Drama
Alien: Earth
FX’s ‘Alien: Earth’ is just the latest graphically violent entry in the already graphically violent ‘Alien’ franchise.
The year is 2040. Cars still drive on the ground, and kids still draw pictures on paper. However, hoverboards actually hover, and drones can be used to complete chores.
Pretty sweet—especially for the foster kids living on Mr. Leopold’s farm.
Julia, Johnny, Tabby and Finn were all taken in by Leo when nobody else would. After her dad’s sudden passing, Julia was kicked out of six other homes before she joined their crew. Johnny was a thief; Tabby was (and still is) “always, mostly trying to be nice-ish”; and Finn, while sweet and lovable as can be, has cerebral palsy—which, sadly, was too much of a burden for his biological parents to bear.
But Mr. Leopold loves them all. And he teaches the children under his care that the problems in their lives didn’t happen to them, but for them—to help them grow.
However, when an alien crash-lands its spaceship in Mr. Leopold’s barn, this unlikely family will have a whole new set of problems to conquer.
The kids quickly discover that the newest addition to Leo’s farm has been rescuing endangered species from planets across the universe. The latest? The last African elephant on Earth.
Thank goodness for conscientious aliens. If only they could fly better.
The children (along with Leo) aren’t quite sure what’s going to happen. Or what they should do about said alien, for that matter. But whatever they decide, they’d better do it fast, because the government knows about the crash and is headed their way to collect the UFO and its pilot.
There’s a certain beauty in Endlings, namely that four children without families find themselves responsible for a ship full of alien species without families. But there’s also a definite sorrow to the story as well.
Each of these children and creatures has a story about how they came to be alone. And the show unpacks many of those stories. That said, the love between these children, their guardian, and the beings now in their care is the show’s primary focus—and a sweet one at that.
Although the aliens here are mostly peaceful (or perhaps misunderstood if they are a bit rougher), their creepy crawly visages might frighten younger audiences. Julia and the other foster children also have a few moments where their troubled pasts come back to haunt them. However, these problems are transformed just as Mr. Leopold says—to help them grow.
There’s also an allegory here teaching viewers about the importance of taking care of our planet. All the technology in the world wasn’t able to save the elephants from nearly going extinct. And it suggests that without conscientious efforts to preserve the various endangered species on Earth now, our future 20 or so years from now could look like the one shown here.
Endlings’ environmental message may resonate more deeply with some viewers than others. But it could easily serve as springboard to conversation about our God-given responsibilities to be good stewards of creation (see Genesis 1:26-28) regardless of whether you agree completely with the show’s strong opinions on this subject.
An alien collecting specimens of creatures from different planets lands on Earth, drawing government attention to a farm in North America where Julia, a foster child, has just found a new home.
A man holds his chest, coughs and falls into a lake. His daughter jumps in to save him, but she is too late to save him from drowning. A conservationist tells reporters that one of the last two living elephants on earth has just passed away.
A slug-like alien uses purple lightning to capture a giant bug-like alien and an elephant. A woman throws a rock at the alien to stop it. She also throws a flashlight, which causes the alien’s ship to malfunction and crash. However, it uses its last resources to save the captured creatures, pushing a button that places a protective shield over their cells.
A girl who has been kicked out of six foster homes is told her next home will be a juvenile detention center if she messes up again. She later escapes a police vehicle by using a fishing hook to unlock the car door, and she leads the two officers on a chase through a cornfield before they catch up to her. One of the officers responds by making a snide remark about nobody wanting her. Later, she sneaks out the window of her newest foster home. (It should be noted that the show’s overall plot with regard to abandoned and foster children could be a trigger for young viewers in similar circumstances.)
A boy slips the watch off his guardian when they shake hands. However, the old man catches him in the act, and the boy returns the watch, apologizing for his “old habits.” A girl is annoyed that she has to share a room with her new foster sister.
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
FX’s ‘Alien: Earth’ is just the latest graphically violent entry in the already graphically violent ‘Alien’ franchise.
Based on novel by Jenny Han, this series follows the complex love life of Belly, a young girl caught between two boys who are childhood friends as she joins the world of debutantes.
In Nickelodeon’s preschool cartoon Tim Rex in Space, Tim and his T-Rex family solve problems together.
Good as its name, Prime Video’s ‘Butterfly’ is a flyaway thing. But its content can sting like a bee.
