The worst episode

[Steven]

I received my uncut netherlands release yesterday and it's great to see the original episodes again. I thought they were gone for good, however I think that some of the episodes on the first disc are dated now (the pilot is still good and for your eyes only) But the episode looking for lucky is very poor. First of all Alf gets captured and the man at the vets thinks he's a dog (why would he?) and then he lets Alf out, and he runs across the room to grab the cat. Not very stealthy.

In the same episode the tanners go out and ask strangers where Alf is and even describe him. They wouldn't do that! There's one or two decent jokes but it's probablt my least favourite episode. What's yours?

[ALFfan013]

probably the clip show one "try to remember"

[ALFicionado]

I received my uncut netherlands release yesterday and it's great to see the original episodes again. I thought they were gone for good, however I think that some of the episodes on the first disc are dated now (the pilot is still good and for your eyes only) But the episode looking for lucky is very poor. First of all Alf gets captured and the man at the vets thinks he's a dog (why would he?) and then he lets Alf out, and he runs across the room to grab the cat. Not very stealthy.

In the same episode the tanners go out and ask strangers where Alf is and even describe him. They wouldn't do that! There's one or two decent jokes but it's probablt my least favourite episode. What's yours?

I really don't agree with this. I think Looking for Lucky is a great and very memorable episode. The Tanners didn't know what else to do, of course they had to describe ALF in an attempt to find him. As long as they don't come right out saying he's an alien from the planet of Melmac.

The guy who caught ALF probably didn't know what else it could be. Same kind of thing happens in On the Road Again when the brothers debate as to what ALF really is. Maybe that's what the dog pound guy did but decided to capture him to be on the safe side. Also, ALF wasn't let out, he broke out just as soon as the guy opened his cage by pushing on the door, which surprised the guy.

You need a little bit of suspension of disbelief when watching a sitcom. Goes a long way.

[melmacian56]

'Looking for Lucky' the worst episode? No way bro! I respect your opinion but I totally disagree that it is the worst. 'Looking for Lucky' is a fantastic episode. I would go as far as saying it's definitely a top 10 episode. It provides great laughs and puts ALF in a dangerous situation when he is captured by the dog catcher. I'm also pretty sure that this is the first time in the series we get to see ALF out in the real world. Now I can understand where some of your feelings of negativity come from. I did think ALF escaping with the cat cleanly seemed a little over the top because the way it looked when he ran out with the cat made it look like he could be caught easily because he wasn't moving that fast. But, I can suspend my disbelief and give the actor in the suit a break because I imagine filming that scene was not the easiest thing they have done. I give 'Looking for Lucky' full marks for being a fantastic episode!

[Admin]

I for one have a hard time labeling a "worst" episode in the sitcom. I do feel there are some episodes that are not as "strong" or perhaps "under average," (several being in season 4) but I think every episode provides a lot of great laughs. Since there are only four seasons worth of episodes, I will always treasure each and every one of them. Without a doubt a show that died far too young...I always wonder what it would have been like if the sitcom were continued, and we had 7-8 seasons worth of ALF...

[melmacian56]

Agreed Jeremiah. I don't think there is one episode of ALF that I dislike. There are some that are not as good as others but they are all enjoyable. Now the final episode always gives me knots in my stomach because of the darker tone. I actually hated it the first time I seen it but I have grown to actually appreciate it for being a great cliffhanger episode. I think of all my favorite TV shows ALF has the highest number of enjoyable episodes of any of the shows.

[ALFicionado]

Agree with both of you guys. There's not a single episode of ALF that I dislike, or not even like! There is something to like about every episode they made, even though they aren't always on par with each other in quality.

[samstokes80]

Of course, I hated the final episode for the longest time until they made Project: ALF - and despite its shortcomings, at least it gave ALF a happy ending.

Putting that one aside, I actually enjoy every episode, but if I were to pick a least favorite it would be "Baby, Come Back" - the one where Kate is called in to work and can't find anyone to babysit Eric and so she reluctantly leaves him with ALF. Then Lynn comes home to pick him up and take him to Brian's baseball game, and Brian shouts to ALF that they're taking the baby but doesn't make sure that he heard him. Although there are funny parts to the episode, I was really bothered by how terrified ALF and Willie were about not being able to find Eric, and didn't really find any humor in the situation. However, I did enjoy how ALF tried to divert Willie's attention by saying, "Whatever you do don't look in the kitchen," and then after Willie scours the kitchen, ALF says, "Whatever you do don't look in the Chrysler Building in New York."

[Bring Back ALF]

I agree, its always about the character of ALF that I love and enjoy. Sometimes its just a little look or mannerism that makes that episode special for me. However when I was watching season four for the first time unaware that the show was about to end it did feel a bit strained for ideas in places with episodes like When I'm Sixty-Four being one of the examples but still there were a few moments in there that were enjoyable.
I think Paul Fusco has mentioned that it became increasingly hard to come up with new situations by ALF only having a handful of people to interact with, hence the season five military base idea that I would have loved to have seen.

[samstokes80]

One of my friends started talking to me about ALF the other day (because he found out I was a big fan), and he was telling me he loved the show but that he was disturbed by the episode, "I'm Your Puppet." I told him that I could relate. It definitely creeped me out when I first watched it - of course, I was seven when it first aired.

