Talk:ALF (TV series)/Archive 1

Clean up on all aisles?
Does this article seem unwieldy to anyone else? The section on "Other Transmissions" is long, not very informative, and hard to read. I think it should be reformatted at the least if not removed entirely. The other section which seems way long and uninformative is the trivia section. Not every fact that someone feels is interesting about the show should be listed. I think that perhaps we could condense the list to ten factoids so that Wikipedia doesn't become a series of laundry lists. (Moving Alf's cameo's in other shows to it's own section should help for a start.) Once the article is easier to read, then we can add more information that seems to be lacking. For example, I think there should be more information on Melmac, Alf's Girlfriend Rhonda, and a more complete summary of the final episode. --In Defense of the Artist 03:25, 9 January 2007 (UTC)


 * I have condensed the "Other transmissions" Section alot some of the info is good to note but it was way to long and uninformative, although more still needs to be done, I moved the section around and placed that at the bottom as I see it as a better place for it. I also condensed alot of triva and incorpoarted some and discarded some others, still along way to go but this should help alot. --Chad 09:05, 13 October 2007 (UTC)

TV Movie

 * "This movie did not feature any of the Tanner family from the original series, but did star other actors such as Martin Sheen, Ed Begley Jr, and Ray Walston."
 * The above sentence seems unclear. Were Martin Sheen, Ed Begley Jr, and Ray Walston ever on the original series.  It seems uninformative to say that the move "did star other actors" since if the original cast wasn't in the movie it would 'have' to star other actors.  If the actors are not significant to the series, it doesn't seem that they need to be mentioned here.  If the actors are significant, it should be mentioned 'why'. --In Defense of the Artist 03:53, 9 January 2007 (UTC)


 * They were not to my knowledge and you are correct, I have rewrote the sentence, I know that the family was talked about in the movie for a only a min but I can't recall where they said they were, or what happened to them, I have the movie and I will watch it and write in what the said after I can confirm it. --Chad 14:10, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

Sarcasm?
"Melmac was destroyed by a nuclear catastrophe (caused by the entire population of Melmac turning their hair dryers on at the exact same time)." It's been a while since I've seen this show, but I thought the hair dryer bit was just a sarcastic jab at the destruction of the planet. That is, when Alf was asked about how it happened, he bitterly replied that everyone plugged in their hair dryers, but he wasn't being serious. The real reason was, of course, the nuclear catastrophe, with the implication being that it could happen to us if we aren't careful. CMYK 22:58, 17 December 2005 (UTC)


 * Why should it be considered sarcasm? Why do you say it was "of course" a nuclear catastrophe much like one that is impending on our planet.  Melmac was a planet where cat was a delecacy and lint was worth more than gold.  Besides...I seem to remember Alf frequently doing his hair with a hair dryer, isn't that right? --In Defense of the Artist 03:25, 9 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Correct (Defense) what is stated in the show should be taken as fact reagrding the show, until it is discounted, speculation should not be in a Wikipedia article as this article is based on the TV Show in question only. --Chad 10:12, 13 October 2007 (UTC)

I know the show very well and yes, it was nuclear war that ended Melmac. This was clearly established in an early episode from the fall of 86. This was why Alf called President Reagan, to talk to him about nuclear war. (He also wanted to say that he loved Patti's Book.) The hair dryer thing was sarcastic. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.164.89.236 (talk) 05:42, 15 April 2008 (UTC)

Uncut DVDs in the USA
"'Currently, uncut DVD's of both season 1 and 2 are now available in the United States.'" Really? I have not been able to verify this. Can we provide a link to the publisher of the uncut versions (or Amazon page of uncut DVDs...). The only thing I was able to find was an appology from Lions Gate for publishing the edited versions. The only version available in the United States are the syndicated versions from Lions Gate.


 * What Lionsgate did to this show is unforgivable. I can't believe they're letting them get away with it. 24.29.74.132 17:52, 30 October 2006 (UTC)


 * Are the uncut episodes available in other countries or anywhere else?

I have copies (on 1" tape) of syndication masters for many ALF episodes and they appear to be the same edits. On the subject of another 80s TV show, Mama's Family, the original NBC versions were of very poor quality so they had to use the syndication masters, I just assumed this is what happened to ALF on DVD release.  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.255.224.217 (talk) 05:01, 14 January 2008 (UTC)

No one ever said that the NBC masters for "Mama's Family" were in horrible condition; just the fact that John Hamilton is asking for too much money. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Vnisanian2001 (talk • contribs) 20:34, 12 February 2009 (UTC)

Jerry Stahl
Is it worth including a mention about Jerry Stahl, of Permanent Midnight fame?


