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Alien Nation | |
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Genre | Science fiction Detective drama |
Based on | Characters created by Rockne S. O'Bannon |
Developed by | Kenneth Johnson |
Starring | Gary Graham Eric Pierpoint Michele Scarabelli Lauren Woodland Sean Six Terri Treas |
Narrated by | Charles Howerton |
Composers | Joe Harnell Steve Dorff Larry Herbstritt |
Country of origin | United States |
No. of seasons | 1 |
No. of episodes | 22 (list of episodes) |
Production | |
Executive producer | Kenneth Johnson |
Producers | Tom Chehak Art Seidel |
Running time | 60 minutes |
Production companies | Kenneth Johnson Productions 20th Century Fox Television |
Original release | |
Network | Fox |
Release | September 18, 1989 – May 7, 1990 |
Alien Nation is a science fiction police procedural television series in the Alien Nation franchise. Adapted from the 1988 Alien Nation movie, it stars Gary Graham as Detective Matthew Sikes, a Los Angeles police officer reluctantly working with "Newcomer" alien Sam "George" Francisco, played by Eric Pierpoint. Sikes also has an on again-off again flirtation with a female Newcomer, Cathy Frankel, played by Terri Treas.
TV Guide included the series in their 2013 list of 60 shows that were "Cancelled Too Soon". [1]
The series is set in the near future in the United States. In 1990, a flying saucer crashes in the Mojave Desert containing a race of extraterrestrials, the Tenctonese, escaping from slavery under a cruel Overseer race. They are humanoid but have certain anatomical differences and have been bred with greater physical strength and intelligence. These Newcomers, as they are called, are accepted as the latest immigrants to the US. The series explores issues around their integration into the multicultural society of the US.
The storylines often are morality plays on the evils of racism and bigotry, using Newcomers as the discriminated minority. As fictional extraterrestrial immigrants, the Newcomers could stand in for social issues about various races, as well as sexual minorities such as gays and lesbians, and would invert the usual expectations. For instance, mid-way through the series, George becomes pregnant (the male of his species carrying the fetus for part of its gestation), and during much of the episode, dialog included lines like, "If you females had to feel the pain we males feel during pregnancy, there wouldn't be any babies." The series offers social commentary by illustrating what it means to be human and the often bizarre rituals we observe.
In an April 2, 2008 episode of Fanboy Radio (#463), creator Johnson explains: Having been responsible for science-fiction television series such as The Six Million Dollar Man , V and The Incredible Hulk , was approached for the television adaptation of the 1988 film Alien Nation . He had no interest in the project and agreed to watch the film which left him unimpressed except for one scene when a Newcomer, George, leaves his suburban wife and child and goes to work. Johnson returned to the network, which envisioned a weekly science-fiction version of Lethal Weapon , and sold them on a different concept of social commentary about what happens when a new minority appears overnight. He intended his version to be more akin to the film In the Heat of the Night than a traditional action film.
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The weekly series ran for one season, from 1989 through 1990, and was one of the few successes the fledgling Fox Network had at the time. However, the network suffered from financial shortage caused by lower-than-expected advertising income. As a result, Fox executives cancelled all of their dramatic series for the 1990–1991 season. A second season of Alien Nation 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 continued with five television movies (including all the original cast), picking up with the cliffhanger.
A spaceship transporting slaves from an alien planet, crash landed on earth. While trying to integrate into human society, the “Newcomers” are accepted by some and hated by others.
