View source for Alien Nation (film)

{{Short description|1988 film by Graham Bake}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Overly detailed|section=|details=|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Alien Nation
| image          = Alien Nation Poster.jpg
| alt            = A black poster. Above in bold letters are the lines: "Los Angeles, 1991." "They have come to earth to live among us." "They've learned the language." "Taken jobs." "And tried to fit in." "But there's something about them we don't know." Below, in large typeface is the line: "Alien Nation" and in smaller typeface, the line: "Prepare Yourself," with the film credits underneath. In the background are three extraterrestrials standing on a street corner. One of the figures is a female standing next to a waste basket and three newspaper stands, holding a jacket over her shoulders. Behind her is a bar that features alien typography on its walls. Two extraterrestrials who are hanging out inside the bar, can be seen through its glass window.
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Graham Baker (director)|Graham Baker]]
| producer       = [[Gale Anne Hurd]]<br />Richard Kobritz
| writer         = [[Rockne S. O'Bannon]]
| starring       = {{Plain list|
* [[James Caan]]
* [[Mandy Patinkin]]
* [[Terence Stamp]]
}}
| music          = [[Curt Sobel]]
| cinematography = [[Adam Greenberg (cinematographer)|Adam Greenberg]]
| editing        = [[Kent Beyda]]
| studio         = [[20th Century Fox]]<br />American Entertainment Partners
| distributor    = 20th Century Fox
| released       = {{Film date|1988|10|7}}
| runtime        = 91 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $16 million<ref>{{cite web | url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/55730-ALIEN-NATION |title=Alien Nation (1988) | website=AFI Catalog of Feature Films}}</ref>
| gross          = $32.2 million<ref name=Total/>
}}

'''''Alien Nation''''' is a 1988 American [[science fiction action film]] written by [[Rockne S. O'Bannon]] and directed by [[Graham Baker (director)|Graham Baker]]. The ensemble cast features [[James Caan]], [[Mandy Patinkin]], and [[Terence Stamp]]. Its initial popularity inaugurated the beginning of the ''[[Alien Nation]]'' media franchise. The film depicts the assimilation of the "Newcomers", an alien race settling in [[Los Angeles]], much to the initial dismay of the local population. The plot integrates the [[neo-noir]] and [[buddy cop film]] genres with a science fiction theme, centering on the relationship between a veteran police investigator (Caan) and an extraterrestrial (Patinkin), the first Newcomer detective. The duo probe a criminal underworld while attempting to solve a homicide. ''Alien Nation'' explores murder, [[discrimination]] and [[science fiction]].

The film was a co-production between American Entertainment Partners and [[20th Century Fox]], which distributed it theatrically. ''Alien Nation'' was released in the United States on October 7, 1988, and grossed over $32 million worldwide, becoming a moderate financial success. The film was met with mixed critical reviews before its theatrical release, although it has since gained a [[cult film|cult following]]. The motion picture spawned a short-lived [[Alien Nation (TV series)|television series]], [[Alien Nation (TV series)#Television movies|five television films]], a set of [[Alien Nation (comics)|comic books]], and a number of [[Alien Nation (novel series)|novels]], all in an attempt to continue the character development surrounding its fictional alien culture.

==Plot==
In 1988, a spaceship bearing 300,000 enslaved aliens known as "Newcomers" lands in the [[Mojave Desert]]. By 1991, they have settled in [[Los Angeles]] and some of them have joined the [[Los Angeles Police Department]]. Detective Matthew Sykes' partner is killed in a shootout with several Newcomers who are robbing a store; they also kill the store owner, the Newcomer Cecil Porter. Sykes' superior, Captain Warner, informs his squad that they will work with the newly promoted Newcomer detective Sam Francisco. Sykes volunteers to team up with Francisco to investigate the [[homicide]] of Newcomer Warren Hubley, hoping to also be able to investigate his partner's death, something he is officially barred from doing. The two do not work well: Sykes refuses to call him "Sam Francisco" and opts to call him "George" instead, and Francisco predicts Sykes will have difficulties due to his last name sounding like "sai k'ss" – "shit head" in the Newcomer language.

While at a crime lab, Francisco detects an abnormality on the body of one of the Newcomer criminals who was killed in the robbery. This leads Sykes and Francisco to a nightclub to question Newcomer Joshua Strader, but Strader is murdered by a criminal ring led by Newcomer businessman William Harcourt and his henchman Rudyard Kipling.

While investigating, the men find themselves becoming friendlier to each other. Francisco informs Sykes of a part of the Newcomer body to strike for maximum pain, which Sykes uses later; after discovering Newcomers get intoxicated on spoiled milk, they get drunk together, and Francisco confesses about not understanding the high ideals humans set without being able to attain them, and advises Sykes to reconnect with his estranged daughter.

Harcourt is in the advanced stages of launching a scheme to exploit the Newcomers by mass-producing Jabroka, a drug which was used to pacify Newcomers when they were slaves but has no beneficial <!-- Harcourt notes that it has a similar effect to detergent on humans -->effect on humans. The abnormality noticed by Francisco on the body of the Newcomer criminal turns out to be a visual sign of the drug's influence. The Newcomers Hubley, Porter, and Strader were involved in the planning phases of the operation, but were later murdered due to Harcourt's desire to exclude them from any future profits. When Sykes and Francisco locate the drug lab, Francisco displays a sudden fury at the thought of Jabroka being re-introduced to his people and destroys the lab. Francisco explains that it must be destroyed, and the mere existence of the drug must never be revealed, as it would risk the tenuous existence of every Newcomer on Earth.

Ultimately, Sykes and Francisco track down Harcourt, who is negotiating a timetable for the release of Jabroka. The detectives engage in a car chase with Harcourt and Kipling, ending in a head-on collision that leaves both parties injured. Harcourt escapes on foot; when cornered by Sykes, he takes an overdose of Jabroka that causes him to collapse, seemingly dead. The remaining Jabroka is destroyed, but Francisco reacts in shock when Sykes reports he overdosed; he explains that an overdose would cause a Newcomer to mutate in a larger, more dangerous form, and that humanity must never know Newcomers are capable of this.

Sykes and Francisco pursue Harcourt after he escapes from the coroner's vehicle, catching up with him near a fishing pier, and Sykes fights him hand-to-hand on the open sea, eventually knocking him into the water; however, Sykes is pulled into the water as well. Harcourt's body disintegrates due to direct contact with salt water, which is hazardous to Newcomer physiology. Francisco commandeers a police helicopter and rescues Sykes even though his arm suffers damage. When the pilot asks what was in the water with Sykes, Sykes responds that it was "just another Slag" - a pejorative term for Newcomers - protecting the secret.

Sykes and Francisco, now friends, attend Sykes's daughter's wedding together. Sykes has accepted Francisco as his partner and asks him to forgive Sykes for all the stupid things he will do and say in the years to come. Francisco reassures Sykes that he will - "After all...you're only human."

