SYFY’s latest series, Resident Alien, combines the humor of shows like Alf and Mork & Mindy and throws in a splash of black comedy in the likes of Mars Attacks!, making it a hilarious sci-fi comedy series.
Based on the Dark Horse Comics comic book of the same name by Peter Hogan and Steve Parkhouse, SYFY’s Resident Alien stars Alan Tudyk in the titular role. Tudyk’s character, an alien visitor, crash lands on Earth and finds himself in a small Colorado mountain town on a mission to destroy all humankind. However, he ends up killing a reclusive resident of the local town, Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle, and morphs from his alien form to appear precisely as Vanderspeigle.
When the town doctor ends up murdered (unrelated to Harry’s arrival), Harry finds himself forced to take on the new responsibility as the town doctor. There, he meets a nurse named Astra (played by Sara Tomko) and the town sheriff (played by Corey Reynolds).
Who Will Like Resident Alien
If you’re looking for deep plots and sophisticated humor, look elsewhere. Fortunately, that excludes me, and I love the show. There’s a ton of slap-stick immature humor similar to what you’d expect in a Will Ferrell movie, for example. If you appreciate gallows humor and a campy version of dark comedy, you’ll love Resident Alien, too.
My favorite interactions on the show occur when Harry meets Max Hawthorne (played by Judah Prehn), the mayor’s young son. Max sees Harry in his proper alien form, which freaks the boy out. Unfortunately, he’s the only one in town able to see Harry’s proper form. When he tries to tell his parents and the sheriff, none believe Max.
Along with his friend Sahar, played by Gracelyn Awad Rinke, Max tries to expose Harry for the alien he is. Meanwhile, Harry tries to kill Max on many occasions, failing each time.
You can watch each weekly episode on SYFY (as they’re released). If you don’t have a cable service provider, you can watch Resident Alien’s first four episodes on SYFY’s website or app.
2 Comments
Rohan Elliott
Wow, this seems like one of the tv shows to watch this year. I loved Alan Tudyk in Doom Patrol and Firefly so I’ll definitely be sure to check this out.
Seth Comire
Agreed, Rohan! Tudyk is fantastic in everything he does and I’m glad he’s stuck with sci-fi for this show. I wish I had cable service so I could watch every episode.