 * Yeah, probably. Hill of Beans 18:11, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

added — Preceding unsigned comment added by Johnthegenius (talk • contribs) 18:47, 7 May 2014 (UTC)

more games.
there are more games based on alf, for one, there's an alf game made by box office software on the commodore 64. i also have read about one called alf in the color caves.
 * Alf and the Color Caves is not related to ALF. Hill of Beans 18:15, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

ALF on Commodore 64
The ALF game mentioned on the Sega Master System was also on the Commodore 64. There were 4 different levels (different parts of the neigbourhood) where ALF has to find all the parts of the spaceship. In each level, ALF first has to capture 6 cats, find 2 spaceship parts and then a key to the next level. While doing this, ALF has to hide from Willie (who will make ALF get rid of all his 'junk' and start the level over) and the dog catcher. Willie will only rescue ALF from the dogcatcher 3 times, then it's game over. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 60.242.69.42 (talk) 12:27, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Moved Link
I moved this link here for any further discussion as I find it inapropriate for wikipedia. 67.162.156.100 11:13, 20 May 2006 (UTC)
 * ALF Costume -- Original ALF Costumes


 * best case seanario it goes in merchandise section, but I am with you it's inapropriate for Wikipedia as it's akin to selling a item on wikipedia and this is a encylcopedia article. --Chad 10:16, 13 October 2007 (UTC)

ALF Movie teaser
The "Project Alf" Movie teaser-shows that since his capture ALF has been playing poker with his guards-and winning enough possessions to fill an aircraft hanger!!


 * This seems like an example of a plot point, not trivia about the show. If anyone agrees, I think we can edit plot points out of the triva section. --In Defense of the Artist 03:30, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

Number of stomachs
I've seen this show quite a long time ago, but, as far as I remember, Alf has 7 stomachs, not 8.

No, ALF had 8 stomachs. This was told in a few episodes. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.5.79.44 (talk) 02:51, 15 November 2007 (UTC)

Astronomical references? Chiron?
I remember one episode, probably one of the early ones, where they were talking about a mysterious, trans-Neptunian planet. I don't think it was in reference to Melmac, but it might have been a place where one of ALF's alien friends ended up.

Anyway the father had an A-ha moment and mentioned two recently discovered objects that could possibly be planets. I could have sworn he said "Chronos" and something that sounded like "Sharon" and possibly the planetoid 2060 Chiron or Pluto's moon Charon (moon).

Does anyone else remember this? 151.203.53.103 19:25, 26 August 2006 (UTC)

Definately 2060 Chiron Willie mentions it was also called "Object Kowal" and the discoverer of Chiron is Charles Kowal.

I have fixed the reference in the article. --Ted-m 15:19, 19 December 2006 (UTC)

End of Premise Section isn't neutral.
The last two sentences of the Premise Section, which talks about the use of syndicated episodes in the DVDs, aren't neutral. I am not entirely familiar with the TV series, so I didn't feel I should just delete or modify the sentences blindly. I think someone who knows the show should change the sentences into a more neutral tone. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by NZman (talk • contribs).


 * That's what's known as vandalism. If you look at the page history, you'll see that the same IP address has been adding that text repeatedly for a few days now.  It's reverted when someone notices it, but sometimes that takes a little while.  There's no need for you to be familiar with the topic before reverting obvious vandalism; it's a job anyone can and should do.  Thanks!  Powers T 12:47, 8 September 2006 (UTC)

Did ALF air in Great Britain?
Did ALF air in Great Britain Or not?

Actually yes he did many a late Saturday afternoon we would be rolling around the couch in laughter unfortunatly we only got the fist season 1989-1990 only 3 VHS vidios were launched in the UK if anyone could leave a lead as to where i could get all the other episodes from in the states that would be great. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Ewan G Keenowe (talk • contribs).

Seperate ALF character page
I think that a seperate page should be made talking about ALF himself (the character of ALF I mean), does such a page exist on Wikipedia? If not there should be. Unknown Dragon 05:50, 15 November 2006 (UTC)


 * I think it should be done only if there is sufficiant information beyond the TV series information to warrant a seperate article. Another Idea would be a biographical article about Paul Fusco and others involved in the creation of the show.--Scottmcmaster 11:09, 15 November 2006 (UTC)


 * How about a brief, separate section in this page on the characters? The majority of vertical space in this page is a list of broadcasts in other countries, and while encyclopedic, not as notable as characters.  For goodness sake, there's a list of Autobots separate from the Transformers page, while ALF had around ten recurring speaking roles throughout the series.  Also remember the ALF tie-ins: the animated series, the comic book... --BlueNight 06:55, 24 November 2006 (UTC)


 * I created a separate section trying to detail only the character of ALF, if someone can add to it that would be great, I also changed the premise to actually be about the show and only the character of ALF himself. --Chad 09:53, 13 October 2007 (UTC)

