Gordon Shumway (ALF)

"ALF" redirects here; for other uses, see A.L.F.

Gordon "ALF" Shumway
First Appearance	"A.L.F."
Last Appearance	"Project ALF"
Gender	Male
Species	Melmacian
Family	Bob Shumway (father) Flo Shumway (mother) Curtis Shumway (brother) Augie Shumway (sister) Uncle Tinkle "Pretty Boy" Shumway (cousin)Louie Louie Spencer

Gordon Shumway, nicknamed ALF is the main protagonist in the Series A.L.F. and the animated series ALF: The Animated Series and ALF Tales. He is an alien from planet Melmac.

Biography

Youth

Gordon Shumway was born on October 28, 1756 (according to the Melmacian Calendar, he was born on the 28th of Nathinganger) to Bob and Flo Shumway.

Gordon went to nursery school with his friends Rick and Skip, with Mrs. Quanigan as their teacher. (ATAS: "Phantom Pilot") Like Rick, Gordon may have attended for at least four years. (ATAS: "Neep at the Races")

He attended Melmac High School for 122 years, where he majored in software and pedestrian crossing and was captain of a bouillabaisseball team.

Gordon eventually had a younger brother named Curtis, and sister named Augie. (ATAS: "Phantom Pilot")

In college, Gordon majored in physical education.

Life on Melmac

At some time in ALF's life, ALF was an underwear model. ALF was later employed as an Orbit Guard. ALF and all Orbit Guardsman learned how to pilot a space patrol ship, fire a solar blaster, and burp in three languages.

In 1980, The Federation declared a nuclear war, "Galactic War III," on the Andromedian Revolt Society, a rebel group on Torkwrish, another planet that was a combatant in the first war. Though Gordon was not recruited as a solider for the war; he is aware of it and is partly involved due to his job as an Orbit Guard.

On September 22, 1985, Melmac was destroyed due to Nuclear War. Orbit Guard, Gordon is called on duty during the incident. He flees to a rocket ship fleeing Melmac, traveling throughout the Cozmos for a year. He is held prisoner in a government facility. Melmac was by that point run by the Imperial Intergalactic Trade Federation. The Federation signed the Intergalactic Imperious Constitution, but due to the destruction of Melmac, the Federation enacted a new Imperious Constitution. This forbade Melmacian starships to leave a Federation-controlled section of the galaxy. ALF became an outlaw, whom the Federation pursued when he escaped. Gordon sneakily swept down to Earth to avoid persecution by the Intergalactic trade.

At the time of Melmac's destruction, Gordon was especially close to Skip, Larry, and Muffy. (ALTV: "A.L.F.")

Tanner years

One day in 1986, Gordon followed an amateur radio signal to Earth and crash-landed his ship into the garage of the Tanner family. The Tanners are a suburban middle-class family consisting of the social worker Willie, his wife Kate, their children Lynn and Brian, and their cat Lucky. Since the crash-landing, the Tanners have helped take care of ALF and hide him from the Alien Task Force, a secret U.S. military organization that tracks down alien creatures. In 1990, ALF was finally captured.

Captivity and release

ALF spent several years in the custody of the Alien Task Force. (PALF)

By 2023, ALF was living with Eric Tanner. (AMEC)

Budget Problems

ALF increased the Tanners' expenses. The budget for extra food and repairs for damages in the house were what forced the Tanners to increase their spending budget. In Varsity Drag, Lynn was upset because she couldn't go to Amherst College in Massachusetts, due to the Tanners not being able to afford it.. In Keepin' the Faith, he bought $4,000 of cosmetics with Willie's credit card, and in The Gambler, he put the Tanners into a gambling debt of $6,000 to Nick "The Fish" Mints. In Project ALF, it is said that ALF has made over 300 fires, though most were barbeque-related. All fires not barbeque-related were most likely set in the kitchen instead, as ALF has done so in the episodes On the Road Again and Working My Way Back to You.

Melmacian Physical Troubles

• In Wild Thing, like every Melmacian, every 75 years, ALF goes into a frenzy in which he will do literally anything to eat cats. He lied and mimicked the Tanner's voices perfectly to try to trick them into letting him from the cage. When he did get free of the cage, he locked Brian in. He then went on a rampage trying to find Lucky (who was spending the night at the Ochmonek's house) and stole Raquel's lawnmower, which he used to go to the zoo and steal a tiger.

• In Something's Wrong With Me, he develops the dreaded Melmacian hiccups. Two cures are drinking cat juice or eating raw spinach. When ALF is given fake cat juice, it cured his hiccups until he learned it wasn't real, indicating it had a placebo effect.

• In Fever, ALF catches an Earth virus, and can only be cured by Carl Shrub, but was cured by ragweed, a plant similar to Carl Shrub.

Other Appearances

ALF was seen appearing on Fox Network with Bill O'Reilly in November 2007.

He appeared in the 2011 Super Bowl commercials showing he is a fan of the Carolina Panthers.

He also appeared on Young Sheldon in an episode called "A Race of Superhumans and a Letter to ALF".

See also

Series and Movies

• ALF (TV series)
• Project ALF
• ALF: The Animated Series
• ALF Tales
• ALF's Hit Talk Show

Additional Articles

• People who have seen ALF