Neverland

Neverland is a strong start to an interesting premise.

A sensible amount of time is dedicated to introducing the great sci-fi concept of the hybrid characters. The exposition is fairly simplistic, but still conveyed strongly with good visual storytelling. I particularly like the well-filmed and edited transition sequence involving the group. Sydney Chandler looks and acts perfectly in the part.

As a setting, the corporate, A. I. dominated future could not be more relevant in 2025. It was a mere prediction during Ridley Scott's Alien and Bladerunner, but we arguably are now in the transition period.

The Maginot scenes are heavily reminiscent of the 1979 classic in style and tone. I like that it does not unnecessarily spend time building up to the creature we already know, but does, however, drip-feed the introduction of new species.

As the two main plot threads come together, the plot becomes more intriguing and makes me want to know what happens next.

Visually, it looks very promising. The retro designs mix well with the earth settings. I love the look and feel of the Neverland location. Certain aspects you feel are there for stylistic reasons, such as various characters taking weapons into certain situations, but I can suspend my disbelief for the sake of cinematic imagery.

All actors are solid so far, with the standouts for me being Chandler and Timothy Olyphant.

Greetings from Lithuania.

"Alien: Earth" was my most anticipated show of 2025. I do not watch TV series mostly in general due to time restrictions, but couldn't resist to watch a first series even within my favorite franchise ever - "Alien". I'm a massive fan of the universe - own majority of the films on 4K disks, played "Isolation" many times and etc. - "Aliens" is my favorite film of all time. So i was all in for "Alien: Earth".

The first episode called "Neverland" was everything i hoped for a new Alien stuff, from creators of brilliant if sometimes uneven series "Fargo". I highly enjoyed this episode. No spoilers - but will say that it is set in a new location for the franchise - Earth. I really enjoyed the set up, the not by a book characters, script that is clearly was written not by AI. It is different from what we have seen in "Aliens" before, thanks to a fresh perspective that creator brought here. And yet the opening scene left me breathless with how they recreated opening of first film.

Overall, first episode was a breath of fresh air considering long running Alien franchise, yet it felt somehow familiar - and in the best way possible. Great opening of hopefully great series.

The overall premise was sound enough... A research vessel crashes to Earth after some of its specimen got loose (by the way.. how did they got loose? They were confined during most of the trip back and they got loose close to Jupiter's orbit?).

Then, things start to get weird. The doctor of an emergency response team wasn't actually a doctor? One of the big corporations who runs the world sends a bunch of kids (albeit, in enhanced bodies) to a disaster area with an unknown spacecraft? Really? Nobody had any hint of an idea how to do anything in such an environment, yet they went anyway?... Besides, the director's job looks terrible. I am no formal expert on cinematography, but I have seen many, many movies and series and this one looks wrong. The spotty takes of the disaster aboard the ship when some aliens get loose are terrible. The whole chapter is terribly boring.

I hope future episodes will improve. Episode 2 isn't better than episode 1...

A ship crash lands on earth. No defenses, no early warning, no nothing.

The 'First Responders' search and rescue team come armed to the teeth, not carrying stretchers and medical supplies, but Guns at the ready.

The ship that has pelted from space on an out of control crash land into a functioning city, lands pretty much intact, more like a car that has had a minor ding.

The interior of the crashed ship looks like a freshly set up movie set, microscopes, desk lamps, and stationary sit on a bench top unaffected by the crash, or even mild turbulence of re-entry, defying the law of logic and physics.

Who wrote this stuff and figured out the space logic?

I'm sorry to say this, because I had high expectations, but the first episode feels like it was written and directed by kids.

Maybe it's a show for kids?

The initial and subsequent infodumps are over the top, and the information could have been spread throughout the episode to avoid soporific lengthiness.

The characters lack bite, except for Wendy, who redeems herself a bit in the finale. Disappointed.