Alien Earth has brought back Dan Oannon and Ronald Shuset's iconic monster horror franchise once again for the first time in 2025. While the most recent installment, Alien Romulus, came out just last year, FX's Alien Earth has made history as the first ever Alien TV series. Alien Earth by far was the most anticipated TV series of 2025. But does it live up to the hype? I can say for sure that one episode in particular doesn't only live up to expectations, it gives previous Alien movies a run for their money. Let's dive into how director Noah Holly managed to take Ridley Scott's masterpiece and turn it into the best series of 2025.
Alien Earth has received some seriously mixed reviews from both critics and fans. So far, Alien Earth has a 7.6 on IMDb, which in my opinion is actually really good for an Alien reboot sequel. Actually, I guess you should call it a prequel, but maybe I shouldn't be too surprised. I'm not usually one for network TV, but FX has really delivered in the past couple of years.
So, where exactly does Alien Earth fit into the timeline of the Alien Universe? Well, the answer isn't as simple as you might think. The series is officially set in 2120, which is only 2 years before the original 1979 Alien movie from director Ridley Scott. Should the show run for multiple seasons, which is actually pretty likely, it could lead right up to the events of Alien 1979. However, there is the potential for a run-in with the events of previous films. After all, the Whandon Corporation is clearly aware of the existence of xenomorphs and other aliens. So, when they set the Nostramo crew to LV426, did they know that face huggers inhabited the planet? If not, then what was special order 937? But if they did know, why would they send a cargo ship instead of a team of, oh, I don't know, marines?
The most popular answer, and one that is hinted at in the series, is that Whan Dutani was aware of some sort of extraterrestrials, which is why Ash was added to the team last minute. But were they quite aware they'd be dealing with xenomorphs? Not sure. As for Special Order 937, that was a protocol installed on every space freighter just in case they ran into something. Nevertheless, despite the many theories currently circulating, Alien Earth may finally give us a solid answer.
Right before watching Alien Earth, I wanted to be sure to revisit the 1979 film just to remember what the franchise is all about and where it started. One of the most impressive features from the series is its dedication to bringing the same feel to television. While the series does take place on Earth for the most part, one episode in particular spends most of the time on the Magenaut, a ship almost identical to that of an Nostromo. Being over 40 years younger than the original movie, Alien Earth did a magnificent job of recreating the same retro outer space feel. Think Star Wars. Just hearing the crew talk to Mother, the ship's AI, brought me right back to the 1979 film.
The Magnaut story actually isn't all that different from those stromos either. A face hugger, a cyborg determined to bring the species back to Earth, the company, a panicked crew, and a xenomorph on the loose. Far too often, remakes lose the stylization that made the original film popular. But Alien Earth is one of the few exceptions.
One of, if not the strongest element of Alien Earth is its visuals. I have seen my fair share of CGI disasters in the past. What made the original Alien so great was its use of practical effects and real set pieces. It immerses the actors into the story and in turn the audience as well. This isn't to say that actors are worse when CGI is used, but there's something about interacting with real surroundings that take things to the next level.
That's the next level. It would be silly to think that Alien Earth would use all practical effects. After all, who does in 2025? Maybe the Five Nights at Freddy's movie with Jim Henson's animatronics. Who knew that FNAF would set the standard for my movie expectations?
But while I can't expect the Alien franchise to do something similar, I was nervous to see the 2025 effect on such an iconic franchise. Sure, CGI has been used in past Alien movies in recent years, but this is TV. Can anyone name a TV show that's had outstanding CGI, let alone a network TV show? I fear my mind always goes to the CWD DC shows and we all know what those look like. But I can now say that I was blown away by the quality of Alien Earth's environments and creatures. I mean, not just TV good, but movie good. While the writing itself may not be cinema level quality, the scenic design and CGI certainly is. And I'd be hardressed to find a show in 2025 that compares.
I don't know about you, but I think episode 5 of Alien Earth is as good as any Alien movie of the past because it follows the iconic stalker thriller format. When I first started watching Alien Earth, I was admittedly disappointed that the writers decided to skip past the details of what happened to the Magenoton. Up until episode 5, all we knew is that a Xenomorph managed to wreak havoc on the crew and that Babuc's character Maro betrayed his fellow crew mates just like Ash from Alien. I have to be honest, after 4-hour-long episodes exploring the synthetics background, I was starting to wonder when we'd get a little old-fashioned alien stalking action. After all, that's why we watch Alien. I was thrilled to see the Magnaut return in episode 5, a callback episode to the events preceding the ship's collision with Earth.
You've seen the episode, so I won't recap the whole thing, but there are a few plot points I want to point out that made the episode so nostalgic, as I'm sure it did for many other Alien 1979 fans. We see the return of the face hugger, which is both my favorite and least favorite creature from the franchise. It's just as horrifying as it was from the 1979 movie. The face hugger is what really sparked the troubles of the crew, but this time, another much tinier creature also causes the death of a crew member. We see a slug-like or maybe centipede-like alien lay its offspring in a bottle of water. How Malachi took such a big drink of water and didn't notice the tadpoles, I don't know, but his lack of caution led to the death of two other crew mates who attempted to heal him. Through a series of unfortunate events, the on the loose xenomorph takes out the rest of the crew, leaving the standing captain and Marorrow alone. Being a cyborg whose mission is to bring the alien specimen back to Earth for the Wayland Utani Corporation betrays her, leaving her to die to the Xenomorph.
It's coming. Let me in. Much like Ash would have done to Ripley. In fact, they use the same verbiage. Crew members are expendable and all other matters are secondary, etc., etc.
Alien Earth may be the first Alien TV series, but it won't be the last. In fact, Wow. Ridley Scott wasn't a huge part of the series, there are talks of him returning not only for a few sequel films, but more prequels as well. It seems that aside from the standalone films like Romulus, the Alien creators are attempting to smooth out the exposition's rough patches, and there are a few. Alien is notorious for its inconsistencies. So, is it possible that Alien Earth is just the beginning for diving into the franchise's past? One can only hope. Alien Earth isn't perfect, but with such a massive franchise name to back it, dedication to bringing the brilliance of the original movie to the 21st century, and its incomparable visuals for a TV series, it is most definitely the best, most promising series of 2025.
What did you think of this Alien Earth review? What are your thoughts about the series? And do you think it has a similar feel to that of the 1979 movie, or is it something completely different? Do you notice Ridley Scott's absence, or has Noah Holly done a fine job of taking over? What exposition continuity issues are you hoping Alien Earth addresses from previous films? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and don't forget to hit that like button and subscribe for more theories just like these. Thanks again for watching Screen Rat, and I'll see you in the next one.