The Aliens (TV series)
| The Aliens | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre |
Science fiction Comedy Drama |
| Created by | Fintan Ryan |
| Directed by |
Jonathan van Tulleken Lawrence Gough |
| Starring |
Michael Socha Michaela Coel Michael Smiley Jim Howick Holli Dempsey |
| Opening theme | "Alive & Amplified" by The Mooney Suzuki |
| Composer(s) | Vince Pope |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 6 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Petra Fried Matt Jarvis Murray Ferguson |
| Producer(s) | Charlie Leech |
| Running time | 46 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Clerkenwell Films |
| Release | |
| Original network | E4 |
| Picture format | 16:9 1080i |
| Audio format | 5.1 Surround Sound |
| Original release | 8 March – 12 April 2016 |
| Website | |
The Aliens is a British science fiction television series. It is set 40 years after aliens land in the Irish Sea and are reluctantly integrated into British society in the fictional city of Troy. Border guard Lewis Garvey, played by Michael Socha, is caught up in the criminal underbelly of Troy as he learns he is himself half-alien.[1][2]
Created by Fintan Ryan, the six-episode series also stars Michaela Coel, Michael Smiley and Jim Howick, and is produced by Clerkenwell Films for E4. The first episode was released on 8 March 2016.[3][4] Ryan had previously written BBC shows Never Better and In the Flesh.[1]
Overview
Coel told Radio Times that The Aliens addresses "urgent contemporary concerns" not limited to racism; during the filming of the series at Nu Boyana Film Studios in Bulgaria, she reported she experienced racist attacks.[5] Speaking to The Guardian's Gabriel Tate, Ryan acknowledged links with the show's narrative and the ongoing European migrant crisis: "With immigrants, there’s a colonial history that leaves you in debt to them. Here, we don’t owe them [the aliens] anything, but they’ve landed on our planet and we’ve got to do something with them."[3]
Viral marketing for The Aliens was organised by Channel 4's in-house creative agency 4Creative. Centred on the slogan "Fight Human Oppression", the faux-political campaign interrupted several Channel 4 shows throughout February 2016. It also appeared on radio and cinema, interrupting DCM's usual ident.[6] Shots featured a female member of the "Alien League" asking the viewer for help "fighting human oppression", before being wrestled away.[7]
Broadcast
Following its April conclusion, the show also aired on Space in Canada in May.[8] It concluded on June 8, 2016. In Germany, ZDFneo aired the show in October 2016.
Cast and characters
- Michael Socha as Lewis Garvey
- Michaela Coel as Lilyhot
- Michael Smiley as Antoine Berry
- Jim Howick as Dominic
- Holli Dempsey as Holly Garvey
- Trystan Gravelle as Fabien
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in series | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Episode 1" | Jonathan van Tulleken | Fintan Ryan | 8 March 2016 |
| 2 | 2 | "Episode 2" | Jonathan van Tulleken | Fintan Ryan | 15 March 2016 |
| 3 | 3 | "Episode 3" | Jonathan van Tulleken | Fintan Ryan | 22 March 2016 |
| 4 | 4 | "Episode 4" | Lawrence Gough[9] | Fintan Ryan | 29 March 2016 |
| 5 | 5 | "Episode 5" | Lawrence Gough[9] | Joe Brown and Fintan Ryan | 5 April 2016 |
| 6 | 6 | "Episode 6" | Lawrence Gough[9] | Fintan Ryan | 12 April 2016 |
Reception
The List's Brian Donaldson compared the show to the 2015 Humans, and wrote that "from almost its opening scene, The Aliens dives headlong into the issues it wants to tackle... politicians talking about building walls is barely off the news just now and The Aliens taps right into this."[2] Tim Dowling of The Guardian called "[t]remendous fun."[10]
References
- 1 2 "Aliens: Derby actor Michael Socha to star as half-human, half-alien, in new TV series". Derby Telegraph. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
- 1 2 "TV review: The Aliens, E4". The List. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
- 1 2 Tate, Gabriel (2016-03-02). "Dog whistles, dishwasher tablets and narcotic fur: behind the scenes of sci-fi drama The Aliens". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
- ↑ NME.COM. "E4's 'The Aliens': Sci-Fi Goes Gangster | NME.COM". NME.COM. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
- ↑ "Chewing Gum star Michaela Coel experienced 'racist attack' while filming The Aliens in Bulgaria". RadioTimes. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
- ↑ "DCM's cinema ad interrupted by The Aliens in Channel 4 takeover". www.campaignlive.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
- ↑ "'The Aliens' fight human oppression in anticipation of E4's new show". The Drum. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
- ↑ "U.K. hit The Aliens to premiere in Canada on May 4".
- 1 2 3 "Michael Socha and Michaela Coel star in E4's Aliens (w/t)". Channel 4. 2 September 2016. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
- ↑ Dowling, Tim (2016-03-09). "The Aliens review: otherworldly fun from the makers of Misfits". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-03-20.