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ALF - 001

ALF and Kate screaming at each other in fright

A.L.F. is the first episode of Season 1 of the ALF TV series. This is the series premiere.

Plot Summary[]

Gordon Shumway, the last known survivor from the planet Melmac, accidentally crashes his spaceship into the Tanner family's suburban garage. Willie Tanner names him "ALF," short for Alien Life Form. After convincing a military officer they are not harboring a space creature, the Tanners decide to take ALF in as a member of the family.

Intro[]

Willie's voiceover starts the episode as he and Brian are in the backyard and walking toward the garage. Willie shouts to Kate that he will be in the garage calling Nebojŝa, his friend in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Willie and Brian enter and Brian asks to look through the telescope. Willie says he can and turns on his short wave radio. Lynn enters and asks Willie if she can talk to Natalie on the radio when he is finished. She wants to tell her about her new boyfriend Lash. Willie is bewildered at the name. Kate enters and asks what is going on. Brian says he is looking for Venus. He hasn't found it, but sees that the neighbors are watching Body Heat again. Kate sends Brian to bed and Lynn goes to feed Lucky. Kate tells Willie to talk to Lynn about her boyfriend. Willie says he will do so in the morning and begins to shut off the radio. A beeping sound comes from his infrared radio band and realizes he locked onto a fast approaching object in space. The lights go out and some lights in the sky are flashing. Brian and Lynn rush into the garage and the spaceship crashes into the garage. Willie looks up and sees ALF in the spaceship window. Willie says they have a visitor.

Act one[]

Willie and Kate are carrying ALF on a blanket into the house. They set him down on the coffee table and begin to talk about what they should do. Willie says they should call the authorities and Kate agrees. ALF wakes up and says (in perfect English), "Can I make a suggestion?". They are all shocked that he can talk. ALF asks if they can fix his spaceship. Willie says it is too dark to do it now and Kate says they shouldn't be too friendly with him. ALF says they will have a snack first and be friendly later. Kate asks in a nervous voice, "What kind of a snack?". ALF asks if they have a cat and the family says no cat eating. ALF states that cat food can will suffice. ALF and the children go into the kitchen. Kate is worried about ALF and Willie convinces her to give ALF a day to see if he can behave before calling someone. ALF then opens the can and Lucky jumps out of the kitchen pass through.

The next morning, Kate is turns off her alarm clock and screams when she sees ALF laying in bed with her. ALF then runs into the bathroom and Willie asks ALF what is happening. ALF says, "Nothing, just screaming." Willie then goes into the bedroom and reassures Kate. Wilie then runs back into the bathroom after he hears ALF flushing the toilet. Willie tells ALF that Kate is nervous about him being around and then goes to take a shower. Willie warns ALF to stay away from the window because of Mrs. Ochmonek. ALF then climbs on the counter and looks out the window. Across the way, Mrs Ochmonek sees ALF and calls Trevor. He comes to look, but ALF has left. He then insults his wife and leaves. ALF returns to the window waving a towel. Willie is finished his shower and asks for a towel. ALF then unrolls a whole roll of toilet paper and gives it to Willie. Willie uses it to dry off.

Act two[]

ALF is playing with a model railroad in the garage while loudly singing along to the radio playing "Proud Mary" on headphones. Willie is trying to repair ALF's spaceship. He asks for a wrench, but ALF cannot hear him. Willie yells and gets ALF's attention. Lynn enters the garage and ALF tells her there is a contest on the radio and the 15th caller to correctly identify a song wins a Porsche. Willie continually asks for a wrench, but no one pays attention until he screams for it. Lynn suggests that ALF try to contact his people and he says it would be futile. ALF sings "Proud Mary" again and Lynn joins in. ALF then goes into the house.

ALF and Brian are watching Sesame Street and then they go to the kitchen. Kate asks them where they are going and they say they are getting something to drink. Kate tells them there will be no soda pop and nothing to eat before dinner. They return with two open cans of beer. Kate grabs them from them and scolds ALF. Kate says she doesn't know what it is like on "Mork or whatever planet ALF comes from." ALF interrupts and explains that his home planet exploded. He says he could live somewhere else, such as a crater filled asteroid and fend of gamma rays. Then there is a knock on the door and it turns out to be a soldier at the door. Lynn and Willie enter and mention they cannot fix the spaceship. Kate opens the door and the soldier says he is with the Alien Task Force he says they received an anonymous tip that the family is harboring a space creature. Kate says they are not and he leaves. ALF and the children thank her for sending him away.

ALF enters the garage at night and activates Willie's radio. He tries to contact his friends Skip, Larry, and Muffy. He tells them where he is and about the family he is living with. Meanwhile, the family enters the garage and surreptitiously listens in. ALF invites them to visit him so he could introduce them to his new friends and eat their cat.

Epilogue[]

ALF tells the family jokes during dinner.

Background information[]

Production history[]

  • Premiere airdate: September 22, 1986

Continuity[]

  • Willie identifies their visitor as an ALF, short for Alien Life Form. He says it as if it is an existing term.
  • When Kate reprimands ALF about giving her son beer, the boom mic is visible for a few seconds in the top left corner.
  • ALF says his planet had a purple sun.
  • Kate says Brian is six years old.
  • ALF says that Melmac "exploded."
  • ALF says “cross my heart” and makes a gesture next to his right ear.
  • Mrs Ochmonek reported that ALF is about three feet tall.
  • When ALF gets on the radio, he calls for Skip, Larry, and Muffy. He identifies himself as Gordon.
  • Gordon says “I'm living with what they call it family. They’re sort of like a herd, only smaller.” This is strange, sine ALF's family life back home is later depicted in ALF: The Animated Series.

Syndication cuts[]

  • The first several minutes of the episode is cut up until the scene when Willie and Kate are in the garage and the infrared radio first picks up the signal of ALF's spaceship. The voiceover which originally began the episode is moved to where the cut ends. Lynn has a boyfriend named "Lash."

Links and references[]

Cast[]

References[]

aardvark; ALF's spaceship; alien; Alien Task Force; Andromeda; asteroid; astronaut; bat (animal); beer; Born in the U.S.A.; cat; cat food; cigar; coffee table; Coors; cow; crambull;crater; disease; droid; E.T.; Edwards Air Force Base; family; gamma ray; globe; heart; human; infrared radio band; kangaroo; key; K726XAA; KLVZ; language; Larry (Melmacian); Lucky; Melmac (planet); melmac (substance); Mork; Muffy; needle; Sean Penn; Penn, Shean; phone; Porsche; pulsar; “read my lips;” satellite; Sesame Street; Skip; spaceship; soda pop; space patrol; subway; sun; telescope; train; warden; wrench

Cut references[]

Lash

External links[]

Warning: The following links to sound enabled video content.

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