The premise: A kind-hearted Pakistani teenage orphan named Raja lands in the middle of Wisconsin, to a stereotypical American Midwestern household: The mother lovingly smothers the family, the bumbling father (played by delightful Scott Patterson, Luke Danes in Gilmore Girls) navigates the baffling world of being the sole breadwinner through various jobs and moneymaking projects such as raising llamas in the backyard, the older daughter wakes up one day to find she is one of the hottest girls in school, and the younger son seems so interminably relegated to geekdom, the parents try to treat his status with the social equivalent of electroshock therapy by taking in a foreign exchange student. They imagine the fantasy exchange student will whisk their son straight to the category of most popular boy in school as he trots across the football field, his blond locks blowing in the breeze as the muscles ripple all along his tall Nordic frame.
Instead, they get Raja, and much hilarity ensues. At its heart, it's a very lighthearted and silly comedy, and it surfs along on the waves of various caricatures of American and Pakistani culture. Raja, naturally, wears kurta pajama and a head covering, prays to Mecca five times a day, avoids immodest talk and images, and speaks English with a heavy South Asian accent. But relying on these stereotyped caricatures, the show pokes fun, most of all, at the Midwesterners who can't seem to stop calling Raja Roger, assuming he is a terrorist, mistaking him for a Mexican or persons of any number of other nationalities, and expecting him to speak alternately for all Muslims, all people of color, or anyone who isn't from Wisconsin. In the process, there's just a hint of political critique embedded in the fun (though I also wish, like the folks at Vulture, that it weren't always at the expense of Midwesterners). Along the way, there are lots of quirky moments that keep you guessing.Although I'm not sure how long I'd follow it if I had Lost and Battlestar Gallactica back in the spectrum, I have to say, I'm enjoying it for now.