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[James Caan]] as Matthew Sykes
* [[Mandy Patinkin]] as Sam Francisco ("George")
* [[Terence Stamp]] as William Harcourt
* [[Kevyn Major Howard]] as (Rudyard) Kipling
* [[Leslie Bevis]] as Cassandra
* [[Peter Jason]] as Fedorchuk
* [[George Jenesky]] as Quint
* [[Jeff Kober]] as Joshua Strader
* [[Roger Aaron Brown]] as Bill Tuggle
* Tony Simotes as Wiltey
* Michael David Simms as Human Dealer
* Ed Krieger as Alien Dealer
* [[Tony Perez (actor)|Tony Perez]] as Alterez
* [[Brian Thompson (actor)|Brian Thompson]] as Trent Porter
* [[Francis Xavier McCarthy|Frank McCarthy]] as Captain Robert B. "Bob" Warner
* [[Keone Young]] as Winter
* Don Hood as Moffet 
}}

==Production==
===Origins and themes===
One out of twenty to twenty-five stories received each week by 20th Century Fox in 1988, [[Rockne S. O'Bannon]]'s original screenplay for ''Alien Nation'' was submitted as a [[Spec script|spec–script]] to producer [[Gale Anne Hurd]]. The agency representing the storyline asked the production staff to view it as quickly as possible due to it also being submitted to other film studios. Both Hurd and her director of development Ellen Collett had the same initial response, seeing the script as a real page-turner. According to Hurd, what really interested her about the film's story was the whole approach to the immigrant setting and the extrapolation of that to a science fiction setting. The genre of science fiction, in regards to representing aliens, tends to usually be in the form of one or two beings as shown on network series like ''[[Star Trek]]''. Typically, large numbers of stand-ins were not common in film since ''[[Planet of the Apes (1968 film)|Planet of the Apes]]'' twenty years earlier. Working with co-producer Richard Kobritz, Hurd secured funding from Fox Studios and began casting an experienced makeup team for the creation of the alien society.<ref name="Planetful">{{cite magazine|last=Magid |first=Ron |date=November 1988 |url=http://www.cinefex.com/backissues/issue36.html |title=A Planetful of Aliens |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325192438/http://www.cinefex.com/backissues/issue36.html|archive-date=March 25, 2010 |magazine=[[Cinefex]] |pages=4–17 |location=Riverside, California |access-date=March 14, 2010}}</ref>

Later, Hurd contacted cinematographer [[Adam Greenberg (cinematographer)|Adam Greenberg]] at his home in Israel to work on the production. Caught by surprise, Greenberg recalled, "I was vacationing on the [[Dead Sea]] in a [[kibbutz]] (it was 125 degrees) and I got a call from Gale. That was the last thing to expect there."<ref name="Nation" />

Though mostly an action movie, ''Alien Nation'' was somewhat of a throwback to other similar genre films such as ''Planet of the Apes'' and ''[[Silent Running]]''. The alien ''Newcomers'' are relegated to a [[second-class citizen|second-class]] status. Like other minorities, they live in their own neighborhoods, frequent their own clubs, and develop their own underground. Following the murder of a policeman, a human must partner up with an alien to solve the murder. Their uneasy alliance creates a social mistrust, dealing with issues such as prejudice and racism. By the end of the saga, the two completely different humanoids have combined their talents and overcome their social barriers to complete their task.<ref name="Planetful" />

===Makeup===
{{quote box  |align=right |width=30em |bgcolor=#c6dbf7
|quote =We wanted the aliens to be more like a different ethnic race than like lizard people, ... We didn't want our audiences thinking, 'Gee, look how different these aliens are.' Rather, after about five minutes we wanted the audience to accept them as different from us, but not ''so'' different that no one is buying the storyline. We wanted the aliens to be characters–not creatures.
|source = —Gale Anne Hurd<ref name="Planetful" />
}}

Although several makeup effects companies were considered, 20th Century Fox chose [[Stan Winston|Stan Winston Studios]]. Winston was not directly involved in the [[pre-production]], but left the task to his top artists–Alec Gillis, [[Shane Mahan]], John Rosengrant, Tom Woodruff, and Shannon Shea. Producer Gale Anne Hurd commented on creating the foundation for the makeup setting saying, "The primary problem was how to sell an alien race that was humanoid without making it look like people in rubber suits—and how to make it affordable. We knew there was going to be a lot of makeup application time and removal time—that was a given." Artist Gillis recalled his involvement in the project saying, "We were involved in everything from designing and sculpting the aliens to supervising a crew of about thirty people. We sculpted the main characters, supervised the molding and production of their appliances and oversaw the sculpting of the secondary and background characters." During the design phase, the producers supported the subtlety of the makeup and trying to make the aliens look as human as possible.

A preliminary design sketch for the aliens as described by Mahan, was that "the males were going to have spines on top of their heads–kind of like a rooster's comb–and when they got angry, these spines would raise up. That would've required a mechanical headpiece, and Graham Baker thought it was a little too extreme so we went with smooth heads instead." Coming close to a final design for the headpiece makeup, Woodruff explained how the masks had "heavier brows and a heavier skin texture that looked more leathery, and there were more pronounced lumps on the backs of their heads. After we went into production on these masks, Graham Baker decided that he wanted the aliens to look even more subtle, so we streamlined the design once we started doing the principal characters."

Mike Spatola was head of the painting crew for the mask design. Hairless by design, the coordinators felt the masks should have spotted marks where hair would be present on humans. Each alien headpiece had to be custom painted with a spotting pattern to match every backup secondary piece used for individual characters. Each of the actors who played aliens also had their hands painted in a spot pattern, as an original plan of supplying them with appliances for hand pieces was discarded.<ref name="Planetful" />

[[File:DHorizonmakeup.jpg|thumb|200px|upright|left|[[Alien Nation (1989 TV series)|''Alien Nation'' television series]] actors [[Eric Pierpoint]] and [[Michele Scarabelli]] wearing applied headpiece makeup in 1994; similar in scope to the ones utilized in the film.]]

