Many people think that science fiction stories work best with a serious or spooky tone, but if they are not done well, they just become laughable. Some writers can see just how absurd some of these storylines can get and build on that humor. Sometimes these ideas work and other times they just fall flat. And when it comes to television, networks often don’t have the budget for great effects which only make things more difficult. Still, it can be done. Here are eight samples of memorable space-themed comedies that made it past the pilot stage. Some are forgotten favorites; others are obscure memories and some we are still enjoying right now.
My Favorite Martian
1963-1966 on CBS
My Favorite Martian has the distinction of becoming the very first TV sitcoms to deal with fantasy elements. This fish-out-of-water type comedy dealt a newspaper reporter who reluctantly takes in a 450-year-old Martian who crash lands into our “backward planet.” Tim O’Hara (Bill Bixby) lives in an apartment above the garage of Mrs. Lorelei Brown (Pamela Britton) and initially wants no part of housing the illegal alien, but the Martian (Ray Walston) says that he’ll only stay until his spaceship is fixed. To avoid suspicion, Tim calls the Martian his Uncle Martin. The show ended after the third year and Martin had still not fixed his spaceship.
Jack Chertok, the creator of the show, was unhappy with the early scripts and hired Sherwood Schwartz (who later created Gilligan’s Island and The Brady Bunch) to punch them up.
In 1973, Filmation created the Saturday morning animated spin-off series, My Favorite Martians and in 1999, Disney released a feature film based on the classic TV series. It starred Christopher Lloyd and Jeff Daniels.
Quark
1977-1978 on NBC
Set in the year 2226, Quark was a mid-season replacement series inspired by sci-fi TV shows and movies. Three episodes were actually parodies of Star Trek (“The Deadly Years”, “Mirror, Mirror” and “The Ultimate Computer”). Quark was centered around Commander Adam Quark and his crew aboard a “United Galaxy Sanitation Patrol Cruiser” or as we have on our planet, a large garbage truck.
The crew on the ship included: Patricia Barnstable and Cyb Barnstable (Betty I and Betty II: Identical pilots), Tim Thomerson (Gene/Jean: a “transmute” humanoid engineer with a male and female split personality), Douglas Folwey (O.B. Mudd: an equipment specialist who spent too much time working on a robot), Bobby Porter (Andy: the robot), Richard Kelton (Ficus Pandorata: a human-looking plant), Conrad Janis (Otto Bob Palindrome: Quark’s boss), Allan Caillou (The Head: Bob Palindrome’s boss), Misty Rowe (Interface: a four-armed woman who works as an operator), Dink (a hairy alien) and Ergo (Quark’s multi-eyed pet).
The short-lived series (just eight episodes) was created by Buck Henry, who was also the co-creator of Get Smart. It was nominated for an Emmy for costume design.
ALF
1986-1990 on NBC
ALF was a polarizing family sitcom. Audiences either loved it or hated it. But enough people loved it enough to keep it on the air for four seasons plus a spin-off cartoon series.
The series centered around the Tanner Family whose lives were upended when an UFO carrying an alien life form came crashing into their garage. The family called him ALF, but his real name was Gordon Shumway from the planet Melmac. The Tanners reluctantly allowed him to stay with them until his spaceship was fixed.
The character ALF was voiced by puppeteer Paul Fusco, but at the time, the actor’s name was kept secret. The set was raised four feet off the ground and built with trap doors where ALF could pop up. The Tanners were played by Max Wright (Willie), Anne Schedeen (Kate), Andrea Elson (Lynn) and Benji Gregory (Brian). Nosey neighbor Raquel Ochmonek and her husband Trevor were played by Liz Sheridan and John LaMotta.
Fun fact: Alf was a big Gilligan’s Island fan and in one episode, he dreamt that he was there. Bob Denver, Alan Hale Jr., Dawn Wells and Russell Johnson all appeared reprising their roles as Gilligan, Skipper, Mary Ann and the Professor.
Avenue 5
2000–2002 on HBO
Created by Armando Iannucci, this show featured the antics of the people aboard the space cruise ship known as Avenue 5 after the chief engineer accidently died causing the ship to go off course. (It was estimated that it would take three years for the ship to return to Earth, but they only had enough supplies for eight weeks.) It was up to Captain Ryan Clark (Hugh Laurie), billionaire owner Herman Judd (Josh Gad) and their crew to keep everyone safe.
The show also starred Zach Woods (Head of customer relations), Suzy Nakamura (an associate owner), Lenora Crichlow (an engineer), Nikki Amuka-Bird (head of mission control), Ethan Phillips (an alcoholic former astronaut) and Rebecca Front (a passenger).
