Looking for a TV episode about aliens observing and reporting on Earth

[dogwood]

Years ago on TV there was an episode about aliens who were sent to Earth to observe and report. They were required and became part of the citinzenry and really enjoyed it. When they were questioned by their superiors - the job they did was very bad. There penalty was they were condemned to spend the rest of their life on Earth. Apparently they did not mind it at all. (do you want a cigarette or cup of coffee. Do you know the name of this show. Thanks

 

[Anthoney]

Was it a comedy? Like 3rd Rock from the Sun?

Also is it a TV movie or an episode from a series. This is general film discussion.

 

[TheDustyZebra]

Third Rock is exactly what I thought of!

 

[clovis-man]

It's TV and not movies, but it might be from Science Fiction Theater with the unflappable host, Truman Bradley. I remember watching it and seeing the famale character bemoaning the loss of her foreclaws.

 

[clovis-man]

Checked the Wikipedia episode list for Scienc Fiction Theater. It doesn't appear there. So I saw it on some other type of broadcast.

 

[Matteo]

Smells like a Twilight Zone episode but I've seen all of those and don't remember it. Could it be from The Outer Limits?

 

[clovis-man]

Smells like a Twilight Zone episode but I've seen all of those and don't remember it. Could it be from The Outer Limits?

I don't think so, but I have them all on DVD, so I'll check.

 

[clovis-man]

No such episode through the first three seasons of the original Outer Limits. Perhaps the Admins could move this to TV discussions.

 

[dogwood]

Years ago on TV there was an episode about aliens who were sent to Earth to observe and report. They were required and became part of the citinzenry and really enjoyed it. When they were questioned by their superiors - the job they did was very bad. There penalty was they were condemned to spend the rest of their life on Earth. Apparently they did not mind it at all. (do you want a cigarette or cup of coffee. Do you know the name of this show. Thanks

Checked the Wikipedia episode list for Scienc Fiction Theater. It doesn't appear there. So I saw it on some other type of broadcast.

 

[dogwood]

Thanks for your reply. It was not on Outer Limits or Twilight Zone. Not on Science Fiction Theatre. Possibly on Tales of Tomorrow. But I Think I saw it in the 60's. Hard to remember. I was about these aliens who were sent to Earth and were pretty content even after they were banished to Earth. They ran some type of business and enjoyed the camaraderie of people.

 

[M. Robert Gibson]

Was this in the US or the UK or somewhere else?

 

[BAYLOR]

Years ago on TV there was an episode about aliens who were sent to Earth to observe and report. They were required and became part of the citinzenry and really enjoyed it. When they were questioned by their superiors - the job they did was very bad. There penalty was they were condemned to spend the rest of their life on Earth. Apparently they did not mind it at all. (do you want a cigarette or cup of coffee. Do you know the name of this show. Thanks

Hm, it almost sounds like Controlled Experiment with Barry Morse and Carol O Connor. But not quite.

 

[dogwood]

I saw it so many years ago. Probably in the 60's. I have a feeling it was not in a typical SF series. It was really a cute piece. But thanks for your help.

 

[Dave]

Moving this to TV then.

Was it Mork and Mindy? The spin off from Happy Days based upon someone's dream in that show, with Robin Williams as Mork from Ork?

 

[HareBrain]

The spin off from Happy Days based upon someone's dream in that show

I had no idea this was where M&M came from!

 

[Dave]

Glad to have been useful. It was Ritchie Cunningham's dream (I had to look that up.) Those shows (and Laverne and Shirley, the other spin off) were incredibly popular when I was a teenager. I'm not sure exactly why now, but there was also a retro 1950's music thing going on too at the same time. They made stars of the cast though. Strange to think that is where Robin Williams and Ron Howard got their first breaks.

 

[Anthoney]

there was also a retro 1950's music thing going on too at the same time

There was a lot 50's nostalgia in general during that time (mid to late 70's). My parents opened a 50's style diner called (I kid you not) Happy Days.

 

[Matteo]

There was a lot 50's nostalgia in general during that time (mid to late 70's). My parents opened a 50's style diner called (I kid you not) Happy Days.

Could you get the jukebox to work by thumping it?

 

[dogwood]

This wasn't from Mork and Mindy. It was more like something from Tales of Tomorrow or One Step Beyond. Could be from Alfred Hitchcock presents.

 

[Dave]

It doesn't appear to be Alfred Hitchcock Presents as a search for "alien" only brings up a single hit for a Ray Bradbury story where mushrooms take over humans, called "Special Delivery." I've seen or read that and it isn't it.

A similar search through Tales of Tomorrow also brings one hit for an episode called "Discovered Heart" and that doesn't have the same story.

Tales of the Unexpected also doesn't seem likely. No hits.

If it isn't Twilight Zone or Outer Limits or Science Fiction Theatre either, then that isn't leaving very much.