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Sep 26, 2012 Web Exclusive By Lily Moayeri

The Neighbors is an aliens-among-us show along the lines of My Favorite Martian, Mork and Mindy, or Third Rock From the Sun. Stereotypical-looking aliens, i.e. green sea monkey-looking things, come to Earth in an actual flying saucer to check it out as a possible place to live for their kind as something's going wrong with their planet. They transform their appearance to look like identically dressed, Izod-clad suburbanites, name themselves after famous athletes, cultivate British accents, buy all the homes in a gated community in New Jersey, and settle in. One couple spazzes out after 10 years, goes back to the home planet, leaving one of the homes empty, and Debbie Weaver (Jami Gertz) and her family move in. Within a day the aliens show their true form.

The whole thing is ridiculous. The only saving grace is the two young sons of the main families—human Max Weaver (played by Max Charles) and alien Lennox Lewis (played by Ian Patrick). Charles' world-weary, dry-witted persona is a relief. In contrast, Patrick's stoic, naïve character provides its own relief. Nonetheless, The Neighbors is weak and is made weaker by the Nickelodeon You Can't Do That On Television green slime that runs out of the aliens' ears when they get emotional. Then again, those old alien shows were lame as well and they had a good long run. There's no accounting for taste. (www.abc.go.com/shows/the-neighbors)

Author rating: 2/10