Alien Nation (TV series)

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Alien Nation
Genre Science fiction
Created by Kenneth Johnson
Written by Kenneth Johnson
Rockne S. O'Bannon
Starring Gary Graham
Eric Pierpoint
Michele Scarabelli
Lauren Woodland
Sean Six
Narrated by Charles Howerton
Composer(s) Joe Harnell
Steve Dorff
Larry Herbstritt
Country of origin  United States
Language(s) English
No. of seasons 1
No. of episodes 22
Production
Executive producer(s) Kenneth Johnson
Producer(s) Tom Chehak
Art Seidel
Running time approx. 45 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel FOX
Original run September 18, 1989 – May 7, 1990

Alien Nation is a science fiction television series, loosely based on the movie of the same name. Gary Graham starred as Detective Matthew Sikes, a Los Angeles police officer reluctantly working with "Newcomer" alien George Francisco (from the planet Tencton), played by Eric Pierpoint. Sikes also has an on again-off again flirtation with a female Newcomer, Cathy Frankel, played by Terri Treas.

Contents

[edit] Storylines

The storylines generally revolved around morality plays on the evils of racism and bigotry using Newcomers as the discriminated minority. As fictional immigrants, Newcomers could "stand in" for hot-button social issues about African-Americans and Mexican-Americans (as well as sexual minorities like gays) and invert the usual expectations. For example, during the run of the series, George became pregnant (the male of his species carrying the fetus for part of its gestation) and during much of the episode dialog included such lines as, "If you females had to feel the pain we males feel during pregnancy, there wouldn't be any babies." The series offered insightful social commentary by illustrating what it means to be human and the often bizarre rituals we observe.

[edit] Differences between the movie and the TV series

  • In the movie version the human detective is named Detective Matthew Sykes (played by James Caan). In the TV series Gary Graham plays Detective Matthew Sikes.
  • Detective George Francisco (originally named "Sam Francisco" by the human Immigration authorities), the Newcomer detective, is played by Mandy Patinkin in the movie, and Eric Pierpoint in the TV series. These are played as much the same character.
  • The TV series has a much lighter tone than the movie, with extensive subtle humor and wordplay. The movie is essentially a noir piece, very gritty and hard-bitten.
  • Many aspects of Newcomer culture are explored in the TV series, including childbirth, religion, family, history, longing for their home planet, etc. In the movie Newcomer culture is hinted at, but never explored.
  • In the movie Francisco has a wife named Susan (played by Kendall Conrad) and a son (called "George Jr." in the credits; although, Mandy Patinkin states, within the film, that he was named "Richard", after Richard Nixon) played by Brian Lando. In the TV series his wife is still named Susan (Michele Scarabelli), but his son is named Buck (Sean Six). He also has a daughter Emily (Lauren Woodland), and gives birth to an additional daughter, Vessna.
  • Both detectives work for Captain Warner (Francis X. McCarthy) in the movie and Captain Bryon Grazer (Ron Fassler) in the TV series.

[edit] Cancellation

The weekly series ran for just one season, from 1989 through 1990, when a financial crunch at the fledgling Fox Network caused Fox executives to cancel all dramatic series. A second season was clearly expected by the producers, as the season ended with a cliffhanger. The show built a strong fan base, and popular demand led to "Dark Horizon", the episode that would have begun the second season, being novelized and adapted as a comic book as well as spawning a series of novels. Four years later, after a change of management at Fox, the story of Alien Nation finally continued with five well-received television movies (including all the original cast).

