Homeboys in Outer Space
Encyclopedia
Homeboys in Outer Space is an American science fiction
/fantasy
sitcom
that aired on UPN
from 1996 to 1997. The series stars comedian Flex
and Darryl Bell.
and an 18 wheeler
, was piloted by a talking female computer named Loquatia. The show was intended as a parody of science fiction
shows such as Star Trek
.
The series was later featured on TV Guide
s List of the 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
/fantasy
Fantasy television
Fantasy television is a genre of television programming featuring elements of the fantastic, often including magic, supernatural forces, or exotic fantasy worlds. Fantasy television programs are often based on tales from mythology and folklore, or are adapted from fantasy stories in other media...
sitcom
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
that aired on UPN
UPN
United Paramount Network was a television network that was broadcast in over 200 markets in the United States from 1995 to 2006. UPN was originally owned by Viacom/Paramount and Chris-Craft Industries, the former of which, through the Paramount Television Group, produced most of the network's...
from 1996 to 1997. The series stars comedian Flex
Flex Alexander
Mark Alexander Knox , better known as Flex Alexander or Flex, is an American actor, comedian and dancer.-Early life:Born in New York City in Harlem, Alexander is the son of Alethia Knox and Robert Whitehead....
and Darryl Bell.
Synopsis
The plot centers around two astronauts, Tyberius "Ty" Walker (Flex) and Morris Clay (Bell), who flew around the universe in a winged car in the 23rd century. The duo's car, which was a cross between a lowriderLowrider
]A lowrider is a style of car originated by Chicano communities that sits lower to the ground than most other cars. Many lowriders have their suspension systems modified so that their ride can change height at the flip of a switch...
and an 18 wheeler
Semi-trailer truck
A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or articulated truck or articulated lorry, is an articulated vehicle consisting of a towing engine , and a semi-trailer A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semi, tractor-trailer, or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) articulated truck...
, was piloted by a talking female computer named Loquatia. The show was intended as a parody of science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
shows such as Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
.
Cast
- FlexFlex AlexanderMark Alexander Knox , better known as Flex Alexander or Flex, is an American actor, comedian and dancer.-Early life:Born in New York City in Harlem, Alexander is the son of Alethia Knox and Robert Whitehead....
....Tyberius "Ty" Walker - Darryl M. BellDarryl M. BellDarryl M. Bell is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as college student Ron Johnson, Jr. on the NBC sitcom A Different World...
....Morris Clay - Rhona BennettRhona BennettRhona Bennett is an American singer, actress and model, best known for her recurring role as Nicole on The Jamie Foxx Show. She joined American R&B super-group En Vogue in 2003 until August 2008, after which she embarked on solo singing career...
....Loquatia - Kevin Michael RichardsonKevin Michael RichardsonKevin Michael Richardson is an American actor and voice actor who currently stars as Cleveland Brown, Jr. in The Cleveland Show...
....Vashti - Paulette Braxton....Amma
- Michael ColyarMichael ColyarMichael Colyar is an American comedian and motivational speaker. He is mostly known as the heavy-hitting concert promoter "Showboat" in the 1994 movie, House Party 3.Colyar also spent his formative years as a comic, busking on Venice Beach....
....Milky Ray - James DoohanJames DoohanJames Montgomery "Jimmy" Doohan was a Canadian character and voice actor best known for his role as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the television and film series Star Trek...
......Pippen - John LithgowJohn LithgowJohn Arthur Lithgow is an American actor, musician, and author. Presently, he is involved with a wide range of media projects, including stage, television, film, and radio...
......Pitty McPatpat
Guest stars
- John AstinJohn AstinJohn Allen Astin is an American actor who has appeared in numerous films and television shows, and is best known for the role of Gomez Addams on The Addams Family, and other similarly eccentric comedic characters.-Early years:...
....Rhymer - Tempestt BledsoeTempestt BledsoeTempestt Bledsoe is an American actress. She is best known for her childhood role as Vanessa Huxtable on the long-running NBC sitcom The Cosby Show....
