"He's just like E.T.," says a character of the fuzzy extraterrestrial stranded on Earth in the pilot episode of ALF. But the fun of this late 1980s family sitcom is that the sardonic ALF (an acronym for Alien Life Form) is nothing like the interplanetary innocent of Steven Spielberg's classic. With his whiplash wit and huckster sensibility, ALF (real name: Gordon Shumway from the late planet Melmac, Lower East Side) enters the lives of the Tanner family as a fully formed rascal whose spacecraft crashes into their garage one night. Worried that the feds will chop ALF up for research purposes, the Tanners--father Willie (Max Wright), a cautious civil servant who doesn't like a lot of fuss at home; wife Kate (Anne Shedeen), and kids Lynn (Andrea Elson) and Brian (Benji Gregory)--reluctantly take ALF in like a shambling, profligate uncle who cracks wise despite having fallen on hard times.
Cast & Characters
- Mihaly 'Michu' Meszaros as ALF
- Max Wright as Willie Tanner
- Anne Schedeen as Kate Tanner
- Andrea Elson as Lynn Tanner
- Benji Gregory as Brian Tanner
- John LaMotta as Trevor Ochmonek
- Liz Sheriden as Raquel Ochmonek
- Josh Blake as Jake Ochmonek
- JM J. Bullock as Neal Tanner (1987)
- Anne Meara as Dorothy Halligan
- Paul Fusco as ALF's Voice (Gordon Schumway)
Broadcast History
First Telecast: September 22, 1986Last Telecast: June 18, 1990
Original Network:
NBC
Number of Seasons: 4
Number of Episodes: 102
ALF Episode Guide
Original Primetime TV Schedule:
- September 1986- February 1990, NBC, Monday 8:00-8:30pm
- March 1990, NBC, Saturday 8:00-8:30pm
- April 1990- May 1990, NBC, Sunday 8:00-8:30pm
- May 1990- June 1990, NBC, Monday 8:00-8:30pm
Theme Song & Opening Credits
Watch opening intro:Listen to theme song:
ALF on DVD
ALF Photo Gallery
ALF Trivia
Alf had to leave Melmac suddenly because it blew up. The Planet was named Melmac because it was composed of something called Melmac. No further explanation was ever given.Max Wright had starred on three other series prior to ALF. They were, "Buffalo Bill", "Misfits of Science", and "The Norm Show".
The Alf TV show received 12 Emmy Award nominations, but never won one. It did, however, win two "Kid's Choice Awards" and one "People's Choice Awards".
Paul Fusco did not only provide the voice for Alf. He was also the creator and producer of the series.
Alf was perhaps an even bigger hit in Germany than in the U.S. but it did cause some headaches for a German city named, "ALF". The city limit signs with the name of the city on them kept getting stolen! The town finally decided to have a large number of them produced and sold them to earn revenue!
Andrea Elson guest-starred on many other series before appearing on ALF including "Simon & Simon" (1981), "Silver Spoons" (1982), and "Parker Lewis Can't Lose" (1990). She also co-starred on a show titled, "Whiz Kids". Alf's real name was Gordon Shumway. His heart was located inside his ear.
All but a couple of the episode titles are also the titles of songs. Every title somewhat explains the plot of that particular episode.
The names of the months on Melmac are: January = Harble, February = Tarble, March = Gorruf, April = Kilmer, May = Gagg, June = Orring, July = Barp, August = Twangle, September = Fanfan, October = Nathinganger, November = Anerva, and December = Fibble.
