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 U.S. syndication on September 17, 1987 and ended on May 25, 1991. It was first broadcast in the UK on the ITV

ITV

ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...

 network on April 9, 1990, usually at 10:00 a.m. on weekday mornings.

During its first season, the series was originally part of NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

's much-hyped Prime Time Begins at 7:30

Prime Time Begins at 7:30

Prime Time Begins at 7:30 was a television syndication package conceived by NBC in the fall of 1987. Consisting of five sitcoms, each airing on different nights of the week, the goal of the network and its affiliates was to drive viewers to NBC stations in the half hour prior to Prime Time, which...

 campaign, in which the network's owned-and-operated stations would run first-run sitcoms in the 7:30-8 pm time slot to counterprogram competing stations' game shows, sitcom reruns and other offerings. Out of This World was rotated with the original series Marblehead Manor

Marblehead Manor

Marblehead Manor was an American television sitcom that originally ran from 1987 to 1988 in first run syndication. It starred British comic actor Paxton Whitehead, American actor Phil Morris, Canadian actress Linda Thorson, American actor and screenwriter Bob Fraser and Michael Richards...

and She's the Sheriff

She's the Sheriff

She's the Sheriff is American sitcom that aired in syndication from 1987 to 1989. Produced by Lorimar Television, the series marked the return of Suzanne Somers to television for the first time since she walked out on her famous role as Chrissy Snow on ABC's Three's Company.-Synopsis:Somers stars...

, a syndicated revival of the 1983 sitcom We Got It Made

We Got it Made

We Got It Made is an American sitcom that aired on NBC during the 1983-1984 season, and in syndication .-1983 NBC version:The show focuses on Mickey Mackenzie , a stunningly beautiful woman in her early 20s who applies for a housekeeping job in Manhattan...

, and a television adaptation of the play You Can't Take It With You

You Can't Take It with You

You Can't Take It with You is a comedic play in three acts by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. The original production of the play opened at the Booth Theater on December 14, 1936, and played for 837 performances...

. NBC ended the experiment after the 1987-88 season due to the low ratings put up by three of the series, with Out of This World being one of the two that was renewed. After its first season the series was largely moved to weekend time slots, where it remained until its cancellation following the fourth season.

Show summary

The series revolves around Evie Ethel Garland, a young girl who discovers on her thirteenth birthday that her father is an alien named Troy, from the planet Antareus, who married her mother and "merged lifeforms" to create Evie. Evie's half-alien heritage gives her superhuman abilities. Most of the episodes revolve around Evie misusing her powers and causing some trouble, which she spends the rest of the episode trying to fix. Only Evie and her family know about her alien father and her powers, and many episodes depict Evie trying to hide her secret from other characters. The series ended on a cliffhanger in the Season 4 finale, where Troy came to visit and Donna took his place by accident and ended up in Antareus, leaving Troy stranded on Earth.

DVD releases

A DVD set with 35 episodes from seasons 1 and 2 are due for a DVD release in Germany on November 8th, 2011. The 6-disc set has a runtime of 875 minutes.

Certain episodes could not be included because of music rights, on the Volume One set, these episodes are:
Playing With the Power, The Nightmare, Till Then, Fifties Mom, To Tell the Truth, Pen Pals, Mosquito Man - The Motion Picture, The Russians are Coming, Boy Crazy, The Three Faces of Evie, I've Got a Secret, Evie's Two Dads, Queens for a Day.

Characters

• Evie Ethel Garland (Maureen Flannigan
  Maureen Flannigan
  Maureen Osborne Flannagan , credited as Maureen Flannigan, is an American actress noted for her role as teenager Evie Ethel Garland TV sitcom Out of This World, which ran from 1987 to 1991 and also starred Donna Pescow. She began acting professionally in 1985.-Personal:She attended the University...
  
  ) — Evie is a half-human, half-alien girl who lives with her mother in Marlowe, California, in a house overlooking the sea. Evie is an only child. Her mother had always told Evie that her father was a secret agent, but on her thirteenth birthday Evie began to develop superhuman abilities and it was revealed that her father is an extraterrestrial from the planet Antareus. Evie attends a school for gifted children (run by her mother) and achieves good grades there. Her father describes her as "the perfect child: loving; caring; with the same needs of most teenagers". The series follows Evie through her teenage years, from her thirteenth birthday in the first episode to her eighteenth birthday in the final episode. Although she was the leading character, Flannigan was billed last in the credits because she was largely unknown at the time. In the first season, she received the billing "And Introducing Maureen Flannigan as Evie." In the last 3 seasons, she was billed as "And Maureen Flannigan as Evie."

