The Man Who Fell to Earth

You see, this is a sequel. It seems most reviews missed this. A fresh and respectable one at that. Just don't call it woke, for that would date and degrade its artistry. Yes, Bowie's character appears here. Thomas (Jerome) Newton, played quite well with his spidery William S. Burroughs dead ringer look by Bill Nighy. I'm sure if Bowie were still alive, he'd be appearing here. Nice, classy touch titling each episode after a Bowie tune. Solid acting by the leads, decent cinematography, though not on the sublimely high level of the great Nic Roeg, and dare I say a bit more surface clarity in its storytelling than the movie. I do deeply miss Rip Torn though. I think the brilliant author Walter Tevis, one of the finest and most monstrously underrated sci-fi writers of his generation, would surely endorse this repurposing of his work. It is quite imaginative and inventive. Also, deft use of comedy where you wouldn't necessarily expect it. I expected this interpretation to fall flatly on its face, instead the experience was rather uplifting. Kudos to those responsible. Who doesn't like surprises?

I really hate it when people rate a show poorly before it even starts, this had a 5.4 rating on here before it aired. I'm glad that's improved since then. As a fan of sci-fi I really enjoyed the pilot episode and surprised at why the rating isn't higher as the few reviews I've read are mostly positive(even though some are over the top with praise). It feels like a meticulously thought out concept and I always love it when a tv show/movie brings something new to the genre; and it's supported by a more than capable cast to carry the show. Of course there's a plethora of shows/movies about aliens landing on earth but this feels different so I hope(and believe) it'll build on that and not fall into a more inane conventional storyline trap. The first episode and trailer make the future episodes seem promising. There's a gem to be made here and I'm looking forward to it. But then again, this still could go either way, it's early days. Judging before you even get it.

This was my review after episode one but it somehow got removed even though it was up for nearly two months, have no idea why but I'm salty because it was the top review lol. Anyway, it's up to episode nine now and it's honestly gotten better. I love how it didn't just end up being a generic sci-fi or one where it's written as they go because it feels well thought out. There were one or two episodes that felt a bit humdrum but it's really lived up to my expectations, I still keep the rating at a 7 but 8/10 reviews would still be justified. Some people have said it's "woke" but it's really just an alien's perspective on human nature and it felt believable. Wonderful performances throughout, Naomi Harris is sometimes over the top but nothing too bothersome. Thinking back we got to see a billionaire-esque version of Faraday in the early episodes and that hasn't come to fruition yet with 1 episode to go. I wonder if episode 10's going to be the last one or it's renewed, if it is I hope it's not forced and they actually have a decent story to follow up season 1.

Chiwetel Ejiofor does an outstanding job acting in this series. The show started the first few episodes with a lot of promise and it was pretty entertaining. Naomie Harris' character is supposed to be highly intelligent but instead she's written to be a highly emotional ridiculous character. (I blame the writing, not the actress)

Once the series hits halfway, you can tell there's a shift behind the scenes where they decided to go from a series to limited series and end it at the end of the season. This is where it all falls apart. Nonsense everywhere. Terrible characters making stupid choices all the time. Everything that made the first half good was reversed.

There's so many ways this could go wrong, but so far, so good. It gets a little hokey and that's ok. The tongue-in-cheek humor is light and done well.

When I saw it was a Showtime series, I was like...meh, they'll find a way to mess it up, and they still could : P

Chiwetel Ejiofor does some amazing things. The dude is awesome.

I hope this series stays on an even keel, because sic-fi, alien-comes -to-Earth is so overdone and almost always irretrievably bad. For sure, there's going to be a mess of reviews that complain WOKE...because it has a non-whites in it...and he's an alien. It's impossible for people to help themselves. : D.

Not inspired by a video game, nor is it a tired spinoff in a tired franchise - fresh sci-fi for the thinking person who also likes high adventure. Who knew that was still possible in Hollywood? Marvelous performances by everyone on cast, pleasing cinematography, riveting plot and editing, intriguing CGI that serves rather than fuels the story, even funny at times, what's there not to like?

Oh wait, it's "woke". Or so we are told by dozens of reviewers. I literally scrutinized the show for inappropriate wokeness, ready to cringe at the very first opportunity. But no.

Could this be because the show implies we are destroying ourselves as a civilization? That's such a reach given what's going on, right? Or because the main characters are ... gasp ... black? That was so unheard of in 1950. I will concede that they don't look like David Bowie, who starred in the original movie the show is very loosely based on. If that sort of departure disappoints then skip this show.

If you like anything intelligent at all, then by all means watch it. You'll love it, as I did. Looking forward to a rocking season.