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
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1 | "Pilot" | Kenneth Johnson | Kenneth Johnson | September 18, 1989 | 6W79 |
The Francisco family move into a more affluent neighbourhood where they are welcomed by some, but resented by others. The youngest daughter, Emily attempts to go to her new school but is blocked by protesters on her first day. Sikes and George arrive and Sikes compares Newcomers to other minority groups such as Jews and coloured people. Shamed, the group disperses and Emily enters her school. Although she does make some friends there is also resentment especially from a boy in a wheelchair. In the meantime a group of white purists create a giant insect costume and use it to scare people into believing that this is what all newcomers will become. Although Sikes stuck up for the young Newcomer, he is still unsure about them, even more so when a Newcomer, Cathy moves into the apartment next door. The Francisco’s teenage son Buck joins a gang of other newcomers and they end up having a fight with a gang of humans during which Buck shoots a human boy. During the fight Buck gets a substance on his jacket which comes off onto his mothers skin and creates an infection which she ignores. George revisits the car that Sikes’ first partner Tubbs was shot whilst hiding behind and finds a second bullet hole. This leads them back to Officer Maria Puente in their precinct who was in collusion with the Newcomers masters - the Overseers, something that Tubbs had found out, forcing her to shoot him. | |||||
2 | "Fountain of Youth" | John McPherson | Diane Frolov | September 25, 1989 | 6W03 |
Sikes' issues with aging are intensified when he learns that the Newcomer life-span is almost twice that of humans. The death of a police officer during surgery raises questions about the hospital run by Sikes old school friend. After passing out at a party, Sikes finds out that he has been operated on and an alien gland implanted. Although feeling better than he has done in years, Sikes is horrified to learn why and is determined to take the people responsible down. | |||||
3 | "Little Lost Lamb" | Kevin Hooks | Diane Frolov | October 2, 1989 | 6W02 |
Sikes tries to help a 16-year-old Newcomer prostitute. George deals with the intrusion of Uncle Moodri and his traditional Tenctonese values. | |||||
4 | "Fifteen with Wanda" | Rob Bowman | Steven Long Mitchell, Craig W. Van Sickle | October 9, 1989 | 6W04 |
Sikes and Francisco must each try to deal with their own problem children while keeping a witness safe from a mob hit man. | |||||
5 | "The Takeover" | Steven Dubin | Tom Chehak | October 16, 1989 | 6W05 |
While the city suffers a riot, Francisco and Sikes are left in charge of an almost empty precinct house. Sikes leaves Francisco to help out an old girlfriend. Whilst he is away, a gang of thieves attack the station and kidnap Francisco’s wife Susan. | |||||
6 | "The First Cigar" | John McPherson | Andrew Schneider, Diane Frolov | October 23, 1989 | 6W01 |
Francisco comes under the scrutiny of the IRS and wrestles with the ethics of asking for a loan from an influential Newcomer that he has helped. | |||||
7 | "Night of the Screams" | Gwen Arner | Tom Chehak | October 30, 1989 | 6W06 |
As Halloween approaches, a series of Newcomer murders seems to follow the pattern of a Tenctonese myth. | |||||
8 | "Contact" | John McPherson | Joe Menosky | November 6, 1989 | 6W07 |
The murder of an astronomer leads Sikes and Francisco to the discovery of an extra-terrestrial probe passing through the solar system. But is it friend or foe? Sikes' relations with his Newcomer neighbor, Cathy, develops. George and Susan discuss having another baby. | |||||
9 | "Three to Tango" | Stan Lathan | Diane Frolov, Andrew Schneider | November 13, 1989 | 6W08 |
A series of murders of Binnaum, a rare kind of Tenctonese needed for catalyzing reproduction, raises fears that Purists are trying to stop the Tenctonese from breeding. Francisco asks Albert to be the Binnaum for his and Susan's next child. | |||||
10 | "The Game" | David Carson | Steven Long Mitchell, Craig W. Van Sickle | November 20, 1989 | 6W09 |
The Day of Descent, the fifth anniversary of the Tenctonese's liberation from slavery with their ship's arrival on Earth, finds Francisco depressed. Matt wonders how come and George says that the Newcomers may be celebrating by a gambling device taken from the ship that is still operational. When Matt asks what game this is, Francisco says it is akin to Russian Roulette. | |||||
