I know SM is rightly consumed with a different Musharraf, but all this talk about Mushie reminded me of CW’s Aliens in America, which, for those of you who don’t recall, is a new television sitcom featuring a protagonist named Raja Musharaff. I loved the pilot but many of you, my bunker-mate Amardeep included, were all “eh”.
Well, ahem. Salon’s Heather Havrilesky likes AiA, too. Take that, pooh-pooers. 😉
From yesterday’s Salon’s guide to what to watch:
God is allergic to Jell-O. Most cats show a preference for the color orange. There’s a very funny comedy that you’re not watching, and it’s on the CW. Which one of these statements is true? Amazingly enough, the CW’s “Aliens in America” (8:30 p.m. EST Mondays) is not only consistently funny, it’s also charming and absurd and addictive, setting it miles apart from the CW’s typical herd of superpowered teenage hotties. The story of a Pakistani exchange student named Raja who goes to live with an average family in a small town in Wisconsin could have landed in unreasonably dorky territory. Instead, the show’s writers have churned out a steady stream of seriously clever scripts, dense with absurd jokes and memorable moments, making “Aliens in America” feel more like a modern, snappy update on a John Hughes film. The dorky Midwestern Tolchuck family is pitch perfect, but the big star here is Adhir Kalyan, whose spot-on performance as the hopelessly earnest and morally upright Raja is responsible for the show’s most hilarious moments. (You can watch one of the best recent episodes, “Rocket Club,” here.) [kumquat]
I think Adhir Kalyan is kinda funny:
One writer asked Kalyan if he experienced culture shock, coming to the U.S. from South Africa. His reply: “In truth, the only thing I found difficult to deal with coming to the States is the size of the portions of food. Really — I mean, really, do we need portions that are that big? I mean, Africa doesn’t need Bono. Africa doesn’t need Geldof. Africa needs a Denny’s grand-slam breakfast.” [mangosteen]
From the same link:
You’ll get a bit of a “Freaks and Geeks”/”Wonder Years” vibe from “Aliens,” though it has a way to go to imitate the pure heart of those classics.
See, I totally think it has heart. While I haven’t gone out of my way to catch every episode (I’m usually getting home bang in the middle of the program, and I hate cutting in…and yes, I know, I am the only mutineer sans TiVo), I was able to see last night’s Aliens and I was reminded of how cute it was. I was smiling for thirty minutes. The show is totes sweet.
I stand by my initial positivity towards one of CW’s finest, especially after last night’s special guest star– the hoochie-rific Homecoming dress– almost stole the show. If popular little sister Claire knew what her Mom did while trying it on, I doubt that she would have pitched that tantrum about returning it. 😉 Also, it takes a non-trivial amount of talent to keep those multiple, “mandatory” tags crease-free while being so…um…active; every girl here who has purchased a prom dress/formal/bridesmaid outfit knows exactly what I mean.
Have any of you kept up with it or caught something beyond the pilot? Has Raja won you over or are you still not sold?
Anna – I watch it every week, or rather, record it with my VCR (I don’t have Tivo either). And I LOVE this show. I figured I’d give it a chance to see if it was worthy of joining 30 Rock and How I Met Your Mother on the list of regulars, and there’s no chance of it slipping off.
Also LOVED the episode where he worked for an Indian convenience store owner and the guy kept insulting him. They slipped in a brief explanation at why Indians and Pakistanis may not get along, but kept it light.
The only thing that gets me is Raja’s hand motions. He talks with his hands A LOT. I do too, but more in a waving around way, and not in the delicate, deliberate way he does. I understand that South Asians may stereotypically move their hands around a bit as they talk, but it’s uber-distracting.
I laughed a lot at the pointless homecoming float episode yesterday. Shows like The Office, My Name is Earl and Ugly Betty have had so-so episodes this season.
I am the only mutineer sans TiVo)
Nope – I still record on videotape. A 10-pack at WalMart is way cheaper than a Tivo subscription.
the show’s definitely growing on me. and for folks without tivo (or without a tv, in my case) you can watch most of AiA episodes online on the CW site.
I watch it online at the CW’s website, they release new episodes on Saturdays after they air.
It’s actually a pretty funny show. Before seeing the show, though it would be fairly offensive, however got to give them credit, it’s been pretty balanced and the comedy not awkward or one sided.
I used to LOVE ‘wonder years’ re-runs for that grey period between class and dusk in grad school [ah… memories of grad yrs in a brownstone] so that reference was a thumbs up to me. I havent seen it but my first search thru youtube turned this up [2]. I liked it 🙂
I also watch the show when I can off the cw site. I like it.
NPRs Fresh Air featured the show yesterday
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16005234
Dude! this is a shade more cutting edge than the Wonder Years.
i’m current up until the episode where Raja hangs out with the genius and gives the Tolchuk son the cold shoulder. I am slowly being won over, if only because I told Comcast to jump in the duck pond and now TV time is intermittent.
We’ve been watching it quite faithfully, only missing one episode so far, i think. It’s not bad, but after a while, you get the feeling that every week is the same formula: the US kid (Justin) does something selfish/dumb/etc, Raja does something to make him angry, Justin realizes the folly of his ways, and they reconcile. I really like Justin’s dad though- he’s quite a class act.. Perhaps they should make more use of him, relative to the mum.
Although The Wonder Years was much better at getting the mix of humor and ten angst than AiA anytime, AiA is still a fairly reliable dinner-time TV show, unless you watch it every week. We’re wondering whether we should carry on putting it on our calendar.
Does anyone know the producers/writers of the show? Maybe they’ll read this blog as an free online focus group!
Talk about edgy, where else besides Sopranos would you hear lines like “if you ever steal from me, I’ll cut your sneaky pakistani fingers off”
I like the show, but am i the only one who thinks it smacks somewhat of reverse discrimination? Every week, raja shows-up Justin and the other white kids with his upright moral character.
I can’t say I love it, but it is one of the few shows this season which has become a regular for me, which says something. I haven’t been compelled to channel surf in the middle of the show. I dunno, it kinda toes the line on wit (a safe sex float?) which keeps me wondering if the next episode will be better then the last.
I saw AiA for the first time online this weekend. I have to say that, surprisingly, I liked it. I’m glad that it’s not like the other CW (or former WB) shows where it’s about the drama of a bunch of sluts who get plastered every other night. It’s not the best comedy in which I wait helplessly for to come on every week, but I’ll still watch every weekend online.
I’m still a pretty loyal fan, though I agree with Harminder that it is becoming so much a formula that it would be smarter to shake up the structure a bit. Don’t know if anyone ever saw the oddball Strangers with Candy series, but it lampoons the structure of the after school special, where there is always a moral to the story. This show can get away with it because of the original idea of the foreigner as smarter/better than the yank, but regarding reverse discrimination, I think when the uberculture is poked it is sorta fair game. Now about those clothes- I have to admit that I was a little wrong on the last string, I was hoping Raja would occasionally slip into those American duds that he has in his suitcase. By now he is sort of branded, so I am guessing he will continue to dress the homie way. I am not too picky- as long as the show keeps on its track.
It’s odd that the show, which does have a Pakistani-American on the creative staff, would create an ethnically incorrect name like “Raja” Musharaff. I guess I should watch the show before I watch it, but I find it odd when so very often the names of desis in shows don’t match their purported religion/subethnicity
Ah, Louiecypher, we have already covered it. 😉
Actually, Anna, this answered that concern better than anything anyone else said: 🙂