La Cucaracha is the twenty fifth episode of ALF's first season. It originally aired in May 4th, 1987.
Plot Summary
When ALF cleans out some things from his spaceship, he finds a slimeball (a Melmacian snack), unforunately the bag also contained a Melmacian cockroach.
Willie was considering a plan for collecting the cockroach for study when Kate sprays it with bug spray. A few minutes later, the cockroach grew to several times its original size. Willie tries to spray it again and it continues to grow rapidly.
Kate and the kids leave the house while ALF and Willie stay behind to take care of the cockroach. When the exterminator is scared out of the house, he drops his tank on the front lawn and Trevor uses it to spray the house causing the cockroach to grow even larger.
When Willie goes to the store to buy boric acid to kill the cockroach, ALF is cornered by the cockroach in the bathroom and sprays Kate's perfume on it. It turns out that the cockroach was vulnerable to some component of the perfume and it kills it.
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.
- Sigourney Weaver is referenced by Kate.
- ALF does not know where toilets flush to like the pilot episode.
- Antagonist: Rodney the Melmacian Cockroach
- The cockroach was never shown fully on-screen.
- The episode has a similar plot to 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.
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