After surfing the Illusion forums for a bit, I’ve been disappointed to find how few of our posters are familiar with the now-classic NBC series, “ALF.” “ALF” was not only a hilarious (in a corny sort of way) show with spin-off comics and a Saturday morning cartoon, but also a great piece of sci-fi. For instance, most people forget in the shuffle of memories that ALF was the title character’s nickname, an acronym for Alien Life Form (like ET, but different). His name was Gordon Shumway of Melmac, a planet six parsecs past the Hydra-Centaurus Supercluster. He was taken in by a suburban family, the Tanners, who hid and protected him from government authorities while he tried to find a way home. Later it was revealed that Melmac had been destroyed in nuclear war, which made ALF the planet’s last survivor (like Superman, but different). The writers managed to communicate his heartbreak while maintaining the show’s sense of humor. Season four ended with ALF being captured by the US government with a “To Be Continued” subtitle promising a conclusion to the story. This conclusion would not come, however, until 1996 when the made for TV movie, “Project ALF,” was aired on ABC.
Not only does “ALF” make for some good viewing, but the show, the movie, and 9 of the cartoon’s 26 episodes have been released on DVD. At times the show can be a little strained and the jokes a little dated, but “ALF” was as much ahead as it was a product of its time. While “Seinfeld” is widely regarded for having a “no hugging, no sharing” writing policy, plenty of “ALF” episodes ended without a moral lesson or some other element of sentimentality. Just this once, let’s not complain about what’s not on DVD and appreciate what is.
