Hi this is Alf ! I come from the planet Melmac !

[Alf for lif]

Hi this is Alf ! I come from the planet Melmac !

" THE CHAT ROOM ! LE CHAT ROOM ! "

" Hi this is Alf ! I come from the planet Melmac ! "
Alf ( for Alien Life Form ) , whose real name is Gordon Shumway , is a hairy alien who is accidentally crashed into the Tanner home in suburban Los Angeles. The Tanner ( Willy , Kate , Lynn and Brian ) will learn the hard way , having an alien in their home is not easy , especially with nosy and intrusive neighbors. The show is stretched over four seasons, from 1986 to 1990 , Alf and then became a huge star with his own spin-off (and recently his own talk show ) . Yet it was not easy.

Back in 1986

Paul Fusco , puppeteer of his condition, looking to sell a concept of his own television channels , " and if an alien living in a typical American family ? ".
Trying to offer its creation at Disney and Jim Henson Productions ( the muppets ) , Fusco towel refusal of refusal. I must say that it feels warmed : Mork and Mindy (with Robin Williams ) , and My Favorite Martian have already been there. However , NBC sign with Fusco, and the series is launched. Wishing to keep secret the puppet Fusco request to build a setting hiding all puppeteers public view ( non-existent) . In fact , the series is not done in public, unlike most of the productions of the time ( Cheers in mind ) , and the vagaries of Fusco then seem unnecessary . However , NBC agreed , and the sets are raised several feet in order to facilitate Alf . The puppet is then locked each night in a box and placed in a secret place , while Fusco proclaims to anyone who will listen that this is a real alien , not wanting to enter into a relationship with a dozen people. During the first two seasons, a small player ( Mihaly Meszaros ) is also dressed as Alf for scenes where it is shown in full, but this is not really the point , the viewer can easily tell the difference between the two versions . This process will eventually abandoned.

The disadvantage of such a machine that shooting long stretches , sometimes requiring 20 to 25 hours to shoot an entire episode (1 minute per hour ... ) . And it is especially Willy will pay the price . For if in the series, Alf ridicules the Tanner family, and especially Willy 's father (Max Wright ) , in real life , it's almost the same thing. The number of hours required to control Alf is life couple Max Wright at risk, even calling his wife Linda divorce ( fortunately not on). Max is annoyed because of having a role of Augustus facing a puppet and does not understand why this is the creature that has the best lines . Besides the actress Anne Schedeen (Kate ) becomes pregnant, need to add a baby to the Tanner family. To top it all , the actress Andrea Elson ( Lynn ) was taken from bulimia during the second season and confirms that "if the show lasted another year , no one would have survived ." The tension is such on the shelf until the very last scene tour , Max Wright went out in her dressing room without a word , took his luggage and disappeared. Anne Schedeen said in an article for People magazine "Believe me , it was not really happy there ( ... ) there was a lot of tension , each episode was a real challenge and demanded long hours shooting (...) it was actually a dysfunctional family (...) if the series was wonderful, she did not show any of the mess we lived . " It was such a nightmare that children put an end to their acting career , while parents put a brake projects.

The real star

Alf is the real star of the series, and as and when the episodes, we learn a little more about his past and his life before the Earth. We know he was born October 28, 1756 , he comes from a planet called Melmac that exploded after a nuclear accident, and Alf appears early in any case, be the only survivor of his species . Over the seasons, however, one discovers that his best friend Skip and his girlfriend Rhonda also survived. Endowed with extreme kindness , Alf still has a lot of defects , such a voracious appetite (especially for cats ) , a schoolboy humor , and bored very easily. We can also add a great curiosity , which very often leads to see what was happening outside , risking ever to show the authorities , including the U.S. Army ( and its branch devoted to alien forms ) .
Its popularity, Alf got a huge merchandising, with plush, mugs and other video games , and about fifty comics published by Marvel . In addition to the series, a spin-off is started, showing the past life of the alien on the planet . It also sees its monitoring around Melmac , and her relationship with Skip and Rhonda . The second season ( called " Alf Tales ") sees Alf in many literary classics , such as Jack and the Beanstalk and Little Red Riding Hood .

Powered primarily by Fusco, Alf nonetheless required three puppeteers , and was so realistic that Max Wright thought " he could blush ." But it is his distinctive voice that made ​​him famous . If the USA, Alf was doubled by Paul Fusco himself, in France it is the talent of Roger Carel that made ​​him so popular. Today, just say " eat pussy " to see a cult always about the character. Alf even still appears as cameo in some series, such as Matlock, and in American advertising. There was even a passenger in the new version of The Love Boat , the time of an episode , and is a recurring joke Simpsons (even rapper Eminem wearing a T -shirt Alf in one of his movies) . Tina Fey brought him to a show celebrating the 75th anniversary of NBC , adding that it was more complicated to manage " people around Alf ." For Fusco, always faithful to his principles , made entirely change the tray (again) hide the secrets of his puppet. Recently, Alf was the host of a talk show ( in 2003) that lasted six issues (and a driver).

the end

The last episode of the series shows Alf ready to go to his planet . Willy and Kate (as the performers ) seem delighted to see decamp , while children are moderately packed . At the end of the episode, the U.S. military frightens the saucer , and Alf is trapped , giving the series an unbearable cliffhanger for fans of the time. Fusco & co tannèrent NBC to have a decent following , but leaders turned a deaf ear. It was not until 1996 that a TV movie titled Project: Alf is released , taking up where they were left . We learn further that the Tanners were put in witness protection in Mozambique and they are currently in Iceland , while Alf , a prisoner in a U.S. base plays bookmaker with his captors . A French version came out on DVD in 2006 , with new dubbing Roger Carel . The cast was tasty presence of Martin Sheen taking his foot to interpret a military tyranny . We also see the actor Ed Begley Jr. ( Spinal Tap) in tasty Dr. Warner in one of the best gags of the film ( dying from electrocution , Warner was replaced by a new doctor Alf testing with word associations . At the words " toast "and" Grilled " Alf responds eternally : " Doctor Warner "). The TV movie was supposed to revive the character, but the public did not follow and the puppet was forgotten . The same happened to the oven Talk Show , with the U.S. Yet celebrities such as Drew Carrey or Eric Roberts. Finally, if the character has always been so popular , it should be noted that the public still prefer to watch the old episodes rather than discovering a new series with the beast.

Alf as Diff'rent Strokes and The Fresh Prince of Bel -Air , remains a cult hit the small screen , aided by a French dubbing excellent ( there is also the genial Gérard Hernandez ) . And such Diff'rent Strokes and The Fresh Prince of Bel -Air , Alf is accompanied by the scent of nostalgia, reminding us of our Saturday mornings or afternoons with our television backdrop for our homework. You just need to hear some notes saxophone generic to give us tear to the eye (in fact it is also a ... Alf Clausen one, another composer known family of the small screen ) . Stash your cats ! Alf is back on TV !

http://lci.tf1.fr/cinema/news/salut-c-e ... 84291.html (website in French)