Posts tagged: The Aliens

The Aliens S01E02 “Episode 2” REVIEW

Airing in the UK on E4 on Tuesdays at 9pm
Writer: Fintan Ryan
Director: Jonathan van Tulleken

Essential Plot Points:

• Two very Welsh aliens, Daniel and Hercule, are talking about Lilyhot; turns out she seduced Daniel into helping her take out the Silence Crew, and into helping her get into Fabien’s inner circle – Fabien being the guy who pretty much runs Troy with iron knuckles – for reasons currently unknown. When she finds out that Daniel isn’t actually “in” with Fabien, she ditches him without a second thought.
• Lilyhot turns up at border control demanding that Lewis comes into Troy, otherwise she’ll reveal his half alien status and basically destroy his life. She has an incentive for him: apparently she knows who his real Father is.
• Fabien’s home, and engaging in fun Father-son bonding time: shooting paintballs at his son’s bare chest. It’s Fabien’s way of trying to teach him to be a “warrior”, free of fear, apparently.
• Lewis makes his way back into Troy and is taxi-serviced by Dominic, who figured out Lewis was taking the day off to see Lilyhot, and so came to the obvious conclusion: drink a half-glass of bleach to induce vomiting to get off work early and help out. He’s nothing if not determinedly resourceful.
• Lilyhot’s (more likely just “Lily”) endgame is getting Lewis to spring his Dad, named Antoine Berry, from prison so he can overthrow Fabien and re-claim his “benevolent leader of Troy” position, or so Lilyhot makes it sound. She explains that it’s Fabien’s fault the aliens live in a violent, chaotic ghetto; he keeps it how the humans want it, “f**ked up and afraid.” That’s why Lilyhot’s trying to get into Fabien’s inner circle – she wants to take him down and create a better world for the aliens, (supposedly) even if it means dealing with his slimy cohorts.
• Speaking of cohorts, Lilyhot gets her new seductee Patrice to take her to Fabien, where she makes a distinct first impression.
• Guy, the unfortunate alien who got his hand cut off at the fur house last episode, recognises her, but before he can take her out with a baseball bat, Fabien calls him off. He’s intrigued.
• Ivan is getting in on Holly’s Fur-selling business without telling her, so she goes and breaks up a deal as it’s about to go down. Thing is, she’s brought their son Eli along, which Ivan isn’t happy about. He gives Holly an incentive: she can have the business, but he gets Eli. When they give their son the chance to make his own choice – he goes with Ivan. Devastated, Holly writes a suicide note and gathers together a mass of pills.

• Lewis agrees to meet his father, and poses as a lawyer to get into prison and meet with him. Whilst the meet itself doesn’t go too smoothly, Lewis does manage to get a vomit-inducing pill to Antoine which allows him to get out of jail in an ambulance. Lilyhot and Patrice ambush said ambulance, and Antoine is theirs.
• En route back to Troy, Lewis’s dad calls after having read Holly’s suicide note. Lewis races back to the house, only to find out that the note was just a cry for help, and that she never actually took the pills. During the time they lost detouring to Lewis’s, Antoine’s escape has become public news, meaning Fabien will be on the look-out, so Lewis has no choice but to hide Antoine in his room for the time being. Whilst at first Antoine’s all violence and holding a knife to Lewis’s throat, once he finds out Lewis is his son, he instantly changes his tune, hugging him and telling him he never meant to leave him.
• Given that getting Antoine into Troy through the underground tunnels is impossible with Fabien’s guys watching, Lilyhot and Lewis have to come up with a plan. Lilyhot “goes crawling back” to Welsh Daniel so she can convince him to help her again, this time by creating a distraction at border control that allows Antoine to simply saunter through without being noticed.
• Lewis’s co-worker Truss is suspicious. He saw the flash of recognition between Lewis and Lilyhot, and he saw Lewis stashing something in the trunk of his car earlier that day. (That “something” being Antoine.) He goes to check out Lewis’s car, and finds hair that glows green when he lights it; alien hair. It spells trouble for Lewis.
• In Troy, it doesn’t take long for Antoine to be recognised, and Fabien’s put a £10,000 bounty on his head, so attempted murder isn’t far behind. The first person who tries it, Antoine violently stabs over and over to death, right in front of Lewis.

