My Favorite Martian (TV)

The premise is simple: A Martian astronaut, played by Ray Walston, is stranded on Earth when his saucer crashes. He is taken in by a kindly but not too bright earthling (Bill Bixby). 'Uncle Martin' fortunately looks just like a human being except for two bunny ear antenae which emerge from his head at odd moments. He has some special powers but not enough to keep himself and his human sidekick out of trouble with their feather-brained landlady and her suspicious love interest. Nor is he able to repair his saucer, hidden in the garage, possibly because he's a pilot not a mechanic.

It was also turned into a movie in 1999, starring Christopher Lloyd as Uncle Martin.


 * Alien Among Us: Uncle Martin, natch.
 * Animated Adaptation: A 1973-1975 Filmation series, My Favorite Martians.
 * Amusing Alien
 * Cowboy Episode: "Go West, Young Martian"
 * Flying Saucer: Martin's spacecraft.  It's smaller than an Italian sports car (with much the same lines), and fits easily in Tim's garage.
 * Idiot Ball: It's a 1960s sitcom, so the idiot ball is a frequent accessory for everyone, but a special mention has to be made of an episode where Martin's (real) nephew has blown the Masquerade and the rest of the cast, in a Torches and Pitchforks frenzy, confuses a Time Machine for a Time Bomb, mainly because they both have "time" in their names.
 * Invisibility: Martin could turn invisible when he raised his antennae.
 * It Only Works Once: Anything that gets Martin's spaceship working again.  The Time Machine in the "nephew Andy" episode.
 * Mind Over Matter: Martin can move things with his mind.
 * Pstandard Psychic Pstance
 * Psychic Powers: In addition to invisibility, Martin could read minds and levitate objects.
 * Reset Button: A literal one ends the episode with Martin's nephew Andy, when Martin sets off a Time Machine.
 * Secret-Chaser/Nosy Neighbor: Lorelei Brown
 * Stop Trick
 * Witch Hunt: In the episode with Martin's (genuine) nephew Andy, after he carelessly reveals their true nature, the rest of the cast lay seige to Tim, Martin and Andy.