S01.E09: Welcome Aliens

[jewel21]

Quote

Harry and Asta attend an alien convention.

Airdate: 03/24/2021

[WaltersHair]

This was seriously the best episode so far and I laughed out loud several times. Have we even seen the sheriff without his hat this season? I was so distracted by the topless head that I almost missed the karaoke.

 

[edhopper]

Having fantasy TV host Giorgio A. Tsoukalos was hilarious.

[cardigirl]

Sad about the couple who lost their baby. Wonder if he lives in Patience? 
 

Harry seems pretty unrepentant. 

Edited March 25, 2021 by cardigirl

[gutbuster]

17 minutes ago, WaltersHair said:

This was seriously the best episode so far and I laughed out loud several times. Have we even seen the sheriff without his hat this season? I was so distracted by the topless head that I almost missed the karaoke.

 

He did go hatless at the bowling alley, as well! His dumb outfit may have distracted you from it at the time, though.

Even when he was doing his singing non-apology to Liv he was trying to out-sing her. I'm glad he acknowledged how much better she is than him at their work even if he never says it out loud. I tolerate a lot of crappy behavior in my fictional entertainment, but his comments to her at the diner were awful and kept bothering me.

I liked this episode. The convention was great. Loved Harry's commentary on the different types of aliens. The Grays really are the A-Holes of the Galaxy.

Why did Darcy break into Harry's house and then instantly break into his freezer?? 

[possibilities]

Harry: My people are not a costume.
Asta: Welcome to my world!

Man at Convention: Be careful. The alien could be the Christopher Columbus of the sky.

The Mayor was acting super-weird tonight. Shady, even. He suddenly became hostile and uptight, after having been totally willing to let everything go all the time and defer to his wife-- until she changed the dinner menu?

I think Darcy was jealous, hurt, and then got her melodrama riled up by the taunting by her frenemy at the bar, and decided to go investigating what the hell is going on, under the cover of the idea that she's worried about Asta. Breaking the lock on the freezer was a bit odd, but someone had to find the body so I guess they decided to handwave how extreme that particular action was for her to take right away.

I am astonished by how much Max and Sahar are allowed to go roaming around all day without their parents having any idea where they are or what they're up to. Honestly, that kind of parenting was not that unusual when I was growing up, but nowadays it's preactically considered child abuse if you ever let your kid out of your sight-- especially at that young of an age. Likewise, telling someone you just met that she can babysit any time... that seems frankly crazy, to me.

I looooove that Max has security cameras in his room. 

Does anyone know whether there are any shared writers or producers from "People of Earth"? I love how they reference the Reptilians and the Grays, and imply this show takes place in the same show-universe as that one. It's silly, but it's fun for some reason. 

 

Edited March 25, 2021 by possibilities

[Ms Lark]

1 hour ago, gutbuster said:

Why did Darcy break into Harry's house and then instantly break into his freezer??

That was very odd. Sure, the first thing I do when I break and enter your house is get into your freezer with a lock on it. Huh? Moving on.

47 minutes ago, possibilities said:

Harry: My people are not a costume.
Asta: Welcome to my world!

This better be a "Line of the Week" on the TV reporting sites.

I think the Mayor has been taken over by an alien entity. He's gotten almost as weird as Harry.

Terry O'Quinn as an Alien Tracker. Great casting! I hope he finds his son. Maybe he's the Mayor? The convention was great! Harry's comments on the Aliens were hysterical!

 

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

Does anyone know whether there are any shared writers or producers from "People of Earth"? I love how they reference the Reptilians and the Grays, and imply this show takes place in the same show-universe as that one. It's silly, but it's fun for some reason.

Oh, I miss that show so much! It was such fun. Then to be renewed for a 3rd season and cancelled. Explains why I love Resident Alien! Only one more episode left, makes me sad. At least we'll get a 2nd season. Hmm. They better keep their promise!

 

 

[cardigirl]

9 hours ago, gutbuster said:

Why did Darcy break into Harry's house and then instantly break into his freezer?? 