• Donna Garland (Donna Pescow
  Donna Pescow
  Donna Pescow is an American film and television actress and director.-Life and career:Pescow was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a Jewish family. Her father owned and ran a news stand in downtown NYC at Battery Place. Pescow attended Sheepshead Bay High School in Brooklyn and she took drama classes...
  
  ) — Evie's mother. Described by her husband as "an ambitious working mother with a career", Donna runs a school for gifted children, which Evie attends. She later founds her own catering company, "Donna's Delights." Toward the end of season 3, Donna becomes the mayor of Marlowe. Donna is very protective of her daughter, often to the dismay of Evie, who would like to be more independent. Donna and Evie's Uncle Beano (then later Uncle Mick) are the only regular characters on the show who know Evie's secret.

• Troy Garland (Burt Reynolds
  Burt Reynolds
  Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...
  
  , voice only) — Evie's father. Troy is a human-looking extraterrestrial, with many special powers, from the planet Antareus. Troy met Donna when his spacecraft crashed on Earth at some point in the late 1960s or early 1970s. The two fell in love, were married in 1971, and two years later Donna gave birth to Evie. Shortly after, in 1974, Troy was called back to Antareus to fight in a war. Since then, Troy occasionally visits Earth, and stays in touch with his daughter via a special communication device known as the "cube" (see below). Troy's powers seem to be almost limitless: though he lives on Antareus, he can control many things on Earth (from computers to the weather); he can give and take away Evie's powers at will; and also seems to be aware of certain events on Earth. While Troy appears in the show's opening credits
  Opening credits
  In a motion picture, television program, or video game, the opening credits are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen or static pictures, or sometimes on top of action in the show. There...
  
  , he rarely makes a physical appearance in the series — and when he does his face is obscured (for example, via a surgical mask or shadows). Troy was credited as "himself" in the opening credits from Season Two onwards.

• Beano Froelich (1987–1990) (Joe Alaskey
  Joe Alaskey
  Joseph "Joe" Alaskey is an American actor, comedian, and voice artist, credited as one of the successors of Mel Blanc in impersonating the voices of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and other characters from Warner Bros. cartoons. He was born in Watervliet, New York.-Other work:Alaskey has also done voices...
  
  ) — "Uncle Beano" is Donna's brother and Evie's uncle, who lives next door to them. Beano has a large appetite and runs "Beano's Diet Clinic". Beano is one of the three regular characters who know Evie's secret, along with Donna and Evie herself.

• Kyle Applegate (Doug McClure
  Doug McClure
  Douglas Osborne "Doug" McClure was an American actor whose career in film and television extended from the 1950s to the 1990s...
  
  ) — Kyle is a former television actor who is now the mayor of Marlowe. Kyle is a good friend of the family, but "the mayor" punishes even the smallest offenses. As well as being egocentric and vain, Kyle is dimwitted and gullible, often completely failing to notice Evie's "alien" antics. He clings to his former TV glory as the star of "Mosquito Man" and many long forgotten mainly Western movies. Towards the end of season three, Kyle is appointed police chief by Donna, who takes over from him as mayor.

• Lindsay Selkirk (Christina Nigra
  Christina Nigra
  Christina Nigra is an actress who performed in The Sword and the Sorcerer, Twilight Zone: The Movie, and Cloak & Dagger. She also co-starred in the series Out of This World....
  
  ) — Evie's best friend. Evie and Lindsay spend a lot of time together drinking milkshakes at their local diner, the "Goodie Goodie" and is Evie's confidante when it comes to boys and her non-Antarian related problems.

• Chris Fuller (Steve Burton) — Chris is a surfer and high school student who later becomes a student at Marlowe Community College. He is introduced as a new student and good basketball player in the season one episode "Evie get your Basketball." Chris was Evie's boyfriend. They sometimes dated other people, but always ended up together. In an episode of the final season, Chris said Evie always had been and always would be his girl.

• Mick (1990–1991) (Tom Nolan
  Tom Nolan (actor)
  Tom Nolan is an actor whose career dates back to his work as a child star in the 1950s.Nolan was born Bernard Girouard in Montreal, Canada, to parents of French and Irish descent. His family moved to Beverly, Massachusetts, where he immediately started dance classes...
  
  ) — Mick is Donna's brother and Evie's uncle, who was introduced in the fourth season to replace Uncle Beano. He is a former rock musician.

• Buzz (Buzz Belmondo
  Buzz Belmondo
  Lorenzo Matawaran, better known by his stage name Buzz Belmondo, is an actor, comedian, filmmaker, film producer and writer.- Early life :...
  
