Hide your cats, boys and girls!
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Once upon a time, the life span of a television series usually ends when it either gets canned by the network or, in the case of successful ones, it concludes by consensus. Some will get picked up for syndication by any number of cable networks looking to bulk up their line-up and will continue to entertain in reruns for a number of years to come. Those lucky ones, unfortunately, are in the minority and are only limited to the really popular shows. What then, happens to the not-so-successful ones? It used to be that these shows would get stored in some archive facility somewhere--forgotten and collecting dust.
However, with the advent of DVDs, these long forgotten shows are finding new homes in the living rooms of its biggest fans. The popularity of DVDs has done wonders for TV shows in general. Many are resuscitated due to strong demand from loyal fans clamoring for their beloved series to be put on DVD. One, Fox´s animated show "The Family Guy", which was canceled not too long ago, will actually be revived in 2005 after the better-than-expected sales of its DVD sets. Unofficially known as "TV-Shows-On-DVD", more and more television shows--old and new--are slowly finding their way onto this new medium. And the great thing is, there is something for everyone. Your choices can range from multi-disc sets of complete seasons of the "I Love Lucy" sitcoms from the 1950´s to new fangled modern widescreen editions of TV spy thrillers like "Alias". Fans of television shows have never had it so good.
Which brings us to the latest television series to find its way onto DVD. With a loyal following clamoring for their favorite show to get the DVD treatment, the 80´s sitcom "ALF" will finally be released by Lions Gate. Hide your cats, boys and girls! Your favorite wisecracking furry alien from the planet Melmac will be crash landing into a store near you in less than a week.
Apart from his past appearances as spokesalien for telephone service commercials like 1-800-COLLECT and 10-10-220, ALF has also gotten a second wind in his career, now starring in an original show on the TV Land cable network titled "ALF´s Hit Talk Show" together with the ultimate talk show sidekick, Ed McMahon. If you are a big fan of "ALF", you will remember the Season 3 episode "Tonight, Tonight" where ALF dreams of hosting the Tonight Show with Ed McMahon. So, this new talk show, ladies and gentleman, is the culmination of that dream! Hey, if a furry space alien can make it in America, I don´t see who can´t!
Co-created, co-written, co-produced and sometimes directed by the multi-talented Paul Fusco (who also supplies the voice of ALF and is the puppeteer of the ALF character), "ALF" made its television debut in 1986 and went on a four-season run, ending in 1990. "ALF" is really very much like any of the sitcoms that came out of the 1980´s. Its biggest claim to fame is the incredibly funny alien character, ALF that looks like a cross between an anteater and a fuzzy brown baby bear that stands no higher than 3 feet tall. It is easy to see that without this central character, "ALF" (the series) would not have seen the light of day on NBC. A wisecracking alien that uses sarcasm and amusing one-liners to such great comical effect is good enough for the show to differentiate itself from other sitcoms of its day.
"ALF" tells the tale of a space alien that crash-lands on the Tanner family´s garage after its home planet, Melmac, is destroyed. Short, hairy and with a smart-alecky attitude to boot, ALF (which really stands for Alien Life Form) eventually comes to live with the Tanners, who fear that handing it over to the authorities will result in its torture in the name of science. A typical American family, the Tanners are made up of dad Willie (Max Wright), mom Kate (Anne Schedeen) and two children, Lynn (Andrea Elson) and Brian (Benji Gregory). The alien´s real name is actually Gordon Shumway (go figure!) and ALF is only the family´s nickname for it. The very first episode of the show sets the background story for the rest of the series in a short 25-minute sitcom-length slot. Unfortunately, this brief introduction goes by too quickly and the audience is left to more or less suspend their logic and just take every explanation thrown at them on face value alone. In short, forget how or why a furry alien, who, by the way, speaks English fluently even though it is from a distant planet, comes to live with a suburban family out in California and just enjoy the show for what it is, a pretty funny sitcom.
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