Last Series Watched

Yeah, I am all aboard for Alien: Earth. It feels true to form but also has the thing the film franchise never ever has: time to BREATHE. I'm intrigued by what they can do with more time.
 
Question for those of you who have watched Alien: Earth (or just know more Alien lore than I do)- In your opinion, how much (if any) previous Alien lore does one need to be familiar with before watching this? I've only seen the original Alien, so that's where my knowledge starts and stops. Am I good, or should I do some catching up?
 
akajomiha said:
Question for those of you who have watched Alien: Earth (or just know more Alien lore than I do)- In your opinion, how much (if any) previous Alien lore does one need to be familiar with before watching this? I've only seen the original Alien, so that's where my knowledge starts and stops. Am I good, or should I do some catching up?
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Honestly, I just did a full rewatch of the all the movies as my "it's too hot to run outside" treadmill viewing earlier this summer and I think if you know aliens, chestbursters, big companies want to exploit shit they find in space, and some people are synthetic like the doctor in the first film, you will be just fine. I haven't seen anything right now that requires more than what you'd have picked up by ALIEN being a cultural phenomenon that worked its way into the zeitgeist.
 
Alien: Earth is a prequel to the first film. The series is set in the year 2120, two years before the events of the 1979 film, which is set in 2122, according to Time Magazine and Polygon.

So basically Alien: Earth is not a direct continuation of the previous films but rather a new story set within the same universe, offering a fresh perspective.
 
Ohhh didn’t know that. I try to go into things without watching extended trailers or reading too much about production, so all I knew was Alien + great word of mouth = I must watch. Appreciate the info, @SDcomics
 
Here's some pics of the Alien: Earth offsite event at Comic-Con.

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Apologies, I initially posted this in the Wandering Planet The Prisoner figures thread, but I thought it warranted its own post without totally derailing that thread.
JakeEkiss said:
Also, it has an opening title sequence that is such efficient storytelling that a modern version of this show would take a full season to do the same work it does.
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Ain't that the truth. Post-pandemic TV is uninterested in plot. I love good character development as much as the next guy, but let's move the ball down the field while we're doing it.

Even the good shows moved at a snail's pace this year. I found the last two seasons of The Bear to be overindulgent. I actively disliked Severance season two. White Lotus had its worst and slowest season to date. I disliked the Alien: Earth pilot for the same reason; I could've summarized the entire hour-long episode in two short sentences.
 
TheSameIdiot said:
Apologies, I initially posted this in the Wandering Planet The Prisoner figures thread, but I thought it warranted its own post without totally derailing that thread.

Ain't that the truth. Post-pandemic TV is uninterested in plot. I love good character development as much as the next guy, but let's move the ball down the field while we're doing it.

Even the good shows moved at a snail's pace this year. I found the last two seasons of The Bear to be overindulgent. I actively disliked Severance season two. White Lotus had its worst and slowest season to date. I disliked the Alien: Earth pilot for the same reason; I could've summarized the entire hour-long episode in two short sentences.
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It's very true, and one of my main problems with every Marvel/Disney TV show with the exception of Andor. You get 2 episodes up front with slow setup we could have done faster, 5 in the middle where we fuck around in circles, and then 1 or 2 at the end where we resolve everything as though we have to rush through it.

For Alien Earth my biggest issue with episode one was exposition so clunky I have a hard time believing Noah Hawley wrote it. The bit in the first 5 minutes where one character describes to another, an adult, basic facts about world government, is so terrible and clunky I have to believe it's a studio note. I've seen Noah Hawley's work before and he knows how to write better than that. I wonder if later episodes will get tighter, but right now it feels either like he thinks I'm very dumb as an audience member, or the show had massive studio interference (which I would absolutely believe).
 
More importantly, if you haven't watched The Prisoner (1967), you really should put it on your to watch list. Great stuff.
 
TheSameIdiot said:
My wife and I are on the younger side of the millennial generation. As such, we didn't watch The Simpsons growing up. We're not watching all 850+ episodes, but we are watching a hand-picked list of the best episodes. It's been a worthwhile exercise.
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In general, if you wish to expand this, focus on the John Swartzwelder written episodes - which there are alot of - his stuff is a bit more absurdist and satiric at times.
Krusty Gets Kancelled - "Eastern Europe's favorite cat and mouse team - Worker and Parasite"
Itchy & Scratchy Land - "My son is also named Bort"
Homie the Clown - "Stop, stop, he's already dead"
Radioactive Man - "The goggles do nothing"
Homer vs. the 18th Amendment - "Are these the things we think of when we think of the Irish?"
 
TheSameIdiot said:
My wife and I are on the younger side of the millennial generation. As such, we didn't watch The Simpsons growing up. We're not watching all 850+ episodes, but we are watching a hand-picked list of the best episodes. It's been a worthwhile exercise.

I was raised on Family Guy and raunchier Adult Swim shows. The Simpsons is chaste in comparison, which is funny considering its irreverent reputation. They're basically the all-American family. It makes me nostalgic for an America that didn't cook its collective brain on the internet.

For those curious, these are the episodes we're watching:
  1. Lisa's Substitute
  2. Mr. Plow
  3. Marge vs. the Monorail
  4. Last Exit to Springfield
  5. Cape Feare
  6. Treehouse of Horror IV
  7. Treehouse of Horror V
  8. Lisa on Ice
  9. Homer Badman
  10. Homer the Great
  11. 22 Short Films About Springfield
  12. You Only Move Twice
  13. The Springfield Files
  14. The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show
  15. Homer's Enemy
My wife abhors animation, so she's been a good sport for participating at all. If I can convince her to watch a couple more episodes, I'm looking at Homer the Heretic and Deep Space Homer.
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Not that anyone asked, but we only have Homer's Enemy left. We wound up swapping Lisa on Ice for Deep Space Homer. I had to see the "insect overlords" quote.

My favorites have been Lisa's Substitute, Cape Feare, 22 Short Films, and Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie.

I regret to admit that few characters are as me-coded as Lisa Simpson.
fac said:
In general, if you wish to expand this, focus on the John Swartzwelder written episodes - which there are alot of - his stuff is a bit more absurdist and satiric at times.
Krusty Gets Kancelled - "Eastern Europe's favorite cat and mouse team - Worker and Parasite"
Itchy & Scratchy Land - "My son is also named Bort"
Homie the Clown - "Stop, stop, he's already dead"
Radioactive Man - "The goggles do nothing"
Homer vs. the 18th Amendment - "Are these the things we think of when we think of the Irish?"
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I appreciate that. After watching Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie, I'm interested in getting more Krusty and Itchy & Scratchy.

"So you want a realistic down-to-earth show that's completely off the wall and swarming with magic robots?"

and

"Whenever Poochie's not on screen, all the other characters should be asking, 'Where's Poochie?'"

will stick with me for the rest of my days. It plays right into our larger conversation about corporate storytelling.
 
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