Alien Nation

It's 5 years after a disabled alien spaceship land in the Mojave desert. There are 250k alien slaves on board. The newcomers or derogatory called slags have settled into their new homes, mostly in southern California. Slave drivers called Overseers are rumored to have blended into the refugee population. Detective Matthew Sikes lost his partner to an alien gunman. He is assigned newcomer Detective George Francisco, the first in the LAPD. The Franciscos move into the suburbs and face varying discrimination. Salt water hurts them and sour milk gets them drunk. Humans calling themselves Purists oppose the newcomers. The two species try to overcome cultural differences as criminals on both sides take advantage of their new reality.

First, the pilot is compelling but overplays the discrimination aspect. They are literally burning a circle instead of a cross on the family lawn. The daughter's story works well and incorporates a nice new friend with the bullying story. The fountain story is too on the nose. The worst is Sikes firing his gun in the air like Martin Riggs going half-pretend-crazy during the school demonstration. Somebody really overplays the script. Then there is the rebel son. The rebellion is fine but the killing lays a deadly landmine for future episodes.

The story promptly steps into it by catching the boy but somehow gets the equivalent of probation. It's the weirdest of rewrites. I guess the writers had no way of writing out of that predicament. It's the last major misstep. There are little questionable aspects like how the Overseers have a mark on their wrists. It seems like an easy to identify them. The show does find its footing. The relationships are compelling. I would give more time with the family. The daughter doesn't have enough screen time. This is a police drama and the school has no place in the show. The captain is a weak character but worst, he's played by a weak actor. Despite any shortcomings, the show worked for the most part and should have been renewed except for troubles at the network.

Having grown up in a household where Science Fiction was Dad's staple, I never really picked up on it, preferring more real-life drama. Having said that, this show is about the top of the line for TV scifi. The characters are believable, fully developed and imperfect.The acting is top-flight, and the stories, mostly carrying a message, are not overly burdened or preachy. The culture, habits, language, slang of the Aliens is presented in a matter-of-fact manner. Other than Heinlen or Finney, this is about the best scifi I've come across. And I don't like scifi.

This series is fantastic! I do not understand why it only lasted one season. It gave us so many insights into the relationships between people of all "races". It allowed us to see the pain of "inter-species" relationships and the acceptance of beings "different" from us. As the series unfolded, it was uplifting to see how people can overcome their differences to get along and thrive on earth. There are so many lessons that we can ALL learn from this series. We can get along in peace and harmony.

This is one of the better shows out there. It deals with racism in a really positive way and isn't "preachy" or "cuddly". There are a few problems (Why would people who dissolve in salt water choose to live in a coastal city like Los Angeles?) but those are easily overlooked.

The show is really well done and makes some great references to todays society. The new race has drug and alcohol addictions, faces discrimination both inside and outside their communities, and struggles to integrate itself into the human world.

One of the ongoing jokes in the series is the newcomer names. They never had names on the ship so they are assigned names by a human agency. A lot of them are comical, like "San Francisco" but some of them are politically incorrect, like calling a mentally challenged newcomer "Albert F---ing Einstein". The middle name was dropped for the series but the character remains.

I recommend it, it is a great show.

One of the best sci-fi and/or buddy cop shows I've ever seen. Like all really good science fiction, it comes up with an utterly improbable premise (namely that an alien slave ship lands on Earth and the humanoid ex-slaves must integrate into human society) and proceeds to be completely real within that premise. Without fail, every single episode of this tragically short-lived series was, in turns, touching, humorous and compelling.

If you can find this show on the air, watch it, its well worth it.