On The Road Again

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On The Road Again is the eleventh episode of the first season of ALF.

It originally aired on Dec. 8, 1986.

Plot Summary

Prologue

Willie and Kate are thinking about a vacation plan. Willie decides on San Diego. Alf is preparing a meal in the kitchen and starts a grease fire, igniting the curtains, and himself.

Act 1

The family starts their dinner and during the blessing, Willie and Kate announce the trip has been cancelled because of ALF's destructively clumsy behavior, and their inability to let him out in public. Having listened to the Tanners complain that they can't go on vacation all because of him, Alf suggests he stay behind at home chained up. Brian and Lynn object to that so when Brian suggests a camping trip in the deep woods where no one could see ALF, the Tanners family immediately accept this idea.

The family has rented a camper and are headed to the campground. On the way, they are singing "99 bottles of beer on the wall" After they finish Alf suggests other ways to kill time including mooning some state troopers. When they arrive it starts to rain. After the second day of rain, they've been stuck inside playing board games and reading.  They decide to strike out and go hiking, but as they are ready to leave, the rain escalates into a tunderstorm. Alf complains and rebuffs Willie's attempts to make light of the situation. Willie loses his temper and tells ALF to leave. ALF goes into the woods...

Act 2

Kate, Lynn, and Brian are looking out the window to see if Alf is hiding somewhere and Willie is playing Chutes and Ladders.  The others suggest that Willie go out to look for him since it was his fault he left. Willie goes out. Alf ends up in finding a cabin. He enters to find nobody is in. He finds some Oreos and starts to help himself to a snack. The two people who live there return and Alf hides under the bed. The two occupants turn out to be oafish hunters...  The two hunters find Alf decide to butcher him for meat, thinking he is an anteater. After one of the hunters goes out to get the chainsaw, Alf speaks to the other one and tells him that he should get even with his roomate.  Willie hears the chainsaw which approaches the cabin. Alf tells the hunter he is a magical creature of the forest that he will be granted 3 wishes if he is let go. The younger hunter tells the older one that Alf talked to him. He does not believe him and says they need to get him a woman. Willie knocks on their door and begins to rescue him but apologizes to Alf for his behaviour. Willie has to pay the hunters $50 each to get ALF back.  Alf and Willie begin to walk back to the camper and began to think they are lost. They argue about which way to go.

Epilogue

Alf is showing slides of the trip to Lucky.  It includes pictures of rain, Alf kissing the floor of the camper after being rescued, accidentally setting fire to the motor home when lighting the barbecue, and he mentions that he was chained to a tree (just like he suggested at the beginning) so the family can go to San Diego.

Title Reference

"On the Road Again" is a song by Willie Nelson.

Trivia

• ALF is mistaken as an anteater by the hunters. In an earlier episode called Looking for Lucky, an animal rescue shelter worker mistook ALF as a dog.
• ALF's favorite way of having his hamburgers cooked is medium rare.
• This is the first time ALF has set off a fire. While hardly mentioned of this, it is revealed in Project ALF that he has started over 200 fires in the Tanners' home. ALF has set off 2 fires, one in the home and one at the RV on vacation.
• Goof: ALF mentioned he was speaking French at the beginning of the episode even when it's Spanish.
• Antagonist: Hunters
• First time alf and willie have a major fight which sends him to leave.
• Is it mentioned that everytime alf gets bored he eats vowels.