Alien Nation

TV Series
1989–1990
TV-14
1h

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

5.7K

YOUR RATING

In the near future, a human cop and his alien partner fight crime and discrimination in Los Angeles.

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97 Photos

Crime Drama Sci-Fi

In the near future, a human cop and his alien partner fight crime and discrimination in Los Angeles.In the near future, a human cop and his alien partner fight crime and discrimination in Los Angeles.In the near future, a human cop and his alien partner fight crime and discrimination in Los Angeles.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

5.7K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Won 1 Primetime Emmy
- 2 wins & 1 nomination total

Episodes22

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Trivia
During the opening credits, we hear alien lyrics being sung: "E take nas naj...nah sus gah nilpa." This is actually the names of producer Kenneth Johnson's wife and daughter (Katie Johnson and Susan Appling Johnson) sung backwards. In fact, most of the alien language was in fact backwards English, which helped to keep gramatical rules intact. Other inspiration for the language came from Russian, as well as nonsensical and made-up words.

Quotes
Susan Francisco: Are you always this pissy when you're conducting an investigation?
Detective George Francisco: Susan, I believe "pissy" is a vulgar word.
Susan Francisco: Really? Gee, I hear it used all the time.

Connections
Featured in The Chronic Rift: SF Shows That Flopped (1990)

User reviews20

Featured review

7/10

Memorable nation

"Alien Nation" is a perfect examples of a well-executed spin off. The original James Caan movie was a decent buddy cop flick, but the premise really lends itself to long0for television; and there's some great character development here as a result. It's a good mixture of sci-fi and cop show, and the big themes - racism, slavery, xenophobia - are handled with subtlety. But the important thing is that you do grow to like these people, and it's a worthwhile investment.

I know that there were TV movies produced to settle the dangling plot threads, but part of me is still disappointed it was cancelled on a cliffhanger (Fox was still young; it didn't yet have a reputation for killing off quality shows).

A good show, nevertheless.

7/10