ALF (TV series)

ALF is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from September 22, 1986, to March 24, 1990.

ALF
GenreSitcom
Comic science fiction
Created byPaul Fusco[1]
Tom Patchett
StarringPaul Fusco
Max Wright
Anne Schedeen
Andrea Elson
Benji Gregory
Theme music composerAlf Clausen
Tom Kramer
Composer(s)Alf Clausen
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons4
No. of episodes99 (first-run)
102 (syndication) (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)Bernie Brillstein
Tom Patchett
Producer(s)Paul Fusco
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time24 minutes
Production company(s)Alien Productions
DistributorWarner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution
Release
Original networkNBC[2]
Original releaseSeptember 22, 1986 (1986-09-22) –
March 24, 1990 (1990-03-24)

The title character is Gordon Shumway, a sarcastic, friendly extraterrestrial nicknamed ALF (an acronym for Alien Life Form), who crash-lands in the garage of the suburban middle-class Tanner family.[3] The series stars Max Wright as father Willie Tanner, Anne Schedeen as mother Kate Tanner, and Andrea Elson and Benji Gregory as their children, Lynn and Brian Tanner. ALF was performed by puppeteer Paul Fusco, who co-created the show with Tom Patchett.[4]

Produced by Alien Productions, ALF originally ran for four seasons and produced 99 episodes, including three one-hour episodes ("Try to Remember," "ALF's Special Christmas," and "Tonight, Tonight") that were divided into two parts for syndication, totalling 102 episodes. The series proper concluded with an unresolved cliffhanger, but the later TV movie, Project ALF, provided a series finale for the franchise.

In August 2018, Warner Bros. Television announced development of an ALF reboot. These plans were cancelled in November 2018.[5]

Plot

ALF is an alien from the planet Melmac who follows an amateur radio signal to Earth and crash-lands into the garage of the Tanners, a suburban middle-class family who live in the San Fernando Valley area of California. The family consists of social worker Willie (Max Wright), his wife Kate (Anne Schedeen), their teenage daughter Lynn (Andrea Elson), younger son Brian (Benji Gregory), and their pet cat Lucky (whom ALF wishes to consume).

Unsure what to do, the Tanners take ALF into their home and hide him from the Alien Task Force (a part of the U.S. military that specializes in aliens) and their nosy neighbors Trevor and Raquel Ochmonek (John La Motta and Liz Sheridan), until Alf can repair his spacecraft. He generally hides in the kitchen. It is eventually revealed that ALF's home planet Melmac exploded, due to everyone plugging in their hair dryers at the same time.[6] In the season one episode "Pennsylvania 6-5000", ALF tries to convince the President of the United States to stop the nuclear program, as ALF fears that Earth might suffer a fate similar to Melmac's, though miscalculating his words causes the President and national security to call the FBI to arrest Willie. ALF was off the planet when it was destroyed because he was part of the Melmac Orbit Guard. ALF (a.k.a. Gordon Shumway) is homeless, but he is not the last survivor of his species. He becomes a permanent member of the family, although his culture shock, survivor guilt, general boredom, despair, and loneliness frequently cause difficulty for the Tanners. Despite the problems and inconveniences his presence brings into their lives, they grow to love him, though some episodes make it clear they are also afraid of how their lives would be turned upside down if word got out that he has been living with them.

While most of the science fiction of ALF was played for comedic value, there were a few references to actual topics in space exploration; for example, ALF uses a radio signal as a beacon in the pilot episode. In the episode "Weird Science", ALF tells Brian, who is building a model of the solar system for his science project, that there are two planets beyond Pluto called "Dave" and "Alvin" (as in David Seville and Alvin from the Alvin and the Chipmunks franchise), which gets Brian in trouble at school. However, after ALF makes a call to an astronomical organization and states that "Dave" is known by the organization, Willie comes to believe that "Dave" could be the planetoid Chiron, or "Object Kowal". ALF then shows Willie exactly where "Dave" is on an intergalactic map of the universe.

Episodes dealt with ALF learning about Earth and making new friends both within and outside of the Tanner family, including Willie's brother Neal (Jim J. Bullock), Kate's widowed mother Dorothy (Anne Meara) with whom ALF has a love-hate relationship, her boyfriend (and later husband) Whizzer (Paul Dooley), the Ochmoneks' nephew Jake (Josh Blake), a psychologist named Larry (Bill Daily), and a blind woman named Jody (Andrea Covell) who never figures out that ALF is not human (although she is aware through touch that he is short and hairy).

