Alien Nation: The Udara Legacy (1997)

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Per its title, this Fox network TV movie is one of several followups to the shortlived science fiction series AlienNation, which ran on Fox from 1989 to 1991 and was based on the 1988 theatrical feature of the same name. The original series was set in a futuristic Los Angeles wherein human earthlings coexisted more or less peacefully with the Newcomers, a race of aliens from the planet Tencton who had settled in LA after escaping a slave-transport ship, and who, despite the prejudices harbored by the "Purists" and other such xenophobes, had assimilated to the point of were holding down traditionally "human" jobs and living in the 'burbs with their families. Repeating their series roles are Gray Graham as LAPD detective Matthew Sikes and Eric Pierpoint as his Newcomer partner, Detective George Francisco (George is the one with the huge bald cranium and the vestigal ears). The story gets under way when a group of "kamikaze" Newcomers invades Los Angeles, apparently with homicidal intentions towards the humans--but only because they've been brainwashed by a higher power. Tied in with this alien influx is the Udara, the radicalized Newcomer guerillas who had fomented the rebellion on the Tectonese slave ship, and who remain dedicated in their mission to kill off all "Overseers"--including those of the human variety. Much to George's surprise, his own wife Susan (Michele Scarabelli) is part of the Udara movement, resulting in a major conflict of interest. One of the fim's many subplots involves the efforts by George and Susan's son Buck (Sean Six) to follow in dad's footsteps and join the police force; elsewhere, a few unresolved plot strands from the earlier series and its previous TV-movie sequels are tied up. AlienNation: The Udara Legacy originally aired July 29, 1997. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi