How ALIEN: EARTH Reimagined the Original Ridley Scott ALIEN

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In the world of cinema, one iconic tagline that still resonates today originated from Ridley Scott’s groundbreaking 1979 film, Alien. The line, “In space, no one can hear you scream,” has been extensively imitated and parodied over the years. Initially, it played a significant role in marketing this unique blend of horror and sci-fi.

Fast forward to today, the title of Alien’s fifth episode, Alien: Earth, cleverly alludes back to the original film’s tagline with “In Space, No One.” This creative twist adds a meta flavor to the show.

The fifth episode notably pays tribute to the original movie by revisiting the final days of the Weyland-Yutani research spaceship Maginot, recreating almost scene-by-scene the events that unfolded on the Nostromo in Alien.

The premiere of “Alien: Earth” offered a brief snapshot of the tragic end of the Maginot, at the beginning of the series. Through rapid scene changes, viewers witnessed the transport of alien creatures, including the Xenomorph, aboard the ship. The story unfolded as the Xenomorph implanted its eggs within a crew member, causing pandemonium that ultimately led to the ship’s crash landing on Earth, with most lives lost. However, the specific events of the first episode were not fully explained until the fifth episode, which paid homage to the original movie. In this later episode, the Maginot replaced the Nostromo, and the character of Morrow, a Weyland-Yutani cyborg, stood in for the synthetic Ash, portrayed by the late Ian Holm.

The story begins by introducing Morrow, played by Babou Ceesay, who is found awake from hibernation on a spaceship called the Maginot. This ship resembles the Nostromo from Alien quite closely. Production designer Andy Nicholson ensured the interior design was nearly identical. While both ships belong to Weyland-Yutani, their designs are remarkably similar due to shared origins. After learning that the ship’s captain and science officer had been affixed with facehuggers and the Captain perished during their removal attempt, Morrow takes command. Suspecting a traitor among them, he sets a fire on board, leading to several specimens escaping. This action angers the crew, particularly the executive officer, Zaveri (Richa Moorjani), who feels she should assume command instead.

Following an extensive inquiry (with additional tragic losses among the crew), Morrow uncovers the culprit behind the ship’s sabotage: the chief engineer, Petrovich. Upon examination, Morrow finds incriminating correspondence between Petrovich and Prodigy CEO Boy Kavalier on Earth. In this exchange, Petrovich promises to cause the ship to crash within Prodigy territory, delivering an alien species to Weyland-Yutani’s main competitor. As compensation, he requests a new synthetic body from Prodigy. Unable to apprehend him in time, Morrow dispatches Petrovich using his cyborg hand converted into a blade. Unfortunately, the Maginot is now on course for a catastrophic collision with Earth. With the creatures being of high importance to the company, Morrow orders the ship’s computer, MU-TH-UR, that the crew has perished. It is possible that the XO was still clinging to life when he made this announcement.

In a later episode, Morrow narrowly avoids death by secluding himself within the Impact Room, which is situated beneath MU-TH-UR’s control center. Previous episodes reveal that he endures the crash and lives to tell the tale thanks to this chamber. The episode also illustrates how he manages to free himself from it, determined as ever to pursue the elusive alien species on behalf of his corporation. As the episode concludes, Morrow finds himself in Weyland-Yutani HQ, where he engages in conversation with the current heir and CEO of Yutani. She reminisces fondly about her grandmother who took him in as a troubled young boy with a disabled arm and replaced it with cybernetics, thereby fostering his unwavering allegiance. Despite having to abandon his daughter for 65 years to carry out this mission, she sadly passed away during his absence. Essentially, the fifth episode portrays Morrow not only as Ash, but also Ripley – the lone survivor of a disastrous expedition.

Alien: Earth releases new episodes every Tuesday on FX and FX on Hulu.

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2025-09-03 04:03