The series 'Alien: Planet Earth' bites, like the bug, which also bites (and comes back)

The only familiar face we see in the first episodes of Alien: Planet Earth is Timothy Olyphant . The Justified star is the only famous actor with whom Noah Hawley kicks off his contribution to the Alien-verse . Everything else, however, is recognizable, very recognizable: the tone, the aesthetic, the music, the credits, and, of course, the creature itself.

Alien: Planet Earth , like Alien: Romulus did in theaters a year ago, rejects the disoriented maximalism of Prometheus and Covenant , the two most questionable film installments in the saga, and returns to the origins. But, unlike Fede Álvarez in Romulus , Hawley in Planet Earth does salvage certain discoveries from the films with which Ridley Scott regained control (only to immediately lose it) of the universe he discovered in 1979. In the series, recently released on Disney+, the spatial dirt of the Nostromo ship coexists with the futuristic asepsis of the synthetic David (that Michael Fassbender on the verge of being iconic... but not) and with the usual cross-references of Noah Hawley

As he did in Fargo and Legion , Hawley knows how to play with other people's toys without breaking them and without getting bored (without boring us). The finesse with which Alien: Planet Earth pays homage to Lost (and Ghostbusters!) is less of a joke and more of an admiration. So too are his references to Ex Machina and Westworld , whose ideas, both aesthetic and conceptual, he uses with respect and elegance. Noah Hawley is not, like Tarantino, a master of pastiche, but a genius of the remix. And, as always, the Alien saga asks for just that: to be remixed with taste and new ideas. But not too many. It 's very commendable that in 2025, someone has finally managed to give a new twist to the brilliant exercise in typography and composition that are the Alien opening credits . Their conversion into "previously on," starting with the second episode of Alien: Planet Earth, is perfect.

And the creature? The creature is also perfect. The xenomorph in Alien: Planet Earth is, like the one in Romulus , intriguing in a good way. Is it completely computer-generated, or does it also include mechanical and makeup effects? Bolaji Badejo, the actor dressed as the alien beast in 1979's Alien , remains unsurpassed in many ways. Later (and more expensive) versions of the xenomorph have turned out worse , perhaps also because they were too exposed and too bright. In Alien: Planet Earth, the latter is the case, but Noah Hawley, who also directed the first episode of the series, finds a way to maintain the mystique of the beast. One that we Alien fans know by heart.

And the rest of the audience? Will they buy into Hawley's proposal? Will they want to? At this point, are there any Alien viewers who aren't Alien fans? I ask myself this last question every time I go to a theater to see a new installment in the saga. And I think the answer is no. But, given the financial results of the invention, we Alien fans , like Eurofans , are enough to keep the whole thing going. Did I just define Alien: Planet Earth as an invention and a chiringuito? I take it back. Alien: Planet Earth is a majestic spaceship crashing into an enormous skyscraper. With a bug inside. And this isn't a metaphor: that's how the series begins. Without stars, but with plenty of fuel to be one. The bug is back. Watch out, it bites. Alien: Planet Earth bites too.