After the generic alien concept was finalized, each of the effects coordinators worked with a specific actor. Mahan chose to work with Mandy Patinkin, as well as Francisco's son. Rosengrant worked with Leslie Bevis who played Cassandra. Woodruff worked on Terence Stamp who played the part of Harcourt.<ref name="Planetful" /> In trying to emphasize the uniqueness of the characters, Mahan commented, "We wanted the audience to be able to recognize the actors immediately. They were all so good, it would have been a shame to cover them up completely."<ref name="Planetful" /> Other effects coordinators like Gillis remarked, "The actor who played Trent Porter, for example–Brian Thompson–was a really rugged guy, so he came off looking like a really tough character. On the other hand, Kevyn Major Howard–who played Harcourt's murderous henchman–had very delicate, boyish kind of features, so we used that quality to create a creepy juxtaposition."<ref name="Planetful" /> While effects coordinators were struggling to finish the final design and full-scale production of the alien prosthetics, Hurd chose makeup artist [[Zoltan Elek]] to supervise the overall application.<ref name="Planetful" /> Elek had previously worked on the film ''[[Mask (1985 film)|Mask]]'' and the character ''[[Max Headroom (character)|Max Headroom]]''.<ref name="Planetful" /> Elek insisted that the alien coloration be much more closer to human skin tones rather than the originally chosen yellowish pigment. Elek recalled his disagreement with Winston as Stan felt, "...{{nbsp}}the aliens should be a totally different color than the humans, with a lot of yellows, blues and grays. To me, that scheme was too monstrous–in fact, we ended up using it on the Harcourt monster at the climax."<ref name="Planetful" /> Another creative aspect of the makeup was the gradation between the principal and background masks. The crew of ''Alien Nation'' sought to avoid the same mistakes made in ''Planet of the Apes'' twenty years earlier. As explained by Gillis, "We had what we referred to as 'A-B-C-D' makeups, ... The 'A' makeups were those custom designed for the principal actors, while the 'B' makeups were mix-and-match where we would recombine pieces from other actors to create a new character. Our 'D' masks–the ones furthest from camera–were overhead slip latex masks ''incapable'' of changing expression. The 'C' masks, however, were made of foam latex and could be glued down to get some expression from the characters in the middleground."<ref name="Planetful" /> Application of the Newcomer makeup known as ''"spuds"'' or ''"potatoheads"'' on set, required four hours; a task which Patinkin described as being "a pain in the ass."<ref name="Sam" /> Masks were manufactured in a production line to meet the enormous demand for the film. Mahan mused, "We would pull the pieces out of the oven, fix them up, paint them and have them ready for pickup that afternoon to be taken to the set. The pieces were barely cold when Zoltan and his crew applied them."<ref name="Planetful" />

For the final dramatic scene involving Harcourt's demise, the rigged effects were handled in two stages. The first stage involved a dissolving head and body, while the second stage incorporated a flesh-less arm thrusting out of seawater. Rosengrant noted, "While the dissolving makeup had to look extreme, it also had to appear realistic within the limits of the alien anatomy Winston's crew had designed. We wanted to avoid the amorphous 'blob-of-blood' look you see in so many of these slasher and monster pictures. We wanted to be able to see Harcourt's bone structure rather than just the glob hanging off of it." For the visual appearance he added, "Of course, we did use [[Methyl cellulose|methocel slime]] to make it wet and nasty-looking, but the basic understructure was rooted in anatomy." For Harcourt's facial disintegration, the coordinators came up with a foam rubber base makeup superimposed with a layer of gelatin appliances. Elek explained, the crew "dug out chunks from the foam rubber pieces, filled the holes with [[Bromo-Seltzer|Bromo Seltzer]], then laid the gelatin appliances over the whole thing and colored them so you could not see the holes below. Once the stuntman, the camera and everyone else was in position, we took a large syringe filled with hot water and injected it into each of the Bromo Seltzer pockets as the camera started rolling. As the Bromo Seltzer started to fizzle, the hot water began eating its way through the gelatin skin and his face appeared to bubble and melt." In the end, Mahan remarked, "We figured that going from something like the alien queen in ''[[Aliens (film)|Aliens]]'' to these straight prosthetic makeups would be simple, but it was really a lot of work."<ref name="Planetful" />

===Set design and filming===
[[File:ANationTypog.jpg|thumb|200px|upright|right|Tenctonese typography resembling a rhythmic heartbeat pattern.]]

Numerous interior and exterior locations used to suit the needs of the story were filmed in [[Los Angeles, California]].<ref name="Los">{{cite magazine|last=Turner |first=George |date=September 1988 |url=http://www.ascmag.com/store/product.php?productid=4630&cat=0&page=1 |title=Designing an Alien Nation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716073749/http://www.ascmag.com/store/product.php?productid=4630&cat=0&page=1 |archive-date=July 16, 2011 |magazine=[[American Cinematographer]] |pages=49–56 |location=Hollywood, California |access-date=March 17, 2010}}</ref> Within a five-month shooting schedule, three weeks were spent shooting at studio locations.<ref name="Nation" /> [[Production designer]] [[Jack Collis]] explained how the film integrates a minority group (the aliens) into the film, saying "The idea was to bring in this alien group, assimilate them into our society, and get them a locale that would be a part of Los Angeles, ... It would look almost as if a group of Koreans or Vietnamese that had moved into the area. This group would have established their own community. They have their own language, their own signs."<ref name="Los" /> The film crew installed fictional alien language signs along Western Avenue and Santa Monica Boulevard.<ref name="Los" /> Colored drawings were made of all stores on both sides of the street for two full blocks.<ref name="Los" /> Painted and electrical signs were designed for each building.<ref name="Los" /> Graffiti was also carefully planned out. The film crew did their own painting and even took a big blank concrete wall and inserted alien graffiti for a scene involving an early physical confrontation between the main characters.<ref name="Los" /> Essentially, the alphabet of the alien citizens had to be designed as an integral part of their environment. He commented how the crew "came up with individual alphabets and then combined them into certain words like, say, 'enter' and 'open', so that we could repeat them,{{nbsp}}..." while also mentioning how they "brought in a language expert to give us something the actors could be comfortable with."<ref name="Los" /> The Hawthorns, a well known family of sign painters, created most of the alien signs.<ref name="Los" /> Collis even mused how at one point, store owners liked, and wouldn't want to take down, the alien graffiti used during filming on their properties.<ref name="Los" />

{{quote box  |align=right |width=30em |bgcolor=#c6dbf7
|quote=A flowing design more like hand writing than lettering, that looks almost like a heartbeat graph. Occasionally, we'd underline it as though it came from sort of electronic machine, like an [[IBM]] report. It turned out to be such a simple thing once we got it going, but we had to go through a process of 'what is this going to look like?' before we got what we wanted.
|source= —Jack Collis on ''Alien Nation''{{'}}s language.<ref name="Los" />}}

