Hard Time on Planet Earth

1989 - 1989

Stranger in a Strange Land

Episode 1

Jesse is banished from his planet for political crimes. He arrives on earth accompanied by an observer named Control. He quickly gets in trouble with the police and must flee to Los Angeles.

Something to Bank On

Episode 2

A hungry Jesse takes some food without paying for it and learns that he needs money. Jesse gets in trouble, however, when he takes and tries to return money that came out an automatic cash machine.

Losing Control

15th March 1989

Episode 3

No overview available.

The Way Home

22nd March 1989

Episode 4

No overview available.

All That You Can Be

29th March 1989

Episode 5

No overview available.

Battle of the Sexes

Episode 6

Jesse is working at a restaurant owned by Frank Russo, which Frank's daughter Connie wants to help run. But Frank refuses to take any of her advice because he feels women aren't as good at business as men. Frank's son Mike isn't interested in the business, as he's a musician. Connie discovers that the sons of an old friend of Frank's named Caretti, who he's done business with for many years, have been cheating them. When Connie threatens to tell their father about this, they threaten her, but Jesse defends her. Frank refuses to believe his friend's sons did what Connie says, and he fires Jesse. Meanwhile, Mike invited Jesse to a club to hear him play and also to meet women. Jesse met a woman named Danielle who later turned out to be from his homeworld, sent to find out where his followers were hiding in exile, and then to terminate him. They fought, Jesse won, and said that on Ondarius he would have killed her, but on Earth he'd learned the value of life. Eventually Frank and Caretti l

Death Do Us Part

12th April 1989

Episode 7

While delivering sandwiches to a TV studio, Jesse is asked to fill in as bachelor #3 on The Dating Game, and is chosen by Jane to be her date. It turns out that after she had agreed to be on the show, she had met someone named Michael through a matchmaking magazine ad. But Jane still wanted to be Jesse's friend and help him meet the right woman for him. It turned out that Michael and a partner were behind a string of thefts from single women who'd answered their ads in the magazine, and Jane was their latest target. Jesse thwarted their initial burglary attempt, but when Michael found out a large trust fund of Jane's had just matured, he decided to marry and kill her. He also framed Jesse as the thief, to get rid of him, and was going to blame him for murdering Jane. But of course he failed.

The Hot Dog Man

26th April 1989

Episode 8

Jesse becomes a professional wrestler and helps fight an crooked real estate developer.

Jessie's Fifteen Minutes

Episode 9

No overview available.

Rodeo

Episode 10

No overview available.

Not In Our Stars

Episode 11

Jesse has a dream in which he's told his vice commander ordered the assassination of the Council's Grand Elder. So he wants to send this message home. He reads a book that was written by a professor at a nearby university, goes there, and gets involved in a project to transmit messages to other worlds. He designs a microchip that will enable faster-than-light communications, but the professor steals it, and ultimately Jesse is forced to destroy the chip, because humanity isn't prepared for extra-terrestrial contact.

The All American

Episode 12

Jesse met Bill Mitchner, a young man in high school who turned out to be an exiled former member of his world's ruling Council. All leaders of a failed coup attempt had been executed, except this one, whose name was erased from the histories, and he was exiled to Earth in the body of an infant 17 years ago. He now planned to rise to power on Earth, despite the rule against exiles drawing attention to themselves. He was also willing to hurt others in pursuit of his goal. Jesse helped him see the error of his ways, and Bill and his own Control unit were recalled to their homeworld.

Wally's Gang

Episode 13

The host of a children's television show tries to kill himself when the show is cancelled. Jesse saves him and gets a job on the show as the fix-it man.

Top Cast

Martin Kove•Danny Mann•Marita Geraghty

Director

Roger Duchowny

Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Hard Time on Planet Earth is an American science fiction series that aired on CBS as a midseason replacement in 1989. Airing for 13 episodes, the series starred Martin Kove and was created by Jim and John Thomas. Scheduled opposite NBC's Unsolved Mysteries and ABC's Growing Pains on Wednesdays, Hard Time on Planet Earth ranked 65th out of 81 programs upon its premiere. Ratings for the series never improved and the series was canceled by CBS in May 1989. The last episode aired on June 21, 1989.

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Full Crew

Roger Duchowny

Director

Michael Piller Image

Michael Piller

Producer

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