Disputed
The information regarding crispy critters appears false, after checking the external link to the one refrenced site on the crispy critters wiki I found no refrence to alf in the sited article.--Scottmcmaster 16:58, 11 November 2006 (UTC)


 * The crispy critters mascot looks quite a lot like a girafe... hardly like ALF.--Scottmcmaster 09:16, 12 November 2006 (UTC)


 * The note about crispy critters is uncited and all reputable articles I have checked show no mention of Crispy critter being an older ALF puppet. Reputable sources all say that the ALF puppet's creation predates the concept of the show.  It was thanks to a very funny television series pitch using the ALF puppet that led to the concept of a series.  If supporting evidence for the Crispy critter note cannot be found, it should be removed.--Scottmcmaster 15:37, 13 November 2006 (UTC)


 * Obviously. Powers T 14:43, 17 November 2006 (UTC)

Cleanup on aisle four!
As a fan, I am saddened by the lack of encyclopedic data on this page. So I am leaving this note here to remind me and others what to work on.


 * The actress who played Dorothy, Kate's mom, isn't credited, and Rhonda, his girlfriend, isn't mentioned. He was a member of the Melmac Orbit Guard, thus explaining why he was off-planet during its destruction.

Notable episodes to note: Gilligan's Island parody / funeral for Lucky the cat (season finale?) Dorothy's discovery of Alf while on a drunken binge Cyrano De bergerac parody Finale (needs more detail)

"each episode's name is also the name of a song relevant to the episode's plot": For example??? This very fact probably led the writers to the idea of "Help Me, Rhonda" accidentally played on a loop instead of his ship's distress call leading his girlfriend to Earth. --BlueNight 06:46, 24 November 2006 (UTC)

Misc.
Shouldn't this be at ALF (television) or something instead of Alf?


 * Yes, it should. Kingturtle 07:55, 17 Apr 2005 (UTC)


 * Is it just me or is the episode guide link a dead angelfire page? My internet has been a bit touchy today, so I don't want to delete a valid link. Robludwig

Vandalism
There is some vandalism toward the end of the trivia section. It doesn't appear to be easily editable. 66.67.97.48 22:37, 26 January 2007 (UTC)


 * Their is always vandalism on any page by people with nothing better to do, the best thing to do is try and revert it back to the way it was. --Chad 10:09, 13 October 2007 (UTC)

Episode Guide
Hello, I would like to see a link to the Puppet Wiki's episode guide about Alf added. Would this be alright? - Muppets101 23:02, 11 April 2007 (UTC)


 * There is already a episode guide listed in the page. so personally I'm not convinced the article need it. --Chad 10:09, 13 October 2007 (UTC)

Asteroid Broadcasting Company
Does anyone remember something where ALF was trying to pick up the "Asteroid Broadcasting Company" on the Tanner's TV? I don't remember whether this was part of one of the episodes, or if this was a promo shown during commercial breaks. I'm pretty sure this was a dig at rival network ABC. But there might be another reference here; in the U.S., TV channel 37 is reserved for radio astronomy. Is there any way we can get more info on this? Squidfryerchef 06:39, 2 August 2007 (UTC)

I seem to remember something along those lines, it was probally meant to be a funny shot at both. --Chad 10:09, 13 October 2007 (UTC)

Ref template
I provided a reference for the only citation needed tag, so maybe the template can be taken down. I don't know if it was referring to that or the article overall. Carl.bunderson (talk) 07:48, 8 February 2008 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Alftitle.jpg
Image:Alftitle.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 03:55, 12 February 2008 (UTC)

dwarves/little people
I just think that the word "dwarf" should not be used in this article. Perhaps it should be replaced with "a person of very short stature"
 * I agree that the former term has a derogatory notion, but the overdone political correctness is a problem as well. --MikeZ (talk) 10:27, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

primetime schedule
i might not be right, but i remember teens doing stuff before and after the commercial breaks during alf and whatever else was before or after. or was it just for halloween, probably '89? i know i remember a halloween where teens were doing stuff during the commercial breaks, and someone played toccata and fugue. i never really watched alf much, so i'm not sure what it was. does any of that ring a bell? 68.251.175.61 (talk) 06:05, 27 October 2008 (UTC)

Chiron / Object Kowal
However, after Willie made a call to an astronomical organization, he explained to Brian and ALF that "Dave" could have been the planetoid Chiron, or "Object Kowal", after its discoverer.

