‘ALF’ Reboot In The Works

Few 1980’s television stars are as recognizable as the alien from Melmac ALF, and it appears he will return to TV once more in a new reboot series.

Warner Bros. is in the early stages of developing a reboot to the hit series, which ran from 1986 to 1990. Warner Bros. is currently searching for a writer to take on the ALF (which stands for Alien Life Form) reboot, and it is unclear if any of the former cast or creators would be involved with the new series (via TVLine).

The original ALF series revolved around an alien named Gordon Shumway who crash lands in the Tanner family’s garage. Alf is from the planet Melmac and ends up on Earth thanks to following a radio signal he picked up along the way. The family then takes him in until he can get his spaceship fixed, hiding him from the Alien Task Force and the family’s next-door neighbors the Ochmoneks. Alf ends up considering the Tanners family, all except for the cat, who he constantly tries to eat despite everyone telling him that’s not okay.

The original series produced over 102 episodes over the course of 4 seasons, and despite being cancelled in 1990 the character has continued to be popular in regards to pop culture as a whole. Reruns have also helped that, which can currently be found on Me-TV and Starz.

The original series was created by Tom Patchett and Paul Fusco, who was the puppeteer for ALF in the show. The series starred Fusco (Alf), Max Wright (Willie Tanner), Anne Schedeen (Kate Tanner), Andrea Elson (Lynn Tanner), Benji Gregory (Briant Tanner), John LaMotta (Trevor Ochmonek), and Liz Sheridan (Raquel Ochmonek).

While ALF was a comedy, the actors have said in the past that the series was very hard to shoot due to the technical issues that are involved when a puppet is your lead star. Trap doors were built into the floor so that Fusco could operate the puppet without being seen, and the cast has said that would lead to 20 to 25 hour long shoots for a 30-minute show.

The show also ended on a cliffhanger in its fourth season, which was supposed to help it get a fifth. That was intentional, and while it did technically get a conclusion in a made for TV movie, that film did not include the original cast, so some don’t consider it canon.

What do you think of the ALF reboot? Let us know in the comments!