Changes occur within the Tanner household over the course of the series, including the birth of a new child, Eric (the reason for adding a baby in the series being that Anne Schedeen was pregnant at the time); ALF's move from his initial quarters in the laundry room to the attic, which he and Willie converted into an "apartment", and the death of Mr. Meow in season four's "Live and Let Die"; in this instance, ALF finds that despite his occasional attempts to catch Lucky with the intention of making the cat a meal, as cats are the equivalent of cattle on Melmac, he has come to love and respect the family pet too much to do anything untoward with Lucky's remains. When ALF acquires a new cat with the intent of eating it, he actually grows fond of it and allows it to be adopted by the family, although he admits to the Tanners he has become the worst kind of Melmackian, a "cat lover".

Episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedRankRating
First airedLast aired
126September 22, 1986 (1986-09-22)May 11, 1987 (1987-05-11)#2816.5[note 1]
226September 21, 1987 (1987-09-21)May 9, 1988 (1988-05-09)#1018.8[note 2]
326October 3, 1988 (1988-10-03)May 8, 1989 (1989-05-08)#1517.5[note 3]
424September 18, 1989 (1989-09-18)March 24, 1990 (1990-03-24)#3913.7[note 4]
  1. Tied with Hunter
  2. Tied with The Wonder Years
  3. Tied with Monday Night Football
  4. Tied with Family Matters and Jake and the Fatman[7]

Cast

Main
  • Paul Fusco – ALF (lead puppeteer, voice)
    • Michu Meszaros – credited as one of ALF's assistants (in costume)
    • Lisa Buckley – ALF (assistant puppeteer)
    • Bob Fappiano – ALF (assistant puppeteer)
  • Anne Schedeen – Kate Tanner
  • Max Wright – Willie Tanner
  • Andrea Elson – Lynn Tanner
  • Benji Gregory – Brian Tanner

Recurring
  • Josh Blake – Jake Ochmonek (seasons 2–3)
  • Jim J. Bullock – Neal Tanner (season 4)
  • Andrea Covell – Jody
  • Bill Daily – Dr. Larry Dykstra
  • Paul Dooley – "Whizzer" Deaver
  • John LaMotta – Trevor Ochmonek
  • Anne Meara – Dorothy Halligan Deaver
  • Charles Nickerson – Eric Tanner (season 4)
  • Liz Sheridan – Raquel Ochmonek

Production

Producer Bernie Brillstein was approached to see Fusco's audition with a puppet character but was initially uninterested, having managed Jim Henson for years, and regarding Henson as the best creature-puppeteer in showbiz. However, Fusco's brief performance as ALF won over Brillstein, who thought the character was hilarious and strong enough to be the focus of a series.[8]

Fusco co-produced the series with Tom Patchett. Patchett also co-created, wrote, and directed the series. The series was first syndicated by Warner Bros. Television and Lorimar-Telepictures. The United States syndication rights are currently owned by Debmar-Mercury as its parent company, Lionsgate, now owns home video rights.

Due to the inherent nature of producing a show featuring hand-operated puppets (à la Jim Henson's The Muppet Show), ALF was technically difficult and extremely demanding on series creator Fusco as well as its four lead actors. All confirmed during a 2000 People magazine interview that there were constantly high levels of tension on the set.[9] Max Wright stated that he despised supporting a technically demanding inanimate object that received most of the good lines of dialogue. He admitted to being "hugely eager to have ALF over with."[9] Artie Lange, who later worked with Wright on The Norm Show, told of a time when Wright had become "crazed" and physically attacked ALF, causing producers to have to pull Wright off the puppet.[10] Anne Schedeen said that on the last night of taping the final episode, "there was one take and Max walked off the set, went to his dressing room, got his bags, went to his car and disappeared... There were no goodbyes." Schedeen herself said "there was no joy on the set...it was a technical nightmare – extremely slow, hot and tedious... A 30-minute show took 20, 25 hours to shoot." While fond of her on-screen children, Schedeen said some adults had "difficult personalities. The whole thing was a big dysfunctional family." Schedeen added, "It's astonishing that ALF really was wonderful and that word never got out what a mess our set really was."[9] Andrea Elson, who suffered from bulimia during the second season of shooting, stated, "If ALF had gone one more year, everybody would have lost it."[9] Wright later admitted that as the years passed he looked back at ALF with less animosity and conceded that "It doesn't matter what I felt or what the days were like, ALF brought people a lot of joy."[9] In reference to the tension, Fusco commented in 2012 that "It was just the nature of the beast. There was no way we could have made it go any further or any faster," he insisted. "I think it was frustrating that it would take so long, but people got paid for what they did. Despite what people thought, that there was a lot of tension on set, there really wasn't."[11]

