ALF: THE ANIMATED SERIES (2025)

(NBC, September 26, 1987-January 7, 1989)

DiC Entertainment, Alien Productions, Lorimar-Telepictures,Saban Entertainment

Paul Fusco – GordonShumway/ALF, Rick Fusterman

Thick Wilson – BobShumway, Larson Petty

Peggy Mahon – FloShumway

Tabitha St. Germain (asPaulina Gillis) – Augie Shumway, Rhonda

Michael Fantini –Curtis Shumway

Len Carlson –Cantfayl, Sargent Staff

Rob Cowan – Skip

Dan Hennessey –Sloop, Eggbert Petty

Airing on NBC, ALF wasa sitcom following the adventures of Gordon Shumway (Paul Fusco) from theplanet Melmac after he crash-landed on Earth following a nuclear explosion onhis planet. He was taken in by the Tanner family (not the ones from San Francisco),who protected him from the Alien Task Force while he repaired his ship.Nicknamed Alien Life Form by the family patriarch, Willie (Max Wright), ALF would spend thenext four seasons enthralling America and becoming a media darling.

Paul Fusco with ALF.

A communicationsmajor, Fusco worked his way through college by doing magic, puppetry andventriloquism. He managed to strike a deal with cable network Showtime for a series ofspecials out of which the ALF character was born. Fusco would use him atparties to entertain family and friends, and even tried him out at a comedyclub in New Haven, Connecticut. Heformed Alien Productionswith Tom Patchett and theysecured representation with JimHenson’s manager, BernieBrillstein. Brillstein was hesitant to take Fusco on, considering Henson tobe the best puppeteer in the business, but was won over by ALF and hismerchandising possibilities. Similarly, ALF won over the NBC executives whenthey pitched the series; with Fusco pulling him out during their meeting whenthey started to lose interest. The series would make its debut on September 22,1986, filmed on a stage with trap doors and trenches to allow the puppeteers tooperate ALF in each scene (which his live-action co-stars hated with apassion as there was always a danger of falling into one).

ALF was popular withchildren—it was then-NBC President BrandonTartikoff’s young daughter who convinced him to keep ALF goingbeyond the pilot—and they started to become a big portion of the show’saudience. As a result, thecontent of the show was gradually altered to reflect their new viewers. Forinstance, ALF was only seen drinking alcohol during the first season, andcertain imitable antics—like using electric appliances in the bathtub—wereeither altered for future broadcasts or toned down in future episodes. Recognizingan opportunity, NBC ordered an animated spin-off of the show for inclusion intheir Saturday morning line-up.

Developed by Fuscoand Patchett, ALF: The Animated Series servedas a prequel to the regular ALF series.The show followed the adventures of Gordon (“ALF” was never used in the showbeyond the title) on the planet Melmac, having freshly graduated high school atthe ripe young age of 193. The animated series helped Fusco with his desire toperpetuate the illusion that ALF was an actual being rather than a puppet asthe cartoon’s full body could be seen on screen all the time. However, unlikethe sitcom, ALF was always adorned in a Hawaiian shirt. The series made fulluse of its alien setting to generate humor from surrealistic activities beingtreated as ordinary, such as getting mayonnaise from mines; the names oflocations, such as Gordon’s hometown being East Velcro; or from pop culturesatire, like an entire episode dedicated to parodying the James Bond franchise. Even the episode namesthemselves were parodies of movie and song titles, as well as popular sayings. Thecartoon also poked fun at itself by featuring a show within a show where anEarthling crashes on planet Melmac and stays with a family of Melmacians.

Among Melmac’s other residents were Gordon’s family: father Bob (ThickWilson), mother Flo (Peggy Mahon), sister Augie (Tabitha St. Germain), andbrother Curtis (Michael Fantini). The Shumways also had two pets: a bird-likealien (called a “Westfellman Smulk”) named Harry and a dog-like alen (called a“vespa”) named Neep. Gordon’s closest friends included neighbor Rick Fusterman(Fusco) and Skip (Rob Cowan). Gordon also had a girlfriend, Rhonda (Germain).Rhonda, Rick and Skip all made appearances on the live show, establishing thatALF wasn’t the last of his kind. Gordon, Skip and Rick were members of theMelmacian Orbit Guard under the command of Sargent Staff and Colonel Cantfayl(both Len Carlson). Theseries’ primary villain was Larson Petty (a play on “petty larceny”, voicedby Wilson), who constantly sought to conquer the planet Melmac with his minion Sloop(secretly his long-lost son Eggbert, voiced by Dan Hennessey), but was thwartedby Gordon and his allies. Recurring Melmacians included Madame Pokipsi (a playon the New York city of Poughkeepsie,voiced by Deborah Theaker), afortune smeller (not a typo), and Stella (Ellen-Ray Hennessy), a waitress at theirfavorite hangout, Eddie’s Cats-Up Diner (later the Galaxy Café, but still ownedby the titular Eddie). The characters were designed by Fil Barlow, Lou Police, Dave Smith, Charles Crawford,Michael Goguen, Brian Hogan, Ed Lee and Kenny Thompkins.

