So it went from...


So it went from aliens that showed themselves and their technology semi-frequently to just a bunch of freaks who may or may not be from Britain?

I got into this show for the clever/sci-fi-ish/humorous sensibility about it... and now it's just become "The Weirdos Who Happen to Live Next Door". I think everyone has at least one set of those. At least twice that in my case.

Writers, inject some more of your ORIGINAL premise into the show. Having ignorant, borderline unstable neighbors isn't enough to sell a show to a network... for once I can honestly say that I would have to agree with - et-em - a network.






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"Your wife's on my Wham-O"

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[deleted]

lol... yep, troll or hater, no doubt. I don't give them acknowledgement since closed minds think alike ;)

The reality of modern scripted TV is that it's an inherently endangered species. Most shows of any noteworthiness frequently use the monetary crisis of ratings and ads to drive their narratives (see Arrested Development for a great example of this). The issue then becomes that writing about their financial shortcomings, instead of telling the original story, is the central preoc that kills any molecule of originality the initial premise once held.

This failing wasn't quite how it happened for "The Neighbors", however. The steep spending freezes dictated that there be a limit on the level of CGI or anything extra in terms of science-fiction. The original premise, nonetheless, was based upon these very concepts. While I was disappointed to see those elements evaporate, the comedy also took a nose-dive to accompany the rest of the deterioration.

While I haven't researched the background of this circumstance (whether they lost writers or if backers pulled-out), I can only speculate with what the foreground offers. The concept was exceedingly inventive, the 're-watch' factor was high due to the intricate layering of sci-fi and comedic elements. That all changed around season 1 episode 5 for me. The laughs weren't as continuous and the sci-fi element was disappearing fast.

Long story short (I know! ;), I stuck with them... they failed to gain new ground, money dried up, and so did their core concept. Period.

You would think that Jami Gertz might want to invest in it a little since she is worth somewhere between $2-3 BILLION! Yes, look her up! All of this time YOU were watching a billionaire on a little known TV show. Go figger.







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"Your wife's on my Wham-O"

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I liked this show when it started too. But this week's episode was a complete waste of 30 minutes. I didn't laugh once. The Larry Bird character has become nothing but a whiny complaining you know what, it was nice to see Jackie put him in his place for once. Didn't save the episode though.

With great power comes great responsibility.

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Agree completely... it was like watching the unstable become unhinged right before our eyes (Larry Bird). I *may* have chuckled once.


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"Your wife's on my Wham-O"

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[deleted]

There's an extra from this show that I have been called every name in the book for...
yes... I think I have heard of you. ;) However I was suggesting budget because they obviously couldn't afford better writers that could see that a teenage human-alien love interest was tapped-out at a certain point or taco-shops weren't where the funny was. A better head writer wouldn't have steered the ship into those territories to begin with and the lack of funding was something that made this series destined to fail because they couldn't write to the original premise anymore. The were forced to come up with these ridiculous side jobs etc. since the budgetary restrictions were handicapping them.

I could be wrong, but the painting isn't very abstract and as I said I haven't looked into it either.

I just knew it gave me a bad feeling as soon as they were no longer financially able and needed to take side jobs. With all of Larry's knowledge, he couldn't "invent" the next velcro or LED technology and reap rewards that way? Keeping him a window peeper onto the street of his Earthly empire would be funnier than him "keeping the coffee shop afloat single-handedly"(ughhhh). The logistics of coming up with an invention could have been comedically written off in many ways... but, no... taco shop! I sadly lol.



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"Your wife's on my Wham-O"

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I still enjoy the show but I will agree with the OP they don't seem to be focusing much on them being Aliens so much as being different.

That's a good point that I didn't really notice until you brought it up.
Still funny show though.

Good post.

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[deleted]

Its a known fact that ABC slashed the show's budget it half immediately after they green-lit the second season, proving they never had any interest in salvaging the show, but figured it would be cheaper than making another show from scratch...

ABC had already ordered several new stinkers this season that got AXED almost instantly. Lucky 7, Back in the Game and Killer Women being the biggest flops. Mind Games and Mixology look DOA, too, from the ratings.

So they have less of a budget and have to write around these restrictions because their Special Effects budget isn't there.

Thats why the Aliens are less Alien this season and more kooky Europeans. If you just started watching this season, you'd have no idea they are meant to be extraterrestrials.

But thats more ABC being greedy slags than the fault of the show.

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Yup,this show had such potential. Now doing musical numbers? It has done a total 180 from where I thought it could go...Excellent cast, terrible script.

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actually if you go back to last season there are quite a few episodes where if you just picked up the show you wouldn't know they were aliens, so actually the continuity is there.

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I thought the Harvard jokes were boffo

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[deleted]

I haven't seen season 1, but I thought season 2 was cute. I haven't been able to watch season 1 online (not for free, anyway). Would you mind elaborating a bit more on the changes?

Also, I missed season 1 because I just wasn't paying attention, but I started season 2 because I heard that "the show has greatly improved" in a few places. What say you to that?

I saw [vampires] before they were trendy!

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The concept for this show was too high brow for its own good.

The writers couldn't keep up the gag on their budget and they gave up on playing off the human element of being in our society.

I liked how during the first season the show felt like it had some expanse to it and the characters were seen at school or outside, but then the show started to feel more and more like those multiple camera sitcoms shot in front of a live audience, and that they were pandering to that ADHD invisible audience instead of giving the concept longevity.

They only thing that kept me coming back was Reggie and Amber's relationship, but they kind of went from zero to sixty without any effort.

I really loved how Amber was so eager to finally show Reggie she loved him, but once that happened it felt like those two characters were useless again.

The writers didn't get beyond they troupes that they setup for their characters.

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