News Articles For Aliens In America (May Contain Spoilers) - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Mr. Television · 09-05-2007, 08:32 PM

http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...goryid=14&cs=1

CW previews 'Aliens' for Muslims
Network to also screen sitcom for Brookings
By JOSEF ADALIAN
The CW will preview 'Aliens in America,' starring Dan Byrd, left, and Adhir Kalyan, at the Islamic Center of Southern California and the Brookings Institution.

It's not every day that the Brookings Institution screens a new network comedy, but the Washington think tank will do so next month when it previews the CW laffer "Aliens in America."
Skein -- about a Muslim student who ends up living with an American family -- is also skedded to be shown at another unusual venue: the Islamic Center of Southern California, where it will screen Thursday. Both presentations will be followed by panel discussions featuring the show's exec producers, Moses Port and David Guarascio.

Producer CBS Paramount Network Television says the screenings and discussions are designed to raise awareness of "Aliens," which despite its provocative premise is actually a sweet half-hour. It's a strategy endorsed by Guarascio.

"We just want as many people to hear about the show as possible, and we think (the screenings) make complete sense," he said, noting that he and Port have been talking to the Islamic Center about "Aliens" since the show was in the script stage. Early reaction has been positive.

"They were excited to have a show that was a comedy and where the Muslim character wasn't a terrorist," Guarascio said.

"Aliens" isn't a politically minded show a la "All in the Family" or "Maude," though an early episode has townfolk twittering when the Muslim student buys some explosives -- for a rocket-club assignment.

"We're not going out of our way to do it, but we'll naturally have some stories that touch upon (issues)," he said.

Mr. Television · 09-05-2007, 08:35 PM

http://www.canmag.com/nw/8828-lindse...aliens-america

Those kids grow up so fast. First they're the adorable little Nickelodean tyke and then they're flaunting their wares for all to see. Lindsey Shaw is the latest girl to grow up before our eyes. Moving from Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide to The CW's Aliens in America, Shaw gets to be the babe.

Shaw on Aliens in America
"The transition was pretty intense," she said. "I mean, Moze isn't exactly a sexpot and Claire is obviously coming into that more, coming into her body, figuring all of that kind of stuff out. She's still really naïve about all of the attention she gets from it so that is the one major difference between them. Besides that, they seem kind of alike. Calire seems like she is pretty athletic and Moze is athletic and all of that kind of thing. They have a lot of similarities but that big difference is that they are just not on the same page with boys and that kind of thing."

Aliens in America explores the comedy that can arise when a midwestern family takes in an exchange student from Pakistan. Shaw could relate to such a culture clash.

"That is the reality because I'm from Wisconsin and my father is from Chippewa Falls which is a small town near the fictional Medora. I wanted to play this role so desperately because I felt this was my tribe. I grew up with, not everyone certainly, but a few people who did represent this type of bigotry that is maybe being felt here. I really wanted to express that small-mindedness."

Of course, there's no racism in big cities, right? "I think it's equally prevalent but in small town America you're more insulated and can hold onto that opinion more strongly for a lot longer because your influences from other cultures aren't as great."

Shaw herself had her own Aliens in America experience just going from small town to big city within the country. "I was completely blown away. In Nebraska, you have a two lane highway and that's what you get to everything on. The grocery store, school, church, whatever. I came out to California. I went to New York. I went to Dallas. You have mass transit. There are freeways and different ethnicities and everything was just a culture shock, moving from Nebraska. I was in such a sheltered spot and it really opened me up to new experiences, new people and everything."

Aliens in America premieres October 1 on The CW.

Brian Damage · 09-14-2007, 12:08 AM

This could be a sleeper hit. I would be more optimistic if it wasn't on the CW, but then again, you never know.

