If you've heard this before, stop me if you know what I mean. They befriend a human and have to hide from government forces. Sounds familiar, right? I could talk about anything from E.T. to The Iron Giant. The Man Whofell to Earth is a new series from Showtime that executes this classic science fiction storyline with a clear, fresh vision.
The sequel to the 1976 film of the same name, The Man Whofell to Earth, is an adaption of the novel by Walter Tevis, but it is not redundant. It uses the idea of the lone alien to examine what datememe datememe datememe looks like.
An alien from the planet Anthea is the outsider in The Man Who Came to Earth. We meet him twice in the first episode, the first time as a tech god named "Willy Wonka", giving a speech to an audience about evolution. There are images from when Faraday first crash-landed on Earth. His skin changes and his eyes change as he wanders through the New Mexico desert.
One of the most intriguing mysteries is how Faraday goes from confused alien to confident mogul. Critics only received the first four episodes of the series, but they present a taut sci-fi thriller that is also a compelling fish out of water story, all elevated by Ejiofor and Naomie Harris's leading performances.
Thomas Jerome Newton, originally played by David Bowie, is now Bill Nighy. Credit: Aimee Spinks / Showtime
If you are familiar with the original film, you will probably think of the man who fell to Earth as ThomasJeromeNewton, played by DavidBowie. In the movie,Newton hides his alien form as he tries to bring water to Anthea.
Our new man who fell to Earth, named Faraday, has a similar mission as well as a connection toNewton, which was portrayed in the series by Bill Nighy. With Anthea still in danger, he wants to get the help of a scientist. They might be able to save his home planet.
"The Man Who Fell to Earth" is a taut sci-fi thriller that is also a compelling fish out of water story.
The man who fell to Earth takes place over 40 years after the film, yet it does a great job unpacking the events of the film. It teases out dangling plot threads and continues the story ofNewton. Nighy takes over nicely for the originalNewton actor, and all the episodes are named after his songs.
The Man Who fell to Earth pays tribute to the original, but it is not able to stand on its own. If you don't know anything about the film, the show will show you what you need to know. The source material is used to launch a new story that centers on Faraday and Justin.
Naomie Harris is a grounding presence as Justin. Credit: Rico Torres / Showtime
Ejiofor and Harris do great work together and alone, but the core of The Man Whofell to Earth is the partnership between Faraday and Justin.
Ejiofor is playing an alien who learns to behave like a human. His speech and wonder are perfect with his body language. The new body and human customs are strange, but they are necessary for him to complete his mission.
Chaos ensues when someone tells Faraday that yelling and saying "fuck" will help him get what he wants, but Ejiofor. His transformation from episode to episode as he learns more about humans is subtle and a constant reminder of the smooth-talking tech god we know he will eventually become.
Harris is just as good as Ejiofor as she is as the human point of contact, and she might not get to do as much Big Alien acting as Ejiofor. She is the person who acts as an audience surrogate when faced with Faraday. Harris plays with a lot of force. She is the primary care giver for her father, and her daughter, and the sole earner. The presence of Faraday is upsetting and confusing to her because she knows that any disruption to their life could have catastrophic consequences.
She knows that helping Faraday may lead to scientific discoveries that could make the world better for her family, especially for Molly. As the show continues to peel back the layers of her past, Harris masters the tension between the two.
Chiwetel Ejiofor is careful not to lean too hard into the absurdity. Credit: Aimee Spinks / Showtime
There are other planets at stake. The scales have already tipped towards making Earth unliveable, as he bleakly tells him. Climate change and its effects can be seen in explicit discussions between Faraday and Harris or in shots of oil fields and water. The fight to save Anthea is also the fight to save Earth, and these remind us of that fact.
Not everyone is willing to help Faraday and Harris achieve their goal. Corporate greed over valuable new technology is a problem. It is hard for Faraday to have any faith in humanity because of how they treatedNewton.
It is not all doom and gloom. The man who fell to Earth is still hopeful. As the series unfolds, the two will have to fight very hard for it.
April 24 is when The Man Whofell to Earth will premiere. The show is on Showtime.
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