Resident Alienseason 3 featured a hilarious joke that the show would do very well to learn from when it returns for season 4. As the leader of theResident Aliencastsince the sci-fi dramedy’s inception in 2021,Alan Tudyk’s Harry Vanderspeiglehas brought a lot of laughter to the show with the actor’s brilliant performances and his character’s unconventional social interactions. Both of these factors came together again inResident Alienseason 4and allowed Tudyk to shine brighter than ever before from a comedic perspective.
Although the show does have dark and dramatic storylines, such asResident Alien’s Grey Aliens’ongoing abductions, countless scenes prioritize making the audience laugh. Tudyk is quite often at the heart of these moments, and his pairings with various other characters allow for different kinds of jokes. Early inResident Alienseason 3,the show placed Harry in a scene that seemed ordinarybut quickly became one of the funniest sequences in the story so far. Hopefully,Resident Alienseason 4 can recapture that same magic.
Harry & Joseph’s onscreen speculation was a new kind of joke for Resident Alien
The biggest comedic highlight inResident Alienseason 3, episode 2, “The Upper Hand,” is Harry’s speculative back-and-forth with Joseph (Enver Gjokaj) about a very specific scenario. The two characters keep adding to a what-if style situation where they each end up throwing one another around Harry’s cabin in acts of physical dominance. Rather than anyone emerging victorious in this imaginary fight,Harry focuses on the possibility of his cabin becoming damaged, and an overly talkative and hilariously boring repairman is called into action more than once. It’s absolutely brilliant and was something new to the show’s formula.
Resident Alien Season 4 Continues A Brilliant Alan Tudyk Casting Trend
Alan Tudyk has had to play far more than just Resident Alien’s main character, and the show’s continuation will keep that impressive streak alive.
The entire sequence feels like aScrubsfantasy, or perhaps aFamily Guycutaway gag. Interestingly,showrunner Chris Sheridan has a strong connection toFamily Guy, so it wouldn’t be surprising if the animated sitcom had served as the inspiration for the Harry/Joseph fight that never even happened. Watching them both get more and more frustrated and painfully bored at the repairman’s ramblings, it is impossible not to find the scene funny. It comes out of nowhere and is over just as quickly.
Resident Alien Season 4 Would Benefit From More Hilarious “What If” Moments
Alan Tudyk needs more scenes like the one in “The Upper Hand”
A switch from Syfy to USA Network afterResident Alienseason 3’s endingsaved the show from cancelation. Although there’s currently very little information aboutwhat will happen inResident Alienseason 4, it’s safe to assume the project will continue to split its time between drama and comedy. So,there will be plenty of room for more scenes similar to Harry and Joseph’s exchange of ideasin “The Upper Hand.” Of course, overusing the gag could ruin it, butResident Alienseason 4 would be wasting a great chance to include one to two similar moments.
