Your reaction to the cancellation of ALF?

[ALFicionado]

I'm curious to know what the reaction among the young ALF fans were when the show got cancelled in 1990. So this question is for those of you who followed the show back then. How did you find out about the cancellation? Did you read about it, did your parents tell you or did you hear about it on the playground? Were you confused, angry, sad or all of the above? Did you quickly move on to new things or were you desperate to know what happened to ALF and hung in there until Project: ALF came?

Reason I ask is because I don't remember seeing this episode when it first aired in Sweden. I first got to see it when I got the season set. In a way I'm happy I never saw it during its original run, because Project: ALF didn't air until 2006 or so here in Sweden as far as I know. I would have been heartbroken and it would have left a very sour taste in my mouth,

[ALFsince86]

I was in a grocery store and saw a magazine about the new fall line-up. They printed the returning shows, new shows, and canceled shows. Over the photo of the cast of ALF was the word "canceled". I was disappointed, because a lot of my shows were already canceled or had been canceled before the fall season of 1990. It was about that time that I stopped enjoying TV the way I had once done. Presently, there are few new sitcoms or dramas that I watch. I have a bundle of movies and television shows on DVD that I enjoy watching or I watch a news program.

The 1980's don't get the credit they deserve for incredible television. Nowadays it's about being mean and getting a laugh off something that if a person did in reality you wouldn't want anything to do with them. In the 1980's shows revolved around families and friends who cared about each and made it through because of that concern. The 50's-70's had this as well, but the 80's had some crown jewels: "The Cosby Show", "The Facts of Life", "Diff'rent Strokes", "ALF", and "Mr. Belvedere".

{Whew!}...Now I'm off my soap box.

[Mystiness EX]

Well, I was born in 1992, so I didn't get to experience any of the heartbreak true ALF fans would've gotten at the time. That, and being born in Singapore meant I didn't know a single thing about ALF till years later. Even now, I daresay I'm the only ALF fan among all my friends and the majority of Singaporeans. And no, I didn't get to watch Project: ALF at all. In fact, there're some episodes of ALF that I never got to watch.

[Admin]

I was still young at the time, so it really did not affect me that much. As teenagers my brother and I would watch our VHS tapes of episodes over and over (and over). We probably only had 60-70 of the episodes, and no final episode, so at the time we did not even know how how the series ended. Imagine my twin brother's surprise when I showed him the ending years later!

[Bring Back ALF]

I was gutted! At the time I had just broken up with a long term girlfriend, had been made redundant from my first job and failed my driving test I thought the one thing I could count on was my buddy ALF!

So on a Monday night In the summer of 1990 I turned on Sky One (the channel that showed ALF in the UK from seasons 3-4) and settled down to watch Consider Me Gone little did I know it would be the last ever episode.
I should have guessed though as about ten minutes in the tone of the episode was quite somber with ALF saying his goodbyes, little did I know how it would end with the to be continued line.

I felt very sad that there would be no new ALF and the next day I had another driving test and passed and the first place I drove to was a toy shop that was closing down and bought a large plush talking ALF that I still have to this day.

[ALFicionado]

I felt very sad that there would be no new ALF and the next day I had another driving test and passed and the first place I drove to was a toy shop that was closing down and bought a large plush talking ALF that I still have to this day.

That's an awesome end to a somewhat sad story

[CirothUngol]

I was surprised, shocked and crushed. I didn't really mind the season 4 cliffhanger (kinda builds the suspense), and I figured that they had to bring it back for a 5th season... otherwise, why the cliffhanger? I think I found out by reading the new fall line-up in TV Guide magazine that ALF had been cancelled.

CANCELLED?!

Why? How? By Whom?
Wait... they can't cancel it! The series ended on a cliffhanger... they never end a series on a cliffhanger. There is always resolution; so I waited for a few years for a final episode to surface. It never happened. Remember, there was no internet back then, so all information on such things came from magazines and perioticals. There was no one to ask for information, and after a few years I stopped looking. I was a huge ALF Fan at the time, and I was simply flabberghasted that the show had ended on a cliffhanger. Completely Unbelieveable (even to this day).

I finally caught wind of the ABC movie Project: ALF by seeing a TV advertisement when it was re-broadcast in the late '90s on a cable station. I was so excited that I tried to form a party around it... but alas, not one of my friends was as big of an ALF-Geek as me, so I watched (and recorded) the movie by myself with an extra-large bowl of popcorn... and then immediately rewound the tape and watched it again. I actually liked the movie quite a bit, and felt it was the same ol' ALF, just surrounded by different people. I was very happy to have a resolution to the series.

To this day, every time I'm watching a TV show and the season ends on a cliffhanger (To Be Continued... HA!) I think of ALF, get nervous, and wonder if I'll ever get to see the resolution to that story. It's never happened again (yet), but it crosses my mind every single time... studios should not do that to their fans. There's more to TV than just money... where's the love?

