Resident Alien

SyFy Channel's Resident Alien, so far, seems worth seeking out. After viewing the trailer for this I set the DVR--a little humor, a little SF, a little mystery.

The first episode was chockful of juggled balls . The second dipped, but the third and fourth bobbed back up (IMDB viewers seemed to agree on a slight dip, but they also dipped on #3, which I did not).

Note: If you like zero discussion of shows you haven't seen, stop reading and go watch. No spoilers here, really--well, not exactly.

The amazing thing is how Alan Tudyk had to die again although this death allows him to play his role. He does a good job, usually, of mimicking what his alien counterpart: a crash-landed alien who has to pretend to be a human doctor in order to collect parts while relatively unnoticed. What's well done here is in what directions his expertise might lie. What requires some hand-wavium is his ability to look up what he needs on the internet.

One kid, Judah Prehn's Max, recognizes him for what he is. Given how the alien adapted, this also requires hand-wavium. While their relationship kicks off well and takes a surprising darkly comedic turn, it doesn't really kick in until Max takes action.

Sara Tomko and Alice Wetterlund are highlights--their freewheeling humor. Their characters' daunting task is to make Alan's alien somehow human. Sara's task seems even larger given her closeness to the alien at work and the embarrassment he causes, but her acceptance of him only serves to make her more endearing. The humor went darker than I expected, and the uncovering of a mystery, so far, is limited. It's more SF than mystery. So far. But there's plenty to enjoy. I do worry that they'll set up a second season without ending this one first. So far, it only seems to be enough for one season's drama. Possibly more. Hopefully it will some sense of closure before tacking on a second season. However, maybe by the end, I'll be persuaded otherwise.