Drama
Alien: Earth
FX’s ‘Alien: Earth’ is just the latest graphically violent entry in the already graphically violent ‘Alien’ franchise.
Plot development is a loose concept when it comes to sitcoms, but since the show’s main character is a film critic, we’ll take a shot at the synopsis: Said thirtysomething journalist (Billie) gets pregnant after a one-night stand. Hearing her biological clock pounding in her ears, she decides to have the child—and “adopts” Zack, her one-night lover, as well. He’s a young chef who’s living out of his van, so she invites him to share her apartment.
But he’s not welcome to share her bed any longer.
That’s largely because Billie’s not sure whether Zack will be a true father to her baby or simply another child himself.
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
Billie asks her sister, Abby, and her sister’s husband, Nick, to be her baby’s godparents—in part to encourage the couple to get with the program and have a baby of their own. Abby’s ready, but Nick wants to put off parenthood—a stance that leads to a massive fight. Abby, in the aftermath, gets schnockered and nearly has an affair with Zack’s pothead buddy, Davis.
So should we be grateful that she only gets stoned instead?
Meanwhile, Billie hooks up with a sportswriter who may or may not be (in a phrase repeated often) a “pregnophile”—a man who’s attracted to pregnant women.
“There’s all kinds of weird fetishes,” one of Billie’s co-workers says by way of explanation. “Like people who are into weird costumes, or feet, or monogamy.”
Monogamy. Right.
“The Godfather” traffics in minor profanity, but the biggest issues here are centered on sex (including spoof-minded shots of Davis posing suggestively for his Facebook page and a reference to Nick’s erections) and drugs. “I can’t believe you guys didn’t ask me to be the godfather,” Davis muses, as he scrubs out the interior of a bong. He (sort of) tries to uproot his weed habit, but the show’s ethos makes drug use feel like a relatively harmless, often humorous, habit.
There is a bit of sweetness buried here … somewhere. Billie and Zack both are presented as frazzled folks trying to do what’s right by their unborn child. It’s not an ideal family unit, but we’d still be remiss not to applaud their effort.
Low-flow toilets and a craving for barbecue ribs trigger a messy, mangled, moldy morsel of comedic claptrap. Before it’s over, Zack has inadvertently urinated on Billie. (We see him from the side, the lower half of his body obscured.) That incident, along with the “uneven” results of Billie’s half-done bikini wax, turn into joke staples.
Paul Asay has been part of the Plugged In staff since 2007, watching and reviewing roughly 15 quintillion movies and television shows. He’s written for a number of other publications, too, including Time, The Washington Post and Christianity Today. The author of several books, Paul loves to find spirituality in unexpected places, including popular entertainment, and he loves all things superhero. His vices include James Bond films, Mountain Dew and terrible B-grade movies. He’s married, has two children and a neurotic dog, runs marathons on occasion and hopes to someday own his own tuxedo. Feel free to follow him on Twitter @AsayPaul.
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