The Neighbors

Having been underwhelmed by the trailer, I found the pilot much funnier than I had expected. It's essentially a show about the trials and tribulations of family life, with overtones of "The Coneheads" and shades of "Monty Python".

The pilot has laugh out loud moments and the cast did a good job. I have a fondness for sight gags and there are some great ones in the opener. The premise was set up with ruthless efficiency (that's a compliment); the creative strength and viability of the series will only be apparent after a few regular episodes. It has the potential to attract a broad audience; kids should find it funny and anyone who likes what I will call absurdist "British" humor will find it a refreshing change from the swathes of sitcoms about how awful it is to be in your 20s. This show is different, in a potentially good way, and it deserves a shot. I hope that it gets a run to see where it goes. It certainly has a prime time slot.

I signed up for an account with IMDb just so I could show support for this sitcom.

It seems like 99% of the sitcoms out there are bent on using sexual, crass humor to attain and retain their audiences. Most new sitcoms that come out, you can hold your breath without passing out before a crude joke breaks. It gets old.

So when a show comes out with a fun premise and actually makes me laugh WITHOUT being crude and crass, I enjoy every moment of it. Because inevitably it will get bad reviews and be canceled after (usually) one season-- if that.

So here's my take, in a nutshell:

The character are fun. Simon Templeman and Toks Olagundoye are hilarious as alien parents. Great delivery and timing, and Toks can do just about any accent under the sun. Watching them (and the rest of the cast) tackle "normal human" trappings has thus far been creative and fun-- and CLEAN. Which to me just makes it more classy. Supposedly I have a good sense of humor, so I'm hoping that others can find the humor in this show as well. It's still early, but I feel like there's a lot in the tank for growth in the characters. And the amount of "normal human" trappings they can explore are so vast, I feel it can last for a while.

For example, they just took on the subject of sex. Yes, they could have gotten pretty crass. This episode was, to be honest, the one that would have me either continuing to watch the show (if they did it with class), or turning it off. Throughout the episode, I felt they handled it really well, which was (again) refreshing.

Granted, this isn't the type of sitcom that's going to run for a decade and all that, but it's a breath of fresh air and I am discouraged that it's only getting (at time of review) a 5.4 out of 10. Sadly, though, I'm not surprised.

I know this review doesn't help with in-depth analysis, but I hope it at least sheds some light on a sitcom that doesn't (at this point) follow in the footsteps of the same old tired, dirty, trite junk that seems to bombard us from every angle.

3rd Rock from the Sun is a tough act to follow. The Neighbors does a pretty good job, but uses wit and timing instead of zaniness and slapstick comedy to get its laughs. That makes it consistently funny, just not side-splittingly funny. Naming all of the aliens after sports heroes was an inspired choice-- they'll never run out of funny names (a tot named Dick Butkus?), and the fact that the aliens are dorky doubles down on the running gag. So are all their matching outfits/uniforms that remind us of golf clothes from the 1970s.

Also on the upside, some of the cast members are real gems. I don't know where Toks Olagundoye has been up til now, but she's got real movie star power as the glamorous alien mom. Her rapid fire back and forth with alien husband Simon Templeman, who has perfect comedic timing and never wastes a good line, are my favorite parts of the show. Jami Gertz and Max Charles are good enough as the earthling straight man/woman, but I think maybe too much of the plot compares their unfunny ordinariness to the aliens' backwards/upside down view of what humanity is like. The child actors are pretty good, too, even if the show relies a little too much on alien child Ian Patrick's precociousness. Clara Mamet is exceptional as the brooding, frighteningly calculating and cynical teenager.

I was worried that after a few episodes the running gags would wear thin and they'd run out of ideas. Not so at all! I've just finished the Thanksgiving episode and, if anything, it's getting better and better.

As a fan of the Coneheads, this familiar premise held some hope for me, but I was prepared to be disappointed. However, within the boundaries of where a show like this is aimed, this was a very funny show. No audience laughter and no talking to the camera were welcome assets.

We laughed out loud several times. The jokes moved quickly and were a pleasant mix of the surreal and absurd. The cast was solid and I especially enjoyed the fact that Jami Gertz was the only actor I was all that familiar with.

Looking forward to more and hope that they can sustain the comedic tone established in the pilot.

When i have spotted the promo's of this show, i thought it was so random, childish and unattractive. It turns out i was WRONG. The pilot was likable and the further episodes kept getting better and better. The dialogues were fine and i think the overly-sophisticated English would really contribute to young viewers their vocabulary. However, the only thing that bothered me is that even tho they are all in a closed community, it seems a bit odd that the aliens have mastered the English language but they are unaware of everything that takes place outside of their community. But still, i have seen progress through the episodes and it might be worth for you folks to try it out as well. I can assure you that you will not be disappointed. Take it from someone who is very selective on what to watch. This show. A 7.0 from yours truly.