AllMovie

This CW sitcom was set in Medora, Wisconsin, where dwelled the Tolchuck family: Father Gary (Scott Patterson), mother Franny (Amy Pietz), son Justin (Dan Byrd) and daughter Claire (Lindsay Shaw). Desperate to fit in with the cool kids at school, the nerdish Justin (who narrated the series, Malcolm in the Middle style) decided if he couldn't make friends, he'd "import" one. Thus, he talked his parents into being the sponsors for an exchange student from Pakistan, an amiable Muslin teenager named Raja (Adhir Kalyan). Though Justin and Raja formed an immediate bond, mom Claire was a bit frightened by her guest, her head filled with news reports of middle-east terrorism and such. Conversely, dad Gary was quite impressed by Raja's courtesy, loyalty, and strong work ethic--and besides, he was getting $500 a month for sponsoring the kid. As for Claire, she was too preoccupied with being the "dream girl" of every jock in school, and the actual girlfriend of classmate Jeffrey (Harlan Jackson), to concern herself with Raja. In case the reader hasn't caught on by now, the purpose of this series was to dispel viewers in the post-9/11 era of the idotic assumption that every Muslim posed an eminent threat to the American way of life: Indeed, Raja may have been the most lovable and nonthreatening TV alien since Robin Williams' Mork From Ork. Aliens in America debuted October 1, 2007.