My thought about that was her other friend had filled her head with awful scenarios of what might have happened to Asta, so she decided to check the freezer, just in case. 

 

Edited March 25, 2021 by cardigirl

[Harvey]

The part about Harry liking soap and eating it all the time was so funny, probably my favorite moment of the episode 😄

But the duet between Liv and The Sheriff was also really good, it was so touching when he got on his knees in front of her ❤️ .

[AnimeMania]

9 hours ago, possibilities said:

I looooove that Max has security cameras in his room. 

It was pointed at his window, Max wanted some evidence that that pesky Alien kept breaking into his room at night, since no one believed him. There should have been way more footage of what happened, but they showed the relevant bits.

[iMonrey]

This has somehow become my favorite show right now (although the lack of other content probably plays a part in that). Harry's running commentary on the other alien species was hilarious. "One of them owes me money." "They are so cute, but they so know it." Terry O'Quinn as the alien tracker was awesome. The whole convention was hilarious.

There's still a somewhat uneven tone but at least the mayor and his wife's story is finally starting to tie into the alien plot. Max is one smart cookie, setting up security cameras in his room. The side story of the sheriff and the deputy investigating Sam's murder feels oddly disconnected from the rest of the show. I'm guessing they are trying really hard to establish the quirkiness of this town so as more and more people discover Harry's secret it's less improbably they just accept him.

It's bizarre how random the censorship is on SyFy, something I've noticed on other shows too. Harry went through a laundry list of swear words like shit and asshole but later in the episode they bleeped the word "dick." Alrighty then.

[Whimsy]

13 hours ago, Ms Lark said:

That was very odd. Sure, the first thing I do when I break and enter your house is get into your freezer with a lock on it. Huh? Moving on.

This better be a "Line of the Week" on the TV reporting sites.

I think the Mayor has been taken over by an alien entity. He's gotten almost as weird as Harry.

Terry O'Quinn as an Alien Tracker. Great casting! I hope he finds his son. Maybe he's the Mayor? The convention was great! Harry's comments on the Aliens were hysterical!

 

Oh, I miss that show so much! It was such fun. Then to be renewed for a 3rd season and cancelled. Explains why I love Resident Alien! Only one more episode left, makes me sad. At least we'll get a 2nd season. Hmm. They better keep their promise!

 

 

 

8 hours ago, cardigirl said:

My thought about that was her other friend had filled her head with awful scenarios of what might have happened to Asta, so she decided to check the freezer, just in case. 

 

I think she had no intention of checking the freezer, but then saw the lock on it. Who locks their frozen meats? And also with her friend filling her head with all of the horrible things that could’ve happened to Asta, I guess I’m not that surprised by that. 

13 hours ago, Ms Lark said:

That was very odd. Sure, the first thing I do when I break and enter your house is get into your freezer with a lock on it. Huh? Moving on.

This better be a "Line of the Week" on the TV reporting sites.

I think the Mayor has been taken over by an alien entity. He's gotten almost as weird as Harry.

Terry O'Quinn as an Alien Tracker. Great casting! I hope he finds his son. Maybe he's the Mayor? The convention was great! Harry's comments on the Aliens were hysterical!

 

Oh, I miss that show so much! It was such fun. Then to be renewed for a 3rd season and cancelled. Explains why I love Resident Alien! Only one more episode left, makes me sad. At least we'll get a 2nd season. Hmm. They better keep their promise!

 

 

I don’t think the mayor was taken over by anything. How would the entity know which nights were taco night, spaghetti night, and whatever else he listed off? I think he’s just very very rigid in his schedule and all he wanted was tacos. 
 

I really love the show. Every time I see a pop up on my recordings I get so excited and have to make sure I watch it right away. I plan on doing a re-watch when it’s all over as well. I am also very glad that we have a season two!

[possibilities]

People with children lock freezers, but Harry doesn't have kids. I like the idea that the lock is what made Darcy curious. 