Certain fictional locations in the film such as the Encounters Club, was filmed at Club Hollywood on [[Hollywood Boulevard]].<ref name="Los" /> Set decorator Jim Duffy, who was involved with the exotic dance scene at the club, used unique [[Austrian drape]]s to create a see-through design for actress Bevis who portrayed the character of Cassandra to perform around with.<ref name="Los" /> Smaller set areas for Cassandra's dressing room, a couple of offices, and a big conference room where Harcourt's drug deal was taking place were built on stages at the film studio.<ref name="Los" /> A [[Van Nuys, California|Van Nuys]] bus stop set stood in as the taco burrito stand for the amusing scene between Francisco and Sykes relating to raw fast food.<ref name="Los" /> Some of the stunt scenes involving an action sequence later in the film was shot at a harbor in [[San Pedro, California|San Pedro]].<ref name="Los" /> For certain scenes within that shot, the production crew built their own custom water tank 44 feet in length and 22 feet in width. Two submerged 75 horsepower motors churned to create artificial waves, while separate raised wind machines worked to create the effect of a helicopter hovering over water.<ref name="Los" /> Other practical filming locations included Nichols Canyon Beach, the Los Angeles Police Academy and the York Street police station for interiors.<ref name="Los" /> A bar called ''Monty's'' in downtown Los Angeles was used for a scene involving the rough alien played by Brian Thompson.<ref name="Los" /> The interior of Sykes's house was filmed at a home near the studio, while a location in [[Beverly Glen, Los Angeles, California|Beverly Glen]] stood in for a church in the final wedding scene.<ref name="Los" /> Some of the more elaborate sets used extensively in the film, were the [[Millennium Biltmore Hotel]] and an [[Anheuser–Busch]] plant.<ref name="Los" /> The alien villain Harcourt, is introduced at the hotel in the elite Crystal Room.<ref name="Los" /> The lobby section of the hotel with its very high ceilings and extensive complement of gold motif, was used in an interview scene between the characters of Harcourt, Kipling and the detectives. Alternatively, the beverage plant was used as a disguise for a petroleum factory. Unused portions of the facility containing steel tanks were used as an interesting gloomy background.<ref name="Los" /> A methane lab was recreated with translucent tubes running through them, as though drugs were in the process of being refined.<ref name="Los" /> Certain visual smoke effects were also created to copy the look of an [[oil refinery]].<ref name="Los" />

As scripted by writer [[Rockne S. O'Bannon]], ''Alien Nation'' was originally called, ''Future Tense''. The film took some of its concept from the film ''[[In the Heat of the Night (film)|In the Heat of the Night]]'', with science fiction elements integrated in the plot.<ref name="Planetful" /> During production, the film had a working title called, ''Outer Heat'', which essentially was an amalgam of ''In the Heat of the Night'' and a 1960s science fiction TV series, ''[[The Outer Limits (1963 TV series)|The Outer Limits]]''.<ref name="Planetful" /> Jack Collis emphasized that the film was not a ''"space epic"'' but more of an action film.<ref name="Los" /> He admitted, "We did build a spaceship, but it's a simple thing that you see on a TV monitor describing the landing of the aliens several years ago, before they became assimilated into our society. It gives us a background but not a lot of detail,{{nbsp}}..."<ref name="Los" /> Collis noted that the film was even "reminiscent of the work I did in ''[[Cocoon (film)|Cocoon]]''."<ref name="Los" /> An earlier draft of the film was actually written by director [[James Cameron]] in 1987, but his name however, was not credited in the final cut of the film.<ref name="movies.yahoo.com">{{cite web|url=https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/1800340643/cast |title=Alien Nation (1988) Cast and Credits |website=[[Yahoo! Movies]] |access-date=March 10, 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130210041145/http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/alien-nation/credits.html |archive-date=February 10, 2013}}</ref> One conceit of the script was that immigrations officials ran out of names for the 300,000 aliens, and began to name them after familiar appellations of the past. Actor Mandy Patinkin's original name for his character was set to be ''[[George Jetson]]''.<ref name="Sam">{{cite magazine|last=D'Angelo |first=Carr |date=November 1988 |title=The Streets of San Francisco |magazine=[[Starlog]] |pages=29–32 |location=New York, New York}}</ref> However, three days before the start of shooting, [[Hanna-Barbera]] wouldn't allow the name to be used.<ref name="Sam" /> Expressing his disappointment, Patinkin said, "I assumed that the name of the character I agreed to play was George Jetson. And I was pretty pissed off that there was a screw-up and that the name ''couldn't'' be used."<ref name="Sam" /> He went on to say, "I thought it made a tremendous difference to the piece that the guy's name was George Jetson because it gave a cartoon feeling, an innocence that was important to the movie's whole idea. It's a great loss to the piece that we couldn't recover, a great misfortune that couldn't be solved. It would have helped a lot."<ref name="Sam" /> In reference to the cartoon character, the producers would leave in the name "George" as a substitute.<ref name="Sam" /> Patinkin added, "Everything in the script is Jetson, everything on the makeup is labeled Jetson, we always refer to him as Jetson. Not even George, but ''Jetson''. So in our minds, he's George Jetson. So as far as I'm concerned, anybody who sees the movie, they're watching George Jetson no matter what the hell they call him."<ref name="Sam" /> To understand his role of being a police officer, Patinkin spent two weeks hanging out with the [[New York City Police Department]].<ref name="Sam" /> He took their training course, joined them on patrol, and spent time with them at the firing range.<ref name="Sam" /> Commenting on the character development of Francisco, he said "It's one of the better jobs that people from his race have acquired. He feels very proud of the fact that he's able to be a cop."<ref name="Sam" /> In 2013, when asked about his role in the film, Caan initially replied, "Why would you bring up that?" before stating, "Yeah, well, I don't know. I don't have too many ... [Hesitates.] I mean, I loved Mandy Patinkin. Mandy was a riot. But ... I don't know. It was a lot of silly stuff, creatively. And we had this English director who I wasn't really that fond of. I mean, nice guy, but ... it was just one of those things where, you know, you don't quit, you get through it. It certainly wasn't one of ... I wouldn't write it down as one of my favorite movies. But it was pretty popular."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.avclub.com/james-caan-on-the-godfather-john-wayne-and-all-the-ro-1798238997 |last=Harris |first=Will|title=James Caan on ''The Godfather'', John Wayne, and all the roles he's done as favors |website=The A.V. Club |date=June 21, 2013 |access-date=February 16, 2014}}</ref>

===Cinematography===
Cinematographer Adam Greenberg, whose previous film credits included ''[[Three Men and a Baby]]'', ''[[La Bamba (film)|La Bamba]]'' and ''[[Near Dark]]'', approached the film with a unique documentary-style technique.<ref name="Nation">{{cite magazine|last=Lee |first=Nora |date=September 1988 |url=http://www.ascmag.com/store/product.php?productid=4630&cat=0&page=1 |title=Alien Nation – Buddy Film with a Twist |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716073749/http://www.ascmag.com/store/product.php?productid=4630&cat=0&page=1 |archive-date=July 16, 2011 |magazine=[[American Cinematographer]] |pages=44–48 |location=Hollywood, California |access-date=March 17, 2010}}</ref> Commenting on the initial photography lighting tests, Greenberg remarked, "The first ones were a disaster. They didn't look good at all. I didn't know how to photograph these aliens. It was the first time I had to deal with this kind of thing. But I have an eye and I learned from these tests."<ref name="Nation" /> At the Biltmore Hotel, a peculiar situation arose where the ceilings were simply too tall for standard lighting equipment. An ingenious idea was devised by the crew to have six to eight [[weather balloon]]s sent up and have artificial light bounce off of them to create the proper lighting mood.<ref name="Los" /> Greenberg remarked, "I wanted a very rich look from that place, gold and very warm. In the story it is very late after a big party. I wasn't going for any special effect, just nice light from lamps on the tables. The problem was, the hotel management wouldn't let us hang anything from the ceiling. In pre-production they had told us we could hang lights, but I didn't believe them. The ceilings there are very high and very beautiful."<ref name="Nation" />

