Out of This World (American TV series)

This article is about the U.S. television series. For the British television series of the same name, see Out of This World (British TV series).

Out of This World
Genre	Fantasy Sitcom
Created by	John Boni Bob Booker
Starring	Maureen Flannigan Donna Pescow Doug McClure Joe Alaskey Steve Burton Christina Nigra Buzz Belmondo Tom Nolan
Voices of	Burt Reynolds
Opening theme	"Swinging on a Star"
Composer	Kevin Kiner
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	96
Production
Executive producer	Bob Booker
Producers	John Boni Barbara Booker Gail Honigberg Laura Levine Mike Scully Bruce Taylor George Yanok
Running time	22 minutes
Production companies	Bob Booker Productions MCA TV
Original release
Network	Syndication
Release	September 17, 1987 (1987-09-17) – May 25, 1991 (1991-05-25)

Out of This World is an American fantasy sitcom about a teenage girl who is half alien, which gives her unique supernatural powers. It first aired in syndication from September 17, 1987 and ended on May 25, 1991.

During its first season, the series was originally part of NBC's Prime Time Begins at 7:30 campaign, in which the network's owned-and-operated stations would run first-run sitcoms in the 7:30-8 p.m. time slot to counter-program competing stations' game shows, sitcom reruns and other offerings. Out of This World was rotated with four other shows: the original series Marblehead Manor and She's the Sheriff, a syndicated revival of the 1983 sitcom We Got It Made, and a television adaptation of the play You Can't Take It with You. NBC ended the experiment after the 1987–88 season due to the low ratings put up by three of the series, which were cancelled. Out of This World was renewed, as was She's the Sheriff.

After its first season, Out of This World began airing primarily on weekends. Despite receiving mostly negative reviews from critics, it lasted three more seasons.

Cast

• Maureen Flannigan as Evie Ethel Garland
• Donna Pescow as Donna Froelich-Garland
• Burt Reynolds as Troy Garland (voice only)
• Joe Alaskey as Beano Froelich (1987–1991)
• Doug McClure as Kyle Applegate
• Buzz Belmondo as Buzz
• Christina Nigra as Lindsay Selkirk
• Steve Burton as Chris Fuller
• Carl Steven as Quigley Handlesman
• John Roarke as Phil (1987–1988)
• Tony Crane as Jeffrey Cummings (1990)
• Peter Pitofsky as Peter (1990–1991)
• Tom Nolan as Mick Froelich (1990–1991)

