Brand new e4 comedy drama The Aliens landed on earth last week and left me hoping that an extra-terrestrial species would just hurry up and kidnap me, purely so I never have to watch another second of this utter dross.

I’m a lover of a good e4 series but this one crossed the boundary from average to horrendous in the space of approximately two minutes (and that’s being generous), but, my faith in e4 meant I optimistically pursued for the entire hour of the first episode of the six part drama. The general concept is that an alien species crashed into earth about forty years ago, but there are no ET look alikes to be seen (which, come to think of it, would have really livened things up). These aliens looks 100% human, the only difference being in their blood. Now, I’ll give e4 a bit of credit, the idea is decent, who’s an alien who’s not, maybe these aliens will somehow take over earth in a zombie apocalypse, in an I am Legend kind of way… Unfortunately any potential that this initial concept had is trampled, and we are essentially presented with a crappier version of Channel 4’s Humans.

Michael Socha plays the role of Lewis, an apparently funny alien border control worker who soon discovers he is half alien himself after taking an alien DNA test – how thrilling. His love interest is gangster/alien/porn star, Lilyhot, played by Michaela Coel, whose true identity remains a complete muddle throughout. After half an hour of attempted dry comedy I found myself laughing for the first time. Unfortunately it was only because the adverts had come on and the babies in the Pampers advert were providing me with more entertainment than the programme itself.

The second half an hour didn’t bring anything new to the table, except a crossing of the border and an adventure into the land of the aliens, which looked just as inviting as Hyde Park at 4am. Upon entering a Skins style club scene I completely lost the will to live. Nice try e4 but I’m sorry to say that chucking elements of your best TV dramas into one show isn’t going to be a success, it’s going to be a car crash, apart from this isn’t even as exciting as a car crash it’s just pure shit.

So, unless you’re looking to invest some time in some serious procrastination, give this one a miss, and if you are looking to invest some time in some serious procrastination, I recommend youtube videos of paint drying as a more entertaining alternative.

 

Megan Fryer

 

Image courtesy of The Guardian.