[Earthling]

I agree with most of the replyers. I don't think that there are bad ALF-episodes, but indeed some of them are fantastic and others are just great.

[Debbie_Anne]

Any of the episodes with Willie's brother Neil is worth skipping. He just didn't fit in with the rest of the cast, and it was too easy for ALF to walk all over him. The whole story about Neil and his ex-wife just seemed to push ALF into the background in most of his episodes. It was almost like the writers were using these episodes to audition to write for other non-gimmick oriented sitcoms. Also the one with Dorothy and Whizzer separating where he meets ALF...in all of these episodes, ALF is just annoying instead of his usual bizarre self. ALF was at its best when the writers focused on ALF. Sometimes the writers needed to be reminded of something ALF said in an outtake, "What's the name of the show?".

[Admin]

Debbie_Anne, I've met several other fans that feel the same way as you do. Neil is definitely one of those characters where you love him or hate him (not much in the middle) - there are a LOT of people that do not care for the character. I'm on the other side of the fence and really like the episodes with Neil

[Suburban_Sensei]

We all have opinions, but I really don't think Looking For Lucky was bad at all. I love pretty much every episode of Season 1 & 2. As far as worst episode?...hm, I can't think of a specific one at the moment, but I am not very fond of a good chunk of Season 4 and I agree with Debbie_Anne about Neil's episodes...just wasn't feelin' him.

[NoProblem86]

Agreed. Season 4 is lackluster. Ben Gregory was growing up, Andrea Elson seemed like she would have rather been at college, and both Anne Schedeen and Max Wright were phoning in their performances. In retrospect, one can make an argument all four leads were suffering from a little ALF burnout. Adding Neal Tanner was the definitive "jump the shark" moment.

One has to remember that the whole idea of ALF was something of a novelty. How many "zany adventures" can one alien get into? Plus, the story thread of hiding ALF from the people grew very thin. After living on Earth for three years, he starts to learn things and becomes more acquainted with the lifestyle. Mork & Mindy (another four-year run) had this problem by its final year, with Mork now more attuned to Earth and finding less humour in situations. Viewer tastes had also changed somewhat. The Simpsons and Roseanne were all the rage and ALF seemed almost silly in comparison particularly since NBC and Fusco had watered ALF down to whiney and wholesome. Indeed, had they brought back the beer-guzzling, burping ALF from Season One, he could have competed successfully with the aforementioned shows. Instead, Tartikoff simply lost interest and let the show quietly expire.

Had ALF been on the air during the 2000s, things might have been different, particularly with the marketing end of things. NBC and Alien Productions may have struck new deals with merchandising distributors and the show would have been twice the cash cow it was during its original four-year run. Had this been the case, ALF may have been renewed beyond its useful life, like Friends, Frasier and The Office suffer from.

All that said, ALF definitely had more life left in it. Many shows suffer from a slumping season, then bounce back the following year because their existence depends on it. Season Four could have been seen as a mediocre season for ALF, and we could have had a killer Season Five by finding ALF's raw roots and getting back to his raunchy self.

We will never know. For now, we have to be happy will the four brief years of ALF we had and try to holf our tongue watching the weak final season. Instead of going out with a bang, ALF was cancelled with a wimper.

[ALFreak]

Season 4, to me, had it's up and downs. The Tanner family seemed to find ALF as simply an annoyance instead of a friend, and the episode plots all seemed very unoriginal. Of course, the episodes did put some fun twists on the overused plots, but they sometimes seemed to drag on too long. As for Neil, sometimes I liked him, sometimes I didnt. He seemed like an exucse for the writers to introduce a new character for ALF to pick on insted of Willie. I agree, neil did make ALF seem like a background character. This 4th season really hits a low point for me , but it still has its occaisional funny moments, and hey, it's ALF, what's not to like about him?

[robodog]

Worst..Alf. Worst alf episode? These words do not seem to go together. There are episodes I like more than others. But the worst Alf episode is akin to the least shiny bar of gold. It may not be as polished as the others but it's still gold.

[ALFreak]

Personally, if i had to choose just one worst episode, i'd choose 'Hooked on a Feeling'.

[Ninjadragon5]

Worst..Alf. Worst alf episode? These words do not seem to go together. There are episodes I like more than others. But the worst Alf episode is akin to the least shiny bar of gold. It may not be as polished as the others but it's still gold.

yeah, I agree, it's hard to hate one episode because I like them all, some episodes I like more then others, but my least favorite as to be "Don't It Make Your Brown Eyes Blue"

[ALFreak]

Worst..Alf. Worst alf episode? These words do not seem to go together. There are episodes I like more than others. But the worst Alf episode is akin to the least shiny bar of gold. It may not be as polished as the others but it's still gold.

yeah, I agree, it's hard to hate one episode because I like them all, some episodes I like more then others, but my least favorite as to be "Don't It Make Your Brown Eyes Blue"

'Brown eyes blue' was okay to me, but it was kind of strange to see ALF just suddenly starting to like lynn, especially since the episode just before this one was about his love for Rhonda.