The Man Who Fell to Earth (Season One) - Showtime

"Like Lazarus, I had to rise from the valley of shadows."

Well hark at me and lar dee dar. Don't underplay your part now will you. This was one that got away last year, hitting Showtime in April 2022. A ten episode season that, depending on your point of view, was not renewed in October 2022. Don't ask me why, I don't make these decisions, but the word is that it didn't fare well ratings wise and given the talent, probably wouldn't have proved value for money. A second season was not viable and nostalgia for the original wasn't forthcoming. Not surprising here, as I thought the 1976 film was a hot mess. Suffice to say, unlike Lazarus, it wouldn't be rising for long.

Starring Chiwetel Ejiofor as the descending bloke with Naomie Harris and Bill Nighy, this is a sequel to the 1976 David Bowie movie of the same name, with Nighy taking Bowie's character here.

Opening titles featuring an Iron Maiden album font and music from Whitesnake? Just what was the message here? Pre-credits Ejiofor is seen as speaker at a conference, about to show off some exciting thing he has in a box. How long until find out what that is? He's probably going to tell us, but not before we get the backstory. That, well, you can have that now. And so begins a somewhat inelegant tale of what happened when this 'man' fell to earth. He wasn't man to start with, but if you've seen the equally curious movie, you'll know exactly what we're getting at.