{{quote box  |align=right |width=30em |bgcolor=#c6dbf7
|quote=The aliens were not too different from humans, and an incorrect lighting or camera angle could give away seams in the makeup.
|source= —Adam Greenberg<ref name="Nation" />}}

On character interactions, Greenberg noted how there was "a lot of dialogue between Jimmy and Mandy in the car. We used a lot of car mounts. I would light the alien so that he looked good, but if he passed into a shadow while going down the street you could see all the seams in his make-up. So I sometimes had to block all the streets with black paper." The aliens were not too different from humans, and an incorrect lighting or camera angle could give away seams in the makeup. In attempting to identify the aliens with a unique look, Greenberg chose a deep blue color for filming. He said, "We ended up with very deep, strong blue – a sort of moonlight blue. We tried to do all the scenes in the movie that appear to be their places heavily favored by this deep blue color. The Encounters Club was one of those places." Greenberg used [[Arri]]flex cameras and [[Carl Zeiss AG|Zeiss]] lenses along with [[Fujifilm|Fuji]] stock. Commenting on [[film grain]] he said, "I figured out from tests that it is better for me to use Fuji. Once film is blown up to [[70mm]] the grain will stand out more and Fuji has smaller grain than [[Eastman Kodak|Kodak]]. I can control the contrast with light, but I have to live with the grain." Making use of multiple cameras, Greenberg noted, "Photographically, of course, one camera is best. But as a movie maker, and because I want the film to be a success, I realize that the photography is not the most important thing. The whole movie is most important. So in pre-production, I was the one pushing the director to always shoot with two or three cameras."<ref name="Nation" />

Lighting challenges were abound for Greenberg as most of the film took place at night. One of the simplest techniques for lighting employed by Greenberg was using a car's headlights to dramatically produce a scene of terror. Greenberg explained, "We had a scene on [[Zuma Beach]] where the bad guys are dragging somebody into the ocean. I wanted to have a very hard, but very natural, and strong look. So, I used the car headlights. It was nice because everything behind the villains fell into darkness. It had a surrealistic look." Greenberg also remarked how he had a close working relationship with [[DeLuxe Color|DeLuxe]] lab in getting the correct color for the extensive night shooting in the film by bluntly saying, "In a movie like this I wanted the blacks to be very black, so I worked closely with DeLuxe lab{{nbsp}}..." He felt the daily challenges of night shooting visibly enhanced the appeal of ''Alien Nation'' by figuratively mentioning, "as a cameraman, you can create a lot more at night. Sometimes you have to feel your way. You also have true control at night. If a light is on it is because you turned it on."<ref name="Nation" />

===Music and soundtrack===
{{Infobox album
| name       = Alien Nation: Music Inspired by the Film
| type       = film
| artist     = [[Jerry Goldsmith]]
| cover      =
| alt        =
| released   = 2005
| recorded   =
| venue      =
| studio     =
| genre      =
| length     = 46:43
| label      = Varèse Sarabande
| producer   =
| prev_title =
| prev_year  =
| next_title =
| next_year  =
}}

The score for the film was originally composed by [[Jerry Goldsmith]], but later rejected in favor of music composed by Curt Sobel.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/person/112031/Curt-Sobel/filmography |title=Curt Sobel Filmography |access-date=March 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121102065310/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/112031/Curt-Sobel/filmography |archive-date=November 2, 2012 |url-status=dead |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2012 |df=mdy }}</ref> Goldsmith's score was however used for the film's theatrical trailer.<ref name="Varese" /> Musical artists [[Smokey Robinson]], [[The Beach Boys]], [[Michael Bolton]], [[Mick Jagger]] and [[David Bowie]] among others, contributed songs which appear in the film. At the end of the film the theme song "Indestructible" for the characters of Sykes and Francisco was featured by [[The Four Tops]].<ref name="movies.yahoo.com"/> The audio soundtrack in [[Compact Disc]] format composed by Sobel was never officially released, but a limited edition of the original score initially composed by Goldsmith featuring 18 tracks, was released in 2005. The score was entirely synthesized and limited to 3,000 copies. The melody featured throughout the film recorded by Goldsmith, was originally composed for the movie ''[[Wall Street (1987 film)|Wall Street]]''. After being rejected for both that film project and later ''Alien Nation'', the score was used in the 1990 film ''[[The Russia House (film)|The Russia House]]''.<ref name="Varese">{{cite web |url=http://www.varesesarabande.com/details.asp?pid=vcl%2D0505%2D1035%2D2 |title=Alien Nation by Jerry Goldsmith |work=[[Varèse Sarabande]] |access-date=March 23, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051123083154/http://www.varesesarabande.com/details.asp?pid=vcl-0505-1035-2 |archive-date=November 23, 2005 |quote=The filmmakers further squandered the contribution of the most illustrious member of the entire production when Jerry Goldsmith's original score was unfathomably replaced with an entirely unmemorable work by Curt Sobel, a fine music editor whose only previous composing credit was on the 1984 Matt Dillon film ''The Flamingo Kid''. The thought process behind such a move is mind-numbing. Ironically, Goldsmith's score was used in the film's trailer and the effect is noticeably energizing. |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}</ref> The sound effects in the film were supervised by [[Mark Mangini]]. The mixing of the sound elements were [[Orchestration|orchestrated]] by David MacMillan and Charles Wilborn.<ref name="movies.yahoo.com"/>

<div style="width:55%;">
{{Track listing
| headline        = ''Alien Nation: Music Inspired by the Film''
| total_length    = 46:43
| title1          = Alien Landing
| length1         = 3:47
| title2          = Out Back
| length2         = 2:00
| title3          = Are You Alright?
| length3         = 1:50
| title4          = Take It Easy
| length4         = 2:53
| title5          = The Vial
| length5         = 2:12
| title6          = Jerry's Jam
| length6         = 1:51
| title7          = Alien Dance
| length7         = 1:57
| title8          = Are You There?
| length8         = 2:01
| title9          = The Beach
| length9         = 3:40
| title10         = Tow Truck Getaway
| length10        = 1:51
| title11         = 772 – I Shall Remember
| length11        = 4:08
| title12         = Tell Them
| length12        = 1:29
| title13         = A Game Of Chicken
| length13        = 2:26
| title14         = Overdose
| length14        = 2:26
| title15         = Got a Match
| length15        = 2:53
| title16         = A Nice View
| length16        = 2:34
| title17         = Just Ugly
| length17        = 1:57
| title18         = The Wedding
| length18        = 4:43
}}
</div>

