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La Cucaracha is the twenty-fifth episode of ALF's first season. It originally aired in May 4th, 1987.
Plot Summary[]
Prologue[]
The family is in the kitchen and ALF is eating a slimeball (a Melmacian snack) which came from a bag on his spaceship, he finds unfortunately the bag also contained a Melmacian cockroach which escapes from the bag.
Act one[]
Willie was considering a plan for collecting the cockroach for study when Kate sprays it with bug spray. It disappears and then ALF finds that it's in the living room and has grown to a foot in size . Kate decides this is a good time to leave the house. She takes the kids to stay with her mother while ALF and Willie stay behind to take care of the cockroach. ALF says he's called an exterminator, but Willie says to cancel it because he killed the roach with spray. There is a rattling sound which reveals the roach is still alive. Kate and the kids leave, and the ALF talks to Willie about how the spray is likely the cause of the roach growing. The exterminator arrives and ALF goes into the kitchen. The exterminator walks in with a tank of spray, and says he'll take care of the roach. Willie insists he not uses the spray and holds the talk for him, He then sardonically says he'll whack it with a magazine, but Willie hands him a phone book instead. The exterminator walks in then runs out screaming.
Act Two[]
Willie and ALF are in the garage and Willie is reading some books on pest control which all say that boric acid is the best way to kill roaches.
Trevor comes by, and ALF hides. Trevor mentions he noticed the exterminator left his tank behind so he sprayed the whole house free. Willie goes to the store to buy boric acid to kill the cockroach and leaves ALF behind.
When Willie leaves, the roach chases ALF around the house and he runs into the Kate & Willie's bedroom, to call for help, but is hung up on when he says what's going on. The roach breaks down the door and ALF runs into the bathroom. The roach breaks down that door to so ALF starts smacking it with a toilet plunger, when that doesn't work he sprays it with a bottle of perfume. Willie comes into the house to find ALF watching TV and the roach lying dead on it's back behind the sofa. ALF reveals that he managed to kill the roach with the perfume which Willie says he gave to Kate as a birthday present. Willie says he's going to take the roach outside. ALF wants to stuff it like a hunting trophy. Kate calls home and Willie says he has good news about the roach and bad news about her birthday present
Epilogue[]
The family is home and Brian comes in to tell ALF he's going to bed. The others come into the room and tell ALF they got rid of the roach at a dump that doesn't ask questions. ALF says he sprayed the perfume around his spaceship to kill any other roaches that were left there, and found a Venus flytrap, from Venus which he brings into the house which happens to eat pencils. Willie says he's going to go to the store to exchange the boric acid he bought with some defoliant.
Trivia[]
- ALF brings a Melmac snack called slimeballs. They are packaged similar to donuts and other pastry. Two flavors ALF mentions are slug and wild cherry. There's a surprise in each one. Wild cherry's surprise is cherry. It is unknown if wild cherry slimeballs look as disgusting as slug slimeballs, but judging by the fact the cherry type is still called a slimeball, they probably do look disgusting but less disgusting than the slug type.
- Material excised from the syndication/DVD versions of this episode include ALF arguing with the Tanners for refusing to buy donuts and Willie pleading to the exterminator that he use non-chemical and more physical methods of killing the roach. The exterminator is sarcastic and has a bad attitude in the original version, as while he seems a lot nicer and more subservient to Willie's orders in the shorter version.
- Kate proves she has a strong fear of cockroaches in this episode.
- ALF does not know where toilets flush to like in the pilot episode.
- Antagonist: Rodney the Melmacian Cockroach.
- The cockroach was named Rodney, after Willie's brother, who is later identified (as his only brother) to be Neal. Rodney could be Neal's middle name
- The cockroach was never shown fully on-screen.
- The episode's plot parodies Alien and Jaws, especially the antagonist as a monster slowly making impact until the ending. Kate referenced Alien by mentioning Sigourney Weaver, an actress who was in the film.
Title Reference[]
"La Cucaracha" is the name of a Mexican folk song that is still commonly performed by Mexican mariachi bands. It means "the cockroach" in Spanish.