 

[catsitter]

If Harry had bought a mask of some kind at the convention (surely there would be some for sale, and people wearing them?), would the Alien Tracker still have been able to see his real face?

[johntfs]

3 minutes ago, catsitter said:

If Harry had bought a mask of some kind at the convention (surely there would be some for sale, and people wearing them?), would the Alien Tracker still have been able to see his real face?

Probably not, but the Tracker would presumably have been able to see whatever part of Harry's alien body was exposed and draw the appropriate conclusion.

[nilyank]

19 hours ago, gutbuster said:

Even when he was doing his singing non-apology to Liv he was trying to out-sing her

But he was really, really good and sound wonderful when he sang. Like that was the most suprising thing in this episode was his singing talent.

I think the Mayor is the missing baby. It would also explain where Max inherited his ability from the Alien Tracker.

[sacrebleu]

20 hours ago, WaltersHair said:

This was seriously the best episode so far and I laughed out loud several times. Have we even seen the sheriff without his hat this season? I was so distracted by the topless head that I almost missed the karaoke.

 

co-sign! the sheriff's bluster can get a little old, so him finally recognizing that Liz's work solved the case, and then publicly asking her (via Karaoke) to come back to work was great.

Also, just great low key physical comedy of Alan Tudyk awkwardly eating Edible Arrangements.

and I was waiting for the bus flashback to payoff-- damn Terry O'Quinn-- lost his baby!

[roctavia]

Another really fun episode!! I waiting for the tie in from the opening with the missing baby... The convention was so fun, Harry explaining alien stuff/different species and fawning over the ancient aliens guy was great.  And of course he would eat everything but the honeydew in the edible arrangement 😛 So many funny lines. 

The stuff back in town was fun too, though I care the least about the mayor and his wife's deal.... the kid is cool, don't care about the weird parents and the mean military lady.

I loved the karaoke scene! The singing was good and it was great how they split up the song for him to kind of apologize in his Big Black way.... it was weird to see them without the hat though!

Darcy, why are you breaking into Harry's house? You know he's a weirdo and something weird is going on! I hope they can tell her he's an alien, though Asta will surely be upset that Harry killed realharry if she finds out, just for the sake of him being a killer, so we'll see where that goes. 

I'm sad that we've only got one episode left!

[possibilities]

"Honeydew tastes like old lady perfume."

I actually like honeydew, but I kind of get what he means.

 

[SmithW6079]

4 hours ago, nilyank said:

I think the Mayor is the missing baby. It would also explain where Max inherited his ability from the Alien Tracker.

That was my thought too, since he seems to be the right age. 

I'm not surprised Max had set up cameras in his room. He threatened to do so after Harry's last visit. 

Harry and the kids and their interactions continue to be one of the best things on the show. 

[possibilities]

Harry saying there are no monsters, there are only beings trying to survive was... well, it made me wonder if his planet is in trouble, and whether it's their fault the way humans have made a mess of our own planet. I don't know where that leaves the story, though.

[BonnieD]

Quote

I think the Mayor is the missing baby. It would also explain where Max inherited his ability from the Alien Tracker.

Oooh, good hypothesis! I can get behind that.

I laughed so hard during the karaoke. Best thing I've seen on a show in weeks. Really, it demonstrated all that is great about this show. That and the entire convention. Loved, loved, loved.

I watch a lot of true crime stuff so I too would immediately have wanted to check the freezer for a dead body.

[possibilities]

In an earlier episode, where Harry is walking around the desert fully alien-looking to everyone, he doesn't have tentacle legs. But when his leg grew back this week, he did. Is it like how tadpoles become frogs, going through phases? Or is it a retcon?

[johntfs]

44 minutes ago, possibilities said:

In an earlier episode, where Harry is walking around the desert fully alien-looking to everyone, he doesn't have tentacle legs. But when his leg grew back this week, he did. Is it like how tadpoles become frogs, going through phases? Or is it a retcon?

Presumably in that earlier episode no one had recently chopped one of his legs off.  He has the tentacle leg because his leg is growing back after said chopping off.  Once it's fully grown he can make it look like a human leg again.

