Mon Martien favori

I have recently started watching this show again since it airs every afternoon on the Vision channel. At first it looked so old and the special effects were not so special anymore, but it still has a certain charm. Having a 'Martian' looking at the world of the 1960s, let viewers see their world thru fresh eyes. I found it very interesting that back in that era when the Cold War was still active, that we got to see and cheer on someone trying to thwart the authorities and fool people. Most people would not be supporting an 'alien' at that time. Great show and a good trip back to the early sixties. Bixby and Walston were perfect in their roles.

'My Favorite Martian' rapidly became a must-see for me once the first episode premiered on Australian television. It was cutting-edge SF-comedy in a class of its own at the time, decades before 'Third Rock from the Sun' appeared. Ray Walston was born to play Uncle Martin, just as Jonathan Harris was born to play Dr Smith! He and Bill Bixby worked well together and their relationship in some way reminded me of George Reeves and Jack Larson - 'Superman' and Jimmy Olsen'. Their teamwork gave an extra dimension to an often paper-thin script. I still have my autographed photo and the unique envelope it came in though once again (as happened with Connie Hines), the postman folded the envelope and cracked the emulsion. I almost cried at the time!

My Favorite Martian was an enjoyable waste of time. Starring Ray Walston as a man from Mars who had crash-landed on earth, and Bill Bixby, as Tim, the young newspaper reporter who found him. Tim saw dollar signs, fame and fortune in his eyes when he found a Martian, but unfortunately, never did get to tell his story, in spite of the fact that this Martian moved in with him. You see, the Martian, who passed himself off as Tim's Uncle Martin, would not admit to anyone but Tim what he really was, and Tim would have appeared crazy to insist that Martin was REALLY a Martian!

Martin had some interesting powers: he was able to turn invisible by raising some pretty cheesy looking antennae from the back of his head; he could also point at something and make it lift and come to him. He was also able to read minds, and had a vast knowledge of technology. Apparently the Martians were much more advanced than we were.

The show lasted for three seasons on CBS, giving lots of time for Tim and Martin to have some interesting adventures, all the while trying to repair his ship and return home to Mars. Like ALF some years later though, he never quite made it.

I recently came across episodes of this show on Youtube. It is especially memorable for me because it was telecast during the same years I was in college, starting in 1963.

The overwhelming feeling watching these old episodes again is "how easily we were entertained back in the 1960s." It was a different time, shows were more family oriented, sexual references were very indirect, and there was no objectionable "blue" language.

Ray Walston was the title character who became known as Uncle Martin to avoid revealing where he really was from. After his Martian craft crashed, he was found by Bill Bixby as columnist Tim O'Hara who took him and his damaged spacecraft in. Much of Martin's thrust is to get his craft repaired so he can return home. Other than that each of the 107 episodes was acting out some humorous situation.

Fun TV series, brings back good memories.

I first saw this series when I was 12 years old and I have dearly loved it ever since because it's full of good laughs and is a great deal of fun to watch. Uncle Martin is hilarious with his Martian antics as well as Tim as the newspaper reporter who took him in after his space ship crash landed on Earth. It's always highly enjoyable to watch their adventures together. It's easily one of my favorite TV comedies of all time.