This is another blog-esque post. Don't worry (you're not worried); the next thing I write will be a normal review. I was going to review 1988's Alien Nation, but when you sleep through 30 minutes of it and you don't feel like mounting a second survey of the landscape, you opt to chat about it instead. See how informal this is? I'm naked. You're naked. We're just having fun! I wish I owned the box set that contains all of the Alien Nation made-for-TV movies. Of course, there was also a TV series that ran for a single season. For a transient moment, this shit was a big deal, but it's not remembered very well in modern times. You would never guess that it was somewhat successful and well-received.
The inculcation began with this theater-bound sci-fi feature set in Los Angeles three years after a spaceship lands in the Mojave Desert. The aliens reveal themselves to be escaped slaves from Jupiter. Actually, I don't remember the name of the planet, but I know it wasn't Earth. It's amazing how relevant Alien Nation is in 2016. The "newcomers" are treated as if they were Syrian refugees. They're even disobliged with hate speech (the term "slag" is used as degrading impudence). I'm inclined to believe that it would take longer than three years for some of them to hold down jobs such as mayor and police detective, but I'm willing to let that nagging hurdle slide.
I dug Mandy Patinkin as Sam Francisco, star fuzz. James Caan is dandy as Detective Sykes, but let's be honest. He plays grizzled cops in his daydreams. In my daydreams, I play a transgender gondolier whose gondola has been abducted by the Korean mafia. They want five billion dollars, dickpuke! That's what they call me. Dickpuke. Um, Alien Nation is pretty entertaining. I can only vouch for, like, an hour of it, but that's a majority.
It's so ironic that you asked me about aliens and shit, Tom. I've been keeping an eye on the new season of The X-Files. It wasn't beloved, but I enjoyed the premiere, despite the crushing plot holes. The second episode fizzled. In my opinion, El Episado Numera Three (holy shit, that was needlessly racist...my apologies) has been the alp of the "comeback." Most fans tend to agree. Writer/director Devin Morgan hammered his trademark humor into the script. I love it when Mulder and Scully goof off. It's clear that the cast is having a grand time. Did the fanservice bother me? Y'know, the fantasy sequence where Scully feigns the role of a sexpot? No, it did not.
Oh, and the story is ridiculously clever. If you're not watching along with the rest of the cool kids, then guess what? You're not a cool kid!
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