Fusco was notoriously secretive about his character up until the series' premiere. During the show's production, Fusco refused to acknowledge that the puppet ALF was anything other than an alien. All involved with the production were cautioned not to reveal any of ALF's production secrets.

The set was built on a platform raised four feet above the ground, with trap doors constructed at many points so that ALF could appear almost anywhere; Fusco operated him from underneath, so the unoccupied holes all over the floor were deep and treacherous. The trap doors had to be reset multiple times, sometimes during a single scene. Principal puppeteer Paul Fusco (who was mainly left-handed when puppeteering) used his left hand to control ALF's mouth, while his right hand controlled ALF's right arm. Second puppeteer Lisa Buckley assisted Fusco beneath the stage, operating ALF's left arm. At times when Alf's full body was shown in the sitting position, Lisa controlled Alf's left hand by cable allowing slight finger movements. There was additionally a third puppeteer, Bob Fappiano, who controlled ALF's facial and ear movements via a radio control offscreen. During tapings, Fusco would wear a head-mounted microphone to record ALF's voice. The process resulted in numerous mistakes and retakes, making it impossible to record ALF in front of a live audience. A laugh track was added during post-production.

To avoid wear and tear on the principal ALF puppet, the performers rehearsed with a crude early version of ALF, nicknamed "RALF" For ("Rehearsal Alien Life Form").[12] Fusco did not like to rehearse, and would often substitute his hand or RALF for the real ALF puppet during rehearsals.[12]

In an interview on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Tina Fey said that her biggest frustration as producer of NBC's 75th-anniversary special was dealing with ALF's "people". Fey said Fusco would only allow ALF to appear on the show if the puppeteers were hidden from everyone else. After ALF's cameo alongside former Family Ties star Michael Gross, ALF disappeared through a hole in the riser, was stuffed into a case, and immediately removed from the building.

While a puppet was usually used for ALF, there were some shots of the tiny alien running or walking around. This was accomplished by the 2' 9" (84 cm) actor Michu Meszaros wearing an ALF costume. This can be seen in one of the series' intros, which concludes with the Tanner family getting their picture taken; ALF (played by Meszaros) walks over to be part of the photo. However, Meszaros' services became too costly as well as time-consuming, and the full ALF costume was abandoned after the first season.

ALF scored its highest ratings during Season 2 (reaching tenth place in the Nielsen ratings). Ratings remained at a steady fifteenth place during Season 3, but plummeted to 39th place during Season 4. NBC moved the show from its traditional Monday night slot to Saturday in March 1990, but ratings continued to fall.

The season-ending cliffhanger "Consider Me Gone" became an unintentional series finale when NBC gave Alien Productions a verbal commitment for a fifth season, but ultimately withdrew its support.[11][13] ABC resolved the cliffhanger on February 17, 1996, with the TV movie Project ALF. NBC executive Brandon Tartikoff later told Fusco that the network regretted cancelling ALF prematurely, saying "It was a big mistake that we cancelled your show, because you guys had at least one or two more seasons left."[11]

Censorship

Fusco commented in 2007 that his most enjoyable experience on ALF was sitting in the Writers' Room and pitching jokes while pushing the limit as to what NBC censors would allow. Fusco commented that, "the greatest things were the jokes we couldn't put in the show."[12] Specifically, puns dealing with ALF eating cats and other pets were problematic after NBC reported that a child placed a cat in a microwave after watching the show.[12] In the pilot episode "A.L.F.", ALF is seen consuming a beer with Brian. Fusco defended the premise saying that "ALF is 285 years old, he can drink beer, he's old enough." However, as ALF became more popular with children, NBC told Fusco "you can't have him drinking; the kids are watching, it's a bad role model." Even though Fusco believed that ALF was "an adult: he can do it," the alcohol consumption concept was discarded by the end of the first season.[12] The cat-eating concept carried sporadically into the second season, with references including the "wedding cat" in the episode "Something's Wrong With Me," the Melmacian equivalent of a wedding cake.