.... Herself - Gary ColemanGary ColemanGary Wayne Coleman was an American actor, known for his childhood role as Arnold Jackson in the American sitcom Diff'rent Strokes and for his small stature as an adult. He was described in the 1980s as "one of television's most promising stars". After a successful childhood acting career, Coleman...
....Snafu - James DoohanJames DoohanJames Montgomery "Jimmy" Doohan was a Canadian character and voice actor best known for his role as Montgomery "Scotty" Scott in the television and film series Star Trek...
....Pippen - Erik EstradaErik EstradaHenry Enrique "Erik" Estrada is an American police officer and actor, known for his co-starring lead role in the 1977–1983 United States police television series CHiPs...
....Mr. Dork - Natasha HenstridgeNatasha HenstridgeNatasha T. Henstridge is a Canadian fashion model turned actress. Her most notable on-screen roles include Species, The Whole Nine Yards, It Had To Be You, Ghosts of Mars, She Spies, the TV series Eli Stone, and the Canadian TV mini-series Would Be Kings, for which she won the Gemini Award for...
....Zima - Anthony HopkinsAnthony HopkinsSir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
....President Whitesmen - Casey KasemCasey KasemKemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
....Spacey Kasem - Little RichardLittle RichardRichard Wayne Penniman , known by the stage name Little Richard, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, recording artist, and actor, considered key in the transition from rhythm and blues to rock and roll in the 1950s. He was also the first artist to put the funk in the rock and roll beat and...
....The Ebotollah - Paul ParducciPaul ParducciPaul Parducci is an American actor, film director, writer and producer. As a television and film actor he is best known for playing edgy authority figures and blue collar heroes on shows like Desperate Housewives and NYPD Blue and films like Hitman's Run. As a writer and director he displays a...
....Gorgo - Ethan PhillipsEthan PhillipsEthan Phillips is an American actor, playwright and author. He is known for television roles such as Star Trek: Voyager's Neelix and Benson's Pete Downey.-Personal life:...
.... Inspector 17 - George TakeiGeorge TakeiGeorge Hosato Takei Altman is an American actor, author, social activist and former civil politician. He is best known for his role in the television series Star Trek and its film spinoffs, in which he played Hikaru Sulu, helmsman of the...
....Himself - Shannon TweedShannon TweedShannon Lee Tweed is a Canadian actress and model. One of the most successful actresses of mainstream erotica, she is identified with the genre of the erotic thriller...
....Delia - Burt WardBurt WardBurt Ward is an American television actor and activist. He is best known for his portrayal of Robin in the television series Batman and its theatrical film spin-off.-Early life:...
....Gerbil - Peter Brost....Young Tyberius "Ty" Walker
Response
The series was panned by critics and was canceled by UPN after one season.The series was later featured on TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
s List of the 50 Worst TV Shows of All Time.
