Heather is a character in the science fiction comedy television series Resident Alien. She is portrayed by Edi Patterson.
Character overview[]
So you are hereby ordered to leave Earth immediately. Honestly, dude, just go to the back and sign the last page. You are in big trouble.
Heather to Harry Vanderspeigle, "141 Seconds"
Heather's human form
Heather is an officer with the Housing Council of the Galactic Federation. A Blue Avian, she arrives through a portal at Harry Vanderspeigle's cabin, where she serves Harry Vanderspeigle with papers outlining charges that among other things he broke galactic law by not honoring his contract with the Greys to vacate the Earth and thus ordering him to leave the Earth immediately. Having a great fondness for the Blue Avian race, Harry finds her extremely attractive.
Appearance[]
She has the appearance of a bipedal, owl-like bird. She has yellow eyes and a beak, grey feathery skin and large blue wings coming out of her back, wearing a shimmery blue jumpsuit. As a human, she appears to be a Caucasian woman with long brunette hair and a reasonably attractive appearance.
Plot summary[]
"141 Seconds"[]
Harry Vanderspeigle is pleased with himself, having recently figured out what the Greys' plan is to destroy the Earth, when a portal appears inside cabin. From it emerges Heather, who chirps, opening a large case. She then pulls a folder from it and holds it out to Harry. She tells him that she's from the Galactic Federation and she's there to inform him that he's being served. When he asks her what for, she replies that among the charges is that he broke galactic law by not honoring his contract with the Greys to vacate the planet. She says that he is hereby ordered to leave Earth immediately. She then tells him to just go to the back and sign the last page, that he is in big trouble. "Son of a bitch," curses Harry.
"Avian Flu"[]
Heather again pays Harry a visit through the portal. She is annoyed to now find Asta Twelvetrees and D'arcy Bloom with him and that they can see her true form as a Blue Avian, thanks to a malfunction with the portal, which is normally designed to make her appear as the native life-form on the planets that she visits. Harry, entranced by her Blue Avian form, is prepared to sign the papers simply to make her happy, but Asta and D'arcy both object to this, as they need him to remain on Earth to put a stop to the Greys' plans. When Heather reveals that the portal is malfunctioning due to someone who tried to smuggle fruit through it, D'arcy tosses a banana through it, causing it to fizzle out. Heather groans about being trapped on Earth and heads to the bathroom in order to assume a human form. She then asks if they can recommend a good hotel in town.
Harry returns to Heather, declaring his intention to countersue the Galactic Federation's Housing Council. She calls him a "bad boy," asking if he realizes just how much paperwork this takes. He tells her that he isn't even a real doctor and that he once killed a man. He tells her it's nice to talk to another alien, asking if he can show her around town. She tells him that she's going to go back to her hotel room, saying that her back is killing her, and he suggests she come with him to the Patience Health Clinic for an examination.
At the clinic, Harry finds himself weak at the knees, his palms sweating. He realizes that it is something he's seen in human movies: love, and not like that which he feels for Asta. Asta points out that he just met Heather, but he tells he cannot help it. Later, at Joe's Diner, Harry passes Heather a note using the boy Max Hawthorne as an intermediary. He is crushed when Heather tells him that she thinks that they should just be friends because she's only hanging out there until the portal is repaired. Harry then lies and tells her that all he really wants is friendship, but is crushed on the inside.
Harry makes a nest for Heather, dropping it off at her hotel room along with a note reading "I want you to be happy." He thinks to himself that love is wanting the person you love to be happy, even if you are not. That evening, however, he spots Heather outside his window in her bird form. She coos and chitters. He growls playfully in response and she flies towards him, only to smash into the window. He goes outside and takes her hand. They kiss and then she flies him up and away.
"Lovebird"[]
Heather takes Harry on a whirlwind ride, leading all the way to New York and back to Patience. Asta becomes increasingly worried about Harry's absence, given that he is supposed to be working on a way to stop the Greys. She eventually finds him in his office in the Patience Health Clinic, singing love songs about Heather. She confronts him, warning him that Sheriff Mike Thompson and Deputy Liv Baker may be closing in on him, thanks to his presence in a van belonging to Peter Bach, the Alien Tracker, but he simply brushes it off. She is disgusted when he reveals that he and Heather had sex in her car. She nevertheless tells him that she's happy he's happy, but that life is about balance and he can have a romance with Heather while still working on the mission. He suggests that she invite him and Heather to dinner so that they can all meet and she agrees.
Dinner does not go well. As D'arcy and Asta are now living together, D'arcy plays host as well, but she serves roast chicken, forgetting the fact that Heather is of a bird species. When Asta points out that the portal is fixed so Heather will be going soon, Heather agrees "We'll be going pretty soon," Harry saying that the two of them are both leaving and moving to Heather's home planet. When Asta asks about his mission, Heather asks if she means the one about him stopping the Greys, saying that the two of them share everything. When D'arcy argues that Harry needs to stay and stop the Greys, he argues that he only needs to give General McCallister what she needs to defeat them.
