band of misfit aliens landed on TV in 1996, and their over-the-top wackiness seemed to work—at least for six seasons. The team of aliens rarely showed their extraterrestrial habits or their real selves, as the otherworldly characters did occasionally on the old My Favorite Martian and Mork and Mindy series, but their fish-out-of-water experiences are often laugh-out-loud funny.
Lithgow stars as the leader of the aliens who've come to study earthlings, Prof. Dick Solomon, aka The High Commander. His lieutenant, also known as Sally, is played by Johnston; the transmitter/receiver, aka Harry, is Stewart; and the senior information officer is Gordon-Levitt, known as Tommy in his human form. They're funny together, and it's obvious they all have some live theater experience on their acting resumes. Add to the mix the uptight and baffled Prof. Mary Albright, played by Saturday Night Live veteran Jane Curtin, and the series becomes rather unpredictable.
The series allows for some ridiculous interactions, like figuring out what a box of Kleenex is for and trying to understand a doorknob, but it also delves into serious human interactions such as feelings, love and sex. Tommy, who is actually the oldest of the alien observers, is put in the body of a teenage boy who's constantly curious about his bodily changes—"Why is it that I have a constant circus going on in my pants?" Harry is a squinty-eyed buffoon, and Sally is the only woman of the group because, as Dick says, "You lost the bet."
The first season, perhaps the best in retrospect, has a slew of incredible cameos, such as Martha Stewart in a dream sequence, Phil Hartman as a gay makeup salesman, Bronson Pinchot as the brother of Dr. Albright and John Mahoney as a teacher who drops dead, as well as appearances by Naomi Judd, Lauren Graham and many others.
Only in the context of aliens can lines like "Watching TV is amazing, I haven't had a thought in three hours" and "For future reference, I have a red Volvo" be shocking and laugh-out-loud funny. And, of course, the titles of the first season all include the name of the commander such as "I Enjoy Being a Dick," "Father Knows Dick," "Green-Eyed Dick" and more.
The first and best season
The way these aliens discover how their bodies feel during sneezing, how to get a driver's license, the oddities of a wedding and many other human problems come from a place of reality, and that makes it hysterical. Added into the four-disc set are interviews with the cast as they analyze how the show became a hit despite outrageous comedy that doomed other shows, and they talk about why the show has developed such an international appeal.
"I think we are all outsiders all over the world, we all are aliens," Lithgow says in his behind-the-scenes interview. "We are all trying to figure out how to be human."
The interviews also include the wacky downstairs neighbor Mrs. Dubcek, played by Elmarie Wendel, the wisecracking secretary Nina, played by Simbi Khali, and the cop who Sally falls in love with, played by Wayne Knight.
"I thought it was appropriate that Sally fall for a guy who looks like Wayne," says Johnston in her interview. "She likes him because he is a cop and carries a weapon and likes him in his uniform." Johnston also loves the episodes where she gets hooked on tobacco and later becomes obsessed with makeup. Johnston loves the fact that her character is so mannish in her Amazon-like body. She's a warlike lieutenant trapped in a beautiful body. "I've incinerated entire armies, I think I can bake blueberry muffins," Sally says.
One of the cast's favorite episodes is when Lithgow dresses up like a woman to join a female book club and try to understand how a woman thinks. He looks a lot like his transsexual character in The World According to Garp. The extras also include the teleplays on DVD-ROM, as well as a comprehensive blooper reel. Although the jokes are rarely dated, some political humor does occasionally creep in, but it's still a rarity that we haven't seen on TV in a long time: a funny outlandish sitcom with some bite.