  ) — One of the more eccentric characters in the town, he usually makes one brief appearance per episode, during which he performs a series of jokes which are typically puns or prop-based gags, sometimes relating to the elaborate costume that he is wearing. Sporting an unknown accent and prone to bizarre behaviour, Donna sometimes resorts to him for help, more often than not regretting it!

Evie's powers

• Evie's main power is the ability to freeze time on Earth (while time continues for her and her father on Antareus) by joining two fingers, during which she maneuvers herself or objects to alter the course of events on Earth. When she claps her hands together, time resumes as normal. She can also "unfreeze" individuals by touching them while time is frozen. In the opening sequence, she opens a door and knocks an open can of paint off a ladder, and then joins her fingers to stop it mid-fall.
• Evie later gains the power to gleep, which allows her to manifest objects by using the power of her mind. There are certain restrictions on this power, such as the inability to create complicated machinery, and overuse of this power will cause her other abilities to stop functioning.

The cube

Evie is able to communicate with Troy through a special "genetic" communication device known as the "cube", which he gave to her when she turned thirteen. The cube effectively functions as a telephone line to Antareus — it can even be used to leave Troy an "answerphone" message, as seen in the episode "My Little Evie". There are no controls on the cube; Evie simply calls for her father and the cube activates when he answers, deactivating when he "hangs up". Sometimes when Troy uses his powers whilst talking through the cube, a beam of energy is emitted directly from the cube.

Evie and Donna normally keep the cube around the house, out of sight (often in Evie's bedroom), sometimes telling people it is an ornament or a talking clock. When the cube is activated, the top half of it opens up on a hinge, a magenta light pulses inside, and a "spacey" sound effect plays. The lights in the room usually dim, although not always. Troy's voice is heard clearly through the cube with reverberation

Reverberation

Reverberation is the persistence of sound in a particular space after the original sound is removed. A reverberation, or reverb, is created when a sound is produced in an enclosed space causing a large number of echoes to build up and then slowly decay as the sound is absorbed by the walls and air...

.

Originally, even though everyone was able to hear Troy through the cube, Evie was the only one Troy could hear as the cube was genetic, this rule changes in the first episode of season 2 "Evie's Birthday Wish" at the end of the episode, Evie wishes her mother could talk to Troy like she can, As a result, Troy can now hear Donna and they can now talk back and forth. It is unknown whether the rest of Evie's family could also talk to Troy, but there have been other aliens that Troy could hear through the cube, as seen in Season 4 Episode 5 "Evie's Guardian Angel" an Antaerian is sent to Earth to protect Evie and Donna, and he can speak to Troy.

Celebrity guest appearances

The series featured several celebrities who made cameo appearances on the show, occasionally as themselves.

• Actor Norman Fell
  Norman Fell
  Norman Fell , born Norman Noah Feld, was an American actor of film and television, most famous for his role as landlord Mr. Roper on the sitcom Three's Company and its spin-off, The Ropers.-Early life:...
  
   (as Evie's psychiatrist Dr. Hauser, "The Nightmare", 1987)
• Actress Betsy Palmer
  Betsy Palmer
  Betsy Palmer is an American actress, best known as a regular panelist on the game show I've Got a Secret, and later for playing Pamela Voorhees in the notorious slasher film Friday the 13th.-Life and career:...
  
   (as Donna's mother, "Uh, Oh... Here Comes Mother", 1987)
• Actor Tom Bosley
  Tom Bosley
  Thomas Edward "Tom" Bosley was an American actor. Bosley is best known for portraying Howard Cunningham on the long-running ABC sitcom Happy Days. He also was featured in recurring roles on Murder, She Wrote, and Father Dowling Mysteries...
  
   (as Troy's father, "Guess Who's Coming to Earth", 1988)
• Actor and popular game show panelist Jamie Farr
  Jamie Farr
  Jamie Farr is an American television, film, and theater actor. He is best known for having played the role of cross-dressing Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger in the television sitcom M*A*S*H.-Early life:...
  
   ("Go West, Young Mayor", 1988)
• NFL American Football Player Lyle Alzado
  Lyle Alzado
  Lyle Martin Alzado was a professional American football defensive lineman of the National Football League famous for his intense and intimidating style of play....
  
   ("Goodbye Mr. Chris", 1990)
• Actor Mr. T
  Mr. T
  Mr. T is an American actor known for his roles as B. A. Baracus in the 1980s television series The A-Team, as boxer Clubber Lang in the 1982 film Rocky III, and for his appearances as a professional wrestler. Mr. T is known for his trademark African Mandinka warrior hairstyle, his gold jewelry,...
  