For the hour-long season 1 episode, "Try to Remember," originally broadcast on February 9, 1987, ALF tries to simulate a jacuzzi by bringing Kate's electric mixer into the bathtub, thus receiving an electrical shock that caused amnesia. Fusco ended the original episode with a public service announcement from ALF himself, warning of the dangers of mixing water and electricity. Despite this, NBC reported that a child attempted to recreate the scenario and nearly electrocuted himself in the process (Fusco confirmed that the child was unharmed); Fusco was forced to refilm the opening sequence, replacing the electric mixer with a manual egg beater. ALF's amnesia is instead caused by a cranial concussion received after slipping in the shower (a "thud" is heard rather than a "zap"), with all mentions of being shocked either overdubbed with new dialogue or deleted entirely (including ALF's public service announcement). This edited version was used for a Fall 1988 rebroadcast, as well as all future U.S. and Canadian syndicated airings.[12]

In 2010, blooper footage surfaced in which ALF was made to deliver racial jokes and sexual comments. He was actually mocking a then-recent episode of L.A. Law dealing with Tourette syndrome. Asked to comment, producer Steve Lamar stated that the footage was from an era when things were not so "ridiculously PC".[14]

International broadcast history

ALF was very popular in Germany after it began airing on ZDF. The actor who dubbed ALF's voice in German, Tommi Piper, recorded two albums and four singles as the four-toothed, eight-stomached cat-eating alien between 1988 and 1991.[15] The show also became very popular in Bulgaria, one of the first American sitcoms shown on Bulgarian National Television. From 2000 to 2010 the series has aired again on different channels in Bulgaria. In the UK, the series was first broadcast on ITV in early 1987, before moving to Sky One. In Latin America, it used to air on Nick at Nite from February 13, 2006, to June 3, 2012, and it is broadcast since middle 2016 on TCM Latin America. The show was shown in New Zealand on TVNZ, Seven Network and Nine Network in Australia, Stöð 2 in Iceland, RTÉ in Ireland (where it was also shown on its children's block Dempsey's Den), both SWABC and the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation in Namibia, Czech Television in Czech Republic, Rai 2 in Italy, NHK in Japan, Bahrain 55 in Bahrain, Channel 2 in Jordan, SCTV and TVRI in Indonesia, KBC in Kenya, Croatian Radiotelevision in Croatia, GBC in Gibraltar, GMA Network in the Philippines, Botswana TV in Botswana, Channel 5 in Singapore, KUAM-TV in Guam, TV 1 in South Africa (where it was redubbed into the Afrikaans language), TV3 in Malaysia, NRK and TVNorge in Norway, RTB in Brunei, KTV2 in Kuwait, NTM in Pakistan, ZNBC in Zambia, ATV World in Hong Kong and Saudi 2 in Saudi Arabia. The original English version also aired in Germany on forces television on both Armed Forces Network (which airs mostly US and Canadian television programming) and BFBS (which airs mostly UK television programming but also a mix of US, Australian and Canadian programming as well) as well as its former network known as SSVC Television.

Home media

United States and Canada

Between 2004 and 2006, Lionsgate Home Entertainment released all four seasons of ALF on DVD in Region 1. Oddly, all releases contained syndicated versions, with running times of 21 minutes, compared to the original length of 24 minutes. However, the 60-minute episodes "Try to Remember" and "ALF's Special Christmas" (from season one and season two, respectively), were presented in their original hour-long formats (though "Try to Remember" was presented in its censored version and "ALF's Special Christmas" has a minor scene using the song "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" excised). The 60-minute episode "Tonight, Tonight", however, was split into two parts for syndication. The season four episode "Make 'Em Laugh" was presented in nearly its original length, with a single line of dialogue edited out.

The "To Be Continued..." disclaimer was also removed from the series finale, "Consider Me Gone", as NBC canceled ALF after its initial airing.

In addition, most copyrighted music was excised from selected shows, shortening the running time by up to six minutes. (The DVD release of The Odd Couple also suffered from this practice.)

