Alien Nation

First it was a movie that rocked. Then it was a TV movie that was kind of okay. Then it was a TV series and people started saying, “ya know, if I have to look at one more spotty bald scalp I’m going to go out and kill an 85-year-old Florida resident.” The basis of Alien Nation is this: a flying saucer crashes in the Mojave Desert and its inhabitants turn out to be alien slaves, bred to be super intelligent and strong and controllable by their Overseers. Eventually the Newcomers are assimilated into the LA population where one of them, George Francisco (Eric Pierpoint), becomes a police detective. With his white boy partner, Matthew Sikes (Gary Graham), the two fight crime, learn to respect each other's culture and fight prejudice. Meanwhile, we’re all supposed to see the similarities between the white alien being hit with discrimination and then go out and make friends with black folks. It’s funny though, the producers didn’t pair the alien up with a black guy but they’ll tell you how progressive they are in fighting the war on racism. Ah, Hollywood, where the only thing thicker than the hypocrisy is the air.