Episodes

Season 1 (1987–88)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"Evie's Thirteenth Birthday"	Bob Claver	John Boni	September 17, 1987 (1987-09-17)
It’s Evie’s thirteenth birthday, and during the party, her mother, Donna, is wrestling with a difficult decision alongside her brother, Beano, who is also Evie’s uncle. Donna is unsure whether to reveal a lifelong secret to Evie: that her father is an alien living on a planet called Antareus. Before Donna can decide, Evie suddenly feels compelled to slowly touch her pointer fingers together. When she does, everyone around her freezes in time. After a brief moment of panic, she accidentally unfreezes her mother by touching her. With no other choice, Donna tells Evie that she is half-alien and that her powers seem to have activated. Though initially frightened, Evie quickly learns to cope with the revelation. Together, they unfreeze Uncle Beano and let him in on the secret. Donna then gives Evie a gift from her father—a mysterious alien cube that functions as a phone to contact him. After speaking with her father and learning more about her history, Evie successfully unfreezes the rest of the party guests.
2	2	"Playing with the Power"	Jack Regas	Bob Booker	September 24, 1987 (1987-09-24)
3	3	"The Nightmare"	Bob Claver	John Boni	October 1, 1987 (1987-10-01)
4	4	"Till Then"	Bob Claver	Dave Hackel & April Kelly	October 8, 1987 (1987-10-08)
5	5	"Evie, Get Your Basketball"	Jack Regas	Patricia Niedzialek & Cecile Alch	October 15, 1987 (1987-10-15)
6	6	"Every Beano Has His Day"	Bob Claver	Richard Albrecht & Casey Keller	October 22, 1987 (1987-10-22)
7	7	"Evie and the Young Astronauts"	Jack Regas	Dave Hackel & April Kelly	October 29, 1987 (1987-10-29)
8	8	"Fifties Mom"	Bob Claver	Laura Levine	November 5, 1987 (1987-11-05)
9	9	"Dueling Mayors"	Bob Claver	Dave Hackel & April Kelly	November 12, 1987 (1987-11-12)
10	10	"Baby Talk"	Russ Petranto	Mike Scully	November 19, 1987 (1987-11-19)
11	11	"Beano's New Diet Clinic"	Selig Frank	John Boni	November 26, 1987 (1987-11-26)
12	12	"Uh, Oh... Here Comes Mother"	Jack Regas	George Tricker & Neil Rosen	December 3, 1987 (1987-12-03)
13	13	"The Anniversary"	Bob Claver	Tom Brauner	January 21, 1988 (1988-01-21)
14	14	"To Tell the Truth"	Bob Claver	Frank Mula	January 28, 1988 (1988-01-28)
15	15	"Pen Pals"	Bob Claver	Frank Mula	February 4, 1988 (1988-02-04)
16	16	"Broadway Danny Derek"	Bob Claver	George Tricker & Neil Rosen	February 11, 1988 (1988-02-11)
17	17	"Mosquito Man: The Motion Picture"	Bob Claver	Mike Scully	February 18, 1988 (1988-02-18)
18	18	"The Russians Are Coming"	Bob Claver	John Boni	February 25, 1988 (1988-02-25)
19	19	"a.k.a. Dad"	Bob Claver	Dave Hackel & April Kelly	April 21, 1988 (1988-04-21)
20	20	"The Illness"	Russ Petranto	Donald Jordan	April 28, 1988 (1988-04-28)
21	21	"The Box Is Missing"	Michael Dimich	Dave Hackel & April Kelly	May 5, 1988 (1988-05-05)
22	22	"Boy Crazy"	Bob Claver	Ed McCatty	May 12, 1988 (1988-05-12)
23	23	"The Three Faces of Evie"	Bob Claver	Dave Hackel & April Kelly	May 19, 1988 (1988-05-19)
24	24	"I've Got a Secret"	Bob Claver	Story by : Tom Brauner Teleplay by : Robert Schechter	May 26, 1988 (1988-05-26)

Season 2 (1988–89)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
25	1	"Evie's Birthday Wish"	Bob Claver	Bob Booker	October 8, 1988 (1988-10-08)
26	2	"Blast from the Past"	Bob Claver	Mike Scully	October 15, 1988 (1988-10-15)
27	3	"Career Crunch"	Bob Claver	Frank Mula	October 22, 1988 (1988-10-22)
28	4	"Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot?"	Bob Claver	Tommy Thompson	October 29, 1988 (1988-10-29)
29	5	"Evie's First Kiss"	Bob Claver	Sheldon Krasner & David Saling	November 5, 1988 (1988-11-05)
30	6	"Princess Evie"	Bob Claver	Ted Bergman	November 12, 1988 (1988-11-12)
31	7	"Old Flame"	Bob Claver	Laura Levine	November 19, 1988 (1988-11-19)
32	8	"Guess Who's Coming to Earth"	Bob Claver	Bob Booker	November 26, 1988 (1988-11-26)
33	9	"Go West Young Mayor"	Jack Regas	Tommy Thompson & Brian Scully	December 3, 1988 (1988-12-03)
Kyle accompanies Evie, Donna, and Beano on a vacation to an old western town. When Evie, Donna, and Beano are taken hostage by counterfeiters, Kyle is the only one who can save them, due to Evie's inability to use her powers.
34	10	"Close Encounters of the Nerd Kind"	Selig Frank	Mike Lyons & Kimberly Wells	December 10, 1988 (1988-12-10)
35	11	"The Incredible Hunk"	Selig Frank	Diana Ayers & Susan Sebastian	December 17, 1988 (1988-12-17)
36	12	"Pupil's Court"	Bob Claver	Brian Scully & Tommy Thompson	January 28, 1989 (1989-01-28)
37	13	"Evie's Two Dads"	Bob Claver	Mike Scully	February 4, 1989 (1989-02-04)
38	14	"The Secret of Evie's Success"	Bob Claver	Robert Caplain	February 11, 1989 (1989-02-11)
39	15	"Honest Evie"	Bob Claver	Frank Mula	February 18, 1989 (1989-02-18)
40	16	"Evie Goes to Hollywood"	Jack Regas	Mike Scully	February 25, 1989 (1989-02-25)
41	17	"Two Many Evies"	Jack Regas	Brian Scully	March 4, 1989 (1989-03-04)
42	18	"Futile Attraction"	Bob Claver	Laura Levine	March 11, 1989 (1989-03-11)
43	19	"Beano the Kid"	Scott Baio	Pamela Wick & Susan Cridland	April 29, 1989 (1989-04-29)
44	20	"Queens for a Day"	Bob Claver	Tommy Thompson & Brian Scully	May 6, 1989 (1989-05-06)
45	21	"The Amazing Evie"	Bob Claver	Laura Levine	May 13, 1989 (1989-05-13)
46	22	"Whose House Is It, Anyway?"	Bob Claver	Mike Scully	May 20, 1989 (1989-05-20)
47	23	"Frisky Business"	Bob Claver	Laura Levine	May 27, 1989 (1989-05-27)
48	24	"Star Dog"	Bob Claver	Bob Booker	June 3, 1989 (1989-06-03)