Lionsgate insisted they had to utilize syndicated versions for the DVD release of ALF, saying it would be cost prohibitive to remaster the original NBC-TV broadcast versions for release. This resulted in heavy criticism.[16]

DVD Name Ep # Release Date Additional Information
Season One 25 August 10, 2004
  • Original Un-Aired Pilot
  • Gag/Outtakes Reel
  • ALF Trivia Facts
  • The hour-long episode "Try to Remember" is the censored version.
Season Two 25 August 23, 2005
  • Contains the first episode of ALF: The Animated Series and the first episode of ALF Tales
Season Three 25 May 30, 2006
  • Contains all Season 3 episodes, though not in original broadcast order. "Mind Games" and "Fever" were produced for Season 3, but did not air until Season 4.
Season Four 24 September 5, 2006
  • The episode "Make 'Em Laugh" runs 23:27 and is nearly unedited, with a single line of dialogue edited out.

Video Service Corporation previously released two other DVDs of ALF. The ALF Files was released exclusively in Canada on November 1, 2002. The hour-long episodes "Try to Remember", "ALF's Special Christmas" and "Tonight, Tonight" were presented in their original hour-long format. "Try to Remember", however, contains the re-edited version pertaining to ALF's electric shock in the bathtub.

On September 13, 2005, Project ALF was released. Both DVDs featured optional commentary by creator Paul Fusco, with co-creator Tom Patchett joining him on the first release.

ALF season one and two now appears on Amazon Prime Canada.

Europe

Warner Bros. Home Video released the first season of ALF in Germany on September 4, 2009, and in the Netherlands and France on September 9. The DVDs are in PAL format, with English-language menus. The language selections available are English, French, German and Spanish (except for season 2 which, despite being dubbed, oddly doesn't feature Spanish, and the episode "Tonight, Tonight" which had not dubbed into German), with subtitles available in French, Dutch, Spanish, English and German.

The episodes span four discs and are complete, unlike their American edited counterparts, with a few exceptions:

  • A scene from "For Your Eyes Only" where ALF and friend Jody are singing "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" and "The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late)" by Alvin and the Chipmunks was deleted because of music copyright issues with Bagdasarian Productions, owners of the Chipmunks franchise.
  • The censored version of "Try to Remember" was utilized, removing the mention of electrocution.
  • The syndicated version of "Somewhere Over the Rerun" (a.k.a. "The Ballad of Gilligan's Island") was utilized, though the Gilligan's Island theme was retained.
  • The series finale "Consider Me Gone" retained the "To Be Continued..." caption seen during its original March 1990 broadcast.
DVD Name Ep # Release Date Additional Information
Season One 26 September 4, 2009 Contains all 26 episodes from season one
  • No bonus features
  • Almost all original music
  • Unedited episodes, except "For Your Eyes Only" and "Try to Remember"
Season Two 26 December 11, 2009 Contains all 26 episodes from season two
  • No bonus features
  • All original music
  • Unedited episodes, except for "Somewhere Over the Rerun"
Season Three 26 June 25, 2010 Contains all 26 episodes from season three
  • No bonus features
  • All original music
  • Unedited episodes
Season Four 24 October 15, 2010 Contains all 24 episodes from season four
  • No bonus features
  • All original music
  • Unedited episodes

Oceania

In Region 4, Warner Home Video released the first two seasons of ALF on DVD in Australia and New Zealand on April 7, 2010.[17][18] Seasons 3 and 4 have yet to get released in Region 4.[19]

Awards

In the U.S., ALF has won numerous awards. In 1987 the show won a People's Choice Award for Favorite New TV Comedy Program; in 1988 it won Favorite Show at the Kids' Choice Awards; and at the 1989 Kids' Choice Awards, ALF himself won Favorite TV Actor. Benji Gregory and Andrea Elson were also nominated in various Young Actor categories for their work on ALF at the Young Artist Awards during 1987–1989, with the show also receiving a nomination for Best Family Television Series.[20]

Animated series

To capitalize on the success of the series, a spin-off animated series was produced, airing Saturday mornings on NBC. ALF: The Animated Series, set on ALF's home planet of Melmac, ran from 1987 to 1988 and was produced by DIC Entertainment. This was a prequel series, set on Melmac before the planet exploded. The show focused on ALF, his family, his friends, and girlfriend Rhonda and their various exploits. Each episode was book-ended by a live-action sequence involving ALF talking to the television viewers, setting up the episode and commenting on it afterward. When the cartoon entered its second season, it was paired in a one-hour block with its own spin-off ALF Tales, which took Gordon and the cast of characters from season one, and recast them as characters from assorted classic fairy tales.