Mr. Television · 09-20-2007, 08:26 PM

http://communities.canada.com/nation...n-america.aspx

Top 10 new TV shows: No. 5, Aliens in America

Aliens in America, debuts Oct. 1, The CW/Sun TV at 8:30 p.m. ET

Two of the very best situation comedies these days are House and CSI: Miami. No reasonable person can watch either of these shows without laughing at the overweening performances of Hugh Laurie as a snide doctor or David Caruso as a sardonic detective; they're contrasts in gravitas gone mad.
So when people ask if the sitcom is dead, the answer is that it's not dead, it's living under an assumed name (drama, Johnny Drama). In its classic morbidity-free form, however, the American sitcom is in a weakened state. And if 2007 is to be the year of its overdue comeback, it will happen not because of any rookie series but because existing ones widen their audience -- the best bet being NBC's Thursday-night comedy block of My Name Is Earl, The Office, Scrubs and 30 Rock, the latter of which will have Jerry Seinfeld and Edie Falco as guest stars. (Note that the sitcom is in better shape in Canada, thanks to Trailer Park Boys, Corner Gas and Little Mosque on the Prairie).
Still, of the season's new sitcoms, the best is Aliens in America, at least judging by its pilot episode. The aliens in question are Justin Tolchuck, an alienated high-school loser whose classmates rank him eighth on their list of "most bangable girls," and Raja, a Pakistani Muslim sponsored for a year by Justin's family as part of a student exchange. The family was expecting someone more along the lines of the cute Swedish boy on the brochure's cover.
I watched the Aliens pilot a few months ago and it's still crisp in my mind, which is a good sign (some shows, K-Ville among them, make an impression while being viewed but afterwards fade from mind). I wouldn't call Aliens edgy. It's mostly gentle. You know all along that everything will work out for the boys. The better bits include Justin's tremulous mom in shock after opening his bedroom door to find him and Raja praying toward Mecca; and Raja's first day in school, whereupon a touchy-feely teacher encourages the class to share their feelings about 9/11.
A note of caution: In the pilot I viewed, Patrick Breen was a perfect fit as Justin's jittery dad. He has been replaced by Scott Patterson, who was Luke on Gilmore Girls and is a man's man; he even played minor-league ball in the Yankees' system. That risks messing up the show's tone.
Canadians will wonder if Aliens is a ripoff of Little Mosque. But executive producer David Guarascio says he and collaborator Moses Port were already writing the script for the Aliens pilot when they learned about Little Mosque via a blurb in Variety. He added, "We were sort of hoping it would not be successful because we were afraid that it was going to somehow steal the thunder of our show. But actually, I think it turned out -- I guess it's done very well up there, and I think that's great. And I think it sort of really taps into the fact that there's something about this subject matter that writers, creators are naturally being drawn to and that hopefully the public will have an appetite to take in."
Guarascio later said he was joking about hoping Little Mosque fails.
Aliens is family-friendly, if you're okay with the fact Justin's sister's breasts are a factor in the plot and deserve co-star status.

Mr. Television · 09-20-2007, 08:29 PM

http://www.craveonline.com/filmtv/ar...n_america.html

Fall TV Preview: Aliens in America
It's Alien Nation meets Archie Bunker in 'Aliens in America'.
Fred Topel, CraveOnline
September 18, 2007

Aliens in America sounds like a show that would be a show within a show on The Simpsons, making fun of what networks might put on. It's about a nerdy high school kid, Justin (Dan Byrd) whose family accepts a foreign exchange student in the hopes that it will give him a friend. Even the parents are disappointed when the student is Raja (Adhir Kalyan), and hanging out with the Pakistani Muslim doesn't do anything for Justin's social status.
This show is sooooo racist. They make terrorist jokes, Apu jokes, religion jokes. The even tie Raja into 9/11. Yeah, that's hilarious. Plus he's doing the typical accent. Oh, they throw in some gay stuff too. Maybe they're trying to make fun of the ignorant, but it's still a whole show filled with stereotypes.

The whole premise of the show is stupid. They want a foreign exchange student to give their kid a cool friend? That's not clever. Who ever heard of cool exchange students? Then they talk about returning the kid as if treating him like property makes it funny. The dad is such an oblivious dufus obsessed with money, and the mom is such a scheming bitch that they both just revel in being clichés.

A "heartwarming" moment towards the end hardly undoes all the damage done in the past 20 minutes. It's a very standard, easy, heartstring tug that's right in line with the show's disrespect for its audience.

The idea of Justin's good day is sweet, being welcomed in gym class and such. It turns quickly though so you never get to enjoy the irony. And Justin blows it. He walks away from a cute girl who didn't even care that the idiots were making fun of him, so how stupid is he?

There's way too much pop music. It's like the suits are saying, "See kids, we know what music you like, like The Green Day and those Pussycat Dolls."

The style is amateurish. The freeze frames and cutaways are like unskilled Arrested Development or Scrubs jokes. Like they took the style but didn't understand anything about comic timing and expectations.

The second episode is a little better. They didn't hit racism at all in episode two, though they beefed up the gay stuff to make up for it. They get a bit more into the social dynamic of high school, which is a slightly more clever take than their other social commentary. They also rip off Say Anything but it becomes clear that the point was that even the characters didn't understand they were ripping it off. Still, I'm never going to watch this show again.

