Review Roundup: "Aliens in America" Gets Good Grades

The reviews are in for The CW's newest high school sitcom Aliens in America, which premieres tonight. Though somewhat mixed, they suggest an extremely promising coming-of-age series that succeeds in blending comedy and social commentary.

The show, which depicts a Wisconsin family and the Pakistani exchange student they host as an attempt to boost their outcast son's social status, stars Adhir Kalyan as the Pakistani Raja Musharraff, Dan Byrd as Wisconsin misfit Justin Tolchuck, and Amy Pietz (Caroline in the City) and Scott Patterson (Gilmore Girls) as the socially-conscious parents. A clip, courtesy of The CW, appears below:

The Baltimore Sun's David Zurawik was perhaps most laudatory of the show, proclaiming "finally, a TV comedy worth going out of your way to see." He continued,

Funny, charming and smart, the ultimate appeal of this series about a middle-class Wisconsin family and the foreign exchange student who comes into their home is the winning way in which it explores core tensions of post-Sept. 11 American life. Trying to make a nation laugh about the conflict between its historic commitment to multiculturalism and current fear of terrorists is a tall order, but Aliens looks like it has the comedic goods to do just that.

The LA Times' Robert Lloyd, who called the show "winning," agreed on the comedy's broader societal significance:

Albeit at bottom a standard "strange-neighbors" comedy, Aliens in America" is a hopeful sign that we may finally be emerging pop-culturally into the post-post-9/11 age — or, at any rate, a post-24 age, in which we are ready to find a little humor in the Clash of Civilizations, rather than just wanting to bathe in bloody fantasies of prophylactic superspies.

The Washington Post's Tom Shales found the comedy distasteful, asking, "Is it racist to make racism funny?" and concluding:

Despite plenty of surface sparkle, there is something discomforting about the show, and not just because it borrows tone and form from other sitcoms with youthful heroes, especially Fox's Malcolm in the Middle. The show says not only that racism but also bullying, baiting, ignorance, homophobia and other social afflictions can be quite hilarious. Maybe up to a point — but it's a point beyond which Aliens in America unfortunately seems willing to go. It's no fun to laugh and then feel guilty about it.

Linda Stasi at the New York Post didn't disagree with Shales, but despite calling the show "tasteless, cringe-inducing, [and] politically insensitive" she ultimately declared the show "so funny you will laugh until you make snorting noises." She also praised the show's "terrific social commentary that hasn't been attempted this broadly in a family sitcom since All in the Family" and compared Aliens in America to previous politically incorrect hits like Married with Children and In Living Color.

Variety's Brian Lowry's review was mixed, calling the pilot and second episode "uneven" but praising Amy Pietz's portrayal of an overbearing mother:

Pietz alone makes the series recommendable — adopting an accent that sounds straight out of Fargo and facing challenges with maternal grit and the prickly qualities of an exposed nerve.

Gillian Flynn at Entertainment Weekly gave the show a B+:

It seemed likely to be nose-wrinklingly broad or gag-inducingly sweet. As it turns out, Aliens is, in fact, quite broad — a fair amount of the comedy comes from foreign-born Raja (Adhir Kalyan) and his stilted English. But it's not offensively so.

And, finally, the New York Times' Alessandra Stanley offered a cautiously positive review, noting that the show is simultaneously predictable and original, and stating,

It's a premise that in the wrong hands could be boorish and not at all amusing, so it is to the writers' credit that Aliens is instead fresh, funny and charming in a tart, sardonic way, one of the best sendups of adolescent angst since The Wonder Years and Malcolm in the Middle (and perhaps even My So-Called Life).

Aliens in America premieres tonight at 8:30 PM on the CW (7:30 PM Central).

Will you be watching? Have you seen it? Share your own review in the comments section.

Comments

[TVBaby]

Also saw the pilot last night. What a delight. I hope the CW sticks with this one -- unlike Gossip Girl, which brings absolutely nothing new to an over-treaded genre. Amy Pietz and Scott Patterson are worth the 30 minutes' price alone.

[moober]

Watched the pilot last night and loved it. Although elements of it were derivative of other struggling-through-high-school sitcoms, but the introduction of a South Asian Muslim character felt very refreshing. And sitcoms can be a great means for increasing tolerance and understanding - think Will & Grace's early years.

Plus I had been an American Exchange student to a Muslim country (Turkey), so that brought special resonance.

Definitely worth a viewing or two -- if you can find the CW!