Season 3 (1989–90)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
49	1	"Evie's Sweet Sixteen"	Bob Claver	Bob Booker	October 7, 1989 (1989-10-07)
50	2	"Cinderella Evie"	Bob Claver	Laura Levine	October 14, 1989 (1989-10-14)
51	3	"Bring Me the Head of Donna Garland"	Bob Claver	Frank Mula	October 21, 1989 (1989-10-21)
52	4	"A Froggy Day in Marlowe Town"	Bob Claver	Laura Levine	October 28, 1989 (1989-10-28)
53	5	"Eviegeist"	Bob Claver	Robert Schechter	November 4, 1989 (1989-11-04)
54	6	"Evie's Driver's License"	Bob Claver	Mike Scully	November 11, 1989 (1989-11-11)
55	7	"Evie Goes for the Gold"	Bob Claver	Alan Moskowitz	November 18, 1989 (1989-11-18)
56	8	"Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow"	Bob Claver	Laura Levine	November 25, 1989 (1989-11-25)
57	9	"Around the World in 80 Minutes"	Bob Claver	Bob Booker	December 2, 1989 (1989-12-02)
58	10	"It's a Cruel World"	Bob Claver	Tommy Thompson	December 9, 1989 (1989-12-09)
59	11	"Evie; Stevie"	Selig Frank	Janice Pieroni & Bruce Teicher	December 16, 1989 (1989-12-16)
60	12	"The Rocks That Couldn't Roll"	Selig Frank	Story by : Julie Thacker & Mike Scully Teleplay by : Mike Scully	January 27, 1990 (1990-01-27)
61	13	"One in a Million"	Bob Claver	Simon Munter	February 3, 1990 (1990-02-03)
62	14	"Four Men and a Baby"	Scott Baio	Bob Booker	February 10, 1990 (1990-02-10)
63	15	"Evie's Double Trouble"	Bob Claver	Kelly Monteith & Bob Booker	February 17, 1990 (1990-02-17)
Evie is tormented by a commercial jingle for a mouthwash company, while Donna rushes to prepare for her commercial on live TV. Throughout the day, the twins that appear in the ad show up to sing part of the jingle again and again as Evie is discussing her retainer with her friends. Evie is confused as to how they keep showing up, so she and Donna turn to Troy for help, and he concludes that the word "mouth" triggers the jingle, she also complains about her retainer so she takes them out, and puts them back in when they leave for the studio. Troy leaves a message saying that the twins appearances were caused by the material in her retainers. Donna then goes on TV for her commercial, but her nervousness causes the word "mouth" to be spoken and the twins to appear and interrupt her, causing her to rhyme the rest of the ad. Buzz then hires the twins to be part of his new commercials. Guest Stars: Marilyn & Roz Borden as the Buffalo Breath Twins, and Michael Francis Clarke as the Ad Director
64	16	"The Garden of Evie"	Bob Claver	Alan Moskowitz	February 24, 1990 (1990-02-24)
65	17	"Evie's Magic Touch"	Bob Claver	Gail Honigberg	March 3, 1990 (1990-03-03)
66	18	"Cowboy Kyle, Man of Granite"	Scott Baio	Laura Levine	April 28, 1990 (1990-04-28)
67	19	"Evie's Secret Admirer"	Bob Claver	Gail Honigberg	May 5, 1990 (1990-05-05)
68	20	"Evie's Yuppie Love"	Bob Claver	Julie Thacker	May 12, 1990 (1990-05-12)
69	21	"Diamonds Are Evie's Best Friend"	Bob Claver	Laura Levine	May 19, 1990 (1990-05-19)
70	22	"A Kinder, Gentler Mayor"	Bob Claver	Brian Scully	May 26, 1990 (1990-05-26)
71	23	"My Mother the Con"	Bob Claver	Mike Scully	June 2, 1990 (1990-06-02)
72	24	"Goodbye, Mr. Chris"	Bob Claver	Mike Scully	June 9, 1990 (1990-06-09)