==Release==
===Box office===
The film premiered in cinemas on October 7, 1988. At its widest distribution in the U.S., the film was screened at 1,436 theaters grossing $8,421,429, averaging $5,889 in revenue per theater in its opening weekend. During that first weekend in release, the film opened in first place beating out the films, ''[[The Accused (1988 film)|The Accused]]'' and ''[[Punchline (film)|Punchline]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/1988W41/occasion/us_indig_peoples_day_weekend/ |title=Weekend Box Office October 7–10, 1988 |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |access-date= March 9, 2010}}</ref> The film's revenue dropped by 49% in its second week of release, earning $4,252,252.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/1988W42/ |title=Weekend Box Office October 14–16, 1988 |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |access-date=March 9, 2010}}</ref> In the month of November during its final weekend showing in theaters, the film came out in 10th place grossing $1,306,849.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/1988W45/ |title=Weekend Box Office November 4–6, 1988 |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |access-date=March 9, 2010}}</ref> The film went on to top out domestically at $25,216,243 in total ticket sales through a 5-week theatrical run. Internationally, the film took in an additional $6,938,804 in box office business for a combined total of $32,155,047.<ref name=Total>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0094631/|title=Alien Nation |website=[[Box Office Mojo]]|access-date=March 9, 2010}}</ref> For 1988 as a whole, the film would cumulatively rank at a box office performance position of 43.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/year/1988/ |title=Domestic Box Office for 1988 |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |access-date=December 9, 2024}}</ref>

===Home media===
''Alien Nation'' was released on [[VHS]] by [[CBS/Fox Video]] in 1989.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://vhscollector.com/movie/alien-nation |title='Alien Nation' |website=VHSCollector.com}}</ref> One currently available VHS version of the film was originally released on September 10, 1996.<ref>{{cite book|title=Alien Nation VHS Format |asin=6301300416 }}</ref> The [[DVD region code|Region 1 Code]] [[widescreen]] edition of the film was released on [[DVD-Video|DVD]] in the United States on March 27, 2001, and includes a narrative and interview filled Featurette, a Behind the Scenes clip featuring director Graham Baker, a TV Spots special, the [[Film trailer|Theatrical Trailer]] and Fox Flix theatrical trailers for ''[[The Abyss]]'', ''[[Aliens (film)|Aliens]]'', ''[[Enemy Mine (film)|Enemy Mine]]'', ''[[Independence Day (1996 film)|Independence Day]]'' and ''[[Zardoz]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dvd-alien-nation-james-caan/3631665?ean=24543013020 |title=Alien Nation (1988) DVD |website=[[Barnes & Noble]] |access-date=March 18, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318224045/http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dvd-alien-nation-james-caan/3631665?ean=24543013020 |archive-date=March 18, 2014}}</ref> Currently, there is no exact set date on a future US [[Blu-ray Disc]] release for the film. The film was released on Blu-ray in Australia in April 2016 and in Europe (Region B locked) in March 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://101-films-store.myshopify.com/products/alien-nation|title=Alien Nation (1988)|website=101 Films Store|language=en|access-date=2020-01-13}}</ref>

==Reception==
===Critical response===
The film received mixed reviews from critics. [[Rotten Tomatoes]] reported that 52% of 33 sampled critics gave the film a positive review, with an average score of 5.4 out of 10. The consensus summarizes: "''Alien Nation'' takes the interesting premise of extraterrestrials living among us and doesn't do enough with it, emphasizing a police procedural plotline over the more intriguing sci-fi elements."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/alien_nation/ |title=Alien Nation |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date= August 4, 2025}}</ref> At [[Metacritic]], which assigns a [[weighted mean|weighted average]] out of 100 to critics' reviews, ''Alien Nation'' was given a score of 45 based on 10 reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/alien-nation |title=Alien Nation |website=[[Metacritic]] |access-date=December 4, 2014}}</ref>

Among critics, [[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun Times]]'', gave the film two stars in a mostly negative review, saying the film lacked a science fiction theme and was more akin to a police murder revenge flick, musing "they've just taken the standard cop-buddy-drug lord routine and changed some of the makeup. The Newcomers have no surprises." Regarding the fictional alien culture, he expressed disappointment saying "a feeble attempt is made to invest the Newcomers with interest, by having them get drunk on sour milk instead of booze, and depriving them of any sense of humor." However, on a slightly complimentary note, Ebert mentioned "the makeup took trouble, the photography looks good, the cast and technical credits are top-drawer." But overall, he summed it up by declaring "''Alien Nation'' feels like a movie made by people who have seen a lot of movies, but don't think the audience has."<ref name="ebert"/> In agreement with Ebert over the originality of the buddy cop genre with the aliens inserted in as just a new rendition, Rita Kempley of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' said, "''Alien Nation'' wants to be ''In the Heat of the Night'' as science fiction, but it's neither morally instructive nor prophetic. It proves a lumbering marriage of action and sci-fi that alienates both audiences. It's too dull for one and too dumb for the other." Kempley did find the first half hour to be suspenseful, though: "...{{nbsp}}well paced, brawny and intense, looks like it was made by another director. But the rest is the cinematic equivalent of overcooked asparagus."<ref>{{cite news|last=Kempley |first=Rita |date=October 7, 1988 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/aliennationrkempley_a0c9e5.htm |title=Alien Nation |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |access-date=March 10, 2010}}</ref> However, the more enthusiastic staff of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' found originality in the extraterrestrial–injected plot, saying, "Solid performances by leads James Caan and his humanoid buddy-cop partner Mandy Patinkin move this production beyond special effects, clever alien makeup and car chases" while also adding the film was a "compelling human{{ndash}}humanoid drama."<ref>{{cite news|date=January 1, 1988 |url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117789176.html?categoryid=31&cs=1&p=0 |title=Alien Nation |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |access-date=March 10, 2010 |archive-date=2012-09-14 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120914021901/http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117789176?refcatid=31}}</ref>

{{quote box |align=left |width=30em |bgcolor=#c6dbf7
|quote=The movie is simply a failure of imagination. Nobody looked at the screenplay and observed that it didn't try hard enough, that it had no surprises, that it didn't attempt to delight its audiences with twists and turns on the phoned-in plotline.|source= —Roger Ebert, writing for the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]''<ref name="ebert">{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/alien-nation-1988 |last=Ebert |first=Roger |title=Alien Nation |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |date=October 7, 1988 |access-date=March 10, 2010}}</ref>}}

