Humanity has always seen itself as the centre of the universe.

For centuries and possibly millennia, people have thought that they were at the top of the hierarchy when it comes to life in the universe. Of course, this is largely driven by the fact that we had nothing else to compare it to beyond what's around us. When all the creatures and species around you look like lesser beings, it's easy to get a big head about your place in the universe. It's only when we started to understand the magnitude and the power of having that kind of power, such as it is, that we began to consider whether there was someone else out there.

It's created all kinds of fantastic ideas about extra-terrestrials and the way human beings might react to their existence. From E.T. to District 9 to X-Files and even the Alien film series, our ideas about how humanity understands itself in relation to a species from somewhere other than Earth really runs the gambit. This is far from a new idea in pop culture. Which is why when something comes along that feels unique and a new way of approaching it, people should sit up and notice. Resident Alien is one such type of story.

Central to the idea of the show is that humanity isn't all that important in the grand scheme of things. Despite all the bluster and belief that we have about ourselves, we just don't matter. In fact, we matter so little to the rest of the universe that we can be wiped out and the rest of the universe wouldn't even notice. Harry Vanderspiegle, the main character of the show, epitomizes this concept to the Nth degree. He couldn't care less about what humanity thinks of itself or wants for itself. Our continued existence doesn't mean anything to Harry.

However, as we often do as humans, we tend to draw others into our mess. Even though Harry doesn't care about us, the nature of his focus and how he gets by on our planet to accomplish his primary goal, forces him to become part of humanity. It forces him to deal with us and understand why we do the things we do. His complete lack of interest in humanity however leads to all kinds of fascinating dynamics. We have so many concerns whether it's with each other and our relationships, crime and parenting. An outside perspective can really help bring some of those issues into focus.

Which is what makes Harry such a fascinating main character, and Alan Tudyk the perfect actor to play him.

Awkwardness and confusion is and is somewhat known for it long before his work on Resident Alien. He channels that in the most fascinating way on the show. And it allows for the other characters to play off him in ways that really work. It's hard to believe so many people don't already know how much of an alien he in fact is. But humanity's obvious and consistent self-centred makes their inability to see it all the more believable.

Even the strange, antagonistic relationship Harry has to the mayor's child actually works because so few people believe the youngster. It really makes you think about how humanity would react if one of us actually met an alien.

Do yourself a favour, and check out the show and start the process for yourself.

Originally Posted on Substack.