Actor Lenny Venito and Creator/Executive Producer Dan Fogelman speak onstage at the “The Neighbors” panel during the Disney/ABC Television Group portion of the 2012 Summer TCA Tour on July 27, 2012 in Beverly Hills, California.
(Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images North America)

The Neighbors airs on Wednesdays at 8:30.

By Valerie Milano

Beverly Hills, CA (Hollywood Today) 9/27/12 – “It is a high concept idea, but we also want to ground it as a family sitcom,” describes Dan Fogleman, Executive Producer of The Neighbors. He goes on to explain, “Families are nuts. Dynamics between mothers and fathers are nuts, and between mothers and daughters and fathers and sons. So I think to be able to take these aliens, these blank slates and turn a lens on the human family and the human condition, that’s what will make the show really, really smart and really special as we continue exploring stuff.”

The premise of The Neighbors is: Aliens come to Earth in 2002 and take over a townhouse community. Years later, one unit becomes available and humans move in, and hilarity ensues.  At least that’s what the show creators want. The show is quirky, campy, and more than a little surreal. It’s a little bit Pleasantville, a little Galaxy Quest and a bit Twilight Zone. The aliens look and act a lot like families of the 50’s, with enough twists to remind you how alien they are.

I wasn’t exactly laughing hysterically, but I was intrigued. The Neighbors looks like it will serve up humor with social awkwardness and 50’s-meets-2012 life lessons. It so far looks safe for kids, although they won’t get a lot of the humor. It would be great if they dropped the people-named-after-athletes running gag.  It just isn’t funny.

The Neighbors airs on Wednesdays at 8:30.