11 | "Chains of Love" | Harry S. Longstreet | Andrew Schneider, Diane Frolov | November 27, 1989 | 6W10 |
Sikes and Francisco seek an elusive Newcomer woman - all of whose dates wind up dead. George worries about Susan's fidelity. | |||||
12 | "The Red Room" | Chuck Bowman | Steven Long Mitchell, Craig W. Van Sickle | December 18, 1989 | 6W11 |
A break in at a behavioral lab and a series of execution-style murders dredges up buried memories for Francisco. | |||||
13 | "The Spirit of '95" | Harry S. Longstreet | Tom Chehak | January 15, 1990 | 6W12 |
As Susan and Buck campaign for Tenctonese suffrage, bombings and kidnappings are linked to the anti-Newcomer "Purist" organization. | |||||
14 | "Generation to Generation" | John McPherson | Andrew Schneider, Diane Frolov | January 29, 1990 | 6W13 |
Several parties claim ownership of a mysterious Tenctonese box that leaves a trail of death in its wake. | |||||
15 | "Eyewitness News" | Lyndon Chubbuck | Charles S. Kaufman, Larry B. Williams | February 5, 1990 | 6W14 |
The line between reality and fantasy blurs when a crossed video phone line lets a boardroom of executives see a sex actress attacked. George becomes swept up in celebrity when a news crew does a week-long special on him. | |||||
16 | "Partners" | Stan Lathan | David Garber, Bruce Kalish | February 12, 1990 | 6W15 |
George is suspended from the force when several grams of drugs go missing on his watch. An old mentor of Sikes' returns. The Francisco family prepares for the Ejection, when the baby will transferred from Susan to George. | |||||
17 | "Real Men" | John McPherson | Diane Frolov, Andrew Schneider | February 19, 1990 | 6W16 |
Sikes and Francisco investigate possible steroid dealings at a gym. George must reconcile his and humanity's conceptions of manhood while he is pregnant. | |||||
18 | "Crossing the Line" | Gwen Arner | Steven Long Mitchell, Craig W. Van Sickle | February 26, 1990 | 6W17 |
Francisco worries that Sikes is hiding something when he cancels his vacation plans to help track down a killer. | |||||
19 | "Rebirth" | Tom Chehak | Tom Chehak | March 12, 1990 | 6W18 |
When Sikes comes back after being pronounced dead, he becomes obsessed with finding the Newcomer he believes healed him. | |||||
20 | "Gimme, Gimme" | David Carson | Andrew Schneider, Diane Frolov | April 9, 1990 | 6W19 |
George investigates the murder of the chief scientist at a company in which he is heavily invested. Buck, inspired by one of his teachers, protests that the workers at the company are being exploited. Matt sells one of his lottery tickets to Albert, only to see him win. | |||||
21 | "The Touch" | Harry S. Longstreet | Steven Long Mitchell, Craig W. Van Sickle | April 30, 1990 | 6W20 |
Cathy finds a boy she knew from the ship, but suspects he has been abused. | |||||
22 | "Green Eyes" | Tom Chehak | Diane Frolov, Andrew Schneider | May 7, 1990 | 6W21 |
Tensions between partners erupt when Francisco passes the Detective 2 exam and is promoted over Sikes. Matt becomes uncomfortable with his attraction to Cathy. The mysterious death of a Newcomer judge points to a lethal bacterium being used as a weapon. |
No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | |
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M1 | Alien Nation: Dark Horizon | Kenneth Johnson | Andrew Schneider, Diane Frolov | October 25, 1994 | |
An Overseer named Ahpossno comes to Earth to take the slaves, and all humans, back to the mothership. | |||||
M2 | Alien Nation: Body and Soul | Kenneth Johnson | Andrew Schneider, Diane Frolov, Renee Longstreet, Harry Longstreet | October 10, 1995 | |
Sikes and Francisco are called in to a case when a mysterious young girl, who looks part Newcomer, part human, appears. Her huge, brutish counterpart tries to free her from the precinct, and their bizarre relationship turns out to be the result of a slaveship medical experiment. Meanwhile, Cathy and Matt are going to sex school, in preparation of becoming intimate, while Buck distresses his parents by his anti-human opinions. | |||||
M3 | Alien Nation: Millennium | Kenneth Johnson | Kenneth Johnson | January 2, 1996 | |
It's December 1999 and as the end of the millennium approaches, people are attempting to find spiritual enlightenment. However, a few people want to skip all the work that entails. A holy Tenctonese relic in the hands of a heretic is giving them a shortcut but it's not quite as easily controlled as she says. | |||||
