I won't try to convince anyone that it's "good", but I caught a re-run of the original V movie and series in the 2000s (probably around the time the Sci-Fi channel revived it) and I quite liked it.
this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2026
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The thread doesn’t have a lot of shows yet, so I’m gonna recommend Resident Alien with Alan Tudyk. He plays the awkward alien so well it’s unreal. The show mixes humor and drama really well. Made me laugh while giving me solid characters to root for.
this show is top tier, one of my favorites. I met one of the writers during the writers strike and I thanked her for her contribution.
That’s awesome! Do you work in that field or met at en event or something?
i work in post production, so tangential
They Live is pretty good.
Understatement.
100%
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Batteries Not Included
Mars Attacks! is always a hoot
Independence Day has a lot of great moments
Can’t forget X-Files and ET as well
I guess I never realized how many of these I liked haha
Also this bonus Pixar short, Lifted: https://youtu.be/LVLoc6FrLi0
ACK ACK ACK
Mars Attacks!
It's not unusual to find it referenced here.
Also:
- Signs
- MiB
The X-files is still a solid TV show after all these years. And the music is nice too.
Yeah, I rewatched a load of it not too long ago and it's still really good. Plus it's fun to look back and spot all the famous faces. Some I can remember off the top of my head: Seth Green, Jack Black, that guy Ribisi, Bokeem Woodbine, Bryan Cranston, the guy that plays Dr Romero in ER, Luke Wilson. Probably loads more I've forgotten.
Does Invader Zim count by any chance?
for sure
Arrival and District 9 show the ships at some point, so do they count as UFO movies? If yes, then those two.
these rock
2001 Space Odyssey and Arrival for me
Plan 9 from outer space. Its bad
Movies that lean on the mystery/wonder/terror of UFOs themselves -- watch these first:
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
- Arrival (2016)
- Nope (2022)
For UFO-centered alien movies as baddies:
- Mars Attacks! (1996)
- Signs (2002)
- Edge of Tomorrow (2014) / All You Need Is Kill (2025)
- Fire in the Sky (1993)
- Invaders from Mars (1953) / Invaders from Mars (1986) -- very different movies, but both valid
For UFO-centered alien movies as buddies:
- E.T. (1982)
- District 9 (2009)
- Flight of the Navigator (1986)
- *batteries not included (1987)
Lesser-known but noteworthy entries from deeper in the stacks:
- Landscape with Invisible Hand (2023) -- A curious social satire that gets a bit bogged down by its message but features a unique tone that left a lasting impact
- Penguin Highway (2019) -- A hard-sci-fi core hiding within a cheerful kids movie
ooh ill check out penguin highway for sure
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) has a great story and overall message. Sure, there are some corny bits (like the kid), but I think some of them were intentional. People forget that sarcasm and parody have existed for centuries.
yeah thats a classic
Iirc, American Horror Story season 2 did UFOs/alien abductions.
is it good?
I don't remember, it's been a long time since i've seen it.
Amongst more recent movies, I found UFO Sweden to be remarkably good: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14807348/
Marvin the Martian
love marvin!
Others I haven’t seen mentioned, yet:
- The Man Who Fell to Earth
"The day the earth stood still" still holds up
The Vast of Night
This movie does a great job of maintaining that mystery and still being exciting.
my addition : It Came From Outer Space. Old but well done with intelligent characters.
This one is my favorite I think
Sticking strictly to 'UFO movie', i.e. one involving alien space ships on earth, I'm struggling to think of many...but Flight of the Navigator is a classic kids one.
Nobody is mentioning Project UFO. I saw it as a kid.
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwoa322Klork1bKONV4s8kyFukPJi52jJ
Of course the intro I remember looked more like: https://youtu.be/yVVADz0Afss?is=oioZcaQj_SkelcaB
I also thought it was called Project Bluebook
Oh and this really bad Christmas based alien show that nobody bit me remembers: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0182015/
I really enjoyed the Spielberg miniseries Taken when it came out in 2002, but I rewatched it a couple of years back and it hasn't aged all that well.
No One Will Save You. Raimi-esque alien home invasion/siege horror. Lot of fun.
i quite liked Phoenix Forgotten (2017), it's a good little found footage type thing.