Select episodes of both shows are included as special features on the ALF: Season 2 DVD as well as the cartoon-specific releases ALF Animated Adventures – 20,000 Years in Driving School and Other Stories and ALF and The Beanstalk and Other Classic Fairy Tales.

The animated version of ALF also appeared in Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue.

ALF's Hit Talk Show

In 2004, ALF's Hit Talk Show debuted on U.S. cable channel TV Land, which featured ALF as a Johnny Carson-type TV talk-show host and co-starring Ed McMahon as his sidekick. Guests included Drew Carey, Tom Green, and Merv Griffin. It ran for seven episodes.

Films

Following the end of the series a made-for-television movie was produced, in 1996, intending to give the series a proper end. Project ALF starts right after the series final episode but, especially because of the absence of the Tanners, it failed at obtaining success.

On May 21, 2012, Paul Fusco said he was pitching an ALF movie.[11] In August 2012, it was reported that Sony Pictures Animation had acquired the rights to ALF and would develop the property into a CGI-Live action hybrid feature. The Smurfs producer Jordan Kerner, would also produce the film, along with Tom Patchett and Paul Fusco.[21]

Cancelled reboot

On August 1, 2018, it was announced that Warner Bros. would produce an ALF reboot. The reboot would have likely focused on ALF returning to Earth, with a new family and characters.[22] In November 2018 the reboot was cancelled.[5]

In other media

Marvel comics

An ALF comic book was published by Marvel Comics under their Star Comics imprint, a line that featured licensed characters such as Heathcliff, Thundercats, Flintstone Kids, Muppet Babies, Count Duckula, and other famous characters. The ALF comic began in 1987 and ran for four years, totaling 50 issues and several specials. For virtually the entire series' run, the creative team was Michael Gallagher (script) and Dave Manak and Marie Severin (art).

The comic loosely followed the continuity of the television show (though it featured alternate takes on certain episodes, like the birth of Eric Tanner) and featured numerous parodies of Marvel Comics characters and other pop-culture in the form of "Melmac Flashbacks". It was the first instance to feature ALF's natural family in a reverse scenario where Willie Tanner is an astronaut who crashes his spaceship into ALF's garage on Melmac, and the Shumway family works to protect Willie from hostile Melmacians.

Guest appearances and other references

As a result of the show's success, ALF has made guest appearances on a number of other television programs:

  • ALF appeared in a Season 2 episode of NBC's Matlock in 1987.
  • ALF appeared in the Blossom episode "The Geek". He appears as the guardian to the Gates of Heaven in Blossom's dream and denies her entrance into Heaven upon her breaking the 11th Commandment that states "Thou Shalt Not Geek". On a related note, Blossom is shown to have a plush toy of ALF.
  • ALF appeared in the Love Boat: The Next Wave episode "Trance of a Lifetime."
  • ALF was a semi-regular on the 1980s version of Hollywood Squares, where he also hosted part of one episode in March 1987.
  • The animated version of ALF also made an appearance in the "all-star" animated drug-prevention television special Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue in 1990.
  • In the early 2000s (decade), ALF appeared in a series of commercials for the 10-10-220 telephone service with former Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw and wrestling legend Hulk Hogan.
  • In February 2003, ALF appeared as a celebrity guest on the Tom Bergeron version of Hollywood Squares, during their annual College Tournament.
  • In November 2007, ALF appeared as "TV Icon of the Week" on The O'Reilly Factor.
  • In October 2011, ALF appeared on Good Morning America during their Totally Awesome '80s Week.
  • In January 2019, ALF appeared in the Young Sheldon episode "A Race of Superhumans and a Letter to Alf".[23]

ALF has also been referred to in various media numerous times over the years, being a pop-culture icon:

