History Series / ALF

* ForHalloweenIAmGoingAsMyself: He turned a party into a costume party, and invited himself. He even put a zipper on him to make his appearance look more like a costume.

* FiveFiveFive The Tanners' phone number is revealed to be one of these, in "For Your Eyes Only".

* LastOfHisKind: [[spoiler: Due to the explosion of Melmac]].

<<|ShortTitles|>>

* ChristmasEpisode

* LeftHanging: It's cancellation made the last episode aired an unresolved cliffhanger, with Alf surrounded by government agents facing certain vivisection.

* AnAesop: In "Pennsylvania 6-5000", about nuclear disarmament.

* ABirthdayNotABreak: Melmac blew up on Alf's 228th birthday.

** And let's not overlook the biggest, [[AnimatedAdaptation cartooniest]], [[DrugsAreBad most Drugs-Are-Bad-iest]] [[CartoonAllStarsTotheRescue elephant in the room either]]

Alf was voiced and performed by Fusco. Recently, the character has been resurrected in various capacities; in 2004, a late-night talk show format (called "ALF's Hit Talk Show"; it only lasted seven episodes) and in commercials during the late-1990s, most notably one for the long-distance service "10-10-220".

* EditedForSyndication: Unfortunately, this [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ALF_(TV_series)#DVD_releases carried over]] to the [=DVD=] releases.

* {{555}} The Tanners' phone number is revealed to be one of these, in "For Your Eyes Only".

There was also a comic book adaptation which tended to play down the sitcom aspects in favor of giving him strange technological toys; it seemed more inspired by the AnimatedAdaptation than the original sitcom and would in fact often include stories set on Melmac, usually with the framing story of Alf telling the Tanners of life on his home planet. (Willie and Kate, for some unnexplained reason, found these [[{{Flashback}} flashbacks]] incredibly tedious. Lynn was fairly indifferent to them, and Brian loved them.)

* TheDogIsAnAlien: ALF does this from time to time, with varying degrees of success. For instance, on one occaision, he's seen by a hobo who thinks he's a kangaroo... and promptly leaps off the train they were riding.

* TheTelevisionTalksBack: A regular occurance on the AnimatedAdaptation. People even reach through the screen to grab the Shumways from time to time.

* TheCouch

The brainchild of puppeteer/producer Paul Fusco, Alf is the story of Gordon Shumway, a hapless '''A'''lien '''L'''ife '''F'''orm [[hottip:*:Sometimes he was billed as an Alien ''Laugh'' Form]] who crash lands in the backyard of the Tanner family after his home planet, Melmac, [[EarthShatteringKaboom explodes]]. The original series lasted from September, 1986 to March, 1990. A total of 102 episodes in four seasons.

As is typical of the AlienAmongUs plot, Alf has to deal with the particular protocols of living on earth. In a subversion, however, he is not depicted as particularly advanced or powerful. He's a little freaky teddy-bear monster, who is lazy, gluttonous, and tries to eat the family cat (cats were his home world's equivalent to chickens). He hides out in the attic, and makes no attempts to ever leave the house, perfectly content to freeload off the family patriarch, Willie, and tease the NosyNeighbor Raquel Ochmonek.

An AnimatedAdaptation was broadcast from September, 1987 to January, 1989. It depicted Gordon's life on Melmac before he came to earth. It introduced Gordon's family members and friends , such as little sister Augie and girlfriend Rhonda (both voiced by Paulina Gillis). A villain threatening Melmac was also introduced to add some tension. He was called Larson Petty (a pun on petty larceny). The show had its own SpinOff, ''ALF Tales'', which had the characters as AnimatedActors performing [[FracturedFairyTale modernized versions of classic stories]].

** [[spoiler: However, there are other survivors.]]
* LeftHanging: cancellation made the last episode aired an unresolved cliffhanger, with Alf surrounded by government agents facing certain vivisection.

The brainchild of puppeteer/producer Paul Fusco, Alf is the story of Gordon Shumway, a hapless '''A'''lien '''L'''ife '''F'''orm[[hottip:*:Sometimes he was billed as an [[FunWithAcronyms Alien]] ''[[FunWithAcronyms Laugh]]'' [[FunWithAcronyms Form]]]] who crash lands in the backyard of the Tanner family after his home planet, Melmac, [[EarthShatteringKaboom explodes]]. The original series lasted from September, 1986 to March, 1990. A total of 102 episodes in four seasons.

* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs. Inverted; Jerry Stahl freely admits his episodes were written on drugs, including the one where a giant cockroach tries to eat Alf.

*** And let's not overlook the biggest, [[AnimatedAdaptation cartooniest]], [[DrugsAreBad most Drugs-Are-Bad-iest]] [[CartoonAllStarsTotheRescue elephant in the room either]]

* WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs. Jerry Stahl freely admits his episodes were written on drugs, including the one where a giant cockroach tries to eat Alf.

The brainchild of puppeteer/producer Paul Fusco, Alf is the story of Gordon Shumway, a hapless '''A'''lien '''L'''ife '''F'''orm who crash lands in the backyard of the Tanner family after his home planet, Melmac, [[EarthShatteringKaboom explodes]]. The original series lasted from September, 1986 to March, 1990. A total of 102 episodes in four seasons.

An AnimatedAdaptation was broadcast from September, 1987 to January, 1989. It depicted Gordon's life on Melmac before he came to earth. It introduced Gordon's family members and friends , such as little sister Augie and girlfriend Rhonda (both voiced by Paulina Gillis). A villain threatening Melmac was also introduced to add some tension. He was called Larson Petty (a pun on petty larceny). The show had its own {{spin-off}}, ''ALF Tales'', which had the characters as AnimatedActors performing [[FracturedFairyTale modernized versions of classic stories]].

* FridgeHorror: The animated series itself, which is basically showcasing his life God only knows how long before the imminent explosion of Melmac.