[Quilt Fairy]

My favorite exchange:

Max:  Sahar won't tell.  She swore to Allah.

Harry:  Allah knows?

 

BTW, the line that Asta says is "Welcome to my life".

Edited March 26, 2021 by Quilt Fairy

[iMonrey]

Quote

I think the Mayor is the missing baby. It would also explain where Max inherited his ability from the Alien Tracker.

Oh - maybe. But I'm a little puzzled why aliens would have taken Ben only to return him to earth at some point. Also, Harry told the Alien Tracker that the aliens who took his baby aren't coming back because they already have what they want. That seemed to suggest Harry knew who took his baby and why. 

Also, this would almost have to be answered in the next episode to have any meaningful impact. 

[SoMuchTV]

On 3/25/2021 at 1:01 AM, Ms Lark said:

On 3/24/2021 at 11:41 PM, possibilities said:

Does anyone know whether there are any shared writers or producers from "People of Earth"? I love how they reference the Reptilians and the Grays, and imply this show takes place in the same show-universe as that one. It's silly, but it's fun for some reason.

Oh, I miss that show so much! It was such fun. Then to be renewed for a 3rd season and cancelled. Explains why I love Resident Alien! Only one more episode left, makes me sad. At least we'll get a 2nd season. Hmm. They better keep their promise!

Thank y’all for that!  I don’t think I’d heard of that show before. Now I’ve watched a few episodes on Hulu. Definitely would appeal to a Resident Alien audience.  Also, hey! Darcy!

[possibilities]

5 hours ago, johntfs said:

Once it's fully grown he can make it look like a human leg again.

But I thought that was his real body shape in the desert. He also has those additional (more than 2) arms, and scales (oops-- I think he said they aren't scales), etc. If he was going to fake a human body, he wasn't really trying very hard at that point.

I realize that after he took Harry Vanderspeigle's body, he was faking a human foot. But before then, he was walking around looking nothing like a human, and I had thought that was his real form, until this episode when he tentacle appeared.

3 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

BTW, the line that Asta says is "Welcome to my life".

Thanks for the correction.

 

[tennisgurl]

I cant even decide on my favorite part, the Ancient Aliens guy showing up, or the Sheriff asking Liv to be a deputy again via Wind Beneath My Wings. This show is such a great time, I am sad that we only have one more episode this season but am happy that we are getting another season. Also, who knew the Sheriff had such a great voice? The music was really good this week, the Wind Beneath my Wings scene was amazing and I really liked the songs played when the Sheriff was reading Liv's murder board then at the end when Darcy found real Harry's body, and Starman during the alien conference. 

Terry O'Quinn is great casting, I was wondering when the couple on the bus would pay off. I think the mayor being the baby and that's why Max can see Harry is an interesting idea, before we knew the baby was a boy I thought it might be Agent Lisa and she is secretly working for a different alien race who are looking for Harry.

Poor Asta is going to be so hurt when she realizes she saved the Christopher Columbus of the sky. So now Darcy has found the body, where the hell do we go now? 

"I like this high haired gentleman." 

[femmefan1946]

"Man at Convention: Be careful. The alien could be the Christopher Columbus of the sky."

 

Can anyone identify the actor? For a second I thought it was Gary Farmer in a wig, but there is someone named Ray G Thunderchild who is noted on IMDB as appearing in this episode.

 

It should always be noted that Darcy's actions are made while she is drunk. She is drunk most of the time. She's functioning well enough to hold a job, and not get arrested for DUI, but she makes a lot of bad decisions, because she's drunk.

Edited March 27, 2021 by femmefan1946

[Accidental Martyr]

“No Aloha” by The Breeders was a nice treat at the end.

[gutbuster]

It seems highly likely that someone is going to be revealed to be another alien at some point, perhaps from another species. But it's hard, and fun, to speculate who considering the bunch of weirdos we're dealing with.

[Browncoat]

I think Harry's leg was a tentacle only while it was regenerating.  He left footprints when he originally entered Human!Harry's cabin.