Another positive review centering on the science fiction elements of the film was relayed by [[Janet Maslin]] of ''[[The New York Times]]''. She praised the theme, saying, "''Alien Nation'' has the best science-fiction idea this side of ''The Terminator''." However, Maslin was quick to admit the film "settles down, with remarkable ease, into the routine of a two-cop buddy film, extraterrestrials and all. Matthew and Sam (whom Matthew refuses to address that way, renaming him George) go through all the familiar stages of forging a friendship between partners: cool antipathy, exchanges of insults, growing mutual respect on the job and, finally, an all-night drinking binge to solidify their buddyhood."<ref>{{cite news|last=Maslin |first=Janet |date=October 7, 1988 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/10/07/movies/review-film-when-aliens-meet-angelenos.html |title=Review/Film; When Aliens Meet Angelenos |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=March 10, 2010}}</ref> On a negative front, author Jay Carr of ''[[The Boston Globe]]'' commented on James Caan's performance, viewing him as "Looking like a Paul Newman gone wrong,{{nbsp}}..." He went on, further stating that "the film's air of enlightenment is only makeup deep. And while ''Alien Nation'' is no smarter than, say, a ''Lethal Weapon'', it hasn't got the juice or the level of sensory jolt a ''Lethal Weapon'' supplies."<ref>{{cite news|last=Carr |first=Jay |date=October 7, 1988  |title=These Aliens Are All Too Ordinary |work=[[The Boston Globe]] |page=40}}</ref> Other critics such as [[Gene Siskel]] acknowledged the similarities between other police thriller movies, but still found the film to be a "Genuinely entertaining version of that old reliable; a cop buddy picture with two very different detectives." He explained, "Now this is an example of how you can put a nice twist on a familiar story, and it will work if it's been fully written. Caan and Patinkin have special characters to play." Compelled by the acting, he felt "The buddy combination here worked for me." He ultimately gave the film a "Thumbs Up" review.<ref>{{cite episode|last1=Siskel |first1=Gene |last2=Ebert |first2=Roger |date=October 8, 1988 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VA8hWRBdMU |title=''Alien Nation'' Review |series=[[At the Movies (1986 TV program)|At the Movies]] |season=3 |number=4 |access-date=2024-12-09}}</ref> Not nearly as impressed with the film was author NF of ''[[Time Out (company)|TimeOut Magazine]]'', calling it "worthy, predictable, and dull." A summation of the negativity was, "Played hard and fast, the film might just have worked, but the decision to soft-pedal the violence merely emphasizes the obviousness of the liberal point-scoring (parallels with Vietnamese or Nicaraguan refugees are so facile as to be crass)."<ref>{{cite web|date=October 1988 |url=https://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/77702/alien_nation.html |title=Alien Nation |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606082652/http://www.timeout.com/film/reviews/77702/alien_nation.html |archive-date=June 6, 2011 |website=[[Time Out (company)|TimeOut London]] |access-date=March 10, 2010}}</ref> Critic [[Leonard Maltin]] referred to the film as "a great concept that doesn't quite pay off." But in a hint of commendation, he remarked how the film contains "many clever touches and terrific performances by Caan and Patinkin."<ref>{{cite book|last=Maltin |first=Leonard |year=2008 |title=Leonard Maltin's 2009 Movie Guide |publisher=Signet |page=22 |isbn=978-0-451-22468-2}}</ref>

===Accolades===
The film won the [[Saturn Award]] for Best Science Fiction Film of 1988,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saturnawards.org/past.html |title=Past Award Winners |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080207072429/http://www.saturnawards.org/past.html |archive-date=February 7, 2008 |website=[[Saturn Awards]] |access-date=March 9, 2010}}</ref> and received two Saturn nominations for Best Supporting Actor for [[Mandy Patinkin]] as well as Best Make-Up for [[John M. Elliott Jr.]] and [[Stan Winston]]. The film also received two other nominations, among them for Best Dramatic Presentation from the [[Hugo Awards]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nesfa.org/data/LL/Hugos/hugos1989.html |title=The Long List of Hugo Awards, 1989 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630050405/http://www.nesfa.org/data/LL/Hugos/hugos1989.html |archive-date=June 30, 2017 |website=[[Hugo Awards]] |access-date=March 9, 2010}}</ref> and Best Film for Graham Baker from the [[Fantasporto]] International Fantasy Film Awards.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fantasporto.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=85&Itemid=108 |title=Awards |website=[[Fantasporto]] |access-date=March 9, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080226145211/http://www.fantasporto.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=85&Itemid=108 |archive-date=2008-02-26}}</ref>

==In other media==
===TV series===
{{Main|Alien Nation (TV series)}}

The year after the film's release, the extraterrestrial plot concept was used as the basis for a television series of the same name. The show attempted to move away from the original film's "[[Buddy cop film|buddy cop]]" premise, and delve more into the aliens' distinct culture and characteristics. Premiering on September 18, 1989, the series aired 22 episodes and ran for a single season, ending on May 7, 1990.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tv.msn.com/tv/series/alien-nation/ |title=Alien Nation (1989), Series Overview |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090707052258/http://tv.msn.com/tv/series/alien-nation/ |archive-date=July 7, 2009 |website=[[MSN.com]] |access-date=March 14, 2010}}</ref> [[Gary Graham]] played the lead role of Matt Sikes, while [[Eric Pierpoint]] played the Tenctonese newcomer George Francisco. Supporting actors were [[Michele Scarabelli]], [[Lauren Woodland]] and [[Sean Six]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.film.com/tv/alien-nation/21327961 |title=Alien Nation (1989), Cast + Crew |website=[[Film.com]] |access-date=March 14, 2010}}{{dead link|date=December 2024|fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Contributing directors to various episodes included Harry Longstreet, [[Stan Lathan]], Lyndon Chubbuck and [[Kenneth Johnson (producer)|Kenneth Johnson]]. Writing was credited to Steve Mitchell, Kenneth Van Sickle and Kenneth Johnson, among others.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tv.yahoo.com/alien-nation/show/28637/castcrew |title=Alien Nation (1989), Show Description, Cast & Crew |website=[[Yahoo! TV]] |access-date=March 14, 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120716215900/http://tv.yahoo.com/alien-nation/show/28637/castcrew |archive-date=16 July 2012}}</ref>

===TV films===
[[File:Eric Pierpoint at Star Trek Las Vegas 2007.jpg|thumb|upright|Actor Eric Pierpoint, who portrayed the film role character of newcomer George Francisco in the subsequent television series and TV films.]]

