An hour-long dramady about an extraterrestrial
being stuck in a small town, “Resident Alien”
gained early traction in the ratings. It pulled in
a bigger audience for its second episode than
its first, a rarity in the peak-TV era of dizzying
decisions about what’s worth your time
and money.
The numbers are on a modest scale but with
promise enough to gladden the heart of Syfy’s
parent company, NBCUniversal, which gave
the series a robust blastoff that included a NBC
network promotional spot starring a UFO.
“We launch shows all the time and we want to
pretend that every show can be the next big
hit,” said NBCUniversal executive Jeff Bader,
who heads its TV programming strategy group.
“But it’s actually rare that you have a show that
people seem to respond to ... and this is one of
those shows.”
The Rotten Tomatoes website tallied robust
approval from critics and viewers, both in the
90th percentile. “Resident Alien” airs 10 p.m.
EST Wednesday.
A key element: Alan Tudyk’s deftly layered
comic performance as stranded alien Capt.
Ha Re, who takes a crash course in human
conduct and speech from “Law & Order”
reruns. His otherworldly appearance is
mostly cloaked with the appearance of an
Earthling he killed, the memorably named
Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle.
Tudyk (“Firefly,” “Suburgatory” and numerous
TV and movie voice roles) milks such abundant
nuance out of Harry’s often heavy-lidded,
deadpan expression that it begs comparison to
the master, classic film star Buster Keaton.