This episode was great, especially the convention part.  Alien!Harry probably could have walked around in his real form and no one would have noticed -- they just would have thought it was really really good cosplay.

Both Liv and the sheriff have great voices!  An inspired choice of song to have him let her know that she is, in fact, the wind beneath his wings, and he couldn't have solved the murder without her murder board.

I felt really badly for D'Arcy.  She was just abandoned by Asta and Harry, then the frenemy filled her head with all sorts of horrible potential scenarios.  Of course she'd break into Harry's house -- Asta's car was there!  Now she probably thinks that Alien!Harry actually died, and Asta's hiding the body.  No, that doesn't make sense to those of us who know what's going on, but I could see D'Arcy thinking that -- the last time she saw Asta and Alien!Harry, Alien!Harry was on death's doorstep.

Max needs to show his parents the security video.  His mother was way too trusting with a total stranger like that.  

[Quilt Fairy]

22 hours ago, femmefan1946 said:

It should always be noted that Darcy's actions are made while she is drunk. She is drunk most of the time. She's functioning well enough to hold a job, and not get arrested for DUI, but she makes a lot of bad decisions, because she's drunk.

Darcy doesn't own the bar, does she?  Because in every scene in the bar, she's drinking, which I don't think is right.  I don't know about Colorado, but most states prohibit bartenders drinking on the job. They're supposed to be the sober ones in the bar so they can determine when someone has had too much. 

 

When Harry told Terry O'Quinn that "There're not coming back for you, they've got what they want" that may not have meant anything specific to him, just that Harry knows what the Greys do with the humans they abduct.  However, I do agree that the idea that the Mayor could be the abductee who then passed along the genetic trait to Max is a great theory.

Edited March 28, 2021 by Quilt Fairy

[bosawks]

On 3/27/2021 at 4:51 PM, Browncoat said:

Both Liv and the sheriff have great voices!  An inspired choice of song to have him let her know that she is, in fact, the wind beneath his wings, and he couldn't have solved the murder without her murder board.

Once upon a time, when you could see a musical theatre production on what was known as “The Broadway”, I saw the sheriff in Hairspray.

Edited March 29, 2021 by bosawks

[femmefan1946]

but most states prohibit bartenders drinking on the job. They're supposed to be the sober ones

I doubt she's the owner, although we haven't met anyone who is. She's pretty much the only one in charge, so perhaps the manager.

As for "prohibit" -- who's telling? Darcy is a local hero and as I said, functioning. Even if she is passing out/sleeping in the bar most nights.

[Raja]

13 hours ago, femmefan1946 said:

but most states prohibit bartenders drinking on the job. They're supposed to be the sober ones

I doubt she's the owner, although we haven't met anyone who is. She's pretty much the only one in charge, so perhaps the manager.

As for "prohibit" -- who's telling? Darcy is a local hero and as I said, functioning. Even if she is passing out/sleeping in the bar most nights.

Most states ought to watch Bar Rescue. 😁

[HurricaneVal]

I love this show.  I loved this episode.  All the characters are great, and for as silly as it is, the acting is great.

But I gotta say, they nailed the alien convention.  A couple of years ago, Mr. HV and I were RV camping with friends on the Washington coast, and our friends wanted to go to the casino there.  

Coincidentally, there was an alien convention going at the hotel/casino, and it was exactly as cheesy and earnest as portrayed.  The "alien hunters" vehicles in the parking lot tipped me off that we were in for something special.

I'm not a gambler, so I wandered around.  The room they were running the alien lectures in was open to the casino and I stopped to listen at the door.  I'm telling you, that scene in the episode was pitch perfect.  Costumes, overwrought narratives, the whole nine yards.  

Later, when we left the main casino room to go into a separate, smaller room with fancy slot machines, we all got scanned by an alien hunter in the corner who was facing the entrance and held up and tilted his iPad at everyone as they entered.

We all passed.

I confess, I was a little concerned about him.  I was also a little concerned I might fail his test.....