Recommended Sci Fi TV: Science fiction and fantasy shows from the past decade or so that you may have missed and that we believe are worth checking out.
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What Is It?
The Man Who Fell to Earth acts as a sequel to the 1976 film of the same name, set nearly forty years after the events of the original story about an alien who came to Earth seeking resources to save his dying world. In the series, a new alien—taking the name Faraday—arrives on present-day Earth hoping to complete the mission left unfinished by his predecessor, Thomas Newton. Faraday seeks out former physicist Justin Hall for help in finalizing Newton’s work on a powerful energy source that could make it possible to transport water back to their home planet, where it is desperately needed. But the same forces that prevented Newton from completing his mission are still in play, and Faraday soon finds himself facing the very obstacles that defeated his predecessor.
Aired: Showtime, 2022, One Season Totaling 10 Episodes
Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Naomie Harris, Clarke Peters, Bill Nighy, Jimmi Simpson, Kate Mulgrew
Created By: Jenny Lumet, Alex Kurtzman (based on the book by Walter Tevis
Bottom Line: This is a thoughtful series with some interesting concepts and characters and a spot-on cast, and it respects its source material while telling a good science fiction story in its one season.
Why Is It Worth Watching?
There are far too many reboots, revivals, and remakes out there these days trying to capitalize on the name recognition of a known property, all while proving that the entertainment industry has lost its ability to develop new concepts and original ideas. But there are a few movies and TV shows worth revisiting, proving that revivals can work from time to time (you can find several examples of those at this link). The Man Who Fell to Earth is a cult sci fi classic that had David Bowie in the lead role, and I only vaguely remembered watching it years back on cable in the ’80s. I seemed to recall that it was a retro-70s sci fi film that could really get kind of freaky at times, and when I recently rewatched the movie, it lived up pretty much exactly to how I remembered it.
It might seem like an odd selection for a reboot/revival since it never counted as a huge hit, but apparently Alex Kurtzman and Jenny Lumet believed it had some potential to attract a modern-day audience, or they were just huge fans who really wanted to revisit the property. Kurtzman has become notorious of late among sci fi fans for his work on the newer Star Trek TV shows, which have involved large amounts of action and special effects and which have diverged from the spirit of the franchise’s past. And yet The Man Who Fell to Earth is an intelligent and thoughtful series with interesting sci fi concepts and a story that respects the original film while also finding the potential to carry it into an ongoing tale. He and Lumet contributed to the writing of all the episodes, and the show hearkens back much more to his work on Fringe, with little of the excesses we have seen from the recent Trek entries. The Man Who Fell to Earth does drag at times and might have delivered a tighter story with a couple fewer episodes, but for the most part it is engaging throughout and delivers an excellent example of sci fi TV.
Of course, the cast is key to that, with Chiwetel Ejiofor delivering an Emmy-worthy performance as Faraday. He provides a nuanced and engaging portrayal of an alien who has little understanding of Earth and its people but slowly adapts and learns how to deal with his surroundings. Naomie Harris offers a good counterbalance to Ejiofor’s Faraday, though it would have been nice if they had given her more to do than just object to everything going on all the time (count that as a nitpick, though). Bill Nighy does an excellent job of stepping into Bowie’s shoes as the elderly Thomas Newton, I just wish he had more screen time. And the entire cast—including Westworld’s Jimmi Simpson and Star Trek: Voyager’s Kate Mulgrew—steps up in this production to help take this show to the next level, and I believe it will eventually become a cult classic on its own.
If you are looking for a good science fiction series that jogs the brain matter and does not throw tons of CGI-overload at you, this one is definitely worth checking out. And at only ten episodes, it makes for a good binge-watch.
Cancelled Too Soon?
Yes, this show was cancelled by Showtime after only one season. The network did not do a good job of promoting it, and apparently the property did not have enough nostalgia value to draw an audience on its own. But the series did wrap up its storylines so as not to leave the audience on a cliffhanger. There was definitely more story to tell, but the one season ends on a satisfying note.
Where Can You Watch It?
The show has been collected on DVD and Blu-ray, and it is also available to purchase VOD. It is no longer streaming on Paramount+, though it may turn up on Showtime’s schedule from time to time.
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Was not canned quickly enough. It was shit.
You must have watched a different version than I did, because I considered it an excellent sci fi series.