Following the demise of the television series in 1990, plans were devised to continue the popularity of the concept surrounding the race of the Newcomers through a string of [[television films]]. Premiering on October 25, 1994, the first of five sequels, entitled ''[[Alien Nation: Dark Horizon]]'', was released with a plot surrounding a distinct Newcomer arriving on Earth attempting to lure the aliens back into a life of slavery. The screenplay was conceived by Andrew Schneider and [[Diane Frolov]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/movies/alien-nation-dark-horizon/cast/2030129641/ |title=Alien Nation (1989): Dark Horizon |website=[[TV Guide]] |access-date=March 14, 2010}}</ref> ''[[Alien Nation: Body and Soul]]'' followed on October 10, 1995, with a story revolving around a slaveship medical experiment involving a child who appears to be part human and part Newcomer. A side plot also involves the character of Sikes and a female Tenctonese exploring a relationship. Harry and Renee Longstreet were credited writers for the storyline.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/work/alien-nation-body-and-soul-154276/credits |title=Alien Nation (1989): Body and Soul |website=[[All Movie Guide]] |access-date=March 14, 2010}}</ref> The franchise saw two more sequels in 1996. ''[[Alien Nation: Millennium]]'' was released on January 2, 1996, and dealt with a mysterious cult that uses mind-altering alien artifacts to lure Newcomer followers into a doomsday scenario. The film's plot was a tie-in to the television episode "Generation to Generation", which premiered on January 29, 1990.<ref name="Best">{{cite web|title=''Alien Nation'' (Full Screen Edition)|work=[[Best Buy]]|url=https://www.bestbuy.com/site/alien-nation-ultimate-movie-collection-3-discs-dvd/8479666.p?id=1674423|access-date=March 14, 2010}}</ref> ''[[Alien Nation: The Enemy Within]]'' was aired on November 12, 1996, and revolved around a story from which the detectives try to save their city from an alien threat originating from a waste disposal facility. Racism was a key theme encountered by the character of Francisco.<ref name="Best" /> The fifth and final sequel appeared on July 29, 1997. ''[[Alien Nation: The Udara Legacy]]'' finds the detectives trying to stop a resistance group among the Newcomers trying to indoctrinate those among them into causing mayhem. A side plot involved the younger Newcomer "Buck", played by actor Sean Six, enlisting to become a police officer.<ref name="Best" /> All the sequels in the series were directed by producer [[Kenneth Johnson (producer)|Kenneth Johnson]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/work/1510 |title=Alien Nation – Other Related Works |website=[[All Movie Guide]] |access-date=March 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090924040514/https://www.allmovie.com/work/1510 |archive-date=September 24, 2009}}</ref>

===Comics===
{{Main|Alien Nation (comics)}}

Between 1990 and 1992, [[Malibu Comics]] printed several comics adaptations.

===Books===
{{main|Alien Nation (novel series)}}
In 1993, [[Pocket Books]], a division of [[Simon & Schuster]], published a novel series, including [[Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens]]' ''Day of Descent'',<ref>{{cite book|last=Reeves-Stevens |first=Judith and Garfield |year=1993 |title=The Day of Descent |publisher=Pocket Books |isbn=978-0-671-73599-9}}</ref> [[Peter David]]'s ''Body and Soul'',<ref>{{cite book|last=Jeter |first=K.W. |year=1993 |title=Body and Soul |publisher=Pocket Books |isbn=978-0-671-73601-9}}</ref> and [[Barry B. Longyear]]'s ''The Change''<ref>{{cite book|last=Longyear |first=Barry |year=1994 |title=The Change |publisher=Pocket Books |isbn=978-0-671-73602-6}}</ref> and ''Slag Like Me''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Longyear |first=Barry |year=1994 |title=Slag Like Me |publisher=Pocket Books |isbn=978-0-671-79514-6}}</ref>

==Remake==
On March 25, 2015, Fox announced a remake with [[Art Marcum and Matt Holloway]] writing.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/alien-nation-remake-works-iron-784465|title='Alien Nation' Remake in the Works With 'Iron Man' Writers (Exclusive)|website=The Hollywood Reporter|last=Kit|first=Borys|date=March 25, 2015}}</ref> On September 9, 2016, ''Deadline'' reported that [[Jeff Nichols]] will write and direct the film.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2016/09/alien-nation-jeff-nichols-loving-science-fiction-remake-fox-1201815931/|title='Loving' Helmer Jeff Nichols To Direct 'Alien Nation' Remake|website=Deadline|last=Fleming|first=Mike Jr.|date=September 9, 2016}}</ref> However, the film was later put on hold.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2019/film/news/disney-alien-nation-remake-fox-1203256123/|title = Disney Puts the Brakes on Fox's 'Alien Nation' Remake|date = June 28, 2019|website=Variety}}</ref> On January 25, 2021, it was announced that Nichols would remake the film as a ten-part television series.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-01-25|title='Alien Nation' Update: Jeff Nichols Turned His Film Remake into a 10-Episode TV Pitch|url=https://www.slashfilm.com/jeff-nichols-alien-nation-update/|access-date=2021-02-03|website=/Film|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2021-01-26|title=Alien Nation Reboot Show In Development At Disney|url=https://screenrant.com/alien-nation-show-reboot-disney-development/|access-date=2021-02-03|website=ScreenRant|language=en-US}}</ref> 

On June 21, 2024, it was reported Nichols was developing an original sci-fi feature film for Paramount instead of the planned television series. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Pearson |first=Ben |date=2024-06-21 |title=Jeff Nichols' Alien Nation Has Been Repurposed Back Into An Original Sci-Fi Film [Exclusive] |url=https://www.slashfilm.com/1591018/jeff-nichols-alien-nation-repurposed-back-into-original-sci-fi-film-exclusive/ |access-date=2025-04-27 |website=SlashFilm |language=en-US}}</ref>

==See also==
* ''[[District 9]]''
* [[Bright (film)|''Bright'']]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0094631|Alien Nation}}
* {{TCMDb title|id=67035|title=Alien Nation}}
* {{Rotten-tomatoes|alien_nation|Alien Nation}}
* {{Mojo title|aliennation|Alien Nation}}

{{Alien Nation}}
{{Graham Baker}}
{{Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film 1972–1990}}
{{Portal bar|Speculative fiction/Science fiction|1980s|Film}}

[[Category:1988 films]]
[[Category:1980s science fiction action films]]
[[Category:20th Century Fox films]]
[[Category:Alien Nation films]]
[[Category:American buddy cop films]]
[[Category:American science fiction action films]]
[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
[[Category:Fictional-language films]]
[[Category:Films about the Los Angeles Police Department]]
[[Category:Films about racism in the United States]]
[[Category:Films adapted into television shows]]
[[Category:Films directed by Graham Baker]]
[[Category:Films set in 1991]]
[[Category:Films set in the future]]
[[Category:Films set in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Films shot in Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Films produced by Gale Anne Hurd]]
[[Category:American neo-noir films]]
[[Category:American police detective films]]
[[Category:Films adapted into comics]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Rockne S. O'Bannon]]
[[Category:1980s buddy cop films]]
[[Category:1980s American films]]
[[Category:1988 science fiction films]]
[[Category:English-language science fiction action films]]
[[Category:English-language crime films]]
[[Category:English-language thriller films]]
[[Category:Saturn Award–winning films]]