ALF (season 1)

ALF (season 1)
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	26
Release
Original network	NBC
Original release	September 22, 1986 – May 11, 1987

The following is a list of episodes from the first season of ALF.^[1]

Broadcast history

The season aired Mondays at 8:00-8:30 pm (EST).

DVD release

The season was released on DVD by Lionsgate Home Entertainment.

Cast

• Paul Fusco – ALF (puppeteer, voice)
  • Lisa Buckley - ALF (assistant puppeteer)
  • Bob Fappiano - ALF (assistant puppeteer)
• Max Wright – Willie Tanner
• Anne Schedeen – Kate Tanner
• Andrea Elson – Lynn Tanner
• Benji Gregory – Brian Tanner

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Directed by	Written by	Original air date
1	1	"A.L.F."	Tom Patchett	Tom Patchett	September 22, 1986
The whole story starts here as Gordon Shumway, a Melmacian who escaped his planet before it was destroyed, crash lands into the garage of the Tanner family. The Tanners call him "ALF" because he is an Alien Life Form and they decide to keep his presence a secret so that the U.S. Government will not take away the space being and subject him to experiments. From the beginning, there is no sanity for the Tanner family.
2	2	"Strangers in the Night"	Peter Bonerz	Paul Fusco & Thad Mumford	September 29, 1986
Everybody but Brian and ALF are leaving the house for the evening and Kate doesn't want ALF to babysit Brian, so Willie calls their ever-snooping Mrs. Ochmonek from the neighbor. ALF is told to stay in the bedroom, but when Mrs. Ochmonek starts to watch Psycho, which ALF wants to see, he can't resist sneaking out of the bedroom. Mrs. Ochmonek is in for some unusual experiences.
3	3	"Looking for Lucky"	Peter Bonerz	Bob Bendetson & Howard Bendetson	October 6, 1986
ALF is accused of eating Lucky, so he decides to search for him to prove his innocence.
4	4	"Pennsylvania 6-5000"	Peter Bonerz	Donald Todd	October 13, 1986
After ALF uses the shortwave radio to call the President about the nuclear disaster, Willie gets blamed and is thrown in jail.
5	5	"Keepin' the Faith"	Peter Bonerz	Laurie Gelman	October 20, 1986
To solve the Tanners' money problems, ALF gets a job selling make-up.
6	6	"For Your Eyes Only"	Peter Bonerz	Mitzi McCall & Adrienne Armstrong	November 3, 1986
ALF meets a blind woman named Jody.
7	7	"Help Me, Rhonda"	Peter Bonerz and Rick Gough	Tom Patchett & Lloyd Garver	November 10, 1986
Brian's 7th birthday is approaching and it gets ALF depressed, because he realizes he's never going to see his friends on Melmac again - he was finally going to get together with his true love Rhonda and then the planet exploded. In sleep, ALF dreams about his 228th birthday on Melmac, just before the explosion. In order to cheer ALF up, Brian and Willie start broadcasting into space, in hopes of finding another survivor from Melmac.
8	8	"Don't It Make Your Brown Eyes Blue?"	Tom Patchett	Jerry Stahl	November 17, 1986
Lynn is excited because "Scott" wants to keep all his band equipment in the Tanner's garage. Willie is not so excited. Lynn is interested in Scott and begs for Willie to allow Scott to keep the equipment in their garage for just two days. Willie gives her his permission. ALF is not happy - he was supposed to be re-decorating his room with Lynn. And he also has a crush on Lynn, so he proceeds to sabotage Scott's time with Lynn while trying to come up with something to impress her. He also films a music video for her ("You're the One Who's Out of This World") to prove it.
9	9	"Jump"	Peter Bonerz	Gary Markowitz	November 24, 1986
It's Willie's birthday. ALF gives him a box he found in the basement. It's full of photos from high school and college. There's also a menu, on the back of which Kate and Willie both made lists of things they wanted to achieve in life. Kate actually did the things on her list, but Willie did not. This starts to haunt him so badly that he decides to do the list.
10	10	"Baby, You Can Drive My Car"	Nancy Heydorn	Thad Mumford & Laurie Gelman	December 1, 1986
Lynn is going to a concert with her friend and is waiting to get the car for the evening... but Willie and Kate are late and the girls are in danger of being late for the concert. Then Willie and Kate arrive... with the help a tow truck. The tow truck man estimates that the repairs will cost way over 3,000 dollars - not good. Lynn is upset and wishes for another car. ALF asks why Willie doesn't buy Lynn a car and Willie has to explain that they can't afford it - especially since a lot of money went into repairing the garage roof because ALF crash-landed on it. Lynn wants to start saving money by getting a job, but her parents aren't sure she can balance school and work. And she can't. Cue ALF to the rescue... or should we say a disaster?
11	11	"On the Road Again"	Peter Bonerz	Bob Bendetson & Howard Bendetson	December 8, 1986
Willie suggests that they go to San Diego on holiday. Kate is all for it, but there's a slight problem: what to do with ALF? Since leaving ALF alone is a recipe for disaster, the family takes him along for the road trip. However, the weather turns stormy, ALF gets bored of sitting in the RV and starts complaining. Willie goes mental and shows ALF the door. Defiantly, ALF wanders off.
12	12	"Oh, Tannerbaum"	Rick Gough	Donald Todd	December 22, 1986
Willie and ALF break down while picking out a Christmas tree.
13	13	"Mother and Child Reunion"	Tom Patchett	Bob Bendetson & Howard Bendetson	January 12, 1987
Kate's mother, who is not on warm terms with Willie, arrives for a surprise visit that forces the Tanners to lock ALF in the garage for "a few days". The problem is that ALF just can't stand being not allowed to roam around in the house, with all the luxuries found there. So he just has to do something.
14	14	"A Little Bit of Soap"	Tom Patchett	Laurie Gelman	January 19, 1987