Review:

Lewis is well on his way to becoming a fully-fledged criminal this episode! Between more illegal jaunts into Troy and helping to spring a powerful alien convict from prison, his argument that, “he can’t break the law, he works for law enforcement,” is wearing thin quickly. If you’d told the naïve Lewis from the beginning of episode one that he’d shortly be meeting his alien father, helping to ambush an ambulance and sneaking into Troy on a regular basis, he’d probably have punched you. Now though, he’s settling into his new half-alien lifestyle remarkably quickly.

It’d be easy to say that Lewis being swayed so quickly is down to Lilyhot and her impressive manipulative powers, but his primary motivator this episode does seem to be his father. Not that Dominic believes that. “This is about getting your father back, isn’t it? This isn’t about her?” he asks, to which Lewis’s only reply is silence. To his credit, she does have him on a leash; if he doesn’t cooperate, she might reveal that he’s half-alien, which is not an outcome Lewis wants. Still, it’s difficult to tell exactly what Lewis’s agenda is here. It doesn’t seem to be out of any kind of soft spot for alien-kind, given that he’s still throwing around racial slurs and dismissing the alien way of life, but then Lilyhot’s entire plan is geared towards getting Antoine back into Troy specifically so he can help change that very way of life.

A way of life that’s lead by Fabien, Troy’s malevolent leader. First impressions might lead you to think he’s an alright guy; he comes across as personable with a sense of humour and a misleading Welsh accent, but à la Jessica Jones’s Kilgrave: there’s evil under the urbane exterior. Over the course of the episode we see him shooting paintballs at his son as a training exercise, knocking Patrice’s eye out with a pool cue (before casually turning back to his game like one of his cohorts isn’t writhing around on the floor in pain) and sticking a £10,000 bounty on who looks to be his arch-nemesis, Antoine. And okay, these aren’t the worst things he could be doing, but then there’s also his effect on Troy to be taken into account. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him up the ante over the course of the series – in fact, it would be disappointing if he didn’t, especially since it looks like we’re going to be heading towards some sort of face-off between him and Antoine.

When it comes to plot, so far Lilyhot seems to be the driving force of the series. She’s the woman with the plans, and the skills and ruthlessness to see them through. You get the feeling that not just anyone could waltz into Fabien’s hideaway and take a seat on his desk like she owns the thing, for example. She spends a majority of her time on-screen double crossing someone or another, all whilst keeping up an air of intrigue and mystery. Makes you wonder exactly what she’s got planned for Lewis and Antoine. Dominic, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to be much more than Lewis’s personal chaperone, though he chooses some great music doing it! If last episode is anything to go by, most of Dominic’s actions seem driven by his borderline obsession with Lewis, to the point where he’s developed stalker-esque tendencies and a willingness to leap into the unknown for him, even if that unknown is accidentally shooting a guy in the stomach. Still, it seems like there’s more potential to Dominic than just comic relief, and we hope he’ll prove himself in coming episodes.

Overall, The Aliens continues to be a solid show that’s still shrouded in mystery. There’s still no real explanation for the aliens themselves – although the woman brandishing flyers and claiming that there’s no real evidence that a space ship ever crash landed is interesting. Presumably we’ll find out more about that soon enough. The characters’ agendas are difficult to pin down right now, which makes us want to find out all the more what exactly is going on here.

The Good:

• Fabien, although coming across as a decent guy at first, has just the right undercurrent of evil in him to make him pretty scary character.
• Lilyhot is such an intriguing character. She has no qualms about seducing men for her own gain, double-crossing and murder, and goes so far as to casually throw Patrice out of their getaway vehicle as he bleeds to death. It makes you wonder just how far she’s willing to go to get what she wants – and what it is that she actually does want.
• There are some great lines this episode – one standout was Antoine’s impeccably timed, “How’s it going?” to Lewis when he finds out he’s his son.
• The music choices continue to be stellar – Dominic driving up to Lewis blaring Def Leppard’s “Pour Some Sugar On Me” is a highlight.

The Bad:

• So far Holly and Ivan’s plotline seems out of place, and not particularly relevant to the plot as a whole. Not to mention Holly’s “suicide attempt” was crass.
• Hopefully in episodes to come Dominic will prove more useful than his current “light stalking with some comic relief” persona is portraying him to be.

