Alf the Extra-Terrestrial: A Melmatian Who Won the Hearts of Viewers

A program from the 80s that captivated more than one person and became a cult series. Alf, an alien who arrived on Earth following a radio signal and crashed his ship into the Tanner house, as he was fleeing from his planet that was about to explode because all its inhabitants plugged in their hair dryers at the same time.

Alf known as “"Fantastic Distant Amorphism" and his name was Gordon ShumwayAccording to the series' plot, he was born in 1756 in a region called Lower East on the planet Melmac, which was located 6 parsecs beyond the Hydra-Centaurus supercluster.

It's worth noting that on his planet, he attended high school for 122 years and studied dentistry. According to him, the career was very easy because the Melmacians only had four teeth. He was always eating something because he had a voracious appetite, having eight stomachs, and he loved eating cats.

In the series we can see everything from absurd situations to situations with references to real issues.

You'll see the Ochmoneks' nosy neighbors always asking what's going on at their house. So, in each episode, Alf always learns something, and throughout the series, he meets more people.

Episodes like one where he sets a hotel room on fire; another where he buys Lynn a Ferrari and wrecks it at the end; another where they go to the desert and nearly die from heatstroke and lack of water; another where he betrays Lynn and ends up writing a song for her; and another where he faces a giant cockroach that arrives in his ship.

A television series of 4 seasons and 102 episodes of 30 minutes that began on September 22, 1986 and ended on March 24, 1990It is worth noting that its success allowed it to be taken to other media such as film, cartoons and video games.

Needless to say, Alf popularized the phrase "No problem" which he used in any eventuality that happened to him.

Characters

Willie Tanner (Max Wright): The father of the family, he is the one who constantly calms Alf's lively attitude. He is a very responsible and respectful social worker who loves his entire family. He is a lover of astronomy and therefore protects the alien.

Kate Tanner (Anne Schedeen): She's the mother of the family. At first, she didn't agree with protecting Alf, but over time, she grows fond of him, even though he sometimes drives her crazy. Kate is a proper, disciplined woman, sometimes in charge of keeping Alf, and sometimes Willie, grounded.

Lynn Tanner (Andrea Elson): She is the 16-year-old daughter of Kate and Willie, she loves Alf very much and is one of those who helps him in his recurring and crazy plans.

Brian Tanner (Benji Gregory): He's the second son in the family, and Alf is his best friend. Throughout the series, we see how the boy grows and develops his bond with the alien.

Some of the recurring characters

Raquel Ochmonek (Liz Sheridan): She's Trevor's wife. A very nosy and gossipy neighbor. Sometimes she seems to spy on the Tanners, because she knows so much about them, but she's a good woman and has helped them on many occasions.

Trevor Ochmonek (John LaMotta): Raquel's husband and the Tanners' neighbor. He considers himself Willie's best friend and is more level-headed than his wife. He occasionally borrows Willie's things without telling him.

Jake Ochmonek (Josh Blake): He's Trevor and Raquel's nephew. He lives with his aunt and uncle because his father is in prison and his mother has psychological problems. He meets Alf and they become very good friends.

Dorothy Halligan (Anne Meara): She is Kate's mother, widowed by her husband, Sparkie. She also meets Alf and they have a love-hate relationship.

Lucky: He's the Tanner family's cat. The pet that Alf is always trying to eat, which the family has prevented. In one of the fourth-season episodes, he dies of natural causes, and they later adopt Lucky II because Alf's culinary tastes change.

Neal Tanner (JM J. Bullock): He is Willie's younger brother. At first, Alf didn't like him, but when they get to know each other, they start to trust each other.

Judy (Andrea Covell): She's a blind friend of Alf's. She thinks Alf is human because she can't see him. They become close friends, and he goes to her apartment.

Alf in the movies

After the series ended, it premiered in 1996 the movie Project Alf which attempted to give closure to the series' plot, but was not as successful as expected because the Tanner family does not appear in the film.

The film begins where the last chapter of the series left off and tells what happened to Alf after being captured by the Alien Force Detachment while he is waiting for his Melmacian friends to look for him to get him off planet Earth.

Cartoon

Taking advantage of the success of the television series they created a spin-off called the Alf's Tales with 2 seasons and 26 episodes and was broadcast between 1987 and 1989. It is a series set on his planet Melmac before it explodes, focusing on his family, friends, and his girlfriend Rhonda.

Marvel Comics

It was a comic that maintained the continuity of the television series and also included some parodies featuring Marvel characters and other pop culture parodies that became known as "Melmac Flashback." The comics were in a reverse scenario, featuring Alf's family, and Willie was an astronaut who crashed his ship and was helped by the Shumway family. There were 50 installments released in 1987 and continued for four more years.

Video games

Even in video games we can find the famous alien that were released in 1987 and 1989.

ALF: The First Adventure It was an action game released in 1987 for the Commodore 64, Apple II, Atari ST and MS-Dos operating systems.

Based on the television series, starting with a brief character introduction and basic instructions for controlling the character.

It's a game in which Alf must grab pizzas, cats, and pieces for his spaceship while avoiding capture by Willie Tanner. If he catches him, he takes all of Alf's possessions and must start over. And to be able to grab the cats, he must have grabbed a pizza before. The game is somewhat similar to Pac-Man in terms of gameplay.

Another game released was Alf, developed by Nexa for the Sega Master System console in 1989 and was also based on the television series.

In the game, players control the title character as he collects parts to repair the spaceship so he can reunite with friends and his girlfriend Rhonda. This quest takes place in various locations, including the backyard, the basement, and more.

The Alf series was very successful and allowed him to reach other levels, and after almost 40 years, we still remember him. Tell us: Did you watch this series or play its video games?

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