Hard Time On Planet Earth

1 9 8 9 (USA)

He was an intergalactic warrior who had been bred and conditioned from birth to be a fighter. It was all he knew – and that was the problem.

Convicted by his society of being incorrigibly violent, he was transformed into human form and exiled to Earth to serve ‘Hard Time’ until he learned compassion and tenderness, and managed to get his antisocial behaviour under control.

His experiences and progress were monitored by Control, a rookie cybernaut parole officer (which looked like a mobile, bread box-sized disembodied eye) that offered him advice (usually bad) and occasional assistance (generally ineffectual). Control was voiced by Danny Mann.

He took the name Jesse (it was the name tag on the work uniform he had found for clothing when he first arrived) and proceeded to wreak havoc throughout Southern California.

Although he tried to do good deeds, Jesse (Martin Kove), who bore a passing resemblance to Arnold Schwarzenegger, knew nothing of human customs, was as strong as ten men and tended to take everything literally.

This made for confusing, frequently dangerous, and sometimes funny or poignant situations. With Jesse travelling from place to place, taking odd jobs, and trying to help people, Hard Time on Planet Earth looked like The Fugitive with a warped sense of humour.

In addition to dealing with humans, Jesse had periodic confrontations with other aliens, similarly transformed into human form, from his home and other planets.

Jesse
Martin Kove
Control (voice)
Danny Mann