EPISODE GUIDE:

Season 1:

“Phantom Pilot”(9/26/87) – Gordon gets some unlikely help in defending Melmac from LarsonPetty

“Hair Today,Bald Tomorrow” (10/3/87) – After Harry uses Gordon’s hair for his nest, Gordongoes for a baldness cure only to accidentally insult Madame Pokipsi and receivea baldness curse.

“Two for theBrig” (10/10/87) – Gordon and Sargent Staff accidentally mistake their ship fora cruise liner and end up in jail.

“Gordon ShipsOut” (10/24/87) – Gordon, Rick and Skip chip in for a sailing yacht and end upstranded on an island thanks to a termite.

“Birdman ofMelmac” (10/31/87) – When Harry is declared an extinct species, it becomes aroyal pain for the Shumway family.

“Pismo and theOrbit Gyro” (11/7/87) – The Orbit Gyro’s regular maintenance leads the robot incharge of it to having a few screws loose.

“20,000 Yearsin Driving School” (11/14/87) – Gordon must re-attend driving school in orderto get his license back after losing it in an accident.

“Pride of theShumways” (11/21/87) – Gordon is offered a chance for the major leagues inBouilliabaseball, but Curtis suspects something is amiss.

“CaptainBobaroo” (12/5/87) – When Bob gets hit on the head, he believes he’s achildren’s TV show host.

“Neep at theRaces” (12/12/87) – Gordon enters Neep in a race, but bikers want a cut of hiswinnings.

“Salad Wars”(12/19/87) – Gordon’s family vacation is interrupted by someone’s desire tohave a salad seed monopoly.

“Tough ShrimpDon’t Dance” (1/2/88) – Gordon helps rescue an alien race of shrimp from LarsonPetty.

“Home Away fromHome” (1/16/88) – When his parents are away, Gordon loses their house to asleazy real estate agent.

Season 2:

“FlodustMemories” (9/10/88) – Flo is entered into and wins a Mom of the Millenniumcontest, but her celebrity status goes to her head.

“Family Feud”(9/17/88) – The Fustermans declare war on the Shumways after losing to them ona game show.

“Clams NeverSang for my Father” (9/24/88) – Bob and Frank Fusterman face each other in thetraditional Mayonnaise Lodge rite of passage clam-wrestling contest.

“A Mid-GoomerNight’s Dream” (10/1/88) – Larson Petty accidentally abducts Bob wearing aGoomer suit, leaving Gordon and Augie to find the real one and save their dad.

“The BoneLosers” (10/8/88) – Gordon finds dinosaur bones in his yard which makes acelebrity paleontologist jealous enough to want to steal them away.

“Thank Gordonfor Little Girls” (10/15/88) – Gordon invents a new device that Augie and herscout troop end up taking credit for.

“Hooray forMellywood” (10/29/88) – Gordon’s life is about to be turned into amovie--maybe.

“The Spy fromEast Velcro” (11/12/88) – When an evil spy mistakes Gordon for agent JamesBonzo, Gordon ends up captured by the villain.

“He Ain’tSeafood, He’s My Brother” (11/19/88) – Renegade Muklukians kidnap Cutis in aplot to claim their planet’s throne, and Fescue comes to Gordon for help instopping them.

“Looking forLove in All the Wrong Places” (12/3/88) – Gordon tries to help a friend get agirl, but she ends up falling for him instead.

“The Slugs ofWrath” (12/10/88) – During a mayonnaise shortage, the Shumways move to a farmto try their hands at raising slugs.

“Housesittingfor Pokipsi” (12/17/88) – Gordon and his friends housesit for Madame Pokipsiand Gordon gets into trouble using her crystal ball.

“Skipper’s Gota Brand New Dad” (1/7/89) – Larson Petty needs to find a son in order to claiman inheritance while Gordon and Rick try to find Skip’s birth parents.