  • ALF appeared in The Simpsons. In "Bart Sells His Soul," Milhouse sells Bart's soul for ALF Pogs. In "The Springfield Files," ALF (voiced by Dan Castellaneta) appeared in a police line-up along with several other aliens (some of them being Gort, Chewbacca and Marvin the Martian). In "Mayored to the Mob," ALF appears at the Bi-Mon-Sci-Fi-Con.
  • ALF has appeared twice on Family Guy. In "I Never Met the Dead Man," ALF was seen in Peter Griffin's dream sequence. In "To Love and Die in Dixie," ALF appeared on an episode E! True Hollywood Story. In "Brian Goes Back to College," Peter sees Brian at the convention wearing a bow tie and asks if he is ALF.
  • ALF appeared on Eminem's T-shirt in the 2009 music video "We Made You".
  • In the 2010 film Hot Tub Time Machine an episode of ALF was seen on a TV screen in the ski lodge.
  • ALF appeared in a skit in the Robot Chicken episode "But Not In That Way" where he was voiced by Seth Green. When Willie Tanner (also voiced by Seth Green) states that Lucky (who was depicted here as a female cat) has given birth to a litter of kittens, ALF congratulates the Tanners as he asks if anyone is going to freak if he "eats the afterbirth".
  • An ALF doll appeared in The Big Bang Theory episode "The Precious Fragmentation". Howard Wolowitz finds an ALF doll in the stuff that he, Sheldon, Leonard, and Raj find at the garage sale after they followed some guy that they thought was Adam West. Howard mentioned that his mother got him an ALF doll sometime after his father left and that he had often imagined that his father was on Melmac.
  • ALF made a cameo appearance in an '80s-themed in-flight safety video for Delta Airlines.
  • ALF appeared in a Super Bowl XLV commercial in 2011, along with a host of other classic TV show characters.
  • ALF was referenced in the 2012 video game XCOM: Enemy Unknown.
  • ALF appeared in a new series of commercials for US electronics store Radio Shack in 2014. The commercials premiered during the 2014 Super Bowl. ALF appeared in one commercial with a selection of other celebrities and characters made famous during the 1980s, and a second commercial on his own in which a Radio Shack employee demonstrated a modern cellphone.
  • Permanent Midnight, a film based on Jerry Stahl, tells the story of his writing career, including Alf. Alf is changed in the film to Mr. Chompers.
  • In the 2014 movie Guardians of the Galaxy, ALF puffy stickers and trading cards can be seen affixed to Star-Lord's radio/tape deck.
  • In 2014, ALF starred in a series of ads to promote the DirecTV service on Latin America. Under the hashtag #alfvuelve, the marketing campaign showed ALF enjoying DirecTV on his TV, in a cellphone and in a tablet.[24]
  • In 2015, the Teen Titans Go! episode "Oil Drums" had leader Robin saying "Let's watch ALF again. I love ALF. Yes, eat that cat, ALF, eat him. He's hiding in the kitchen drawer, ALF. But be patient. Savor the hunt, you beast!"
  • ALF has a cameo in the 2016 Funny or Die parody film Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal: The Movie as Donald Trump's best man.[25]
  • ALF made an appearance in the sixth episode of Mr. Robot season two, during the majority of a dream that parodies mid-1980s to early 1990s sitcoms.
  • ALF made an appearance in the sixth episode of Duncanville.

Merchandise

Like many shows of its day, ALF was also the subject of a trading card series by Topps. Most featured stills from various episodes, but a few cards parodied baseball cards by depicting players of the Melmacian sport "Bouillabaisseball," complete with stats such as "Splats". The yellow-bordered first series was released in 1987, with a red-bordered second series released in 1988.[26]

ALF-related merchandise was sold during the show's original run, including a 1987 22-inch plush doll produced by Coleco, and a 1988 calendar with Melmac's planetary holidays, such as "Shout at a Shrub Day", prominently marked.[27] ALF is currently being broadcast on Me-TV in the USA as of 2017.

Music

In 1987, Dutch remixer and producer Ben Liebrand created a song called "Stuck on Earth" with samples from an episode of ALF.[28] The single charted at #4 in the Netherlands,[29] #14 in the Flanders region of Belgium,[30] #28 in Germany,[31] #26 in Australia,[32] and #3 in New Zealand.[33]

During 1988, Burger King ran a promotion called "The Many Faces of ALF," giving away themed ALF puppets and a cardboard record with each kids meal. These records featured original recordings sung by ALF – titled "Melmac Girls", "Cookin' with ALF", "Melmac Rock", and "Take Me, ALF, to the Ballgame".

Tommi Piper, the actor who dubbed ALF's voice for German audiences, spent twelve weeks in the German pop charts in 1989. The single featured Amélie Sandmann (as the voice of Rhonda) and was called "Hallo ALF Hier Ist Rhonda" (translated "Hello ALF, This Is Rhonda"). He also featured as ALF on various themed mix albums introducing songs by pop artists of the time and other original compositions.

