''Hard Time on Planet Earth'' is an American

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

television series that aired on CBS as a midseason replacement from March 1 to June 21, 1989. Airing for 13 episodes, the series starred

Martin Kove Martin Kove () (born ) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as John Kreese, the main antagonist of ''The Karate Kid'' (1984). He reprised the role in ''The Karate Kid Part II'' (1986), '' The Karate Kid Part III'' (1989), and th ...

and was created by Jim and John Thomas. Scheduled opposite

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

's ''

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'' and ABC's ''

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'' on Wednesdays, ''Hard Time on Planet Earth'' ranked 65th out of 81 programs upon its premiere. Ratings for the series never improved and the series was canceled by CBS in May 1989.

Synopsis

The main character was an alien Elite Military Officer (Kove) who served in a huge interplanetary war. After the war ended, he was prosecuted for a rebellion against the planet's ruling Council; he was found guilty, but in recognition of his valuable services in the war, he was given the chance to reform by spending an undetermined amount of time in a vastly underpowered human form on planet Earth. Along with him was dispatched Control (voiced by Danny Mann), a small floating robot in the form of a mechanical eye with the mission of overseeing Jesse (the earthly name adopted by the alien warrior, from the name tag on the first Earth clothes he wore) to make sure Jesse kept his violent behavior in check. Control also provided

comic relief Comic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene, or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension. Definition Comic relief usually means a releasing of emotional or other tension resulting from a comic epis ...

to the series, usually by assessing the events with the catchphrase "Negative outcome. Not good." Each episode followed Jesse as he reluctantly helped different people in need. He derives much of his information from

television show A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed b ...

s, giving him a skewed sense of Earth culture. At first, Jesse only helped those in need to earn Control's approval in order to put an end to his exile, but he slowly became fond of the goodness he encountered from some of Earth's people.

Reception

Most critics detested the series. According to ''People'' magazine, "About 20,000 RPM—that's how fast I reckon

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

must be spinning in his grave with shows like this on the air … It is just one long, bad commercial." It did, however, garner a small but loyal fanbase throughout its time on the air. The show is sometimes cited in lists of "One-Hit Wonder" TV shows from the 1980s and 1990s.

Episodes

References

External links

* * {{epguides, id=HardTimeonPlanetEarth 1989 American television series debuts 1989 American television series endings 1980s American science fiction television series CBS original programming English-language television shows Television series by ABC Studios Television series created by Jim Thomas (screenwriter) Television series created by John Thomas (screenwriter) Television series about alien visitations Television shows set in Los Angeles