And The Random:

• Antoine Berry is portrayed by Michael Smiley, infamous for his portrayal as Tyres in Spaced!
• At one point Antoine makes a reference to “Azkaban” from the Harry Potter books – good to know that the literature wasn’t affected by the arrival of the aliens!

Review by Jessica Anson

Read our other reviews of The Aliens

The Aliens  S01E01 “Pilot” REVIEW

Airing in the UK on E4 on Tuesdays at 9pm
Writer: Fintan Ryan
Director: Jonathan van Tulleken

Essential Plot Points:

• 40 years ago, aliens crash-landed in the UK and have been living amongst us ever since… sort of. These aliens, despite looking and behaving almost exactly like humans, have been forced to live behind a giant wall in a ghetto named Troy.
• Lewis, a member of the Wall’s border control and our main protagonist, is leading a school visit at the checkpoint. It’s made clear from the get-go that aliens are second-class citizens, from the derogatory term “mork” that’s casually thrown around to the 8pm curfew and bright yellow ID tags the aliens have to wear around their wrists. Sure, they can work on the human side of the wall, but border control make sure they stand out doing it.
• There’s a vital difference between aliens and human: the aliens’ hair can be smoked by humans as a drug, and it’s a substance often smuggled in and out of Troy. Lewis warns the kids to avoid this “Fur” at all costs, unless they want to become braindead in five years. It turns out that Lewis’s sister Holly and her boyfriend Ivan are Fur users, even smoking it in front of their child, so perhaps that speech is coming from somewhere personal as well as being a moral and legal matter. 
• Meanwhile, behind the wall in Troy, two aliens calling themselves the “Silence Crew” (who nobody actually seems to have heard of…) blag their way into a Fur House to steal a huge batch of Fur to sell off.
• In his spare time, Lewis talks online to a camgirl who calls herself “Lilyhot”. She’s pretending to be a French human, but we know that she’s one of the aliens from the so-called Silence Crew. It doesn’t take Lewis long to find out either; when Lilyhot and her accomplice Christophe pass through border control, Lewis recognises her. The two aliens escape into the human side with their stash of Fur as soon as they realise they’ve been found out, and outsmart Lewis at every turn. As a last ditch attempt, he uses a sound grenade called a “dog whistle”, which should only affect aliens, but incapacitates Lewis as well.

• A DNA test confirms the worst for Lewis – he was affected by the dog whistle because he has alien blood in him.
• Turns out Ivan and Holly have been selling Fur on the side – and Ivan’s been mugged of £3,000 he owes the aliens who provide for them. Holly convinces Lewis to stage a fake raid to scare the aliens off when they come to collect, but it backfires horribly, and the aliens kidnap Holly… who was actually the mugger in the first place. Go figure.
• With help from Dominic, a friendly alien who works as a cleaner at border patrol, (and who seems to have a pretty hefty crush on Lewis), Lewis is able to get into Troy to get the money Holly stole to Lilyhot. The search leads them to a club, where Lewis is drugged and nearly mugged before Lilyhot appears to take what’s hers… but doesn’t show up with Holly as per their bargain. Lewis fears the worst.
• Turns out Lilyhot’s apartment is, conveniently, right next to Dominic’s! He and Lewis hatch a plan to get in and save Holly, but that goes about as well as the raid did. The Silence Crew take Holly, Lewis and Dominic out to an abandoned area of Troy to murder them, but before they can do it, another crew turns up and shoots the Silence Crew, sans Lilyhot, to death. Turns out she was double-crossing the Silence Crew the whole time, and now she wants Lewis to work for her.

Review:

The Aliens is the new offering from Fintan Ryan, and isn’t the first time he’s delved into the world of telefantasy; he also wrote episodes of the wonderful In the Flesh, which dealt with the plight of “cured” zombies living in amongst humans and the stigma they faced in doing so. The Aliens takes the concept of paranormal segregation and discrimination even further, putting the titular aliens in a world where they’re treated as second-class citizens by humans, forced to live behind a giant wall in a run-down ghetto (District 9, anyone?). It’s quite chilling to see, considering that right now in 2016, A certain American presidential candidate is advocating building a giant wall on the country’s border not dissimilar to the one in The Aliens. This might be sci-fi but Ryan has created a world that feels scarily possible.