Video games

There are six video games and one printing program based on ALF: 1987's ALF, also known as ALF: The First Adventure, for various computer systems, such as the Commodore 64, IBM, and Apple II, 1989's ALF for the Sega Master System, four educational games for IBM and Apple II computers released in 1988 called ALF's U.S. Geography, ALF's Thinking Skills, ALF's World of Words, and Add & Subtract With ALF, and the printing program ALF's Party Kit.

See also
  • Project ALF (1996), a TV movie that begins where the final episode of ALF ended
  • 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996)
  • Mork & Mindy (1978)

References
  1. O'Connor, John J. (September 22, 1986). "TV reviews; "Together we stand" and "ALF"". The New York Times. Retrieved August 10, 2010.
  2. Weinstein, Steve (December 23, 1987). "How a Wisecracking Puppet Toddled Into the Hearts of Viewers". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  3. Broeske, Pat H. (August 14, 1988). "Ain't Nothin' but an ALF". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  4. Henry III, William A. (March 21, 1988). "Show Business: Stranger in a Strange Land". Time. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  5. McLevy, Alex. "No need to hide your cats, that ALF reboot is dead". News.avclub.com. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
  6. "The Alfinian Way: Nuclear War and the Thoughts of an Alien". Htmlgiant.com. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  7. "Nielsen's Top 50 Shows". Retrieved September 4, 2012.
  8. Brillstein, Bernie and David Rensin(2004). The Little Stuff Matters Most, ISBN 1-59240-079-5
  9. "Where Are They Now? ALF 1986–1990". People Weekly. June 26, 2006. Retrieved August 12, 2008.
  10. "YouTube". Youtube.com. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  11. Zakarin, Jordan (May 22, 2012). "Greetings From Melmac: ALF Creator Paul Fusco on His Star Alien and Potential Comeback". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  12. "Paul and Linda Fusco speaking at the Litchfield County Writers Project; University Of Connecticut: Torrington Campus; Drama 251: American Film; April 4, 2007". Retrieved November 30, 2012.
  13. Zurawik, David (March 23, 1990). "Consider ALF Gone . . . Unless He Phones Home". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  14. All Headline News Archived December 31, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  15. "ALF MADE A GERMAN HIP-HOP SINGLE: 'ALF WILL BE OUR CHANCELLOR'". Dangerousminds.net. May 29, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
  16. Lacey, Gord (August 13, 2004). "ALF – Lions Gate Explains Syndication Episodes on DVD Set". Tvshowsodvd.com. Archived from the original on January 28, 2010. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
  17. "EzyDVD". Archived from the original on November 3, 2011.
  18. "ALF – The Complete Season 2 (4 Disc Set)". Archived from the original on September 26, 2012. Retrieved September 4, 2012.
  19. "EzyDVD". Retrieved September 4, 2012.
  20. Alf on IMDb
  21. Kit, Borys (August 8, 2012). "'ALF' Movie Lands at Sony Animation With 'Smurfs' Producer (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 9, 2012.
  22. Konerman, Jennifer (August 1, 2018). "'ALF' TV Reboot in the Works at Warner Bros". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 1, 2018.
  23. "(#YS211) "A Race of Superhumans and a Letter to Alf"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  24. Ardila, Ignacio (August 1, 2014). "ALF VUELVE: LEO BURNETT COLOMBIA Y ALPHA245 PRODUCEN CAMPAÑA PARA DIRECTV LATINOAMÉRICA". Revista PyM. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
  25. "Funny Or Die Presents Donald Trump's The Art of the Deal: The Movie". Funnyordie.com. February 10, 2016. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  26. Weinstein, Steve (December 23, 1987). "ALF: The Star Trek of NBC's Furry Resident Alien : From Kids' Coloring Books to Adult Humor Publications, Cuddly Character Is Sending Merchandisers Into Orbit". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  27. Gendel, Morgan (August 26, 1986). "Coleco Plays The Odds, Pays For Ads For 'Alf'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 26, 2010.
  28. "DMH:Ben Liebrand MINIMIX". Mixhistory.mixfreaks.nl. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
  29. "dutchcharts.nl > ALF – Stuck on Earth" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  30. "Ultratop > ALF – Stuck on Earth" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  31. "ALF – Stuck on Earth (single)" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  32. "Australian ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart – Week Ending May 15, 1988". Blogspot.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  33. "charts.nz > ALF – Stuck on Earth (song)". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
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