Season 4 (1990–91)

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
73	1	"New Kid on the Block"	Scott Baio	Mike Scully	October 6, 1990 (1990-10-06)
74	2	"My Little Evie"	Bob Claver	George Yanok	October 13, 1990 (1990-10-13)
75	3	"Forget Your Troubles"	Jeffrey Ganz	Brian Scully	October 20, 1990 (1990-10-20)
76	4	"A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read"	Bob Claver	Alan Moskowitz	October 27, 1990 (1990-10-27)
77	5	"Evie's Guardian Angel"	Bob Claver	Bob Booker	November 3, 1990 (1990-11-03)
78	6	"Best Friends"	Scott Baio	Laura Levine	November 10, 1990 (1990-11-10)
79	7	"I Want My Evie TV"	Bob Claver	Bob Booker	November 17, 1990 (1990-11-17)
80	8	"Come Fly with Evie"	Stan Harris	Mike Scully	November 17, 1990 (1990-11-17)
81	9	"Roomies"	Stan Harris	Brian Scully	December 1, 1990 (1990-12-01)
82	10	"Evie's High Anxiety"	Scott Baio	Laura Levine	December 8, 1990 (1990-12-08)
83	11	"Evie's False Alarm"	Selig Frank	Laura Levine	January 19, 1991 (1991-01-19)
84	12	"Marlowe Vice"	Bob Claver	Brian Scully	January 26, 1991 (1991-01-26)
85	13	"Evie's Latin Touch"	Scott Baio	George Yanok	February 2, 1991 (1991-02-02)
86	14	"My Mom, and Why I Love Her"	Bob Claver	Laura Levine	February 9, 1991 (1991-02-09)
87	15	"Heck's Angels"	Bob Claver	Laura Levine	February 16, 1991 (1991-02-16)
88	16	"Would You Buy a Used Car from This Dude?"	Scott Baio	Mike Scully	February 23, 1991 (1991-02-23)
89	17	"Evie Nightingale"	Scott Baio	Laura Levine	March 2, 1991 (1991-03-02)
90	18	"All About Evie"	Selig Frank	Laura Levine	March 9, 1991 (1991-03-09)
91	19	"Mayor Evie"	Renny Temple	Mike Scully	March 16, 1991 (1991-03-16)
92	20	"Stump Your Neighbor"	Renny Temple	Buzz Belmondo & Bill Farley	April 27, 1991 (1991-04-27)
93	21	"Evie's Three Promises"	Selig Frank	Alan Moskowitz	May 4, 1991 (1991-05-04)
94	22	"Too Late for Evie"	Bob Claver	Michael Poryes	May 11, 1991 (1991-05-11)
Evie arrives home late after her midnight curfew, which angers Donna so she grounds her for two weeks and a day. Donna then visits Kyle's apartment, which has many of her belongings which were "borrowed" from Donna. His door refuses to unlock without a card, and Donna can't leave the apartment, leaving Evie worried that she's out late to pay her a lesson. Evie then arrives with the card to save the day, and as revenge to Kyle, they lock him in his apartment without the keycard.
95	23	"Educating Kyle"	Scott Baio	George Yanok	May 18, 1991 (1991-05-18)
96	24	"Evie's Eighteen"	Scott Baio	Bob Booker	May 25, 1991 (1991-05-25)
On the morning before her eighteenth birthday, Evie receives a call from her father, Troy, who informs her that he’s going away on an off-planet trip. Both Evie and her mother, Donna, have been overwhelmed by requests from various people, including Kyle, a senator, a group of Japanese investors, and a fireman. However, Troy unexpectedly appears on Earth to surprise Evie on her birthday. To escape the constant interruptions, Evie freezes time so the family can enjoy a quiet birthday dinner together. As the evening ends and Troy prepares to return home, Donna is accidentally sent back to Antareus, leaving the episode on a cliffhanger.

