{"id":3429,"date":"2016-10-31T13:39:13","date_gmt":"2016-10-31T21:39:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/?p=3429"},"modified":"2016-11-01T21:11:39","modified_gmt":"2016-11-02T05:11:39","slug":"people-of-earth-a-sweet-alien-abduction-tale-from-a-catholic-writer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/kateohare\/2016\/10\/people-of-earth-a-sweet-alien-abduction-tale-from-a-catholic-writer\/","title":{"rendered":"‘People of Earth’: A Sweet Alien-Abduction Tale From a Catholic Writer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"People-of-Earth\"<\/a>It\u2019s no accident that, in \u201cThe X-Files,\u201d the most successful TV series having to do with alien abduction, the alien true believer was atheist Fox Mulder, while the alien skeptic was Catholic Dana Scully.<\/p>\n

Scully already had God, so she didn\u2019t need a substitute belief system, while Mulder was still searching. As his poster said, \u201cI want to believe.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is a theory that some people see aliens as a more acceptable alternative to a supernatural deity. They\u2019re given immense powers, advanced knowledge and wisdom; and they either want to destroy or to save us. So, in those ways, they perform the traditional functions of a deity. But, aliens are part of the material universe, not pure spirit or the essence of being, so theoretically, you could put your hand on one, dissect one, put it under a microscope.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019d been around in Christ\u2019s time, you may have been able to do that (at least the touching part), but it\u2019s a bit trickier now.<\/p>\n

But, if a new TV show is to be believed, aliens might be more like us than we realize (or might actually be<\/em> some of us).<\/p>\n

The comedy \u201cPeople of Earth\u201d<\/a>\u00a0(rated MA for Mature Audiences \u2014 for some profanity) premiered on Oct. 31, at 9 p.m. ET\/PT\u00a0on TBS. Here\u2019s how the network describes it:<\/p>\n

People of Earth is a new original comedy about a support group for alien abductees. The show centers on skeptical journalist Ozzie Graham (Wyatt Cenac), who investigates a support group to write about the members\u2019 supposed alien encounters. The more he digs into their oddball claims, the more he realizes there is truth in their stories and possibly even signs that point to his own alien abduction. The onetime outsider now finds himself a part of this eclectic group of misfits, all the while struggling with the idea of knowing that life could exist beyond our world.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Reviews have been good. For example, here\u2019s Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter<\/em><\/a>:<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard not to fall for the charms of TBS\u2019 newest comedy, the Wyatt Cenac-led People Of Earth,<\/em>about a support group for survivors of alien abduction: It manages to be sweet, smart, quirky, story-strong and funny all at the same time with what appears to be minimal effort.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s a real coup. Especially since it was only natural to wonder how much material could be wrung from the premise \u2013 the whole \u201cis there really a show here?\u201d thing that critics often ask.<\/p>\n

Oh, there\u2019s a show all right. And I loved it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The group meets at\u00a0the fictional Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Beacon, New York (in the show, the town is a hotbed of alien abduction), overseen by supportive but cautious Father Doug (Oscar Nunez).<\/p>\n

This summer, when I asked series creator David Jenkins about the setting, I found out\u00a0why he chose it.<\/p>\n

I come from an Irish Catholic family, and that sounded like as dour of a Catholic church name as you could find.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He also found a way to talk about faith, with a twist.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re talking about two different types of belief, but there\u2019 s a bunch of people supporting each other on belief, be it religious or aliens, or something mysterious that happened to them, and supporting each other through it \u2014 I think that is moving, as opposed to tearing each other down because of it.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s something really interesting about having people that believe in a conspiracy \u2014 where basically you believe in aliens, and they\u2019ve just been kept quiet \u2014 the perpetrators of the conspiracy are just as lost and longing as the people that believe in the experience.<\/p>\n

Seeing a bunch of people that had very different experiences come together and support each other, and create their own language about it, instead of excommunicating each other fromt he group because their beliefs aren\u2019t the same \u2026 the fact that they were able to talk and form a community, I thought that was very moving. There is something spiritual about that.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Asked if the Catholic faith plays into the series down the line, Jenkins said:<\/p>\n

It\u2019s there. You don\u2019t want to lead with it, but it\u2019s something that if you did lead with it, it would be very easy for a network to take it out, because it\u2019s scary. The way that it stays in, is in the setting. We\u2019re incredibly lucky to have Oscar in the show, and I feel like, once you have these things paved into the actual DNA of the show, they can\u2019t take it out. It\u2019s not distracting to them in that way.<\/p>\n

The show is helped by a kind of moodiness and questioning that I associate with the Irish Catholic faith.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Regarding Father Doug, actor Nunez said:<\/p>\n

The priest is a priest. He is in a small community.\u00a0So what do priests do? They try to help as much as they can. He has a rec center where these people meet. He is there to support them and to give them a space where they can do it. And in his experience \u2014 I don\u2019t want to say if he\u2019s been abducted or not \u2014\u00a0but let\u2019s say he\u2019s doing what a priest does, which is help the community.\u00a0 So he has this rec center, and he goes in there once in a while and interacts with them, for whatever reasons.\u00a0 Maybe there\u2019s something going wrong.\u00a0 Maybe some people are complaining about whatever.\u00a0 So he does interact with them, and that could lead to other things that can happen.\u00a0 Maybe hijinks.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cPeople of Earth\u201d is a gentle, warm comedy that treats his subjects \u2014 including the priest \u2014 as human beings, not caricatures. It\u2019s also obvious that Jenkins cares about the hearts and souls of his characters, and the brokenness within them.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not a show about the Faith, but you can\u2019t get much more truly Catholic than that.<\/p>\n