The Family Tree: Who Knew?

"Mishpocha!" Coming soon to SJG-TV: Just days into her ancestral search, the Short Jewish Gal discovers a truly legendary ancestor. With a little help from some nice underpaid researchers, she traces her roots all the way back to the early days of television, and oy, does she get a big shock when she learns of a great uncle on her father's side.

"Holy crap! I'm related to Uncle Martin!" she exclaims on Episode 1, popping a sedative to calm down. "I always knew I was Russian-American. But to find out I'm part-Martian just blows my keppy! After all these years, I finally understand my retractable antennae, my ability to become invisible, how well I can communicate with Sir Blakey, and don't even get me started on the levitation thing. To find out at this stage in life that my dad, Mr. Ben Starr, only wrote episodes of 'My Favorite Martian' to glorify his secret Martian roots? It's a game-changer. I was just a little SJG when the show got canceled, but I still remember Daddy sitting shiva till he got another job. Now it all makes sense. He was grief-stricken that he'd never see his Uncle Martin again, unaware that his favorite relative would be back in animated form for a brief stint in the '70s. I'm so excited, not to mention overjoyed, to share this ratings-worthy discovery with the world and finally let my Martian flag fly, I could plotz. And it's all thanks to 'Mishpocha!' " Tuesdays this fall on SJG-TV.