Opening credits

The opening credits for the series incorporated special effects footage from the 1979–1981 series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. The theme song is a modified version of "Swinging on a Star". Video snippets of parents Donna and Troy show the start of their relationship including the wedding and birth of daughter Evie. Troy's face is continuously obscured, never fully shown. The fictional town of Marlowe is shown to be adjacent to Carmel-by-the-Sea, California and Monterey, California with a directional traffic sign.

International airings

In France, Out of this World was aired under the name Loin de ce monde (Far From this World) as part of a block called La Une est à vous (Channel One is Yours) from September 10, 1988 until October 12, 1991 then from July to August 1992 on TF1. It was then rebroadcast from November 1994 until November 10, 1996 on M6.

In Germany, Out of this World was aired under the name Mein Vater ist ein Außerirdischer (My Father is an Alien) which aired on RTL Plus in 1989.

In Italy, Out of this World was aired under the name Cose dell'altro mondo (Things from the Other World) on Rai 1 from 1990. This was also the name of a comedy film from 2011.

Out of This World was first broadcast in the UK on the ITV network on April 9, 1990, until 1995, and was later reran on Trouble (TV channel).

Critical reception

Discussing Out of This World, Roger Fulton stated "like many juvenile US sitcoms, the series was short on laughs and long on moralizing". The book Television Without Pity contained a review of Out of This World that described the show as "quite possibly the worst sitcom ever made-it's a complete failure on every level". The review went on to criticize the show's scripts, acting and production, and unfavorably compared Out of This World to Sabrina the Teenage Witch. The Splitsider website called Out of This World "perhaps the worst sitcom ever, or at least the most '80s sitcom ever".

Home media

A DVD set with 35 episodes from seasons 1 and 2 was released in Germany on November 8, 2011. The 6-disc set has a runtime of 875 minutes, but does not include all episodes due to music rights.

Stations

As previously mentioned, during the first season, Out of This World aired on NBC's owned-and-operated stations as part of their Prime Time Begins at 7:30 experiment.

City	Station
Atlanta	WAGA-TV 5
Boston	WCVB-TV 5 WFXT 25 WLVI-TV 56
Charlotte	WBTV 3
Charleston, South Carolina	WTAT-TV 24
Charleston, West Virginia	WVAH-TV 23 (until 1989), 11 (from 1989)
Chicago	WMAQ-TV 5 WPWR-TV 50
Cleveland	WUAB 43
Davenport	KWQC-TV 6
Detroit	WXON-TV 20
Durham	WPTF-TV 28
Fairbanks	KTVF 11
Fort Worth	KTVT 11
Grand Rapids	WXMI 17
Greenville	WFXI 8
Hartford	WTIC-TV 61
Houston	KHTV 39
Indianapolis	WXIN 59
Jacksonville	WJXT 4
Los Angeles	KNBC-TV 4 KTLA 5
Miami	WDZL 39
Milwaukee	WVTV 18
Minneapolis	KITN-TV 29
New Orleans	WGNO-TV 26
New York	WNBC-TV 4
Oakland	KTVU 2
Omaha	KPTM 42
Ottumwa	KOIA-TV 15
Paris, Ontario	CIII-TV 6
Philadelphia	WPHL-TV 17
Salt Lake City	KXIV-TV 14
San Juan	WAPA-TV 4
Seattle	KSTW 11
Secaucus	WWOR-TV 9
Sacramento	KRBK-TV 31
Spokane	KAYU-TV 28
St. Louis	KPLR-TV 11
Washington, D.C.	WFTY 50 WRC-TV 4
Wichita	KSAS-TV 24

External links

• Out of This World at IMDb
• Out of This World at epguides.com
• Out of This World opening credits at YouTube