Over the course of the first episode we’re introduced to three very different main characters, all of whom come out of the pilot as well-rounded, interesting characters. First off there’s Lewis Garvey, who seems to have it pretty well defined in his head that “aliens = bad”. He has no qualms throwing around the derogatory term “morks” and takes pride in his job at the Wall’s border control where he helps ID and tag the aliens. But then, in a society where kids are indoctrinated into thinking that aliens are the scum of the Earth, it’s hardly surprising that Lewis would think like that. In fact, his job at border control is likely something he sees as doing for the good of his fellow humans, perhaps even something heroic. His heart is in the right place, as we see through his dedication to keeping his sister safe and to his job; it’s just clouded by what society has told him his whole life. It’s a huge kick in the face from karma, then, when Lewis finds out that he’s actually half-alien.

The two other main characters, Dominic and Lilyhot, are both aliens, but complete polar opposites to one another, showing us that “aliens” isn’t a catch-all term for personality as well as species. Dominic is as friendly as you can get, with a bright and optimistic outlook on life, despite working at border control where he’s treated about as well as you might expect. Even when Lewis violently tries to dismiss any idea of the friendship he and Dominic might have from Dominic’s mind, Dominic just, “can’t stay angry at that face!” In Lewis’s defence, there are quite a few moments when Dominic’s attachment to Lewis borders a little on the stalker-y side, which seems to be down to Dominic’s huge crush on Lewis (even if he refuses to admit it). Maybe it can be put down to not entirely understanding human interaction? But either way, he’s a lovable character with a giant heart, who only wants the best for Lewis.

Lilyhot (is that her real name?) on the other hand is quietly calculating and aloof, always ahead of the game by at least a few steps. She hardly says a word for most of the episode, preferring instead to watch and strike at the right time. She’s also incredibly manipulative; across this first episode alone she manages to fool Lewis, the Fur House and the whole Silence Crew. It’s a shame, then, to see that she apparently makes a living being an online camgirl – “degrading” doesn’t seem to be much her style. It seems to be a “do what you gotta do” situation. It’s not clear yet what exactly her agenda is, but whatever it is, she appears more than capable of fending for herself and getting what she wants in the process.

With a combination of great direction, script, acting and music choices, this first episode of Aliens is a fun watch that borders on the psychedelic at times; Lewis tripping out on a powerball in an alien club is a stand-out. In fact, Michael Socha as Lewis is a highlight, bringing real heart to his character, and he shines in moments like the. “Congratulations, you’ve won a car!” scene in Troy. But what we want to know more about is the alien’s backstory. Is there a reason that they look and behave exactly like we do? How long did it take for the segregation to get this bad? Is the hair the only real distinction between us and them? There’s a lot to find out, and it seems like it’s gonna be a great ride.

The Good:

• The acting across the board is pretty stellar, with Michael Socha leading the way. It helps that they’ve got a great script to work with, of course!
• There are some great music cues. The intro music, “Alive And Amplified” by The Mooney Suzuki and “Ich Will” by Rammstein stand out in particular.
• Although there’s definitely social commentary woven into the story, it’s not trying to bash you round the head with it, but instead is enough to make you think without being overwhelmed.

The Bad:

• It did seem just a little convenient that Lilyhot turned out to be the “person” Lewis had been talking to online, and that her apartment was literally opposite from Dominic’s.
• Although a lovable character, Dominic’s stalker-ish tendencies were uncomfortable to watch at times – particularly since it seems that he’s going to be the LGBT representative in this series. 

And The Random:

• As part of the advertisement campaign for Aliens, Channel 4 “interrupted” TV programmes, YouTube videos and radio programmes with a broadcast from “The Alien League”. 

• Michael Socha is probably best known for his role as werewolf Tom in Being Human and as Harvey in This is England. He was also in Once Upon A Time and Once Upon A Time in Wonderland as Will Scarlet.
• Clerkenwell Films, who also produced Misfits, is behind The Aliens. Similarly, The Aliens directors Jonathan van Tulleken and Laurence Gough also worked on Misfits.

Review by Jessica Anson