"Resident Alien" is Alan Tudyk at his Alan Tudyk-iest (that's a good thing)
Alan Tudyk is one of my biggest pop culture crushes (Craig has accepted that I would leave him for John Mulaney, Bill Hader, or Alan Tudyk — the dream is all three at once), and as much as I loved seeing him on the weird-ass Doom Patrol, and enjoy the HECK out of him doing voices on Harley Quinn, I’ve long been hoping that he’d finally get a starring vehicle of his own. I’m so glad that his new show Resident Alien is exactly as fun as I wanted it to be.
The show follows Harry (Tudyk) — or, actually, an extraterrestrial who accidentally crashes on Earth, and then kills and replaces a man named Harry. He’s stuck here until he can find his ship and complete his mission, and in the meantime, he’s roped into being the town’s doctor when the old one is mysteriously murdered (and not by Harry!).
Even though Tudyk is a brilliant comedic actor, this isn’t 3rd Rock From The Sun — for one, Harry doesn’t want to be here. And second, well, Harry’s kind of a jerk. When one child in town turns out to have a genetic anomaly that allows him to see through Harry’s human disguise, Harry spends the next several episodes plotting ways to kill him. (I especially love how easily the kid manages to irritate Harry and they get into immature arguments on the street.)
There are also some procedural as well as serialized components to the show. Harry’s job as the town doctor provides plenty of episodic plot points, while the unexplained murders and Harry’s search for his ship before the snow melts (and he might not be the only one looking for it) provide a good amount of suspense.
But, unsurprisingly, the show works because Tudyk is so charming and has such excellent comic timing, and it’s great that he gets to play a silly role that still has quite a bit of meat to it. He’s so good here and it’s about time someone put him front and centre on his own show — after the pilot I immediately bought a season pass to the show and I can’t wait to see where it goes.
Resident Alien is on Syfy in the US and on CTV Sci-Fi in Canada. I’ve seen the first three episodes.
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That’s all for me today, gorgeous! Talk to you soon.
Love,
Kat
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