The Man Who Fell to Earth

In order to save his world, they must first save ours.

Naomie Harris and Chiwetel Ejiofor in The Man Who Fell to Earth.
Naomie Harris and Chiwetel Ejiofor in The Man Who Fell to Earth.

Faraday, an alien from the planet Anthea, crashes in the oil fields of New Mexico with a mission: he has eight hours to find the one woman on earth who can save his species.

The Man Who Fell to Earth stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as an alien who arrives on Earth at a turning point in human evolution. Naomie Harris plays Justin Falls, a brilliant scientist and engineer whose faith in humanity couldn’t be lower. An unlikely duo, together they discover that in order to save his world, they must first save ours.

Falls, who was on the precipice of a historic innovation when tragedy sidetracked her career, is frightened and confused by Faraday’s bizarre behavior, but he eventually wins her over with a series of unexplainable miracles, including curing her elderly father (Clarke Peters) of all of his health problems. As Faraday assimilates into society, he introduces Earth to some of Anthea’s advanced technology and brings change to our planet.

An inspired adaptation of the novel by Walter Tevis, this science-fiction adventure is a sequel to the iconic 1976 film which starred David Bowie as the alien, Thomas Newton. Faraday arrives on Earth in the present day, forty-something years after Bowie’s visit; Bill Nighy makes a few appearances as Thomas Newton, reminding us of the unusual alien Bowie made famous.

A sense of urgency pushes The Man Who Fell to Earth. Through Faraday’s mission we see that the critics obstructing his search for a solution to his planet’s water shortage reflect our environmental concerns. Given that perspective, perhaps humanity does have a future.

The series is visually appealing and packed full of special effects, and each episode is named after a song by David Bowie. Catch the new series on Showtime.