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Yet another '80s reboot is on the horizon. The network soon-to-be formerly known as The Sci-Fi Channel, will be giving us an all-new version of Alien Nation. (You remember -- the show with all the huge-headed, bald aliens covered in Mikhail Gorbachev spots, who had super-strength? Ocean water was their weakness, as it was like acid to them? Remember?)

Longtime fans of sci-fi drama may remember the short-lived, but poignant franchise. Launching with a 1988 theatrically-released film starring James Caan, it subsequently became a TV series on the Fox network. While lasting only one whole season, the show was eventually followed-up in the late 90's with five TV movies. The overall premise involved an Earth society living in the aftermath of the arrival of a giant spacecraft full of alien refugees who have escaped the oppression of their home planet with nowhere else to go. The aliens eventually assimilated themselves into American life, and set the show up to be somewhat of a vehicle for agitprop regarding a number of real life issues like immigration and inter/intra-cultural issues. (Think of it as True Blood, but with aliens.) The plot itself focused on a human detective in San Francisco named Mathew Sikes, who has been given an new alien partner named George Francisco (his taken "Earth" name.) Together, the duo fights crime (both human and alien) and adjust to each others' radically different styles and their own family issues. Despite the presence of aliens, it was as more of a police/morality drama.

With the impending July 7 re-branding of the Sci-Fi Channel to the (broader, I assume) moniker of "SyFy," the channel is looking to launch a new franchise player for the newly-christened network. With the recent end of Battlestar Galactica, the network has been left with a gaping hole that may or may not be filled properly by spinoff/prequel Caprica. While Alien Nation is a known commodity, it has been a LONG time since the franchise has been relevant. However, the same could easily have been said for Battlestar Galactica just before its wildly successful reboot occurred. According to Chris Carlisle, the head of Fox 21, (the 20th Century Fox off-shoot production company which will produce the show):

"It's absolute perfect timing for this type of show," Carlisle said. "They're looking for more grounded sci-fi and close-ended episodes, and at the heart of 'Alien Nation,' it's a cop movie. It's grounded. And it has a tremendous amount of dramatic possibilities and humor."

The updated show will obviously look to integrate more contemporary issues and sensibilities into the fray, but it will also attempt to recapture the magic of old-school police dramas with partner tensions and comic relief. According to Variety, the new show will take place about 20 years into the future in the aftermath of the event where the alien spacecraft full of slaves crash lands on Earth:

"By the time the show begins, some time in the 2020s, the alien population has multiplied from a few thousand to 3.5 million. And much of the "newcomers" live their own segregated existence, in what (show writer, Tim Minear) compares to the North African ghettos in France. You can take (the original 'Alien Nation') a step forward and really do a show that encompasses the clash of civilizations, and the idea of a ghettoized minority," he said. "You can touch on racism, terrorism, assimilation, immigration. And there's room for satire."

While an Alien Nation reboot does sound somewhat promising, I hope they don't get too lost in the whole "morality play" aspect. It's one thing to be a show that has something to say about the world, and it's another to be a show so high up on its own soap box, that it becomes completely lost and delusional in its own air of self-importance. People ultimately want to be entertained, and not be preached to on a weekly basis. There is a line in this aspect, and it should not be crossed.

The success of Battlestar Galactica was obviously the catalyst for this revival. It is likely that they will look towards making the show into a slick, action-packed, and sexy drama that glides along the back of its own substance.

Thoughts? Does an Alien Nation revival make you excited for the new direction of "SyFy?"

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