Hard Time on Planet Earth
Hard Time on Planet Earth

Hard Time on Planet Earth

1989-03-01 | en
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Seasons & Episodes

1
EP1  Stranger in a Strange Land
Mar. 01,1989
Stranger in a Strange Land

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.

EP2  Something to Bank On
Mar. 08,1989
Something to Bank On

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.

EP3  Losing Control
Mar. 15,1989
Losing Control

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

EP4  The Way Home
Mar. 22,1989
The Way Home

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

EP5  All That You Can Be
Mar. 29,1989
All That You Can Be

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

EP6  Battle of the Sexes
Apr. 05,1989
Battle of the Sexes

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

EP7  Death Do Us Part
Apr. 12,1989
Death Do Us Part

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.

EP8  The Hot Dog Man
Apr. 26,1989
The Hot Dog Man

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

EP9  Jessie's Fifteen Minutes
May. 03,1989
Jessie's Fifteen Minutes

We don't have an overview of this episode, please check back later.

EP10  Rodeo
May. 10,1989
Rodeo

Jesse befriends a former rodeo star and convinces him that his days of greatness aren't over yet.

EP11  Not In Our Stars
May. 31,1989
Not In Our Stars

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.

EP12  The All American
Jun. 14,1989
The All American

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.

EP13  Wally's Gang
Jun. 21,1989
Wally's Gang

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.

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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.

Hard Time on Planet Earth Audience Reviews

RyothChatty ridiculous rating
Protraph Lack of good storyline.
Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.
Sharkflei Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.
hagiadzo1 I was 13 years old when "Hard Time" first appeared on the air. It's understandable that it didn't do so well with the viewing audience in the late '80s. I, however, wasn't a member of that demographic and loved the show.The special effects used to create Control, main character Jesse's floating, orange, orb-like companion, seemed so cutting edge back in "the day." Looking at the Incredibles or Shrek today, the little guy seems to pale in comparison.The show tends to consist of Jesse running around in his leather jacket, blue jeans and white sneakers, jumping long distances, tearing up things and throwing people when he brushes with authorities. He often uses violence. I guess he was just learning how to adapt to life on planet earth, huh?I'm strangely drawn to the show today, 16 years after it was cancelled. What's the appeal? I have no clue what it could be besides pure reminiscence.I have all 13 episodes on DVD, which I bought on goldmonkey.com. They were copied from a less-than-spectacular videocassette. Some even include commercials that weren't cut during the original taping.
Kenn Hoekstra Remember the episode when Jesse was working as a Hot Dog Vendor at a wrestling arena and he ends up kicking some butt to the tune of a screaming crowd yelling "Hot Dog Man! Hot Dog Man?"Priceless sci-fi entertainment for its day...I loved this show when I was a kid... A shame it only lasted twelve episodes, since that's not realy long enough to be re-run...even on the Sci-Fi channel.Time to check Ebay, methinks...Four Stars (****)
ufocska When I first seen this show, I was a kid. It was back in 1991 or 1992 when it was aired in a weekly "Walt Disney Hour" with an animated series and some short Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, etc. cartoon. I liked it, it was a series I watched every week. Two years ago one of the TV channels took it back to screen: I watched it again and liked it more than in childhood. The show is not a special effect-full Star Trek or a serious science fiction, but a great comedy. My favorite episode is in which a female from Jesse's race arrives to Earth and tries to kill him. The scenes at the end of this episode are fantastic!
seod1999 I would probably find the show corny if I were to watch it now, kind of like watching the Dukes of Hazard now. You loved it then, and thought it was the greatest, until you grow up and realize that it was cheap and filled with corny lines. Either way, I would love to see this show again. I remember seeing Jesse as his true self in the opening of each show. Looked like a hell-spawn from what I remember. Very cool though. It was a fun show for when I was 14. I wish someone would pick it up and show it, like the Sci-Fi channel. THat would be great.