What if some of the most enlightened minds in human history weren't human at all?

Instead, what if these extraordinary individuals were highly evolved aliens incarnated as humans, whose goal was to help humanity advance to the next stage of evolution?

No, this isn't the syllabus for a New Age symposium (well, it could be). It actually is the premise for the sci-fi web comedy Guides.

Guides centers on a group of altruistic, advanced aliens whose mission is to help us achieve "transmutation," by which we achieve our full mental and psychic potential.

There's just one catch - our guides have about 19 months left to accomplish their mission before the Galactic Alignment of 2012, or we will remain in our relatively primitive state forever.

Complicating matters is the existence of rouge guides who feel humans aren't worthy to evolve - or exist - at all.

As the series opens, we are introduced to five benevolent guides:

Cree (Jenn Wilson) is the stern, dedicated leader of the group
Dray (Alvin Lam) is oldest of the four, and the most infatuated with humanity
Makenna (Jennifer Nangle) is free-spirted, but also very single-minded toward accomplishing her goals
The Boss (Gayla Johnson) is, well, the Boss!

Opposing our protagonists are rouge guides including:

Zyra (Patricia Fructuoso) is most disdainful of humanity
Koric (Eric Naroyan) is the consummate schemer

Guides is a blast to watch because of its sharp, satirical whit and humor.

Various cultural, social and political realities are lampooned as a means to reflect just how screwed up we humans can be.

A great example is a scene in which a local news anchor is being fired. He can't understand why he is being let go after an extra-marital tryst is videotaped and released online. His retort is to point out the video is popular with over 38 million hits.

Oh the social media generation!

Created by Jenn Wilson, the series' satire succeeds due to the superb writing, and capable performances of the main cast. The actors seem to relish the material. Plus, there is great chemistry between them.

To get a feel for the tone of the series, watch the official trailer:

Guides is a light-hearted, sci-fi comedy with many cutting observations about the human condition.

To watch the series, visit its YouTube channel: Guides Web Series.

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