ALF (1986–1990)

A furry alien wiseguy comes to live with a terran family after crashing into their garage.

Creators:

Paul Fusco, Tom Patchett

Stars:

Max Wright, Anne Schedeen, Andrea Elson

4 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Max Wright	...	Willie Tanner (101 episodes, 1986-1990)
Anne Schedeen	...	Kate Tanner (101 episodes, 1986-1990)
Andrea Elson	...	Lynn Tanner (101 episodes, 1986-1990)
Benji Gregory	...	Brian Tanner (101 episodes, 1986-1990)

Storyline

The Tanner family is an average American family. One day, they discover that they have a visitor. He's small, he's furry, he's arrogant, and he's an alien from the planet Melmac. Unsure what to do, they name him ALF: Alien Life Form. Alf soon decides that as much as he misses his home planet, there's a lot to be said for Earth: the Tanners are willing to concede anything as long as he doesn't announce his presence. Oh yeah, the the Tanners also have a cat, which looks rather tasty...

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Plot Keywords:

alien | cat | hiding | blind woman | sitcom | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 September 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

ALF, o Eteimoso

Filming Locations:

USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alien Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min 25 min (100 episodes) 30 min (102 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

ALF staff writer Jerry Stahl wrote a memoir called "Permanent Midnight" about becoming a success as a television writer on this show (as well as Moonlighting and thirtysomething) while simultaneously dealing with his addition to heroin. The book was made into the movie Permanent Midnight, starring Ben Stiller as Stahl, and showed several scenes on the set of "ALF" (renamed "Mr. Chompers"), including a nightmarish drug-induced hallucination featuring the show's puppet.

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Goofs

In the Halloween episode of season 2, A black strip of tape disappears and reappears on ALF's chest

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Quotes

ALF: On Melmac, we have 1st class, 2nd class and ham.

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Connections

Referenced in 30 Rock: Jack Gets in the Game (2007)

User Reviews

Alien Lives With A Family

ALF is just about the most unusual family comedy ever. An alien lives with an average American family and the family keeps hiding him from public each day. It was great, ALF's still a cultural icon, and the actors should still be able to get good work from it. I Love It!