- "This is the way it began, that extraordinary night. The night... he came."
- ―Willie Tanner
| A.L.F. | |
|---|---|
| Series ALF Season 1, Episode 1 | |
| |
| Air date | September 22nd, 1986 |
| Writers | Tom Patchett |
| Director | Tom Patchett |
| Producers | Paul Fusco Tom Patchett Steve Lamar |
| Starring | Max Wright; Anne Schedeen; Andrea Elson; Benji Gregory; Paul Fusco |
| Episode guide | |
| Previous — |
Next "Strangers in the Night" |
"A.L.F." is the first episode of the NBC television series ALF and first aired on September 22nd, 1986. This episode is available on disc one of the ALF Season One DVD collection and on Hulu. The episodes introduces the titular character of ALF as well as his supporting cast, the Tanner family.
Synopsis[]
Willie Tanner and his wife Kate are in the garage experimenting with a short wave radio. While adjusting the frequency, Willie notices a thunderous sound coming from above. Flashing lights shine down through the windows and their children, Lynn and Brian rush in to see what is going on. Suddenly, a space ship crashes into the roof of their garage. The cockpit of the ship is sticking through the aperture and they can clearly see an extraterrestrial lying unconscious inside.
Willie opens the ship and brings the alien into the house. Kate doesn't want him to set it on the couch, so Willie clears some space on the coffee table. A buzz of excitement fills the room as they try to determine exactly what it is. Willie identifies it as an A.L.F., an alien life form. At first, Willie is exhilarated, but then grows scared, wondering what diseases the thing might carry. ALF awakens and asks Willie to help him repair his space ship. They are all shocked to see that it speaks English. Before "getting friendly", ALF asks for a light snack. They learn to their horror that his species enjoys eating cats. Unfortunately, the Tanners own a pet cat named Lucky. Kate forbids ALF from snacking on their cat and offers him a can of dented cat food instead. ALF accepts it, indicating that he could "use the roughage".
While ALF is scouting out the kitchen, Kate expresses her concerns to Willie. Willie asks her to give him one day to see if he can repair the ship. Kate reluctantly agrees.
The following day, Kate wakes up and finds ALF lying in bed next to her. They both scream and cry out for Willie. ALF runs into the bathroom where Willie is finishing up shaving. Willie asks him what is the matter and ALF replies, "Nothing. Just screaming." Willie then prepares to take a shower while ALF plays with the shaving cream. He warns ALF that Kate is against the idea of him staying here so he needs to mind his behavior. He also warns him to stay away from the windows because they have a nosy neighbor, Mrs. Ochmonek and he doesn't want anyone to see ALF. While Willie showers, ALF instantly disobeys him. He looks out the window and sees Mrs. Ochmonek staring back at him from the window of her house. Willie gets out of the shower and asks for a towel. Instead of giving him a towel, ALF unravels a roll of bathroom tissue and hands it to him.
Later in the garage, Willie is on a ladder trying to fix ALF's ship. ALF is playing with the radio attempting to win a radio contest. Lynn is present and tries to help ALF win the contest. Willie keeps asking for a wrench, but everyone ignores him. Finally, he screams the word "wrench" very loudly and ALF gives him a bemused look. He decides to go into the house.
ALF watches Sesame Street with Brian while Kate reads a book. The two get up to get something to drink from the kitchen and come back with beer. Kate admonishes ALF for giving her son a beer and adds that he is not allowed to drink beer either. She says that she doesn't know how they do things on "Mork", but on Earth, children don't drink beer. ALF corrects her and tells Kate that his planet was called Melmac. He adds that Melmac exploded and pulls a piece of debris out of his fur, indicating "...this was my street". Fearing that Kate might kick ALF out of the house, Brian and ALF both beg her to let him stay.
Suddenly, there is a knock at the door. Kate answers it and finds a man dressed in a military uniform. He identifies himself as Darnell Valentine of the Alien Task Force. He tells them that they received an anonymous tip (via Mrs. Ochmonek) that the Tanners might be harboring an alien. After hearing about all of the terrible things that the government will likely do if they get their hands on ALF, Kate lies and tells him that they are not harboring any alien fugitives. Satisfied with her answer, the man leaves.
Later that night, ALF is in the garage by himself. He uses the radio to try to send a message out to any other Melmacians who may have survived their planet's destruction. He invites them to come to Earth so they can eat the Tanners' cat.
Cast[]
Starring[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Max Wright | Willie Tanner |
| Anne Schedeen | Kate Tanner |
| Andrea Elson | Lynn Tanner |
| Benji Gregory | Brian Tanner |
Co-Starring[]
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Paul Fusco | ALF (voice) |
| Liz Sheridan | Raquel Ochmonek |
| John LaMotta | Trevor Ochmonek |
| Francis X. McCarthy | Darnell Valentine |
Notes & Trivia[]
- Pilot episode.
- Future episodes will reveal that ALF's real name is Gordon Shumway.
- Scenes from this episode are re-used in "Try to Remember" (Part 1).
- Kate erroneously refers to ALF's home planet as Mork. Mork was actually an alien character played by Robin Williams in the popular sit-com Mork & Mindy.
- Sesame Street is a children's television series that features puppets.