Though the second season did better in the ratings, the show ended after two seasons.
Duck Dodgers
2003-2005 on Cartoon Network and Boomerang
Hanna-Barbera loved to go to space with their cartoon series. The most popular of course was The Jetsons (1962-1963 and 1985-1987) who were the counter opposite of The Flintstones. Similar to The Jetsons was Partridge Family 2200 AD (1974). In fact, it looked like they lived in the same neighborhood with a raised apartment building and flying cars. Josie and the Pussycats spent their whole second season (1972) in space too. And Yogi’s Space Race (1978) rehashed the Wacky Races concept but in space. However, one of the best kids’ cartoon series was Duck Dodgers by Warner Bros. Animation. The series was built around four Looney Tunes cartoons: Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century (1953), its sequel, Duck Dodgers and the return of the 24½th Century (1980) and Marvin the Martian in the Third Dimension (1996) and Attack of the Drones (2003).
Each episode of Duck Dodgers featured Daffy Duck as Dodgers (voiced by Joe Alaskey), Porky Pig as Space Cadet (Bob Bergen) and Marvin the Martian (also Joe Alaskey). Many episodes featured characters “played” by other Looney Tunes stars.
(Other animated Sci-Fi series worth watching include Futurama, Lower Decks and Solar Opposites
The Neighbors
2012-2013 on ABC
The Weaver Family were just wanting to find a safe neighborhood to live in. They moved from New Jersey to a gated community where they met The Neighbors. These families were perfect but a little too perfect. Turns out, that’s because they were aliens incognito.
Created by Dan Fogelman, The Neighbors starred Jami Gertz and Lenny Venito who played Debbie and Marty Weaver with their three children Max (Max Charles), Abby (Isabella Cramp) and Amber (Clara Mamet). The neighbors that they met had names that they borrowed from sports players including Larry Bird (Simon Templeman), Jackie Joyner-Kersee (Toks Olagundoye), Dick Butkus (Ian Patrick) and Reggie Jackson (Tim Jo). The show also featured a few guest stars including Mark Hamill, George Takei, Bethenny Frankel, Sandra Bernhard and Nora Dunn.
Although The Neighbors had some fans, the show only aired for one season.
The Orville
2017-2019 on FOX and 2022 (and possibly 2025) on HULU
Seth MacFarlane created and starred in The Orville. Inspired by Star Trek and The Twilight Zone, the show was set in the year 2417 aboard spacecraft USS Orville. MacFarlane starred as Captain Edward Mercer serving on the exploratory ship. Edward’s first officer and ex-wife was Commander Kelly Grayson (Adrianne Palicki). The two divorced after Kelly’s affair with an alien.
The show also featured Doctor Claire Finn (Penny Johnson Jerald), Lieutenant Gordan Malloy (Scott Grimes), Lieutenant Commander Bortus (Peter Macon), Lieutenant Alara Kitan (Halson Sage), Lieutenant John LaMarr (J. Lee), science and engineering officer Issac (Mark Jackson), Lieutenant Commander Talla Keyali (Jessica Szohr), navigator Ensign Charly Burke (Anne Winters) and Lieutenant Yaphit (Norm Macdonald).
Even though the first episode was directed by Jon Favreau and the show boasted of top-notch special effects and music, the show didn’t impress critics during the first season. Even so, it was renewed for a second season on FOX. HULU picked up the series for a third season. Rumor has it that a fourth season will begin filming in 2025.
Resident Alien
2021-Present on Syfy and USA Network
Based on a comic book of the same name, Resident Alien is considered a mystery-comedy-drama series created by Chris Sheridan. After an alien (Alan Tudyk) crash-lands in Patience, Colorado, he is sent on a killing spree including the town’s doctor, Harry Vanderspeigle. Taking on the form of Harry, the alien continued his killing spree thinking that by doing so, it would be good for planet Earth. But then, he was overcome with human emotions and started questioning the morality of it all.
Harry strikes up an unlikely friendship with Max Hawthorne (Judah Prehn), the mayor’s son. Max is the first human to literally see through the human disguise. The cast also includes Levi Fiehler (Ben Hawthorne: Max’s dad), Sara Tomko (Asta Twelvetrees: the doctor’s assistant), Corey Reynolds (Sheriff Mike Thompson and Alice Wetterlund (Darcy Bloom: a bartender). The show got some extra star power with some recurring guest stars like Linda Hamilton, Nathan Fillion, Terry O’Quinn, George Takei and Peter Hogan (co-creator of the comic book).
Main Image: Syfy
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