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DOWSE Guide to the Movies
by Tony Lee editor of Pigasus Press

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Alien Nation
90 minutes (18) 1989
Director: Graham Baker
Cast: James Caan, Mandy Patinkin, Terence Stamp
review by Steven Hampton

This highly successful SF cop thriller, knowlingly scripted by Rockne S. O'Bannon, and co-produced by genre specialist Gale Anne Hurd, spawned a sometimes witty if often routine series (developed for by Kenneth Johnson, the man behind The Incredible Hulk and V) of 22 episodes plus five TV movies.
 The setup is ingeniously simple. Aliens have landed on Earth and created a major immigration problem for the US. Finding these derisively termed "slags" housing and work means that aged cop James Caan gets a bald, weirdly intelligent new partner in 'Sam Framcisco' (Mandy Patinkin). The alien adjusts to human ways much easier than Cann's grouchy detective, though both cops learn to respect one another's talents and attributes before too long. The villain of the piece is Terence Stamp's drug-dealer. Another alien intent on securing his place in capitalist America, bulldozing over competition from more down to earth rival gangs. The racism element is often played for laughs, and it's the biological differences between humans and Tenctonese that ensure this film's place in SF cinema (the testy Sam gets drunk on sour milk, other aliens are destroyed by saltwater).

Steven Hampton

Alien Nation: Dark Horizon
89 minutes (12) 1994 Fox
Director: Kenneth Johnson
Cast: Gary Graham, Eric Pierpoint, Terri Treas, Scott Patterson, Michele Scarabelli
review by Peter Schilling

With the same cast as the TV show, which featured on the ITV regions, this engaging SF cop-drama goes some way towards expanding on the original's gimmicky buddy-movie idea. Xenophobic Purists subject Newcomer aliens to a virus that doesn't affect humans at all. The situation gets complicated when an alien overseer arrives from deep space, to roundup all the former slaves and conquer humanity. Ken Johnson, the creator of V, handles the political and racism allegories well enough.

Peter Schilling
originally published in VideoVista #5 (July 1995)


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