Day 1 fans of “Resident Alien” have seen the series teeter on the brink of cancellation a few times, but it seems like the Reaper has finally come for our favorite alien-centric dark comedy mystery series. This season has produced the highest rated episode of the entire series in episode 2’s “The Lonely Man”, and even though the budget has been cut, the cast and crew have managed to continually exceed expectations and avert predictable outcomes. After a stellar, series high rating on RT at 100% critics and 88% fan score, loyal viewers were surprised to hear the show would actually be ending, weeks before the finale even aired.
What has continually dropped however, were the series ratings, which were by far the lowest this year…even if they are still decent numbers for a basic cable program. IMDb ratings are also higher than ever but it appears the cold hard viewership numbers are the main reason why the quirky SyFy/USA series finally got the axe. Warning, beyond this point there are spoilers for “Resident Alien” season 4 – and beyond.
After a stellar, series high rating on RT at 100% critics and 88% fan score, loyal viewers were surprised to hear the show would actually be ending, weeks before the finale even aired.”
After a rumored near cancellation before season 3 and season 4, creator Chris Sheridan planned for season 4 to be the last stop for the sci-fi show and really did a wonderful job of giving the right amount of attention to previous storylines and setting up an endgame for the series. Sheridan has stated that his favorite episode will be the yet to air season 4 finale, which will serve as the series finale. Is this just recency bias? or did the team all save the big guns for the final episode? Luckily we only have to wait a couple more weeks to find out.
The titular character or resident alien, Dr. Harry Vanderspeigle (Alan Tudyk) has had quite an intense journey throughout the season and the team at BR are having a bittersweet time waiting for the best of the show to come, knowing it will soon be over. Lead actor Alan Tudyk has had his work cut out for him this season, while playing a second, psychopathic version of himself and then later coping with losing his alien essence. Tudyk has proved he has a wide range of acting ability and really knocked almost every scene he was in out of the park this season. The supporting cast, especially D’arcy (Alice Wetterlund) and Sheriff Mike (Corey Reynolds) have also carried their fare share of the story slack while really expanding on their characters emotional ranges. Harry managed to convey his alien-ness being lost in a very human way while simultaneously finding out he actually grew a soul, which was a wonderful addition to the story and gives us lowly ‘humes’ watching a reason to be proud of our collective human race.
Harry having to reconnect with his violent father after so many years was an unexpected twist that gave us all the benefit of seeing comedic acting legend Stephen Root cook, before he got cooked by Harry’s desperate need to get his alien energy back…and as an added bonus: to keep his human soul by not murdering a teenage boy.
Praise for good TV aside, the morning after the news of SyFy’s decision to cancel the series saw the show’s team at a Comic-Con panel, some unready to face the reality of the show’s impending ending. It was also at this panel that creator Sheridan admitted that a movie continuation in the future was plausible. Sheridan had nixed hopes of a season 5 revival due to fan demand, but seemed much more open to revisiting the existing IP in the from of a made for TV USA network movie. Actor Alan Tudyk definitely would love to do a season 5, even if the Showrunner didn’t see it in the cards while D’arcy actor Alice Wetterlund felt the fans deserve more material.
For the time being, it does feel like season 4 is the end of the line for our favorite comedic alien series, but at least the door is not closed for a revisit sometime in the not too far future. With RT and IMDb rating so high, there is definitely potential for a bigger network or streamer to come in and revive the show and it’s passionate community. Although the comic the show was based on has a limited number of issues (34) and the series a has diverged from the original IP in various ways, there is still possibly other storyline that can be reshaped to adapt to the television version for a movie or revivals miniseries in a couple of years.
In a world where increasingly long waits between seasons have been normalized, the wait might not feel too long at all. In the meantime, hopefully all the avid alien fans get the amazing ending that they deserve, while leaving the door open for future adventures with Harry and the gang.
What do you think? Is the decision to cancel resident alien premature? What could the cast and crew have done differently? Will Harry ever be back with his alien energy flaunted and a middle finger raised?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!