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No character actor does goofy like Alan Tudyk, the man who gave “Firefly” his wacky soul and stole “Rogue One” from almost everyone in the cast although he never appeared in it. screen in its own flesh.
Syfy’s “Resident Alien,” based on a comic book series, splits the difference by portraying Tudyk as an alien stranded on our planet after his malevolent mission goes awry. Here, Tudyk is a being who bears the highly unusual name of Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle and compels the citizens of Patience, Colorado to live up to the city’s name in virtually all interactions with him.
The remoteness of the place and his need for a new town doctor compels them to do so after their longtime doctor has died. Like all remote places where the odds are good and the goods are weird, Harry’s weirdness and flatness seem harmless. The guy whose life he swept away happens to be a wealthy part-time resident, and that also helps tremendously since no one really knew him.
Overall, audiences see his character as most city dwellers see him, as another human who is uncomfortable in his own skin, who doesn’t quite master the intricacies of body language or what. that has to be done with his face and with negligible interpersonal skills.
A few people see the “doctor” for the big-eyed amphibian creature that he really is, and that scares him and them, until fear gives way to curiosity and curiosity turns into something like attention.
This is the story that “Resident Alien” tries to tell from the perspective of Tudyk’s quirky yet charming character, and when he does, it’s a sweet series that highlights the actor’s natural ability to surprise us in new ways in each episode.
If you were to judge by the double meaning of the title – the term “resident alien” is used to describe an immigrant who obtains legal resident status in the United States – you might expect the series to use the status of Harry to metaphorically examine the obstacles faced by newcomers to a country that seems welcoming but is not.
Presenting the character of Tudyk both as the alien in a strange land and as an interspecies bigot allows the show to approach this worn concept in an unusual way. He is a stranger hidden in plain sight who learns English and earthly customs with over-looking “Law & Order”, but he is also a member of a race totally convinced of his own superiority.
Harry explains in one of the show’s many voiceover storytelling examples that if the universe had an intelligence scale, “humans would land right below lizards.” Crashing onto our planet forces him to interact with the lower life forms he believes we are, and he’s slowly starting to realize the many ways his species misunderstand and underestimate humans.
Nonetheless, he refuses to deviate from his original guideline, even though it is increasingly at odds with his burgeoning emotions and his ever-changing relationships with the people around him like Asta Twelvetrees (Sara Tomko), the assistant to the doctor who works with him at the city’s medical clinic.
Harry and Asta make a wonderful Platonic pair because they both feel like strangers, and the most interesting people to follow also fit that description even though they don’t specifically say it out loud. And each has relationships that are strong enough to create interesting storylines.
D’Arcy (Alice Wetterlund), Asta’s best friend, is a heavy drink bartender with dollar signs in her eyes who pounces on Harry, and her efforts to overlook his utter lack of charisma make Wetterlund shine through his antics.
But a nerdy kid named Max (Judah Prehn) can see through his disguise, and that worries Harry more than a horny whiskey freak ever could. The alien quickly makes it a priority to eliminate this tiny threat, but Max proves to be a worthy opponent.
Seeing the world through Harry’s calculating, emotionally cooled perspective allows the series to sidestep the potential discomfort in solving any realistic race and culture issues in Patience, at least initially. Small moments recognize the existence of ordinary human prejudices in this world, especially when a subplot involving Max’s smarter friend, a classmate wearing a hijab, kicks in.
All in all, however, Patience is a lovable and diverse type of town on television that breaks free from the usual portrayals of small-town tensions in ways that can be a little overwhelming. Corey Reynolds, for example, plays City Sheriff Mike Thompson as a combination of Boss Hogg and Rosco P. Coltrane, and in case we don’t pick up the tribute he loudly adores on his designer dog Cletus.
He’s also the only black man you see on the streets of this mountain town, which might indicate he’s going beyond his efforts to fit into the culture. Or maybe it’s totally unnecessary fulfillment.
Playing the ridiculous character of his characters gives the show a slight “Northern Exposure” flavor. Based on that, the thoughtful exploration of Tomko’s character through the lens of his personal life also highlights Asta’s Native American heritage in a way that feels genuine and unforced, and the fact that I have to emphasize that. shows you how unusual this is. TV.
Where “Resident Alien” doesn’t entirely work is his desire to be many shows at the same time while meandering to determine what stories he ultimately wants to tell. The alien as a metaphor for immigrants or foreigners is a well-trodden path on television, seen in series that treat it with solemnity (“Alien Nation” and “Roswell” come to mind) and with an excess of humor (“ALF”, “3rd Rock from the Sun” and “Mork & Mindy” which, like this show, takes place in Colorado).
“Resident Alien” uses what we know of those shows and gestures to modernize its paradigm for connecting with the 2021 audience with a semblance of depth through this alien who is both genius and ignorant.
If his misadventures and Asta’s emotional journey were the main events of the season, that would be more than enough to make the first season a success. Instead, the writers decide that each character needs multiple cases to keep them occupied. Just because a show has a competent ensemble cast doesn’t mean every character needs a mystery to hunt to grab our interest, but if that’s the approach, they better do. something vital to the main plot or something absolutely. fascinating. That is not the case here.
Indeed, I didn’t even mention the government agency pursuing Harry through these episodes because the representatives of said agency aren’t even interesting enough to mention. You can cut out most of the scenes in this plot in D and have a lighter, more meaningful tale.
When “Resident Alien” resists the urge to meander and sits down with Harry’s various epiphanies about the human need to belong and the desire to bond with others, it shines with the potential to be one. a spectacle as sincere and contemplative as it is dark and funny. These forces get lost in his initial journey, but with Tudyk serving as a beacon, it may not matter. It will continue to grab our attention until the rest of the series knows where it needs to go.
“Resident Alien” premieres Wednesday, January 27 at 10 p.m. on Syfy.
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