Alien Nation - The Complete Series (1989)

As Newcomers -- fugitive slaves from the planet Tencton -- Detective George Francisco and his family face prejudice and intolerance as they struggle to assimilate to life on their adopted planet. Together with his human partner, hard-edged Detective Matt Sikes, George walks the beat in Slagtown, Los Angeles, a Newcomer slum teeming with vice and corruption. More than just another cop show or science fiction show, Alien Nation utilizes a unique and exciting blend of action, suspense, humor, and social drama to explore the sociology of what it means to be an outsider striving to fit in.

Great show and even better price!

This is a great show. A must get for anyone who calls themselves a sci-fi fan! June 9, 2008

Rather watch these reruns

I've been enjoying these instead of the reruns of reruns of movies on many stations on Sunday afternoons. If you aren't a sports fan, Sunday afternoon TV is boring. May 31, 2008

Warning to serious science fiction fans!

I have bought a number of DVDs and DVD sets from here at amazon, and before I did, I read customer reviews. Complete series of Star Trek, Smallville, Battlestar Galactica (the new series), and Supernatural. Reviews for all of those encouraged me to buy them, and I am pleased that they did. I also read reviews for some series that I have rented from Blockbuster Online: Surface, Invasion, and Threshold. I rented and watched all the episodes for those three series. I was pleased with them too, and I am thankful for the reviews.

The Alien Nation series was different, however.

I have seen the original movie, starring James Caan. It has its weaknesses, perhaps mainly because it's an old movie lacking the production qualities of a good contemporary science fiction movie. But it has some strong points, and as a discerning fan of good science fiction I find it tolerable enough for a full viewing.

With the recent DVD release of Alien Nation - Ultimate Movie Collection, I read reviews for the TV series and the TV movies. Amazon bundled the the series and the movie collection together; so I bought them all. That was a mistake.

I watched about half of the series' pilot episode before giving up on it. I just could not stomach the lack of respect that was shown for what should be treated as a serious subject matter. Instead of feeling like a dedicated science fiction production, it felt like a blend of science fiction and sit-com.

For example in the police station there's a sequence with the alien ("Newcomer") janitor. While replacing fire extinguishers, he accidentally activates one, giving himself a blast of carbon dioxide, which has a potent effect on the aliens. It knocks him out flat on the floor, and people walk around him as if he didn't even exist. It was nothing less than slapstick comedy. It was out place.

But that's just one obvious example. The underlying spirit of the entire show seems to be of unconvincing levity. It is the direct opposite of the devotion shown in the production of the contemporary Battlestar Galactica series. The people making THAT series are serious. They make me believe, or at least want to believe. But I believe the Alien Nation TV series and the Alien Nation TV movies are not worth the attention of a serious science fiction fan.
May 31, 2008

Great!

I loved the original movie, but this series can stand on it's own very well.
Though it takes place in ( our ) past - it's still a fun show to watch.
If you have seen it aired on TV it's still as good as it was then and if you are new to it - watch it with an open mind and I bet you will love it!!!
The follow up TV Movies are worth watching too, yes I am a fan - but I consider myself to be rather picky.
ENJOY!!! May 28, 2008

Faded Memory

Granted, I have just begun to view the series, but I did so after watching the movie with James Caan. My memory of the TV show is not serving me well, as it's not as good as I recall (and I watched them all back then). And in comparison to the movie, the series just does not measure up. It seems hokey and poorly acted and constantly straining for humor. May 20, 2008

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