M4 | Alien Nation: The Enemy Within | Kenneth Johnson | Kenneth Johnson, Dianne Frolov, Andrew Schneider | November 12, 1996 | |
When Detectives Sikes and Francisco are presented with the mysterious death of an Eeno, Matt is stupefied to discover that George had rudely snubbed the case. He, like most Newcomers, reviles the outcast Eenos. As the case unfolds, George has to reassess his prejudices, and George's family help save the city from an alien threat originating in an Eeno waste disposal facility. | |||||
M5 | Alien Nation: The Udara Legacy | Kenneth Johnson | Kenneth Johnson, Renee Longstreet, Harry Longstreet | July 29, 1997 | |
Matt and George investigate a series of strange occurrences involving Newcomers, who are found to be programmed to carry out someone's dirty work. The method by which they are brainwashed dates back to the slave ship's resistance movement, the Udara, of which Susan was a part. Susan and George's lives are further disrupted when Buck enrolls in the police academy. |
The series was released on DVD by 20th Century Fox on January 3, 2006. The five telefilms that followed after the series was cancelled were released in Region 1 by Best Buy exclusively on September 11, 2007, and worldwide on April 15, 2008. [2]
DVD Name | Release Date | Additional Information |
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Alien Nation - The Complete Series | January 3, 2006 |
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Alien Nation - Ultimate Movie Collection | September 11, 2007 |
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In June 2009, Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel) announced that they were developing a new take on the series. [3] Tim Minear ( Angel , Firefly ) was announced to pen the series. But later in 2014, it was reported that the series was cancelled by the network in favor of paranormal reality shows and professional wrestling. [4] In 2015, it was reported that a remake of the series was again in the works, with Art Marcum and Matt Holloway writing the script. [5]
Gary Rand Graham was an American actor. With a career spanning five decades beginning in the 1970s in television and movies, he is perhaps best known for his starring role as Detective Matthew Sikes in the television series Alien Nation (1989–1990) and five subsequent Alien Nation television films (1994–1997), as well as his work in the Star Trek franchise, most notably the recurring role of Soval, the Vulcan ambassador to Earth in Star Trek: Enterprise.
Alien Nation is a 1988 American science fiction action film written by Rockne S. O'Bannon and directed by Graham Baker. The ensemble cast features James Caan, Mandy Patinkin, and Terence Stamp. Its initial popularity inaugurated the beginning of the Alien Nation media franchise. The film depicts the assimilation of the "Newcomers", an alien race settling in Los Angeles, much to the initial dismay of the local population. The plot integrates the neo-noir and buddy cop film genres with a science fiction theme, centering on the relationship between a veteran police investigator (Caan) and an extraterrestrial (Patinkin), the first Newcomer detective. The duo probe a criminal underworld while attempting to solve a homicide. Alien Nation explores murder, discrimination and science fiction.
Eric Pierpoint is an American actor and author. He is perhaps best known for his role as George Francisco on Fox Network's Alien Nation. He has also notably appeared on each of the first four Star Trek television spin-offs.
Alien Nation was a science fiction novel series, based on the movie and television series of the same name. It began in March 1993 with Pocket Books publishing the series. Various books of the series were written by L. A. Graf, Peter David, K. W. Jeter, Barry B. Longyear, David Spencer, Garfield Reeves-Stevens and Judith Reeves-Stevens. All of the books follow the adventures of the Human Detective Matthew Sikes, and his Tenctonese partner George Francisco. Like the TV series, most of the books have two parallel storylines that converge at the end, and most of the novels take modern day issues and put a slightly alien twist on them.
Kindred: The Embraced is an American television series produced by John Leekley Productions and Spelling Television. Loosely based on the role-playing game Vampire: The Masquerade, the series premiered on Fox on April 2, 1996, and ran for seven episodes before it was canceled with one episode unaired on May 9, 1996. Scripts for two other episodes were never filmed.