Episode list
| Series # | Season # | Title | Notes | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "There's No Space Like Home, or Return of the Jed Eye" | Ty and Morris are two wacky space cadets hustling jobs in the 23rd century, waiting for the contract that will pay off big. When famous and notorious bounty hunter Jed Eye, who seems to be old friends/enemies with Amma, approaches them with a lucrative contract to find buried treasure, they're in seventh heaven, but there's no such thing as easy money. Once they're on the mission, Jed Eye hijacks the Hoopty and strands Morris and Ty on a deserted asteroid. After they are picked up by a little old lady who lusts after Ty, our heroes hail a space taxi and track Jed Eye to the planet Remula, where he has gone to retrieve his buried treasure. Jed Eye, who has the ability to change his shape, makes himself look like Morris and manages to capture Ty. At the last minute, Morris shows up and turns the tables on Jed Eye. As Morris and Ty count their money, Amma shows up and claims the treasure. Jed Eye stole it from her years ago. Morris and Ty reluctantly hand over the treasure, and Amma pays them a small finder's fee, which is immediately snatched out of their hands by the space-taxi driver, who has been waiting all this time with the meter running. | August 27, 1996 |
| 2 | 2 | "The Pleasure Planet Principle, or G Marks the Spot" | It's Morris's birthday and Ty has forgotten, yet again, to get him a birthday present. Ty's tickets for his vacation to the pleasure planet Fallopia arrive on the Hoopty, and Ty pretends that he bought the vacation for Morris. Morris and Ty arrive on Fallopia and find that it is a lush planet full of beautiful women. Morris is thrilled that Ty got him such a generous gift. Ty is incredibly frustrated that he is going to miss out on a weekend filled with pleasure. Back on the Jupiter Too, Vashti activates his new android, Android Lloyd Wellington III. When the android hears that Morris and Ty have gone to Fallopia, he explains to Vashti and Amma that the Fallopians lure men to their planet, only to mate with them and then throw them into a volcano. Back on Fallopia, Morris is getting settled in his room and Ty is reluctant to leave. Morris finds out that Ty originally bought the vacation for himself, and he is furious with Ty. Ty apologizes and leaves Fallopia. Back on the Hoopty, Ty watches some Fallopian TV and sees that Morris is about to be thrown into the volcano. Ty disguises himself as a woman and sneaks back to the planet to rescue Morris. After Ty manages to get both himself and Morris captured by the Fallopians, Amma shows up and rescues them. | September 3, 1996 |
| 3 | 3 | "Papa's Got A Brand New Old Bag or, That's No Lady, That's My Grandma" | Ty and Morris meet a relative when they transport cryogenic chambers. Android Lloyd Wellington III becomes a regular character after this episode | September 10, 1996 |
| 4 | 4 | "Behold a Pale Planet or, What If God Was One of Us" | No synopsis available. | September 17, 1996 |
| 5 | 5 | "Loquatia Unplugged or, Come Back, Little Cyber" | Loquatia's singing career forces the guys to install a new computerized navigator. | September 24, 1996 |
| 6 | 6 | "House Party or, Play That Funky White Music Droid" | After the Jupiter Too fails a routine intergalactic inspection by Inspector 17, Vashti puts Ty and Morris in charge of cleaning up and keeping an eye on the place while he's on vacation. Ty and Morris are in desperate need of funds to repair the Hoopty. Much to Morris's initial dismay, the little idea light goes off in Ty's head, and the guys are soon the hosts of a universal party held at...where else? The Jupiter Too! Morris is suddenly thrilled with the amounts of cash rolling in, but, before Ty can say "Vashti," Inspector 17 decides not only to shut the Jupiter Too down, but also to blow it up. | October 1, 1996 |
| 7 | 7 | "Dog Day Afternoon, or When the Going Gets Ruff" | As Mo and Ty are bringing Vashti's poodle back from a grooming, they pass through an energy field that transfers Morris's consciousness into the dog. | October 15, 1996 |
| 8 | 8 | "Devil in Miss Jones or, Dismember of the Wedding" | While Vashti plans for his little sister's wedding, Ty and Morris discover that the dreaded Lucifer virus has possessed Loquatia. | October 29, 1996 |
| 9 | 9 | "Trading Faces or All the King's Homeys" | No synopsis available. | November 5, 1996 |
