I remember liking this show when I first saw it as a kid. But watching it now as an adult, in reruns, I have to admit that it's pretty dreadful.
Don't get me wrong, the Man-from-Mars concept had potential, and the cast is good, especially Bill Bixby and Ray Walston.
But the scripts and writing are simply terrible!
And the longer the show was on the air, the more awful and illogical the plots became. I didn't see that as a child, but as an adult, the absurd writing is unavoidable.
Granted, one can't expect realism from a fantasy shows like this, but at least "Bewitched" and "I Dream of Jeannie" (from the same era) managed to stay reasonably consistent with the rules they had established for their particular magic.
But "My Favorite Martian" eventually throws all of the rules out the window, and ends up having Martin able to do basically anything they can think of. There is no consistent logic, even within the context of their imaginary universe. And without rules, things quickly go from sci-fi/fantasy to just plain silly.
Alas, 60 years later, the show simply doesn't hold up well.
Don't get me wrong, the Man-from-Mars concept had potential, and the cast is good, especially Bill Bixby and Ray Walston.
But the scripts and writing are simply terrible!
And the longer the show was on the air, the more awful and illogical the plots became. I didn't see that as a child, but as an adult, the absurd writing is unavoidable.
Granted, one can't expect realism from a fantasy shows like this, but at least "Bewitched" and "I Dream of Jeannie" (from the same era) managed to stay reasonably consistent with the rules they had established for their particular magic.
But "My Favorite Martian" eventually throws all of the rules out the window, and ends up having Martin able to do basically anything they can think of. There is no consistent logic, even within the context of their imaginary universe. And without rules, things quickly go from sci-fi/fantasy to just plain silly.
Alas, 60 years later, the show simply doesn't hold up well.