Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Saturtainment: Aliens in the Family (1996)

The track record of the Henson family's non-Muppet projects has not been very good. Aside from Fraggle Rock, the first series that Jim Henson created for HBO, Henson Productions' output has not had the staying power of Kermit and his pals, although Kermit and The Muppets ended up a 1 season wonder last season.

ABC thought Aliens in the Family would be a good fit for their Friday TGIF block. However, viewers voted with their remotes after reading advance reviews. Aliens lasted two weeks in March of 1996, then returned as a Saturday morning entry that summer to burn off the remaining six episodes. Singer-songwriter Todd Rundgren recorded the theme song.

The Stuffed Dog Company's only other claim to fame? NBC's Fresh Prince of Bel-Air comes to mind pretty quickly. The title animation is credited to Renegade Studios, although it bears some resemblance to the works of animators like Butch Hartman and/or John Kricfalusi. Stuffed Dog, whose logo was derivative of 20th Century Fox's from all indications, wasn't heard from again after Aliens left the air, as Fresh Prince had ended its run.

Here's a sample open:



Nice idea, but it seems viewers weren't interested in a fantasy-com that looked like a cross between The Brady Bunch and Mork & Mindy, if you get the drift.

No rating.

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