Aliens in the Family
| Aliens in the Family | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Sci-fi/fantasy Sitcom |
| Created by |
Andy Borowitz Susan Borowitz |
| Written by |
Susan Borowitz Andy Borowitz Patricia Marx Charlie Rubin |
| Directed by | Tom Trbovich |
| Starring |
John Bedford Lloyd Margaret Trigg |
| Theme music composer | Todd Rundgren |
| Composer(s) |
Joe Carroll Peter Thom |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) |
Andy Borowitz Susan Borowitz Brian Henson |
| Producer(s) | Ritamarie Peruggi |
| Running time | 22–24 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
The Jim Henson Company Jim Henson Productions The Stuffed Dog Company |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Audio format | Dolby Surround |
| Original release | March 15 – August 31, 1996 |
Aliens in the Family is an American sci-fi/fantasy sitcom that aired on ABC, conceived as part of its TGIF lineup.
Premise
The show was about single dad Doug Brody (John Bedford Lloyd), who is abducted by single alien mom Cookie (Margaret Trigg). The two fall in love, get married, and try to live a normal life on Earth as a mixed family. Much of the series humor was derived from gags involving the assimilation of the alien family into everyday life—despite being pink and having massive heads (all of the aliens were puppets designed by Jim Henson's Creature Shop), everyone on Earth seems to accept their presence, and in spite of possessing technology far superior to that of Earth, the aliens all go about their everyday lives in the same fashion as all the humans.
Although not the focus of the show, the character to receive the most attention in episodes was Bobut, Cookie's infant son. Baby Bobut could talk, had a genius-level IQ, and was perpetually plotting a grisly fate for those around him (though the series position as a family show meant that Bobut's plans were always family-friendly: for example, wreaking havoc on the city by causing a frog to grow ten times its size).
Episodes
| Ep # | Title | Airdate | Synopsis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Meet the Brodys" | March 15, 1996 | |
| 2 | "Bobut Conquers All" | March 22, 1996 | |
| 3 | "Cookie Makes Some Dough" | July 27, 1996 | |
| 4 | "You Don't Have a Pet to Be Popular" | August 3, 1996 | |
| 5 | "Too Good to Be True" | August 10, 1996 | |
| 6 | "Respect Your Elders" | August 17, 1996 | |
| 7 | "Dissected and Neglected" | August 24, 1996 | |
| 8 | "A Very Brody Tweeznax" | August 31, 1996 | |
Cancellation
The show premiered on March 15, 1996; ABC pulled the series from its TGIF lineup after two weeks, replacing the show's scheduled third airing with re-runs of other TGIF programs. The show did not return for over four months and finally burned off the rest of its episodes on Saturday mornings in the summer of 1996.
Jaleel White, who starred as Steve Urkel on another TGIF program (Family Matters), was a vocal critic of TGIF adding Jim Henson programs onto the TGIF block (Aliens in the Family debuted the same year as Muppets Tonight) and speculated that their addition ruined the block's credibility by changing its target demographic from whole families to children.[1]
Cast
- John Bedford Lloyd - Doug Brody
- Margaret Trigg - Cookie Brody
- Paige Tiffany - Heather Brody
- Chris Marquette - Adam Brody
- Julie Dretzin - Sally Hagen
Puppeteers
- Alice Dinnean - Snizzy (face and voice)
- Michael Gilden - Snizzy (body)
- John Kennedy - Bobut (face)
- Bruce Lanoil - Spit (face)
- Peter Linz - Varch, Elder of the Nertron Galactic Federation (in "Respect Your Elders"), Red Yukkle (in "Dissected and Neglected")
- Joey Mazzarino - Spit (voice), Green and Yellow Yukkles (in "Dissected and Neglected")
- David Rudman - Bobut (body and voice), Orange and Purple Yukkles (in "Dissected and Neglected")
- Michelan Sisti - Spit (body)
Production notes
The series was created, written by and executive produced by Andy and Susan Borowitz. Brian Henson, son of Jim Henson, also served as executive producer. The series theme song was written and performed by Todd Rundgren.[2]
References
- ↑ Hal Boedeker (July 18, 1997). "He's A Goober But CBS Has A Lot Riding On Urkel TV". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved October 18, 2012.
- ↑ "Aliens in the Family: Cast and crew". tv.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2008-10-05.
External links
- Aliens in the Family at the Internet Movie Database
- Aliens in the Family at TV.com
- Aliens in the Family at epguides.com