Welcome-ish, PEOPLE OF EARTH

Article first published as PEOPLE OF EARTH Review on Seat42F.

TBS is a network for experimental sitcoms, so their latest offering, PEOPLE OF EARTH, should fit right in. An accomplished journalist is assigned to cover a support group for people who believe they have been abducted by aliens. Anxious to get past that waste of time and onto something meaningful, he barely gives the theories of the crazy people a second thought… until he has an extraterrestrial encounter of his own.

Yep, it sounds like a bizarre premise, and it is. It gets even more bizarre when viewers get to start seeing the aliens, knowing this isn’t just conspiracy theories, and is actually a real problem. The aliens plan to take over the world and aren’t too happy that our hero, Ozzie Graham (Wyatt Cenac, The Daily Show), is onto them. After all, no one is going to listen to a bunch of crackpots, but an actual reporter who is determined to find proof? That could threaten all of their plans!

I like the cast of this show. Besides Cenac, the large ensemble includes Ana Gasteyer (Suburgatory, Saturday Night Live), Luka Jones (Up All Night), Brian Huskey (Another Period), Michael Cassidy (The Magicians), Oscar Nunez (The Office), Nancy Lenehan (My Name Is Earl), Da’Vine Joy Randolph (Selfie), Alice Wetterlund (Silicon Valley), Daniel Sherman (Run All Night), and Tracee Chimo (Orange Is the New Black). This isn’t an A-list bunch, but there are quite a few familiar faces, and some very funny people on the list.

I also like the concept. Alien abductions are usually dismissed as nonsense, and if they were to be played for laughs, it’s by laughing at the characters. Here, we have some people who fit that stereotype of someone who isn’t to be believed, but knowing they’re right changes the dynamic and feel of the series. It’s kind of a weird world that doesn’t feel like our own reality, even though it looks and sounds like it, which makes for an interesting watching experience.

Where it goes wrong for me is the execution. The aliens themselves aren’t portrayed nearly as well as they could be. They are an inept bunch, even though they’ve been able to operate in the shadows for some time. They’re too sloppy to feel realistic. There are plot holes, one of the invaders making a very strange decision in retrospect, which feels very obvious by episode two. We’re still very much in the dark about who they are and what they want, but there doesn’t appear to be a cohesive idea behind them that will make the mystery worth it. And, while some have cool designs, others are pretty lame.

Because of that, I don’t know where this is going, and I’m not that interested in finding out. If PEOPLE OF EARTH can’t get through two half-hour installments without making me doubt the reality they’re presenting, I don’t know that I can stomach a weekly show that may not pay off.

The one aspect that gives me a bit of hope is that delusions that Ozzie experiences. By setting the narrator up to be unreliable, there is a possibility that the inconsistencies and plot holes could be purposeful, clues that not all is as it seems to be to those of us watching at home (another level beyond the ignorant, unprepared humans who don’t know the aliens are coming). If this were embraced more fully, PEOPLE OF EARTH could be a ground-breaking sitcom.

I just don’t think that’s where it’s going, though, so while I was amused and interested in the first couple of installments, I’m not sold on continuing, especially on a network that had yet to distinguish itself as consistently reliable in the comedy realm, airing both good series and total duds, often at the same time.

PEOPLE OF EARTH premieres tonight at 10/9c on TBS.

How to Be a Gentleman teaches anything but

     The "Pilot" of CBS's How to Be a Gentleman finds Alan (David Hornsby, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) dealing with a new job description. Alan has been writing a column about being a gentleman, a disappearing art, but his boss, Jerry (Dave Foley, NewsRadio), informs Alan that, per the new owners, he needs to shift to something that appeals to a completely different demographic. A chance encounter with one of his former high school tormentors, Bert (Kevin Dillon, Entourage), gives Alan an idea on how to go about that. Reluctantly, he tries to transform himself. 

     How to Be a Gentleman might just win Worst New Series this season. There are so many reasons to nominate it for such a title, and really no reason not to. The writing isn't smart, the concept is done, and actors are poorly used, and the jokes aren't funny. From start to finish, it's impossible to find one positive thing to say about the "Pilot." So let's break down some of the negatives.

     Hornsby works great in small doses, such as the recurring role he plays on It's Always Sunny. He doesn't work at all as a leading man. His whiny voice and annoying personality, assumedly done for the part he is playing, leads the audience to sympathize with Bert quite quickly. Viewers will all want to punch Alan in the arm. I'm not saying Hornsby is a bad man or a terrible actor, but this role does him no favors.

     But Bert is not off the hook. What works for Johnny Drama when he's part of an Entourage doesn't necessarily work as one of two leading men. It's a shame, because Dillon is essentially playing the same role. Not with the lifestyle or career choice, of course, but in terms of how he acts, talks, and thinks. Did Drama get a spin-off, and then at the last minute, the creators decided to rename his character and make it something new? It seems so.

     The supporting characters are no better. Foley is intolerable as a pushover, willing to do anything to keep his job. This wimpiness keeps him from being likable, much the same way it does for Alan and Alan's brother-in-law, Mike (Rhys Darby, The Flight of the Conchords). Mike's mother is played by Nancy Lenehan (The New Adventures of Old Christine, Worst Week), recycling the same forgettable character she always plays. There's nothing to hate about her, but that could be because her character lacks any discernable substance. Mary Lynn Rajskub is wasting the (deserved) adoration she built with 24 on another throwaway part, Alan's possibly cheating, overbearing sister. Some of these actors could do so much better.

     If the fates are kind, How to Be a Gentleman will be off the air by next week. But fates aren't always kind, so who knows? If you are interested in checking it out, How to Be a Gentleman airs Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

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