   ("New Kid on the Block", 1990)
• Game show host Bob Barker
  Bob Barker
  Robert William "Bob" Barker is a former American television game show host. He is best known for hosting CBS's The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007, making it the longest-running daytime game show in North American television history, and for hosting Truth or Consequences from 1956 to 1975.Born...
  
   ("Evie's Magic Touch", 1990)
• Singer and actress Susan Anton
  Susan Anton
  -Youth:Anton attended Yucaipa High School in Yucaipa, California, and graduated in 1968. After high school, Anton attended San Bernardino Valley College...
  
   ("Best Friends", 1990)
• Pop singer Tiffany
  Tiffany (singer)
  Tiffany Renee Darwish , known popularly as Tiffany, is an American singer and former teen icon. She is most notable for her 1987 cover version of "I Think We're Alone Now", originally recorded by Tommy James and the Shondells in 1967. Released as the second single from her eponymous album, Tiffany,...
  
   ("I Want My Evie TV", 1990)
• Scott Baio
  Scott Baio
  Scott Vincent James Baio is an American actor and television director, best known for his roles as Chachi Arcola on the sitcom Happy Days and its spin-off, Joanie Loves Chachi, and as the title character on the sitcom Charles in Charge....
  
   (who also directed several episodes) made a cameo appearance in "Princess Evie" (1988)
• Actress-comedienne Kathleen Freeman
  Kathleen Freeman
  Kathleen Freeman was an American film, television, and stage actress. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, she portrayed tart maids, secretaries, teachers, busybodies, nurses, and battle-axe neighbors, almost invariably to comic effect.-Early life:Freeman was born in Chicago, Illinois...
  
  (as Miss Ogilvy, Evie's high school teacher, "Educating Kyle", 1991)

Episodes

Season 1

1. Evie's Thirteenth Birthday
2. Playing with the Power
3. The Nightmare
4. Till Then
5. Evie, Get Your Basketball
6. Every Beano Has His Day
7. Evie and the Young Astronauts
8. Fifties Mom
9. Dueling Mayors
10. Baby Talk
11. Beano's New Diet Clinic
12. Uh, Oh... Here Comes Mother
13. The Anniversary
14. To Tell the Truth
15. Pen Pals
16. Broadway Danny Derek
17. Mosquito Man: The Motion Picture
18. The Russians Are Coming
19. Dad
20. Illness
21. The Box Is Missing
22. Boy Crazy
23. The Three Faces of Evie
24. I've Got a Secret

Season 2

1. Evie's Birthday Wish
2. Blast from the Past
3. Career Crunch
4. Should Old Acquaintance Be Forgot?
5. Evie's First Kiss
6. Princess Evie
7. Old Flame
8. Guess Who's Coming to Earth
9. Go West, Young Mayor
10. Close Encounters of the Nerd Kind
11. The Incredible Hunk
12. Pupil's Court
13. Evie's Two Dads
14. The Secret of Evie's Success
15. Honest Evie
16. Evie Goes to Hollywood
17. Two Many Evies
18. Futile Attraction
19. Beano the Kid
20. Whose House Is It, Anyway?
21. Queens for a Day
22. The Amazing Evie
23. Frisky Business
24. Star Dog

Season 3

1. Evie's Sweet Sixteen
2. Cinderella Evie
3. Bring Me the Head of Donna Garland
4. A Froggy Day in Marlowe Town
5. Eviegeist
6. Evie's Driver's License
7. Evie Goes for the Gold
8. Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
9. Around the World in 80 Minutes
10. It's a Cruel World
11. Evie/Stevie
12. The Rocks That Couldn't Roll
13. One in a Million
14. Four Men and a Baby
15. Evie's Double Trouble
16. The Garden of Evie
17. Evie's Magic Touch
18. Cowboy Kyle, Man of Granite
19. Evie's Secret Admirer
20. Evie's Yuppie Love
21. Diamond's Are Evie's Best Friend
22. A Kinder, Gentler Mayor
23. My Mother the Con
24. Goodbye, Mr. Chris

Season 4

1. New Kid on the Block
2. My Little Evie
3. Forget Your Troubles
4. A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read
5. Evie's Guardian Angel
6. Best Friends
7. I Want My Evie TV
8. Come Fly with Evie
9. Roomies
10. Evie's High Anxiety
11. Evie's False Alarm
12. Marlowe Vice
13. Evie's Latin Touch
14. My Mom, and Why I Love Her
15. Heck's Angels
16. Would You Buy a Used Car from This Dude?
17. Evie Nightingale
18. All About Evie
19. Mayor Evie
20. Stump Your Neighbor
21. Evie's Three Promises
22. Too Late for Evie
23. Educating Kyle
24. Evie's Eighteen