ALIEN: EARTH – Everything you need to remember seeing the FX program

In Hulu, no one can hear you transmit. To anyone who still reads this article after an opening as that: Congratulations on passing the test to demonstrate how big he is an “alien” fanatic. The Space set Franchise has resided exclusively on the big screen since Ridley Scott debuted its original film in 1979, but everything that will change with the arrival of “Alien: Earth”. The property is not only changing the media for the first time here, but is also adding a new new creative voice to the fray, with Noah Hawley taking the reins in the promises of being one of the wildest additions to the “Alien” canon until now.

However, the launch of this program raises a pressing question for all “alien” spectators. The original quartet of the films followed exclusively the trajectory of Ellen Ripley (or his clone) by Sigourney Weaver, which could be said that he was the most unfortunate film hero of all time while he was face to face with those mortal xenomorphs again and again. However, Scott “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant” films took a very different touch, focusing on Android David (Michael Fassbender) and his increasingly twisted efforts to create the perfect organism as we know it. The most recent film, “Alien: Romulus”, finally separated from tradition and focused on a new group of characters. So, in what part of this broad spectrum “Alien: Earth” falls, and how much prior knowledge is required to fully enjoy this new series?

As a result, not much at all. The Hulu/FX show can take place in a universe with decades of tradition, an intimidating legacy to meet multiple classics in good faith, and even a couple of “predators” crossovers that even more understand the waters … and can still be the best path forward once again. Fortunately, “Alien: Earth” only requires the most basic familiarity with the material, and we are breaking everything below.

Ideally, every delivery of the “Alien” franchise will bring something new to the plate. James Cameron changed the genres completely with “Aliens”, David Fincher brought his unique cynical sensitivity to “Alien 3”, and even Ridley Scott dump everyone’s expectations by converting both “Prometheus” and “Alien: Covenant” in a prequel duology about the synthetic god behind the biological machine. Now, Noah Hawley is changing things again, this time by bringing action in “Alien: Earth” A (you guessed) Earth.

But wait! The thing is In fact Something we have never seen before? The main films actually ended right on the cusp of this same situation, since the last moments of “Alien: Resurrection” showed their heroes reaching our ruins. Both “Prometheus” and “Covenant” similarly include brief scenes that take place on Earth, and, of course, it would be negligent for not mentioning the (semi-channels) “Alien vs predator” films, each of which is confined to the local world of humanity. However, what establishes “Alien: Earth”, apart from everything else, comes from the powerful idea of taking the xenomorphs (and several other interstellar travelers) to our own door. We can no longer consider these unknowable forces of the abstract threats of nature in some deep place in the cosmos; Now, they are very close and uncomfortable. That seems to have been the main driving force behind turning this launch into a complete series. And much of the appeal comes from seeing how the characters in the program will contain the threat (or not) and how this can establish the circumstances behind the original Scott film.

At the risk of declaring the obvious: yes, the spectators of “Alien: Earth” should probably know that some history of the xenomorphs would be useful. Biomechanical creatures started our worst Lovecraftian nightmares have always been the central antagonist of all “alien” property (well, in addition to capitalism, at least), and that certainly does not change here. The premise of this prequel series implies a research container in the deep space, one that contains all kinds of extraterrestrial horrors with which humanity should never cross routes, being in a collision course with the earth. It is not a spoiler reveal that the container ends by colliding with our native planet, although the shape This finally develops will probably challenge expectations.

In the heart of all this chaos is the Xenomorfo Dastardly and its parasite life cycle. Although this is generally explained in the first episodes of “Alien: Earth”, for the benefit of those who may not have seen the films, the program operates under the assumption that the public already has a broad understanding of what happens. The completely adult xenomorphs represent the greatest threat, of course, but that is not the scope of their danger. The recognizable cylindrical egg (officially known as an ovomorph) could be one of the most infamous cases of production design. That pales compared to what resides inside: the spooky and similar to the face of arachnids that is thrown to the victims and penetrates them invasively to plant the monstrous Chestburster (which, yes, does exactly what you think it does). In turn, this adolescent stage finally gives way to the xenomorphs and the pinnacle of evolution (slightly bioginized) as we know it.

Unfortunately, all background information in the universe will not help poor souls who expect to be converted into gestation hosts in everything “alien: Earth”.

At the point of the timeline when “Alien: Earth” opens, some of the world construction details that we are familiar have not yet happened. For example, Scott’s “Alien” presents the faceless conglomerate known as Weyland-Yutani, a corporation that basically governs all humanity and its colonization efforts throughout interstellar space. This vision of the deeply cynical and dystopian future is an integral part of the issues of the franchise, where capitalist companies dehumanize and, often, even get rid of real blue neck workers who do things. Yes, one could say that Scott and the writer Dan O’Bannon were completely ahead of the curve when it comes to the many, many problems posed by the emergence of AI these days. However, the version of the dreaded and called company we see in “Alien: Earth” is remarkably different.

When the main episode of the program begins, set in the year 2120 (only two years before the original Scott film), some opening text establishes that the Earth is governed by multiple commercial entities that compete for supremacy. Operating as sovereign nations alone, each one has forged its own territory and borders worldwide. The spacecraft that crashes that kicks everything belongs to Weyland-Yutani, of course, but also has the misfortune of landing in a city controlled by a rival company called Prodigy. We know for the various “alien” films that Weyland-Yutani will finally be victorious, then could this season (or future seasons) of “Alien: Earth” begin to lay the foundations for this acquisition to happen? In any case, part of the draw for hardcore fans will be the idea of finding more details about the responsible company (Checks notes) Basically everything bad that happens throughout the “alien” franchise.

It would not be an “alien” production without some inhuman characters thrown into the mixture somewhere. As much as the franchise is associated with genres such as horror and action, it remains a science fiction story in your heart. And that means adopting wild concepts such as extraterrestrial fossils similar to elephants to the controls of a giant gun, ancient extraterrestrials that sow the earth with life and synthetic beings that filter dairy -looking fluid and, in general, have nothing good. That last part plays a very important role in “Alien: Earth”, following the example of previous characters such as Ash de Ian Holm, the bishop of Lance Henriksen and even the David of Michael Fassbender … but with a fascinating turn.

Creator Noah Hawley adheres to the well -established pattern of presenting synthetic characters that take orders from their corporate lords, as best exemplified by the Kirsh of white hair of Timothy Olyphant, but also adds a couple of fascinating wrinkles so that we can compete. Take the main example of the show, Wendy of Sydney Chandler. In fact, a terminal routing child whose conscience has been transferred to the body of a synthetic, his unusual state as “hybrid” adds a completely new layer to the “alien” tradition. Or consider Babou Ceesay as a cyborg called Morrow, who is a human with robotic improvements. These three “classes” of beings remain complete really It makes us human.

“Alien: Earth” opens on August 12, 2025 in FX and FX in Hulu.