[samstokes80]

My folks taped most of the episodes when they first aired, but we didn't always catch it because my brothers and I had a lot of extracurricular activities in the evenings. I didn't see the final episode until quite a while after the show was cancelled, and I was absolutely shocked that they ended the series that way. At first, I was really put out that they would choose to end it that way, thinking that the writers purposely decided to give it a sad ending, as if they were trying to make some sort of social or political statement with it. I forgave them when I later found out that it was originally meant to be continued in the next season, which never came.

I was happy when they finally came out with the Project: ALF movie. I was disappointed, as were many fans, that the Tanner family was not a part of it, but I've come to really appreciate the fact that Paul Fusco et al cared enough to give ALF a much kinder ending.

[Alflover24/7]

DAD! We're going to the writers! Riot! Riot!

[robodog]

I remember watching the final episode and seeing the To Be Continued thing. I kept waiting for a conclusion that never came. For years I griped to anyone that would listen about the ending. Then Project ALF came out. Though not perfect at least it gave our favorite alien a happy ending.

[Suburban_Sensei]

Since I didn't get to watch the show when it first ran, I know I was devastated though, since my grandparents had taped a ton of the shows when they were on (and thats how I eventually got hooked). Like most of you, the "To Be Continued..." really upset me. I was like, wow this show had SO many fans and THIS is the ending we get? Since I don't feel like Project: ALF was the best conclusion, I really hope the new ALF movie takes off and we get something of higher quality, and maybe even leave it open for a sequel or future sitcom.

[robodog]

Project ALF might not have been perfect but it's a better conclusion than the alternative: Having Alf be snatched away by the alien task force to be dissected in some lab somewhere.

[Ninjadragon5]

yeah, even though I did not watch the show when it originally aired, I was still a bit disappointed that it did not last longer then it did and that the ending was not-so-great, even with the movie, it left more questions the answers, so to me alf's story never got concluded. if it was not for NBC charging it programing, I say alf could of gone on for at least another season.

[robodog]

Like Project ALF or not it could have been much much worse. Another show I was a fan of, Dinosaurs, ended with all the characters facing certain death due to an ice age accidently caused by the main character and the company he worked for. Even without Project ALF, at least they left the cliffhanger open ended so you could imagine the Tanners rescuing Alf if you wanted. The Dinosaurs finale pretty much spelled out the fact that the characters you've watched and loved for years were all going to die.

[Ninjadragon5]

oh yeah, I remember that show! yeah, I remember they ending to that series being very sad too. but yeah, your right, at least the movie leaves it opened ended for endless possibilities and let the fans pretty much conclude the story from there. yeah, it could of ended a lot of worse with Alf dying in a lab somewhere while being tormented or desected.

[fhsoccermom2016]

I remember reading that Alf was cancelled. The last episode was terrible. If they had no intentions of continuing with the show then they should have explained what happened to Alf. Either have him caught or let him catch the space ship that was coming for him. It's very frustrating the way it ended. I see there's a movie in the works it it won't b the same. If they could find a way to restart the show with the few remaining actors that would be willing to come back and do the show, granted the kids will be grown but they are writers for goodness sake. Even if they make him show up at the door of the Tanners and explain he ran away from the soldiers and been in hiding or even staying with another family. My daughter just watched the last episode last night and agreed it was a horrible ending.

[ALFicionado]

I remember reading that Alf was cancelled. The last episode was terrible. If they had no intentions of continuing with the show then they should have explained what happened to Alf. Either have him caught or let him catch the space ship that was coming for him. It's very frustrating the way it ended. I see there's a movie in the works it it won't b the same. If they could find a way to restart the show with the few remaining actors that would be willing to come back and do the show, granted the kids will be grown but they are writers for goodness sake. Even if they make him show up at the door of the Tanners and explain he ran away from the soldiers and been in hiding or even staying with another family. My daughter just watched the last episode last night and agreed it was a horrible ending.

The episode had already been filmed before they were told the show was cancelled. There was a movie, Project: ALF, released 6 years later that lets us know what happened to ALF: http://www.alftv.com/projectalf.php

[elw82078]

I was young still at the time but also sad too and still I will forever love ALF. when the show was on I always thought I had a friend named ALF. Some how I need to find a talking 4 Inch ALF doll since these days I just want to hug the doll. I used to have one just don't know what really happen to it.

[ALF'sgirl]

Although I wasn't even born when the show was canceled; If I were one of you lucky people who grew up with alf, I would've been all "WHAT KIND OF BLACK MAGIC IS THIS?! JUST PURE MADNESS! What next? America falling apart? Oh, wait..."

[Debbie_Anne]

To be honest, I don't remember how I reacted to ALF being cancelled. I was 20 then, so I suppose it wouldn't have hit me as hard as it did ALF's younger fans. I do recall thinking it a shame that ALF didn't last very long in the Boston, MA area in reruns. If I recall correctly, the manager of WSBK TV 38 mentioned on a public affairs show "Ask The Manager" mentioned that he actually regretted buying ALF, as it just didn't have as big an audience in reruns initially. They would run the shows for an hour at 1:00 AM in the morning to fulfill their contract to run each show X-amount of times before they lost the rights (which they didn't renew). It would be interesting if anyone could find footage from this show to confirm this (as I may be remembering this wrong).