"‘We Martians have total control of ourselves. We’re not subject to the various emotions, such as homesickness..’ Or are they-?"

 Armed with the cool aplomb of intellect, our Martian openly admits to trying to understand the emotional nature of human beings inhabiting the world he is marooned on. So during the first season many plot lines revolved around this theme. Still, the Martian often displays a shrewd understanding of human behavior ("The only time you {Earth people} don’t mind coming in second is when it comes to picking up the tab.") and ("You Earth people are basically improvident…that tendency that you all have to live it up for today and let tomorrow take care of itself."). He can explain how to end a fad (replace it with another one) and he can predict human responses. (When Tim wonders how he can sure that a particular jewel thief will show up at an event, Martin replies, "That’s like saying a salmon won’t show up for the spawning season.")

It seems a matter of both ego and setting the record straight whenever the Martian is quick to point out the inventions and aphorisms first introduced on Mars ("The road to Pluto is paved with good intentions."), as well as his own contributions to history. (" How perceptive I was that day I told Bobby Burns, ‘The best laid schemes o’ mice and Martians gang aft agley…") ( "…Mice and Martians-?" Tim incredulously repeats.) ( "I gave him permission to alter it for local consumption." Martin explains.)

He aptly comments on human attitudes toward romance. ("You Earth people. Appearance is everything. You care more about the chase than the prey.") Yet, at other times, despite his ability to read minds, he still needs to rely on Tim to decipher the meaning of the thoughts he detects, in one case, from the psychiatrist who is supposed to be evaluating him. ("Tim, you’re as illogical and emotional as the rest of the human race. What does ‘burned toast’ ‘new hat’ and ‘mailman’ have to do with me on top of a water tower?") But despite some specific instances of puzzlement, the Martian, who, after all, has been studying Earth for over 400 years, is generally successful at anticipating human behavior.

His own Martian emotions are another matter. My Favorite Martian was one of the first TV series to chronicle an alien character’s wrestling with Earthly emotion, and during the first season, the Martian discovered the experiences of various feelings, ranging from love at first sight to jealously to sentiment, yet all the while managing to maintain his inherent intellectual superiority and wisdom. The only consistent change in character is his realization of his attachment to his role as uncle to Tim O’Hara, who he now looks upon as his own nephew.

If the Martian is consumed by anything it is an unwavering desire to get back to Mars ("I am an alien in basically hostile territory."), ("I’m a prisoner down here! Mars is my home.") so he consistently goes to great lengths in order to find a method to either repair his spaceship or use Earth rockets to return to the Red Planet.

But this is hardly his first visit here. Being an anthropologist specializing in Earth people, he has been observing life on our planet for centuries. Born in a place on Mars that translates as "Canal Fulton" about 450 Martian years ago, he has close family on Mars, including his parents (who just celebrated their 500^th anniversary), a sister and brother-in-law and some pre-teen nephews. He has a girl friend, too. ("She makes your beauty contest winners look like Marines….She’s three hundred and twelve but she doesn’t look a day over two-eighty.")

But marooned on Earth now, he must adapt to the hostile environment of the third planet, ("..Your oxygen—it’s like breathing in a thick chocolate malted milk.") as well as deal with the primitive tendencies of its inhabitants,("Now that’s what stands in the way of Earth’s progress: Confronted with something strange, you either turn it into a lamp or open a bottle with it.") but the Martian is equally quick to point out how humans have the ability to improve if they chose to.("When are you humans going to learn to have a sense of values? An appreciation of the good things you have-?")

Martians are benevolent, self-sacrificing, and steadfastly morally good and kind. ("We can’t help it. Our heredity is programmed that way.") In one instance, when Tim mistakenly thought that as part of an experiment, Martin was going to remove a partition and place a mouse in the same case as a hungry cat, he immediately stops him.("-You couldn’t! That’s inhuman!") ("It’s very human," Martin retorts, "-but definitely un-Martian.")

Martin often has to address the Earthly stereotyped perception of Martians. In the middle of trying to correct a mishap with the molecular separator, he remarks, "…already there are enough misconceptions about Martians being warlike monsters. I don’t care to add fuel to the fire," to which Tim tells him, "-If you ever need a character reference from a humble human being—call me."