| 10 | 10 | "A Man's Place is in the Homey, or The Stepford Guys" | When the Hoopty conks out in outer space, it's towed to a planet run by women, where Ty and Morris discover they'll have to work off the repair bill in a strip club. | November 12, 1996 |
| 11 | 11 | "Homeboys in Wonderland or, Hoopty Doopty" | Ty and Morris are offered up as guinea pigs for a new transporter machine that Vashti has purchased. When the guys emerge from the machine, they step into a world that is 180 degrees opposite from the one they left - and they like it fine! Ty and Morris emerge from the transporter as the most feared space pirates in the galaxy. Vashti kowtows to them, and Amma lavishes her favors on the guys. With their new status, they have a hard time justifying their return to the other side. Meanwhile, evil versions of the pair are transported to the Jupiter Too in their place, wreaking havoc in both dimensions. | November 19, 1996 |
| 12 | 12 | "Super Bad Foxy Lady Killer or Ty and Morris Get the Shaft" | An homage to '70s blacksploitation flicks with a take-off on that era's popular "Shaft" series. Ty and Morris bend the rules of quantum physics when they are sucked up into an antique motion picture - Staff - a mid-20th-century opus in the genre of blacksploitation. The trick is that they can't interfere with the plot, or they'll remain trapped in the film forever. | November 26, 1996 |
| 13 | 13 | "Brother's Got No Soul, or I Love Lucifer" | When a shady character appears in the Jupiter Too, everyone is smart enough to steer clear of the sly little guy, except for Ty, who is easy prey for the devil, a.k.a. "Mr. Tan". Ty signs a contract that promises him fame, power, and women, women, women! This is all in exchange for a payment that Mr. Tan, the broker on the deal, says they can discuss at a later date. Ty is suddenly transformed into the sexiest, most fearless mercenary in the entire universe, just as Morris Ty's smarter half, realizes exactly who Mr. Tan really is. But Ty is sucked into the sweltering underground sauna known as "Hell" before Morris can knock some sense into his fellow Homeboy. | January 7, 1997 |
| 14 | 14 | "El Voyage Fantastico, or I've Got You Under My Skin" | When Amma falls ill with the fatal tropical disease pina colitis, Andy shrinks the Hoopty, Ty and Morris, and injects them into her bloodstream to battle the virus. | January 14, 1997 |
| 15 | 15 | "The Longest Yard and a Half or, The Shawshank Redemption Center" | When Ty and Morris are caught smuggling sugar, they're sent to prison--but they plan to break out during a football game with a rival prison. | January 28, 1997 |
| 16 | 16 | "An Officer and a Homeboy or, Full Metal Jackass" | When the Ebolatollah threatens the galaxy, Ty and Mo enlist in the military, where Ty is thrown out of boot camp and Mo is sent on a hazardous mission to find a way to successfully drop a mega-bomb on the enemy's command post. | February 4, 1997 |
| 17 | 17 | "Happy Happy, Droid Droid, or Amma Sees Red" | Andy is successful in finding the sacred orb, and the guys realize he has proven himself to be a Soldier of Fortune. When they discover that he has no emotions, they try to find him an emotion donor, but the doctor thinks they are volunteers. Amma's best friend comes to visit, and Amma feels left out whenever she's around. | February 11, 1997 |
| 18 | 18 | "The Naked and the Dred, or The Toast of the Town" | Ty inherits the planet "Indabuff" from his uncle, inhabited by all naked people and where the law forbids clothing. Morris joins a rebellious group of the planet that wants to wear clothes, and is sentenced to death. Ty's Uncle Rollo dies and leaves Ty his estate, which includes the planet Indabuff, where garments are illegal, but Morris joins a group of clothes-wearing rebels. | February 18, 1997 |
| 19 | 19 | "Tales From the Dark Side or, Ty Takes the Redeye" | Ty takes an offer to become a Redeye Knight, but he finds himself lured to the evil Dark Side; meanwhile, Vashti has trouble with the I.R.S. | April 29, 1997 |
| 20 | 20 | "How the West Was Lost or, Daddy's Home" | The Hoopty crashes on the Fantasy Planet, where Mr. Dork and Snafu accommodate Mo's cowboy fantasy and Ty's desire for a perfect sitcom family. | May 6, 1997 |
| 21 | 21 | "The Adventures of Ratman and Gerbil or, Holy Homeboys in Outer Space" | Ty and Mo purchase the Ratman and Gerbil superhero franchise; little realizing the evil Rhymer has a villainous coalition ready to destroy them. | May 13, 1997 |