As both a sitcom addict and a secret Star Trek fan, I have to admit that the science fiction show “Resident Alien” lies at a particularly compelling intersection of my interests. But I simply can’t recommend it enough for any audience. The show’s third season premiered Feb. 14 on SyFy, with the eighth and final episode of the season released last Wednesday.
Based on a comic series of the same name, “Resident Alien” follows an alien (Alan Tudyk) who crash lands in the small mountain town of Patience, Colorado and assumes the body of town doctor Harry Vanderspeigle after killing him. With each episode, Harry grows more and more human, forging connections with local residents and discovering emotion — a capacity his species does not have. There’s just one problem: he’s on a mission to eradicate all human life on Earth.
Billed as a sci-fi comedy on its release in 2021, “Resident Alien” intricately weaves together different genres — a family show, a drama, a mystery and a psychological thriller. Disarming transitions between the wacky and the serious characterize the show. At one moment, Harry plots to circumcise a baby to forge a DNA sample, and, at another, a family copes after aliens abduct their baby.
The show’s triumph lies in its ability to ground every wild storyline in the small and intimate — co-workers navigating a rocky relationship, families growing or kids making friends. CGI aliens, though freakishly realistic, fade away in comparison with bittersweet, softly cinematic moments that capture loss, acute grief and newfound love.
Tudyk — a human playing an alien playing a human — demonstrates a masterful command of every layer of his character. He’s joined by Asta Twelvetrees (Sara Tomko), a fiercely caring nurse at the Patience clinic, former Olympic skier and current self-deprecating wild child D’Arcy Bloom (Alice Wetterlund), haplessly naive town Mayor Ben Hawthorne (Levi Fiehler) and the oft-misguided Sheriff Mike Thompson (Corey Reynolds), among others.
The third season opens with the revelation that Ben and his wife Kate (Meredith Garretson) are both regularly getting abducted by evil aliens. Over eight episodes — the season was cut short due to the SAG-AFTRA writers’ strike — “Resident Alien” introduces a bird-alien love interest for Harry, presents yet another threat to wipe out humanity and ends on a breathtaking cliffhanger that will leave minds spinning.
While the risks taken by the show mostly paid off, it’s unclear how much longer the writers can credibly keep plot holes from unraveling with hand-wavy explanations of “alien technology.”
“Resident Alien” strikes a curious aesthetic balance between the alien — gleaming metal and green glows — and the familiar — puffer jackets, wine and cobblestone roads. But its main appeal comes from the latter: flawed characters playing out quintessential dramas against a backdrop of postcard-perfect Rockies. In the end, “Resident Alien” is nothing but human.
Anisha Kumar is a section editor covering University Hall. She is a junior from Menlo Park, California concentrating in English and Political Science who loves speed-crosswording and rewatching sitcoms.