Scoobiedoo30 · 09-21-2007, 01:50 AM

that a nice News Articles

09-05-2007, 08:32 PM	#1
Mr. Television 22 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,125	News Articles For Aliens In America (May Contain Spoilers) http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...goryid=14&cs=1 CW previews 'Aliens' for Muslims Network to also screen sitcom for Brookings By JOSEF ADALIAN The CW will preview 'Aliens in America,' starring Dan Byrd, left, and Adhir Kalyan, at the Islamic Center of Southern California and the Brookings Institution. It's not every day that the Brookings Institution screens a new network comedy, but the Washington think tank will do so next month when it previews the CW laffer "Aliens in America." Skein -- about a Muslim student who ends up living with an American family -- is also skedded to be shown at another unusual venue: the Islamic Center of Southern California, where it will screen Thursday. Both presentations will be followed by panel discussions featuring the show's exec producers, Moses Port and David Guarascio. Producer CBS Paramount Network Television says the screenings and discussions are designed to raise awareness of "Aliens," which despite its provocative premise is actually a sweet half-hour. It's a strategy endorsed by Guarascio. "We just want as many people to hear about the show as possible, and we think (the screenings) make complete sense," he said, noting that he and Port have been talking to the Islamic Center about "Aliens" since the show was in the script stage. Early reaction has been positive. "They were excited to have a show that was a comedy and where the Muslim character wasn't a terrorist," Guarascio said. "Aliens" isn't a politically minded show a la "All in the Family" or "Maude," though an early episode has townfolk twittering when the Muslim student buys some explosives -- for a rocket-club assignment. "We're not going out of our way to do it, but we'll naturally have some stories that touch upon (issues)," he said.
	__________________ Sonny Last edited by Mr. Television; 09-20-2007 at 08:39 PM.

09-14-2007, 12:08 AM	#3
Brian Damage I'm Rich Bitch Forum Icon Join Date: Feb 03, 2002 Location: What Ain't No Country I Ever Heard Of...They Speak English in What? Posts: 63,108	This could be a sleeper hit. I would be more optimistic if it wasn't on the CW, but then again, you never know.
	__________________ The Key to the Kingdom of Heaven: John 3:3 *Money Doesn't Buy Happiness...But I'd Rather Cry in My Private Jet*

09-21-2007, 01:50 AM	#6
Scoobiedoo30 Member Forum Superstar Join Date: Jun 27, 2002 Location: KENNER, LOUISIANA Posts: 27,654	that a nice News Articles
	__________________ Who Dat

09-05-2007, 08:35 PM	#2
Mr. Television 22 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,125	http://www.canmag.com/nw/8828-lindse...aliens-america Those kids grow up so fast. First they're the adorable little Nickelodean tyke and then they're flaunting their wares for all to see. Lindsey Shaw is the latest girl to grow up before our eyes. Moving from Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide to The CW's Aliens in America, Shaw gets to be the babe. Shaw on Aliens in America "The transition was pretty intense," she said. "I mean, Moze isn't exactly a sexpot and Claire is obviously coming into that more, coming into her body, figuring all of that kind of stuff out. She's still really naïve about all of the attention she gets from it so that is the one major difference between them. Besides that, they seem kind of alike. Calire seems like she is pretty athletic and Moze is athletic and all of that kind of thing. They have a lot of similarities but that big difference is that they are just not on the same page with boys and that kind of thing." Aliens in America explores the comedy that can arise when a midwestern family takes in an exchange student from Pakistan. Shaw could relate to such a culture clash. "That is the reality because I'm from Wisconsin and my father is from Chippewa Falls which is a small town near the fictional Medora. I wanted to play this role so desperately because I felt this was my tribe. I grew up with, not everyone certainly, but a few people who did represent this type of bigotry that is maybe being felt here. I really wanted to express that small-mindedness." Of course, there's no racism in big cities, right? "I think it's equally prevalent but in small town America you're more insulated and can hold onto that opinion more strongly for a lot longer because your influences from other cultures aren't as great." Shaw herself had her own Aliens in America experience just going from small town to big city within the country. "I was completely blown away. In Nebraska, you have a two lane highway and that's what you get to everything on. The grocery store, school, church, whatever. I came out to California. I went to New York. I went to Dallas. You have mass transit. There are freeways and different ethnicities and everything was just a culture shock, moving from Nebraska. I was in such a sheltered spot and it really opened me up to new experiences, new people and everything." Aliens in America premieres October 1 on The CW.

09-20-2007, 08:26 PM	#4
Mr. Television 22 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,125	http://communities.canada.com/nation...n-america.aspx Top 10 new TV shows: No. 5, Aliens in America Aliens in America, debuts Oct. 1, The CW/Sun TV at 8:30 p.m. ET Two of the very best situation comedies these days are House and CSI: Miami. No reasonable person can watch either of these shows without laughing at the overweening performances of Hugh Laurie as a snide doctor or David Caruso as a sardonic detective; they're contrasts in gravitas gone mad. So when people ask if the sitcom is dead, the answer is that it's not dead, it's living under an assumed name (drama, Johnny Drama). In its classic morbidity-free form, however, the American sitcom is in a weakened state. And if 2007 is to be the year of its overdue comeback, it will happen not because of any rookie series but because existing ones widen their audience -- the best bet being NBC's Thursday-night comedy block of My Name Is Earl, The Office, Scrubs and 30 Rock, the latter of which will have Jerry Seinfeld and Edie Falco as guest stars. (Note that the sitcom is in better shape in Canada, thanks to Trailer Park Boys, Corner Gas and Little Mosque on the Prairie). Still, of the season's new sitcoms, the best is Aliens in America, at least judging by its pilot episode. The aliens in question are Justin Tolchuck, an alienated high-school loser whose classmates rank him eighth on their list of "most bangable girls," and Raja, a Pakistani Muslim sponsored for a year by Justin's family as part of a student exchange. The family was expecting someone more along the lines of the cute Swedish boy on the brochure's cover. I watched the Aliens pilot a few months ago and it's still crisp in my mind, which is a good sign (some shows, K-Ville among them, make an impression while being viewed but afterwards fade from mind). I wouldn't call Aliens edgy. It's mostly gentle. You know all along that everything will work out for the boys. The better bits include Justin's tremulous mom in shock after opening his bedroom door to find him and Raja praying toward Mecca; and Raja's first day in school, whereupon a touchy-feely teacher encourages the class to share their feelings about 9/11. A note of caution: In the pilot I viewed, Patrick Breen was a perfect fit as Justin's jittery dad. He has been replaced by Scott Patterson, who was Luke on Gilmore Girls and is a man's man; he even played minor-league ball in the Yankees' system. That risks messing up the show's tone. Canadians will wonder if Aliens is a ripoff of Little Mosque. But executive producer David Guarascio says he and collaborator Moses Port were already writing the script for the Aliens pilot when they learned about Little Mosque via a blurb in Variety. He added, "We were sort of hoping it would not be successful because we were afraid that it was going to somehow steal the thunder of our show. But actually, I think it turned out -- I guess it's done very well up there, and I think that's great. And I think it sort of really taps into the fact that there's something about this subject matter that writers, creators are naturally being drawn to and that hopefully the public will have an appetite to take in." Guarascio later said he was joking about hoping Little Mosque fails. Aliens is family-friendly, if you're okay with the fact Justin's sister's breasts are a factor in the plot and deserve co-star status.

09-20-2007, 08:29 PM	#5
Mr. Television 22 Years at Sitcoms Online Forum Icon Join Date: Jun 06, 2003 Location: Somewhere you're Not Posts: 62,125	http://www.craveonline.com/filmtv/ar...n_america.html Fall TV Preview: Aliens in America It's Alien Nation meets Archie Bunker in 'Aliens in America'. Fred Topel, CraveOnline September 18, 2007 Aliens in America sounds like a show that would be a show within a show on The Simpsons, making fun of what networks might put on. It's about a nerdy high school kid, Justin (Dan Byrd) whose family accepts a foreign exchange student in the hopes that it will give him a friend. Even the parents are disappointed when the student is Raja (Adhir Kalyan), and hanging out with the Pakistani Muslim doesn't do anything for Justin's social status. This show is sooooo racist. They make terrorist jokes, Apu jokes, religion jokes. The even tie Raja into 9/11. Yeah, that's hilarious. Plus he's doing the typical accent. Oh, they throw in some gay stuff too. Maybe they're trying to make fun of the ignorant, but it's still a whole show filled with stereotypes. The whole premise of the show is stupid. They want a foreign exchange student to give their kid a cool friend? That's not clever. Who ever heard of cool exchange students? Then they talk about returning the kid as if treating him like property makes it funny. The dad is such an oblivious dufus obsessed with money, and the mom is such a scheming bitch that they both just revel in being clichés. A "heartwarming" moment towards the end hardly undoes all the damage done in the past 20 minutes. It's a very standard, easy, heartstring tug that's right in line with the show's disrespect for its audience. The idea of Justin's good day is sweet, being welcomed in gym class and such. It turns quickly though so you never get to enjoy the irony. And Justin blows it. He walks away from a cute girl who didn't even care that the idiots were making fun of him, so how stupid is he? There's way too much pop music. It's like the suits are saying, "See kids, we know what music you like, like The Green Day and those Pussycat Dolls." The style is amateurish. The freeze frames and cutaways are like unskilled Arrested Development or Scrubs jokes. Like they took the style but didn't understand anything about comic timing and expectations. The second episode is a little better. They didn't hit racism at all in episode two, though they beefed up the gay stuff to make up for it. They get a bit more into the social dynamic of high school, which is a slightly more clever take than their other social commentary. They also rip off Say Anything but it becomes clear that the point was that even the characters didn't understand they were ripping it off. Still, I'm never going to watch this show again.