Review: 'The Aliens'

If you reworked the USA Network drama COLONY into a dystopian Judd Apatow-influenced comedy, you get something like THE ALIENS, which premieres on the U.K.'s Channel 4's E4 Tuesday evening for a six-episode run.

Created by Irish writer Fintan Ryan (IN THE FLESH, NEVER BETTER), THE ALIENS opens with a group of scared school kids getting a rambling, somewhat frightening tour by border guard Lewis (played by Michael Socha). "We all know aliens crash-landed here nearly 40 years ago, right?" In between warnings about the aliens and their often dangerous habits and awkward attempts to bond with his fellow guards, he introduces the basic parameters of the show's premise. 

The aliens look human, but have body hair that is highly hallucinogenic when shaved off and smoked. They've been segregated into a rundown slum named "Troy" and some of the aliens commute to jobs on the human side by passing through border patrol gates in the massive wall that surrounds their community.

Early on the show tries to draw some clumsy metaphors about immigration and racism, but about halfway into the first episode, the show finds it feet as an odd and very funny look at a world that is just a little mad.

Lewis hates the aliens although he's also addicted to a web site which features live alien girl sex cams. He's mostly drawn to the mysterious alien Lilyhot (Michaela Coel), who turns out to be the woman who is going to change his life forever. Albeit in a horrifyingly manipulative way.

If that wasn't enough, Lewis is also a bit unsettled by an alien coworker (Jim Howick) who is a bit of a stalker. Then there's his sister, who turns out to be dealing alien hair to make some money. Things don't get much better for Lewis when he discover he is actually 1/2 alien, which is supposedly a scientific impossibility.

THE ALIENS comes from the same producers as MISFITS and both shows share a common sense of anarchic humor. Everyone is a bit dense and/or distracted and scenes can quickly turn violent, although it generally ends with a laugh.

There is a lot of wordplay and inside jokes, ranging from giving the aliens the nickname of "Morks" to a running gag about an alien gang who becomes frustrated after their victims continue to mishear their gang name of the "Silence Crew" as the "Silent Screw".

While the pilot is a bit uneven early on, overall it's an example of a rare successful attempt to meld science fiction and humor into a TV series. Next week's episode is even better and it amps up the energy in a way that will leave you a bit wore out at the end of the hour.

THE ALIENS doesn't have a home yet in the U.S., but it would be a smart pick-up for Syfy. Tonally, it's in the same universe as KILLJOYS and this is show is completely unlike anything else on the air right now. Who knew that an alien immigration story could be this much fun?