Drama
Alien: Earth
FX’s ‘Alien: Earth’ is just the latest graphically violent entry in the already graphically violent ‘Alien’ franchise.
Mismatched police partnerships are as common in crime-and-cop buddy movies and TV shows as coffee and donuts—more, in this health-conscious age. For every Starsky there’s a Hutch, for every Murtaugh there’s a Riggs, for every Turner there’s a Hooch. If one cop’s a by-the-book do-gooder, the other’s bound to be a shoot-from-the-hip, fresh-off suspension type of guy. If one’s a dedicated mother of three, the other’s a hard-drinking womanizer. But somehow they make it work. Sure, they get on each other’s nerves. That’s a requirement of the trope, after all. But eventually they come to see that their different skills and outlooks make them a better team.
I’m not sure that’ll ever happen with Travis and Wes.
Oh, they both hate crime and love fighting it. They have crime-fighting IQs that are, we’re told, “off the charts.” But when there’s not an actual baddie in sight, the two turn on each other like Siamese fighting fish. And since both pack handguns, that’s not such a great thing.
Their conflict might’ve stayed under the radar had Wes not pulled his weapon on Travis. Now the quarrelsome couple are being forced to attend counseling sessions. Couples’ counseling sessions—populated by heterosexual pairs looking to rekindle a little relational spark. Naturally, the presence of two dudes in class causes a bit of confusion at first.
“We voted for your proposition!” one attendee says. “Are you married?” another asks.
No, no. It’s nothing like that. Travis has more conquests under his belt than Genghis Khan, while the most intimate relationship Wes has right now is with his ex-wife’s lawn—which he shares custody of. Still, the two spend far more time with each other than anyone else, so maybe counseling makes some sense.
If these were real people, I’d be quite happy to see them getting some professional help. Especially if their cubicles were across the aisle from mine. Underneath all the snipping and sniping and occasional fistfighting, we know these guys appreciate and like each other just fine. We’re talking about a lightweight dramedy on USA, after all—not some sort of gritty, nihilistic soul-pounder on premium cable. And perhaps there are people who, in watching Wes and Travis work through relational difficulties, will be inspired to put a little effort into their own.
But Common Law also has more problems than you might expect from a USA show. While the atmosphere may be light, content can be heavy—from gratuitous makeout scenes to depictions of internal organs in the autopsy room to some frank conversations about sex and murder. Foul language can be a problem too. And I’d imagine there’ll be many more “misunderstandings” of Travis’ and Wes’ same-sex “relationship” in the future.
(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.)
This series premiere offers a few nice thoughts about relationships and family. We learn, for instance, that a murder victim was trying to turn his life around for the sake of his newborn son.
But references are made to sex (frequency, attentiveness and proclivities). And Travis and a young woman are shown stripping off their shirts and making out; the woman mentions that she had Travis’ name embroidered in her “new black panties.” We hear about some of Travis’ past relationships.
Travis and Wes fight and crash through a window. They save a man from jumping off a building. They find themselves in a shootout in a convenience store; Wes ends it by driving a car through the window. They get hit (lightly) by a car while chasing a suspect who pushes several things and people down. They shoot a perp in the shoulder. Travis threatens sources, abuses his police powers and shoots stuff just ’cause it annoys him. A corpse shows signs of trauma; a forensic expert handles and cuts through its internal organs.
Wes insults Travis for being an orphan. “No one wanted you!” He says. We see heroin and hear about its addictive properties. Wes and a counselor drink at a bar. Characters say “a‑‑” and “h‑‑‑” two or three times each. God’s name is misused once or twice.
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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