The late 1980s sitcom Alf about a friendly alien from the planet Melmac who crash lands in the garage of a suburban family quickly became a pop culture sensation. For four seasons, audiences were treated to ALF’s hijinks, his insatiable appetite for cats, and the Tanners’ often futile attempts to conceal him from the neighbors and the government. However, the show’s abrupt and melancholy conclusion left fans with a sense of unease that lingers even decades later.
The Unexpected Turn
“ALF” was a show built on the foundation of humor and the absurd, with each episode serving up a healthy dose of laughter as ALF navigated life on Earth. Yet, the series finale, titled “Consider Me Gone,” took a sharp turn from the show’s usual comedic tone into a realm of uncertainty and sadness that was almost Kafkaesque for a family sitcom.
In the final episode, ALF receives a broadcast from two surviving Melmacians who are arranging to pick him up from Earth. The Tanners, though saddened by the prospect of losing a member of their family, understand that ALF must go with his people.
As the Alien Task Force closes in, ALF’s friends from Melmac are supposed to rescue him. In a heart-stopping moment, the Task Force captures ALF before his compatriots can reach him, leaving viewers to witness ALF’s apprehension and the Tanners’ despair as the screen fades to black.
What made the ending of “ALF” particularly distressing was its nature as a cliffhanger that was never resolved on television. The show was canceled after the fourth season, and the finale was written with the expectation that “ALF” would return for a fifth season to continue the story. The unresolved cliffhanger left ALF’s fate in the hands of a government that had been portrayed throughout the series as wanting to dissect him for research. For a character as beloved as ALF, the thought of such a fate was a bitter pill for the audience to swallow.
Redemption Through ‘Project: ALF’
It wasn’t until six years later, in 1996, that a television movie titled “Project: ALF” attempted to provide some closure. The film followed ALF’s life in military custody and his eventual escape with the help of some sympathetic friends. While it offered some solace, the made-for-TV movie lacked the original cast of the Tanners, leaving a void that the presence of ALF alone couldn’t fill.
As we look back on “ALF,” it’s clear that the show was more than just a comedic escape; it was a canvas for exploring themes of family, belonging, and the bittersweet nature of goodbye. The finale, as melancholy as it was, cemented “ALF” in the memories of its audience, ensuring that the show’s legacy—and the story of a lovable alien stranded far from home—would not soon be forgotten.
Leave a Reply