America or Burst

Posted by Dan September 25th, 2007 at 07:14pm In Uncategorized

Before I had really thought out this review, I thought I really hated Aliens in America. But I had this great intro:

What do Mother Theresa and the premiere of the new CW show Aliens in America have in common?

They both had good intentions and neither were very funny.

Well, I suppose that’s not fair. I have no evidence ole’ Ma Theresa couldn’t let fly a sizzling one-liner.

Since then, though, I’ve had a change of heart. The show that I initially thought was crass and cheap play on the “naive ethnic character” genre, turned out to be a somewhat funny (and somewhat preachy) show.

The set-up for Aliens, which debuts Monday, goes like this: Justin Tolchuk is an awkward social outcast in a suburban high school. Skinny and friendless, his well-meaning parents decide to take in a British exchange student, hoping that it will be a 17-year-old Jude Law who can impart social skills upon the lad. Unfortunately, when they get to the airport it’s not mini-Jude at all, but a gawky, Pakistani Muslim teen. Their surprise is demonstrated by a score of shrill, tribal ethnic wails. Apparently, the family Tolchuk is made up of racists, so they waste little time before conspiring to send him back. However, not before Justin begins to grow attached to him.

Upon a second viewing, Aliens in America wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought the first time around. Dare I say, it really didn’t deserve the 1 I gave it in the Fall TV Preview.

The reason why Aliens initially left a bad taste in my mouth was because it seemed to be playing on cheap ethnic stereotypes for laughs. At first, I hadn’t seen any of the press surrounding the show (before I tuned in, I thought the show could have conceivably been about actual aliens from Mars) and, therefore, didn’t realize that the entire point of the show is to spread a cheery, Up With People message. So, upon first viewing, it seemed like the parents were supposed to be the sympathetic characters — they wanted a suave Brit, but got a wacky, dark-skinned, achkan-wearing Pakistani. The character of Raja seemed familiar — like a 21st century Balki Bartokomous and his naive antics were played out.

I truly didn’t get it.

Upon a second viewing, though, I was able to watch it without balking at what I had initially perceived as Raja’s clownishness. The latte liberal in me took over for a while and I didn’t necessarily fully appreciate some of the funnier moments — particularly the classroom scene with the clueless teacher, the expressive performance by Amy Pietz (the mother character) and Raja’s reflections on tooth-brushing.

I haven’t made a complete turn-around, though. Once you realize what they’re doing, the show’s message seems a little forced. I’m not necessarily excited about tuning into a sitcom that serves as my overbearing weekly reminder to be nice to all the multi-hued people of the world. Furthermore, this Associated Press article talks about how “a small minority” of critics complained that the show makes Americans seem bigoted and stupid. I might be inclined join that tiny chorus, as I was shocked at just how mean and rude the mother was to Raja. In fact, around town the kid seemed to be universally disliked from the outset.

But I suppose that when you’re not used to hanging around stupid, racist people, you tend to think they don’t exist. Shrug.

Like almost all pilots, I’m curious to see how Aliens in America develops over the course of several episodes. The writers can’t rely on Raja’s sweet and naive misunderstandings week after week and, potentially, season after season without turning into the “What has that craaaazy Pakistani done this week?!” show.

PS - if I got to re-rate the show I’d give it a 3.5. You couldn’t do halvsies on that survey, but whatever.