Sista From Anutha Planet

This scifi based dramedy sports Mary Steenburgen in the role of Janet Nester, an alien scientist stranded in the fictional town of Desuka where in an effort to fulfill her mission of studying alien social structure she finds herself on the local school board. It isn't as far fetched as it sounds.

Like most sitcoms Sista episodes begin with a lie followed by a buffoonish cover up. Unlike most sitcoms the show does not end in a kumbaya moment as it would in Friends, but in a teeth grinding attempt at putting the drama in dramedy, a plot device the writers are unfamiliar with. These are far from the worst failures offered up in the scripts. The writing is not just formulaic but  mindnumbingly repetitive like an insipid copy of Groundhog Day but without the daily plot progression of the protagonist.  If you've seen one episode, you've seen them all.

The only bright part of the writing is a certain Bevis and Butthead quality where the entire show is really a parody of the show's most devoted fans. The program is wildly popular with parents who do not seem to realize they are the real butt of what few jokes there are any more than they realize the witless parents on the show are lied to by "their" teachers and principals just as the Steenburgen character is fed lies by the school administrators.

Steenburgen valiantly tries to save the show only to be overcome by horrid writing and lack of any other competent actors in the ensemble. The Board Chair, who would be a perfect foil to her character were he played by the likes of James Earl Jones, is played by an actor so bad that the character looks like a racist caricature that should have Al Sharpton blackmailing the producers. Likewise the Superintendent is played by an actress clearly incapable of remembering her lines. Outtakes must be priceless.  Other role actors have surrendered, staggering through their performances like zombies. On occasion the extras playing the clueless, gullible parents steal a scene or two, but this is more a credit to the decision to use local extras than to the casting couch.

As the show enters its third season rumors of cancelation are growing louder. Hopefully her alien overlords will rescue Steenburgen from this hell but until this slot is filled with quality programming the discerning viewer should spend their time and money elsewhere.