"Aliens in the Family" is an extremely familiar show - in an extremely weird sort of way.
It's what "The Brady Bunch" would have been if Carol and her children had been aliens from outer space.The premise for "Aliens" is the same as that of "The Brady Bunch." Single father Doug Brody (John Bedford Lloyd) and his children, Heather and Joey, try to form a new family with Cookie (Margaret Trigg) and her three kids, Spit, Snizzy and Bobut.
There's even a housekeeper, a la Alice, named Sally (Julie Dretzin).
The Brody Bunch, as it were.
Of course, Doug and Cookie didn't meet under the most average of circumstances - Cookie abducted Doug and was about to do medical experiments on him when she fell in love.
"(She) puts his head under a cranioscope, which is her device for analyzing a brain," said Andy Borowitz, the show's co-creator and executive producer.
"And she literally falls in love his mind," said Susan Borowitz, the other co-creator and executive producer (and Andy's spouse).
Cookie looks slightly alien, what with some weird stuff on the sides of her head. But her kids are completely alien - they all take after he ex-husband.
There is some magic involved in "Aliens in the Family" - Muppet magic. The folks at Jim Henson Productions who created the Muppets and the "Dinosaurs" are also responsible for creating Spit, Snizzy and Bobut.
As a matter of fact, "Aliens" has quite a bit in common with "Dinosaurs," most notably the inclusion of a baby that threatens to take over the show. And Bobut isn't just any baby.
"Like most babies, he acts like's he's the center of the universe," said Andy Borowitz. "In this case, it's somewhat justified because he actually is the center of the universe."
Indeed. Bobut is the future emperor of the galaxy. Not only is he as demanding as any small child, but he's got powers like mind control and levitation to back him up.
What "Aliens in the Family" is not about is how weird it is to have aliens living next door. They're just accepted as members of the community.
"They make a big splash initially in America, but it's sort of like Kato Kaelin," said Andy Borowitz. "They have their 15 minutes of fame and they're on all the covers of all the magazines, and now people are just kind of used to having aliens on the planet. . . . It's sort of the post-modern approach to aliens in our society. They're just one other group struggling to make ends meet in American life."
The show's greatest strength is also its greatest weakness - it has great kid appeal. But, although it's cute and occasionally clever, "Aliens" somewhat misses the mark when it comes to entertaining adults.
Still, there's much to recommend the show if you're a parent. It's not risque. It's not even suggestive.
"This show is not going to have a single dirty joke in it," Andy Bor-o-witz said. "I really feel there is a plethora of opportunities for people who want to see jokes about breasts. The networks have handled that very well."
And tonight's pilot episode carries a strong pro-family message. Sort of a weird family, but a family nonetheless.
"Aliens in the Family" is the sort of show a parent can feel comfortable having the kids watch. And there aren't many of those on network television anymore.
`LOCAL' LOSERS: Here's this week's least surprising TV news:
The new sitcom that Fox has scheduled after "Married . . . With Children" is rude, crude and stupendously stupid.
Fox wants to keep that "Married" audience around to watch "Local Heroes," after all.
A more accurate title for the show, which premieres Sunday at 8:30 p.m. on Ch. 13, might be "Local Losers." This alleged comedy follows the antics of four losers who hang out in a bar.
You know, the sort of guys who peaked in high school and are trying to relive their lost glory, despite the fact that they're all in their early 20s. The sort of guys who wear black armbands to a friend's wedding and moan about the horrors of marriage - despite the fact that three of them have no immediate or long-term prospects of ever getting married.
"Marriage is a pagan ritual that's outlived its usefulness," says Stosh (Jason Kristofer). "Especially since the Playboy Channel."
Yuck, yuck.
Stosh is a lazy cab driver. Eddie (Kevin Hudson Campbell) is an overweight factory worker with a shrewish mother (Rhoda Gemig-nani) and a trampy teenage sister (Tricia Vessey). Jake (Jay Mohr) is the former jock who now sells electronics. And Mert (Justin Luis) is another blue-collar guy who's afraid to commit to his girlfriend Bonnie (Kristen Datillo-Hayward).
These are the sort of people you're glad you'll never see again after high school.
Oh, and there's a smart-mouth barmaid (Paula Cale) who's clearly just an extremely weak imitation of Carla Tortelli on "Cheers."
The humor is of the lowest-common-denominator variety. "Did I tell you how great you look?" Mert tells Bonnie after the wedding. "When you stood in front of that stained-glass window I could see right through your dress."
There are also two goat-poop jokes and one about bestiality.
"You're a bunch of overgrown adolescents who really have not changed a bit since high school," Bonnie tells the boys.
"Oh, we still got it," Eddie replies.
"Never lost it," Stosh adds.
"Local Heroes" deserves losing. Quickly.