the show fully about this new synthetic human group, keep the Peter Pan theme. No corporate espionage side stories.

- Keep the xenomorph out of the picture after the first two episodes.

- ...Plus countless other things mentioned in this thread

 

[AJUMP23]

For anyone who is curious entering this thread or who has watched some of this show so far with disdain, I implore you, instead please go watch Chief of War on Apple TV+.

I was going to check it out when Season 1 was complete. But if the US Navy doesn't show up in the finale I think that is a bust.

 

[meliodas]

The ending was kinda disappointing. Have season 2 been confirmed yet?

 

[jason10mm]

If I were to rewrite Alien: Earth's script, I would change the following:

- Make Kirch the CEO, make wonder boy a boy synth. Is Kirch human? Is he an android (Blade Runner style, oooo)?

See, had Noah read Pinnochio the week before he started writing instead of Peter Pan, maybe that's what we would have gotten

In fact, that story works SO MUCH better as a framework for the ideas this show wanted to explore.

 

[jason10mm]

Also, like Shogun, there will be a mixture of two languages, but the english language will enter the picture in episode 3 instead of 1.

My one complaint about the show (other than a lack of hula girls) is that most if the Hawaiian speakers are VEERY stilted, as they are just reciting sounds rather than really emoting the language. This is a pretty common issue with a lot of native language films because almost no one has a real conversational grasp on the language. I suppose maybe that's just how it sounds (kind of like how German nakes you always sound a little angry) but I suspect its the phonetic readings that hamper the actor to add emphasis and emotion like they would in English.

Taylor Sheridan will often have native actors switch to English for emotional scenes, I suspect for this very reason.

Warrior did it best. Fluent English (as chinese) when everyone in the scene speaks English, chinese when 2 chinese speakers are talking but there is an English speaker present, and then accented Engrish when a chinese speaker is actually speaking English. Worked really well and let these fleunt English speaking actors fully act instead of reciting sounds.

 

[March Climber]

Taylor Sheridan will often have native actors switch to English for emotional scenes, I suspect for this very reason.

Warrior did it best. Fluent English (as chinese) when everyone in the scene speaks English, chinese when 2 chinese speakers are talking but there is an English speaker present, and then accented Engrish when a chinese speaker is actually speaking English. Worked really well and let these fleunt English speaking actors fully act instead of reciting sounds.

Keep watching and you will get you wish. You just have to make it to episode 3.

There is one speech in the final episode that made me go 'oh shit!' because you could feel the raw hatred behind it in english.

I was going to check it out when Season 1 was complete. But if the US Navy doesn't show up in the finale I think that is a bust.

It is complete.

 

[AJUMP23]

.


It is complete.

Thanks for looking out.

 

[Mohonky]

I cant believe a show based on the Alien franchise, with the best Alien design ever imagined, somehow made the damn Xenomorph so unintimidating. Next season Wendy will be waltzing down the street with it in her handbag like she's Paris Hilton taking her Chihuahua out to Beverly Hills with excited locals letting it.

Wtf was that? It was bad enough that it frequently looked like someone in a latex outfit and moved like it was being controlled by some snake charmer but they how managed to turn it into the least interesting part of the entire series.

Every character in this abortion of an Alien spin off was aggressively annoying. Almost everyone's motivations make zero sense, the plot has more holes than a Ukrainian farmers field and the one interesting thing they had left with eyeball alien became a non-event when Wendy used it for a hackie-sack.

Literally the dumbest series I think Ive ever seen