[edit] Television movies

[edit] Main cast

The cast of Alien Nation

[edit] Episode List

Ep# Title Original airdate Production code
1 "Pilot" September 18, 1989 1
As resentment toward the Newcomers builds, Matt Sikes and George Francisco investigate a string of murders that appears to be the work of a giant, insect-like creature that Purists claim is connected to the Newcomeers, and Matt receives information from his dead former partner that may lead to and uncover a greater evil. 
2 "Fountain Of Youth" September 25, 1989 2
A pair of surgeons have been killing Newcomers for their spartiary glands and implanting the life-lengthening glands into humans. 
3 "Little Lost Lamb" October 2, 1989 3
George and Matt go undercover to investigate a prostitution ring, and George's uncle Moodri, a Tenctonese Elder, convinces Buck to face up to and confess to a killing Buck had committed in self-defense. 
4 "Fifteen With Wanda" October 9, 1989 4
Matt and George struggle to cope with both their respective rebellious children and each other while simultaneously trying to protect a sex-crazed witness from a mobster. 
5 "The Takeover" October 16, 1989 5
Amidst a bloody city-wide riot, Matt and George must stop the hoodlums who lay siege to the police precinct in order to raid its evidence locker for contraband. 
6 "The First Cigar" October 23, 1989 6
Behind on his taxes, George accepts a loan from a Tenctonese businesswoman, only to discover that she is involved in a drug ring plaguing Slagtown. 
7 "Night Of The Screams" October 30, 1989 7
As Halloween approaches, a series of grisly murders is patterned after the mythical Tagdot, a Tenctonese boogeyman who severs the hands of his victims as they bleed to death. 
8 "Contact" November 6, 1989 8
In the wake of an astronomer's murder, George and Matt must prevent an Overseer from sending a signal into space which could result in Earth's enslavement. 
9 "Three To Tango" November 13, 1989 9
Someone has been murdering Binnaums, a unique caste of Newcomers required in Tenctonese procreation, putting staionhouse janitor (and binnaum) Albert Einstein in grave danger, and Sikes and George fear it is the work of Purists intent on preventing Newcomers from multiplying. Also, the Franciscos make plans for a third child. 
10 "The Game" November 20, 1989 10
George is forced to confront his past when a Russian Roulette-style game once played on the slave ship resurfaces to plague Newcomer society. 
11 "Chains Of Love" November 27, 1989 11
George goes undercover to track down a murderous female Newcomer who has been using a dating service and a Tenctonese love drug called Sardonak to lure victims, while Matt must deal with the attentions of a male Newcomer who has taken Sardonak but fallen for Matt instead. 
12 "The Red Room" December 18, 1989 12
Matt and George join the search for an elusive killer, a Newcomer trained in the quarantine camps to be an assassin for the C.I.A. 
13 "The Spirit Of '95" January 15, 1990 13
As Newcomers (in particular Susan and Buck) lobby for the right to vote, the violent kidnappings of prominent campaigners are blamed on the Purists. 
14 "Generation To Generation" January 29, 1990 14
A mysterious Tenctonese artifact is passed along from person to person, leaving a trail of dead in its wake ... including someone very close to the Francisco family. 
15 "Eyewitness News" February 5, 1990 15
While George's being featured on a news show special as a model Newcomer starts going to his head, Matt investigates an attack on a Tenctonese porno star. 
16 "Partners" February 12, 1990 16
When George is implicated in a scandal involving the disappearance on his watch of several kilos of an illegal narcotic known as "Jack", it is up to Matt to clear him ... an effort that strikes close to Matt. Also, the Francisco family prepares for the transference of the pod from Susan to George. 
17 "Real Men" February 19, 1990 17
Sikes and a pregnant George track a thief who is stealing Newcomer blood to sell Tenctonese hormones to human bodybuilders. 
18 "Crossing The Line" February 26, 1990 18
Matt's vacation plans are thwarted by the return of The Doctor, a ruthless serial killer who eluded him years ago, but during the investigation George worries that Matt is hiding something from him. 
19 "Rebirth" March 12, 1990 19
Following a life-after-death experience, Matt is convinced that a Tenctonese criminal has the ability to bring the dead back to life. 
20 "Gimme, Gimme" April 9, 1990 20
George's investment in a Tenctonese fabric company is jeopardized when one of the firm's corporate executives meets with foul play, Buck protests against worker exploitation at the firm's factory, and Matt sells one of his lottery tickets to Albert ... only to see him win. 
21 "The Touch" April 30, 1990 21
Cathy is reunited with a boy from the Newcomer slave ship, but when he exhibits bizarre behaviour and appears emotionally troubled, she goes beyond the law in her attempts to intervene. 
22 "Green Eyes" May 7, 1990 22
Matt and Cathy struggle with their romantic feelings for one another, while George and Matt's partnership/friendship may implode due to George's promotion over Matt and a plot to exterminate the Tenctonese race via a deadly bacteria unfolds. 

[edit] DVD release

The series was released on DVD January 3, 2006 by 20th Century Fox. The five telefilms that followed after the series was cancelled were released in Region 1 by Best Buy exclusively on September 11, 2007, and are set to be released wide on April 15, 2008 [1]

DVD Name Ep # Release Date Additional Information
Alien Nation- The Complete Series 22 January 3, 2006
  • Commentary by Kenneth Johnson on the two-hour pilot telefilm
  • Behind-the-Scenes featurette
Alien Nation- Ultimate Movie Collection 5 September 11, 2007

[edit] References

  1. "Alien Nation Episode Guide". TV.com. http://www.tv.com/alien-nation/show/1792/episode.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=tabssh&tag=tabs;episodes. Retrieved on 2007-11-24. 

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_Nation_(TV_series)"
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