Convinced that Harry is making a huge mistake, D'arcy tells Asta that they have to get Harry and Heather to break up. Asta agrees that Harry is like a teenager in heat. D'arcy suggests getting a snake to eat Heather, but Asta says that they just need to get Harry and Heather to breakup. The plan, however, backfires spectacularly, with Harry overhearing their attempt to convince Heather that he would not be a good partner. He in turn sows discord between Asta and D'arcy before taking off with Heather, telling them that they will never know a love like his and Heather's and that he feels sorry for both of them. Sometime following this, Heather is out walking the sidewalks of Patience when she is accosted by Joseph Rainier, a Grey-human hybrid. He tells her that the Greys know where her family lives and demands that she collect some of Harry's alien DNA and bring it back to him. When she asks why he is doing this, he tells her only that once she gets what he needs, she is to leave the planet without seeing Harry again, or they will kill him too. "Okay," she agrees.
"Bye Bye Birdie"[]
Heather returns to Harry's cabin. There, he offers to make her breakfast, or a new nest. She, however, tells him that he's done so much for her and that she wants to do something for him instead. She then gives him a thorough gill-cleaning, collecting the contents in a blue bag. Harry is pleased by the cleaning and not at all suspicious of her actions.
Heather then leaves the cabin. Two hours later, Harry receives a pigeon with a note reading "Harry, if you're reading this, then you've meet my friend Arlo. I'm leaving the planet without you. Don't look for me. And please give Arlo some cereal, if you don't mind." Completely devastated, Harry sends a note back, asking how he can know it's really her. They continue to exchange notes for some time until Heather, exasperated, finally returns through the portal, telling him that she can't keep doing this, that it isn't fair to Arlo. She lies, telling him that she didn't love him and never did. He tries to sing her one of his love songs, but she tells him that it's over and leaves.
Heather later goes to Joseph. He asks if Harry has any idea about her stealing his DNA. She tells him that she doesn't, but that she feels terrible, that she loves him. He, however, reminds her of the threat to her family if she tells Harry anything. Their conversation is witnessed by Judy Cooper, who later reports it to D'arcy Bloom. When Harry learns of it, he takes it as proof of Heather being a traitor for the Greys, never knowing that Heather actually did love him all along.
"Here Comes My Baby"[]
Shattered by Heather's betrayal, Harry plans to leave the Earth alone, leaving the bomb to kill the Greys to General McCallister. However, the return of his son, Bridget, causes him to see that happiness is not just getting love, but also getting to love.
"Ties That Bind"[]
Harry and Heather's chicks
Heather returns to Earth and kills the mantid that had assumed the alien Harry's identity. She then finds Harry and drops a bombshell: "I want you to meet your kids" - revealing that she has hatched chicks, spawned from their coupling.
"Truth Hurts"[]
Although Harry is happy to be reunited with Heather, he discovers that he has a problem: his human form finds her bird form disgusting. At first, he tries to hide this from her, but is eventually forced to admit the truth, as well as the fact that he has been stripped of his alien energy and is actually a human. She, however, in her human form, makes it clear that it doesn't matter to her, getting down on one knee and asking him to marry her. She tells him that he's the love of her life, human or not, and despite the fact that this will make her parents very angry. She warns him that her parents are very racist against humans. He is thrilled that she would accept him despite all this and puts on the ring, accepting the proposal.
Later, Heather's father shows up and attacks Harry in anger. Harry tells him that he looks forward to the moment when he gets to call him "Dad," only to get attacked again. Following this, a badly bloodied Harry tells Heather that it isn't going to work, that her father had said that if they get married, she won't see her family again. She tells him she doesn't care, but he says that he knows that she does, that the reason she left him in the first place was because Joseph had threatened her family. She tells him it's worth it to be with him, that he and their babies are her family now.
He tells her that he finds her disgusting, that as a human he can only understand her human form and that she is too great to live with someone who can't appreciate her for who she is. She pleads with him that they can make it work, that she knows they can, but he says she doesn't deserve this, that she needs what they had before, but he can't give it to her anymore. She asks him to at least read her one more of his poems in beautiful language and he does so. They hug, and she leaves, Harry staring at his reflection in the window, which is only human.
Behind the scenes[]
Resident Alien creator and showrunner discussed the casting of Edi Patterson in an interview with TVLine, stating that she was recommended by Alan Tudyk (Harry Vanderspeigle), who had previously done some improv work with her. He continued that what locked it was that at the end of the phone call, she asked if there was any chance she could do some improv, to which he replied, "You'd better do improv!"[1]
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Still images[]
"141 Seconds"[]
"Avian Flu"[]
"Lovebird"[]
"Bye Bye Birdie"[]
"Ties That Bind"[]
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References[]
- ↑ "Resident Alien Boss Says Harry's Wild Blue..." by Josh Weiss, February 29, 2024