Among the few of titles of interest to us on Paramount+ is Showtime's The Man Who Fell to Earth, which we've been watching and generally enjoying.

But its most recent episode Under Pressure gave us pause, again. Warning - this post contains spoilers.

On the surface this series would tick a lot of present day moral checkboxes.

The two main characters are black.

One of those a woman. Her character is a brilliant former scientist single-mother who struggles to support her father and his cripplingly expensive medical condition.

The other is an alien here to save Earth from global warming which he warns is so urgent that if not turned around by 2030 will result in our extinction.

Our villains include a psychopathic CIA agent who even the CIA don't like.

Its cast includes Star Trek's Kate Mulgrew and we all know how morally upright Star Trek is.

The Lost Cause

Our brow first wrinkled at the 2030 deadline.

We were convinced of the threat global warming long before it entered the mainstream public consciousness and at this point 81% of Australians agree.

That result is typical though the US a bit behind on 70%.

Global warming isn't a phenomenon many people need to be sold on but if you are on the other side of this divide, if it's so urgent that it can only be solved with advanced alien technology implemented before 2030, there's no point in we mere humans attempting to halt or reverse it.

Especially if that's going to require effort or sacrifice of existing comforts.

Sci-fi metaphors aren't always a perfect match and we chose to overlook this one as well intentioned but slightly clumsy.

Until this week's episode which set multiple alarm bells ringing.

The Feelgood False Narrative

In Under Pressure we learn that our brilliant former scientist performed an unsanctioned after hours experiment in a US Department of Energy lab which resulted in a man's death.

Her boyfriend as it happens.

This led to her firing and ended her scientific career.

Not even remotely credible.

An unmatched expert in a field with enormous military and commercial potential, at worst she would be subject to more oversight following an incident like this.

Even if the government didn't want her then private industry would snap her up in a heartbeat.

The Sacrifice

In the closing scene our alien visitor has this to say of the incident.

The nature of progress is that it requires sacrifice.

You achieved fusion.

That only one person died during one of the greatest evolutionary steps on your timeline is what you would call a miracle.

No progress doesn't require sacrifice.

That's just a lie you'd tell if you're in the business of sacrificing others for your or the "greater" good.

What interest could there be in telling this lie now?

University research - which this episode takes some unfair pot shots at - structurally allows very little room for unethical methods.

Not only must researchers receive ethical approval for their research but the nature of public reporting, peer review and publication means that any discoveries made as the result of unethical methods can't be claimed.

Government and corporate research occurs behind closed doors, purely for the benefit of the employer and reported to no-one else.

Corporate research accounts for 70% of global expenditure and this is growing.

Human welfare and lives may very well be at risk.

There's also animals to consider.

Veganism is fast growing in popularity and animal experimentation is prevalent in every research sector.

Opposition to animal research poses a threat to fields which presently rely heavily or even exclusively on them.

If viewers can accept this show's main character killing her boyfriend for progress, surely they can overlook mice, bunnies, dogs, chimps etc.

Surely.

With five episodes remaining it's too early for us to label this show as sinister but we'll be watching those episodes with a more critical eye.

The Man Who Fell to Earth is streaming now on Paramount+.

[ Main Image: The Man Who Fell to Earth. Credit: Showtime via IMDb.com. ]

References

International Science Council. Science in the Private Sector. (viewed May 19, 2022)

Statista (April 2, 2022). Share of population who believe in climate change Australia 2012-2021.

Statista (November 10, 2021). U.S. adults' opinion on the occurrence of global warming 2008-2021.

TV Show Transcripts. The Man Who Fell to Earth - S01E04 Under Pressure. (viewed May 19, 2022)

Wikipedia. The Man Who Fell to Earth (TV series). (viewed May 19, 2022)