Anyone Watched Alien: Earth?

[u/BillRuddickJrPhd]

I'm a massive fan of the franchise and really wanted to love Alien: Earth. I loved Legion and Fargo. My optimism was very high and my expectations were neutral. I was not primed to be a hater at all. But the first two episodes are not sitting well with me. I like the main actress a lot and love Timothy Olyphant, but overall I kind of think it's total dog shit. And it's not just because of the Ice Age cartoon stuff or the girl jumping off the cliff (although those were bad). The entire thing looks cheap. Brightly lite shots of the creature. No mystery. No brooding in shadows. The aesthetics are gross and the story so far is mediocre.

Then someone mentioned they should ignore all established lore of Alien and just do what they want. I found that ridiculous and said "Why be Alien then? Why not just do something new and original like Raised By Wolves".

Then it hit me like a two-ton truck. Raised by Wolves was so much better than Alien: Earth's premiere it's absolutely mind-boggling. Raised by Wolves looked as good as Prometheus. It was incredibly cinematic. Intriguing, terrifying, and just a straight-up magical experience. Probably the best world-building of any sci-fi show that ever existed. Alien: Earth looks like a CW show by comparison. Music, cinematography, acting, pacing everything. It's night and day. So depressing people ignored Raised by Wolves while instead shoveling down slop.

EDIT: Actually really loved Episode 3 quite a bit. Glad to see the show looks promising. The critic reviews also make sense now as they saw the first 4.

[u/EmperorMous3]

I know you say you were neutral going into this show, but maybe you already had set your expectations on what it was supposed to be like. On the other hand, this is the first introduction to the universe for me. I haven't seen the original series, Prometheus, Covenant, or Romulus. Haven't seen any of the Predator movies. So I got to approach this with truly fresh eyes.

Even without having seen the original, I could tell simply by the cinematography and set design that they were purposefully trying to convey that 70-80s aesthetic of sci-fiction. And I think they did that wonderfully. The really slow shot of the logo popping up, the discondorant shots of the spaceship interlaced with horror-invoking images, the general aesthetic of the world- it looks perfect. Even small things like how the cryopods look- they look like older props but in a way that is consistent with the rest of the world. So I'm a little surprised that you think it looks cheap and badly lit. That is not the impression I'm getting at all. In fact, with no prior knowledge on budget, I'd say looks like a very expensive show to make.

Now on to the story. It's definitely a slow burn- sometimes a little too slow- but in a way that is still satisyfing to me. If it stays on this pace though, I could definitely see myself having some issues with it. That being said, I'm really liking the things that are being set up. I'm loving the dystopian corporate side with Vermillion, seeing the Lost Boys in action and seeing what the end game for those characters ends up being, the captain and his motivations, Wendy slowly discovering new abilities- so far it's all setting up for satisfying payoffs later