ALF and Kate's mom are arguing about TV. Kate's mom thinks ALF's favorite soap opera, Midwest General, is sleaze, and shows him her favorite, One World to Hope For, which ALF thinks is boring. Angered, ALF argues that he could write a better script for the series than the writers are coming up with. So ALF actually writes a script and sends it in. The production company actually films ALF's script that bears not-so-subtle similarities to the situation at the Tanners' house...
15	15	"I've Got a New Attitude"	Nancy Heydorn	Thad Mumford	February 2, 1987
Willie catches ALF from eating a box of chocolate that was to be a Valentine's Day present for Kate. This incites Willie to give ALF a lecture on how ALF does not respect private property and needs to adopt a new attitude. Also, Kate's mom is moving out of the Tanners' house. The problem is that her new neighbor, Whizzer, wants to come help Dorothy move her stuff. Which means ALF has to hide from him. Kate likes Whizzer and suggests that they invite him over for a dinner. Dorothy doesn't want that. ALF interjects by claiming to have spoken to Dorothy's dead husband Sparky's spirit, who wants Dorothy to move on. Apparently, all Melmacians have the ability to speak to the dead. Dorothy wants ALF to prove his ability and let her speak to Sparky through ALF.
16/17	16/17	"Try to Remember"	Tom Patchett	Laurie Gelman, Bob Bendetson, Howard Bendetson and Donald Todd	February 9, 1987
ALF loses his memory and thinks he is insurance agent Wayne Schlegel after accidentally shocking himself in the bathtub. The Tanners then use flashbacks to restore his memory. NOTE: one-hour clip show; later edits changed cause of memory loss from electric shock to head injury after NBC received complaints from viewers.
18	18	"Border Song"	Tom Patchett	Donald Todd	February 16, 1987
ALF befriends a Mexican teenaged immigrant who wants to go back home.
19	19	"Wild Thing"	Nancy Heydorn	David Silverman & Stephen Sustarsic	March 2, 1987
ALF, beginning to go through a Melmacian psychological and physiological transformation which happens every 75 years for Melmacians on March 2nd, warns the Tanner family that he must be locked up for 24 hours during this period in which he will experience wild, erratic behavior — but he escapes before the day is over.
20	20	"Going Out of My Head Over You"	Nancy Heydorn	Bob Bendetson & Howard Bendetson	March 16, 1987
Brian has to lie to his friend who wants to come for a sleepover that the Tanner's basement is flooded, because ALF must be kept secret. Willie then tries to explain to Brian that lying is always wrong even though Brian has to keep lying because of ALF. Lying to the Ochmonecks is also tiring Willie, not to mention having to put up with ALF's antics. Kate suggests Willie talk to Larry, a therapist they know. Of course, Willie has to prove that ALF exists and is not his hallucination, which means that Larry and ALF meet.
21	21	"Lookin' Through the Windows"	Nancy Heydorn	Bob Bendetson	March 23, 1987
There's a power blackout, so ALF is passing the time by watching the Tanners' neighbors, the Ochmoneks, who are fighting. By dinner time, the power has come back so the Tanners can have dinner. Then comes another, short blackout. Trevor Ochmonek appears at the Tanners' door, seeking peace and quiet from the angry Raquel. Soon after, Raquel comes to demand that Trevor return home. The Tanners persuade him to do so. Night falls and ALF hears the Ochmoneks continue fighting. Suddenly it becomes silent. Too silent for ALF, who's convinced that something foul has happened at the Ochmoneks.
22	22	"It Isn't Easy ... Bein' Green"	Peter Bonerz	Wendy Graf & Lisa Stotsky	March 30, 1987
Brian must perform a song about asparagus for the school play, but is too nervous.
23	23	"The Gambler"	Gary Shimokawa	Thad Mumford & Laurie Gelman	April 6, 1987
The Tanners are preparing for a garage sale to get some money for house payments. ALF discovers the alluring world of horse racing thanks to Kate's mom who bets on them. When the concept of a bookie is explained to ALF, he gets the bright idea of getting the Tanners some money through betting. When his initial bets yield only profit, the plan seems good... at the time.
24	24	"Weird Science"	Paul Fusco	Paul Fusco	April 13, 1987
When the living room TV breaks down, Willie declares that he won't have it fixed, despite ALF's complaints that he has nothing to do but watch TV. ALF keeps pressuring Willie, who discovers that the TV is still under warranty and he can have it sent to the factory for repairs. Except that the factory is in Libya and Willie would have to pay for shipping... ALF thinks Willie has been conned, so he calls Consumer Ed, the guy who fights for consumers' rights on TV... Brian announces that he needs to come up with a project for the Science Carnival. On his own, Brian creates a model of the Solar System. ALF points out that there are inaccuracies and offers to help. He tells Brian that there are two more planets named Dave and Alvin.
25	25	"La Cucaracha"	Peter Baldwin	Jerry Stahl	May 4, 1987
A cockroach from ALF's spaceship grows to gigantic proportions.
26	26	"Come Fly With Me"	Peter Baldwin	Nelson Costello	May 11, 1987
ALF thinks he's won in a publisher's sweepstakes, but the actual truth is that he subscribed to "hundreds of magazines" (Willie probably exaggerates here)... The next leaflet ALF gets his hands on *does* promise free gifts, but only if the family comes to listen a sales pitch for vacation homes. The Ochmoneks are going there, so Trevor invites the Tanners to come along. Turns out he is a pilot who flew in the Korean war, so they are able to fly instead of a seven-hour drive. The reluctant Willie eventually warms to the idea, but ALF has to stay home.

References

1. "ALF". TV Guide. Retrieved 23 October 2014.