Alien Nation: Body and Soul (1995) (TV)

Director:

Kenneth Johnson

Writers (WGA):

Rockne S. O'Bannon (characters)
Kenneth Johnson (developer)

Release Date:

10 October 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Sci-Fi

Plot:

Sikes and Francisco are called in to a case when a mysterious young girl, who looks part Newcomer, part human...

Plot Keywords:

Police | Detective | Alien | Sequel

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Gary Graham	...	Detective Matt Sikes
Eric Pierpoint	...	George Francisco
Michele Scarabelli	...	Susan Francisco
Terri Treas	...	Cathy Frankel
Lauren Woodland	...	Emily Francisco
Sean Six	...	Buck Francisco
Jeff Marcus	...	Albert Einstein
Ron Fassler	...	Capt. Brian Grazer
Jenny Gago	...	Det. Beatrice Zapeda
Leon Russom	...	Benson
Pamela Gordon	...	Dr. Adrian Tivoli
Tiny Ron	...	Giant
Glenn Morshower
Aimee Warren	...	Child
Danielle Warren	...	Child

Runtime:

87 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

20th Century Fox Television

Quotes:

Detective Matt Sikes: [after driving a vehicle through a fence gate] I love my job.

Movie Connections:

Follows "Alien Nation" (1989)

Cops and Space Nazis

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

During a weapons test, a power outage allows two aliens to escape from a secret installation. One is giant, the other seemingly a half human, half alien child. They are chased by bad guys in a helicopter. One of the bad guys dies during the chase and the 'child' is found at the scene. The case is given to our heroes, odd couple detectives Sikes and Francisco. As they investigate they uncover a government conspiracy which protected a group of aliens who had been conducting experiments on their own kind.

The two who escaped at the start of the show turn out to have been the result one of the secret experiments and are, despite their apparent physical differences, symbiotic identical twins.

There are threats, coincidences, kidnappings, stupidly easily obtained pieces of information dropped into the plot to keep it going, people outrunning huge explosions, grouchy senior officers, nasty 'Fed' agents, and all the other usual clichéd trapping of a TV cop movie. (Basically it's the 'CIA / FBI white-washing Nazi scientists' pasts to make use of their talents' story grafted onto an alien environment.) Parallel story lines have one of the detectives learning how to do sex with his alien girlfriend without ending up neutered, and the other detective having troubles with his 'teenage' son.

It's Cagney & Lacey with aliens.

This is one of several TV movies spun off the short lived (it lasted one season) 1989 TV show 'Alien Nation' which, in turn, was spun off from the 1988 movie of the same name.

The little back story that is needed by newcomers to the series is handily explained to us by a clunkingly clumsy voice over and quick montage in the first five minutes.

Not badly done but not very good.