Alien life forms

[shewhomust]

I used to be very fond of the comedy series 3rd Rock from the Sun; at least, it was great for the first few series, in which the central characters were genuinely convincing as a team of aliens disguised as a dysfunctional family, and the humour sprang from that situation. Later, as happens with situation comedy, the humour shifted to being about this group of people, relying less on the specific set-up. Ah, well.

But there was one lovely scene in which the "family" are visited by their landlady, who brings as a gift a plate of bright green jelly. They thank her politely, but once she has gone, they crouch nervously around the quivering blob, asking each other "What does it want?"

I have been given an orchid for Christmas; its leaves are like green spears around its leopard-skin blooms, and I eye it warily, wondering "What does it want?"