Serious Laughs

The Wonder Years Meets Homeland Security In Aliens In America

Striking a balance between story and message is a daunting task for any TV show, especially a sitcom, but the CW’s Aliens In America is taking that challenge head-on as it  chronicles the trials and tribulations of a teenage boy and a nation coming of age in the post-9/11 world.

“It’s clearly a message show,” said Executive Producer Tim Doyle ’87, who along with fellow alumnus and pilot director Luke Greenfield ’94, spoke with In Motion editors prior to appearing in Howard Rosenberg’s Television Symposium class on October 22. (Also taking the stage were series creators Moses Port and David Guarascio.)

That message, however, is measured. “We could be more aggressive but there’s a sensitivity to the audience and what they not only want, but what they are also willing to consume,” said Doyle, whose extensive list of credits after earning his M.F.A. in production include Grace Under Fire, Ellen, Sports Night, Roseanne and Still Standing.  “In the meantime, we’ll continue to push to at least make some reasonable statements about the state of America,” he added.

“The writing was so incredible that my main goal was how to bring the script justice," said Luke Greenfield.

From the minute Greenfield first saw the pilot script, he said he knew he wanted to be the one to direct it, bringing his background in films like The Girl Next Door (2004) and The Animal (2001) to the small screen.

“It was literally like making a movie,” said the production B.A. alumnus. “The writing was so incredible that my main goal was how to bring the script justice. I worked at this full blast, wanting to make everything pop.”

Doyle credits Greenfield, who also directed the recently aired “Rocket Club” episode, with setting the pace for the rest of the directors. “So much of what Luke did in the pilot continues to define the entire series for us. It’s a reference point and a template when it comes to style and specifics,” Doyle said.

Airing Monday nights at 8:30 pm on the CW, Aliens puts a 21st century spin on the coming-of-age story. The show depicts the life of a nerdy, but lovable 16-year-old who’s just trying to survive high school. His mother’s plan to make him popular by hosting a Nordic exchange student only makes things worse when it turns out their guest is a Muslim boy from Pakistan.

Tim Doyle's extensive list of credits include Grace Under Fire, Ellen, Sports Night, Roseanne and Still Standing.

The program has received great reviews from the media, and is slowly developing a fan base. “America can handle intelligent comedy,” Doyle said noting that, although a full season of the show has not yet been ordered, each episode has up ticked in week-to-week viewership. “The question now is how does our audience find us?”

That question is in part answered by making sure the program isn’t too preachy or too far out of bounds in terms of style and direction. Keeping things real is a big push for Greenfield, who said he draws creative direction from “an obsession with high school,” as well as the inspiration he gained from the 1999 comedy Election.

“I went back to my high school in Connecticut so I could try to understand what it was like for the outsider,” he laughed. “Here I was 12 years older and I still felt like a kid trying to be cool. I think for all of us, that fear never goes away.”

These factors come in handy as he concentrates on the challenges of the script, like the show’s voice-over usage.

“It can be a cheap trick if you’re not careful,” Greenfield said, adding that it was important to set Aliens apart from current shows on the air that use the same approach. “What goes over those words is extremely important. Every line had to be in synch with an image to enhance the storytelling.”