Space Precinct is a British television series that was first broadcast by syndication in the United States between 1994 and 1995. In the UK, it was first shown on channel Sky One between March and August 1995, and later BBC Two from September 1995 to March 1996. Many US stations scheduled the show in late night time periods, which resulted in low ratings and contributed to its cancellation. The series was based on an unbroadcast 1986 pilot movie titled Space Police featuring Shane Rimmer.
Terri Treas is an American actress, writer and director who has starred in films and on television.
Michele Scarabelli is a Canadian actress. She is well-known for her role as Tenctonese Newcomer Susan Francisco on the Fox Network science fiction series Alien Nation and the five television movies that followed.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has been a staple of American popular culture since its christening in 1935. That year also marked the beginning of the popular "G-Man" phenomenon that helped establish the Bureau's image, beginning with the aptly titled James Cagney movie, G Men. Although the detective novel and other police-related entertainment had long enthralled audiences, the FBI itself can take some of the credit for its media prominence. J. Edgar Hoover, the Bureau's "patriarch", took an active interest to ensure that it was not only well represented in the media, but also that the FBI was depicted in a heroic, positive light and that the message, "crime doesn't pay", was blatantly conveyed to audiences. The context, naturally, has changed profoundly since the 1930s "war on crime", and especially so since Hoover's death in 1972.
Jeffrey Marcus is an American actor who stars on television, film and theater. Between 1980 and 1990, Marcus appeared on and off-Broadway in such plays as The Survivor and Almost an Eagle.
Alien Nation: Dark Horizon is a television film made as a continuation of the Alien Nation television series. Produced by the Fox Network, Alien Nation lasted a single season, ending in 1990 with a cliffhanger series finale. Dark Horizon was written to be the season opener for the second season, but when the series was unexpectedly canceled and looked like it might never return to television, the plot was published as a book. Finally, four years later, Alien Nation: Dark Horizon appeared as a television film to pick up where the television series left off.
Alien Nation: Body and Soul was the second television movie produced to continue the story after the cancellation of the Alien Nation television series. In this series, human Los Angeles Police Department Detective Matthew Sykes and his alien partner George Francisco investigate crimes related to the Tenctonese, a race of aliens that have become stranded on Earth.
Alien Nation: Millennium was the third television film produced to continue the story after the cancellation of Alien Nation.
Alien Nation: The Enemy Within was the fourth television film produced to continue the story after the cancellation of Alien Nation. It was written by Diane Frolov and Andrew Schneider, and directed by Kenneth Johnson.
Alien Nation: The Udara Legacy is a 1997 American science fiction television film directed by Kenneth Johnson and written by Renee and Harry Longstreet. It is the fifth and final film produced to continue the story of the television series Alien Nation. It aired on Fox on July 29, 1997.
Matthew E. Nix is an American writer, producer, and director. He is best known for creating the television series Burn Notice, The Good Guys, and The Gifted.
"Mind's Eye" is the sixteenth episode of the fifth season of the American science fiction television series The X-Files. The episode first aired in the United States on April 19, 1998 on the Fox network. It was written by Tim Minear and directed by Kim Manners. The episode is a "Monster-of-the-Week" story, a stand-alone plot which is unconnected to the series' wider mythology. "Mind's Eye" received a Nielsen household rating of 10.4 and was watched by 16.53 million viewers. The episode received moderately positive reviews, with many critics praising Lili Taylor's performance as Glenn. For her work in this episode, Taylor was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series.
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Alien Nation is an American science fiction media franchise created by Rockne S. O'Bannon, comprising film, television, and other media productions about alien refugees living on Earth. The series began with the 1988 film Alien Nation, which was adapted into a Fox Network television series of the same name in 1989. Fox cancelled the series abruptly after one season, but continued the story in five TV movies. The series also produced other media and merchandising tie-ins, including novels and comics. Aside from the sci-fi angle, the franchise fits into many different genres including drama, police procedural and buddy cop.
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