Actually, it was ALF who called Mt. Palomar (presumably with coordinates) and told Willie that "they have no knowledge of Alvin", but they do have knowledge of Dave, but they call it Chiron, and Willie recognized that name as Object Kowal. Brian wasn't told about Chiron. BTW, according to our article on 2060 Chiron, it was discovered at Palomar Observatory, which is kind of cool. Alf's on Hulu now, this happens about 16 minutes into epsiode "Weird Science", season 1. Squidfryerchef (talk) 16:37, 20 December 2009 (UTC)

Emmy Awards?
Is it worth mentioning that, technically, ALF was eligible to be nominated for an Emmy "as himself" (presumably in the Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actor (er, it was established that ALF is male at one point, wasn't it?) in a Comedy Series category)? The problem might be that there would be speculation involved in assuming that he was never entered because, according to the Emmy rules, they would have had to list the names of ALF's "performers and voice" (and, based on the comment about the NBC 75th Anniversary show, that was something Fusco didn't want to do).

That Don Guy (talk) 16:50, 28 April 2010 (UTC)

DVD releases
Its is UNCLEAR in the page if the British/UK DVD use the European Pal disk or the crap Cut version for USA? can anyone provide this information? User:Crazyseiko (talk)

Fixed a typo
Changed "electrcoution" to "electrocution." 99.127.212.28 (talk) 06:16, 4 December 2012 (UTC) For reference: this was me. I finally broke down and made an account. ProfMontgomery (talk) 01:55, 5 February 2013 (UTC)

Melmac - Trivia
In S03E09 of the tv series Mork & Mindy Exidor claimed to be struck by a meteor from the Melmac galaxy, which in reality was a dinner plate that was thrown by Mork a few moments before. Melmac was also the brand name of a popular plastic dinnerware (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melmac). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.247.127.184 (talk) 11:03, 10 December 2012 (UTC)

External links modified
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taste/political correctness
In Project ALF, Gordon has a heated exchange with a not-very feminine female officer, and (in a derogatory but roundabout way) calls her a lesbian. I've never been able to decide whether this was acceptable, but it underlines two significant points: 1) Sitcom characters are supposed to be basically "nice" folks who don't say such things. 2) Your average viewer is unable to understand irony, sarcasm, or any sort of subtle humor. WilliamSommerwerck (talk) 01:58, 27 June 2016 (UTC)

External links modified
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Did the name come from Alf Clausen?
I can't imagine the name ALF was created independently from Alf Clausen, and yet there is no mention of the article. Is it really just an acronym? tharsaile (talk) 02:05, 15 August 2017 (UTC)

I have edited the Plot section with a correction
As of how Alf's home planet Melmac was destroyed. According to the following exhcange between Alf and Willy: (Here; quoted from http://htmlgiant.com/random/the-alfinian-way-nuclear-war-and-the-thoughts-of-an-alien/)
 * Alf: "Willy, I’ve been through one nuclear disaster already. It’s no picnic."
 * Will: "Nuclear? you mean that’s how your planet exploded?"
 * Alf: No, we all plugged our hair dryers in at the same time.

I was unable to find a video of the outtake as such on YouTube, Though I did find a couple of references to this dialogue, for verification: HTML GIANT |The Alfinian Way: Nuclear War and the Thoughts of an Alien and [https://books.google.com/books?id=XF8nDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA9&lpg=PA9&dq=alf+everybody+turned+on+their+hair+dryers Television Series of the 1980s: Essential Facts and Quirky Details, pg. 9].

Note: Both sources do mention, in one case that it exploded "during a nuclear war", and in the other case referred to it as a "nuclear disaster" of which Alf "jokes" that it was due to the hair dryers. Though I have none the less chosen to altogether leave out the statement of Melmac's destruction being supposedly due to a nuclear war or disaster, because 1) I don't recall any explicit statement from the tv-series itself, saying such a thing. And 2) I suspect that the assumption that it was, on part of the two sources, is merely assumed from the context of that episode, rather than based on any explicit statements. And/or possibly inspired from the same statement in a previous version the wikipedia article, that I now edited.. - I might be wrong, of course, and Alf might, that I don't remember, have explicitly said it was due to an atomic war or disaster. So if anyone can refer to any explicit line or lines from the tv-series that says Melmac was destroyed due to a nuclear war or disaster, then by all means re-introduce that statement with a source reference.

P.S. I apologize that I forgot to add the edit summary to my edit.

RP Nielsen (talk) 10:56, 4 April 2018 (UTC)

Number of episodes
The lead says
 * ALF originally ran for four seasons and produced 99 episodes, including two one-hour episodes that were divided into two parts for syndication, totalling 102 episodes.

Actually this totals 101 episodes (97 original half-hour episodes plus 4 episodes that come from splitting the 2 1-hour episodes. Loraof (talk) 20:09, 23 July 2019 (UTC)

Coyote theory
There is a theory that ALF was inspired by coyotes found in many California suburbs. RichardBond (talk) 02:05, 2 November 2020 (UTC)