Resident Alien : Season 1
Might contain spoilers.
An enjoyable show. Very funny. Occasionally touching. It can’t decide what it wants to be: a comedy about a fish out of water, the inspiring story of a group of troubled but resilient people, or a meditation on humanity. Rather than choose one, it tries to be all of them at different moments, which makes for a strange yet not unpleasing experience. Unfortunately, while the many secondary plots (such as the investigation of Sam’s death, Ben & Kate’s marital problems, and Deputy Liv’s battle with Sheriff Mike’s attitude) are all interesting in their own right, they struggle to find their purpose in the larger story.
Alan Tudyk is fantastic as Harry, and so is Mandell Maughan as Lisa. The children are excellent too—the characters are a bit cloying, but the actors cannot be faulted. The rest of the cast is uniformly good.
Although it doesn’t make much sense for Max to develop such a close relationship with Harry, it does make for a good story. Having him stow away on the spaceship promises an equally amusing second season.