Okay, guys, expect these about once a month, if that.... I haven't made as much "writing time" as I used to. I'm seriously trying harder to be more disciplined in writing.
About a month and a half ago, I was walking into the den of my house. My dad was in there, and the TV was on (I think I might've been watching The Andy Griffith Show, details are a bit blurry). The commercials were on. All of a sudden, I saw the last part of that theme song that I posted up there -- did you watch it??? -- and saw that it was coming to MeTV as part of its summer lineup. My reaction was pretty similar to this...
...buuuuuuut I had some kind of food in my mouth at that exact moment (again, blurry). So instead, I simply did a closed mouth scream while jumping up and down and pointing at the tv like an idiot, and pretty much ending with this dance:
Why was I so excited over an old aardvark-looking puppet?
Back in the day, people used to watch recorded videos at home on things called VHS tapes. They always stayed in place when you stopped it, there were no obnoxious menus or ads, and you could fast forward and rewind (if you were kind) any time you wanted to. Sometimes, you could even buy BLANK tapes, and record anything at all. Many people (myself included) used to record sitcoms and other TV shows -- as well as home movies, but I digress -- when they couldn't watch them at the time of their airing, and then watch it all at a later time... usually on a Friday night. It had its pitfalls, but at least it worked, overall.
My parents used to record lots of things, from classic music videos to sitcoms, movies, and beyond. I was fortunate to have watched quite a few things from past media, such as Michael Jackson, Chaka Khan, Family Ties, and of course ALF.
Being a young, barely school-age child, most of my TV viewing involved some sort of puppetry, whether it was Lamb Chop's Play-Along, Kidsongs, or anything involving Muppets, ALF just naturally appealed to me. Thank goodness it was a clean TV show, eh?
Well..... my parents wouldn't have allowed
me to watch it past its theme song.
In those days, I wasn't really allowed to watch many sitcoms. It just makes sense, I suppose; I wouldn't necessarily want my extra-young child to be exposed to foul language, nudity, sexual themes, violence or overall non-kiddie topics.
(Sorry future progeny, you'll be at least
10 before you can watch Courageous.)
Anyway, because such grown-up, mature sitcoms were often accompanied by THE COOLEST THEME SONGS EVER, my parents would let me watch maybe the introduction (if it were clean) to the show, then the theme song -- Why deny your child a musical opportunity? -- and then have me leave the room. Fine by me, really. I just went and watched an old tape or played with my Barbies, anyway.
And yes, my favorite theme song was the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
You're welcome.
As aforementioned, ALF was a rather clean show, so my parents had no objections to my watching the full episodes that were recorded. The very first episode I ever saw was season 1, episode 26 (yes, I had to look it up), "Come Fly With Me." In this round of Alf's earthly shenanigans, Alf subscribes to a ton of magazines, in hopes of winning prizes. One actually does promise prizes, but only if the family goes on a trip. The Tanners, Alf's host family, end up flying with the Ochmoneks, their nosy neighbors who know nothing of Alf's existence. To the Tanners' surprise (and chagrin), Alf stows away on the trip.
I come from a quoting family. I'm sure it's like yours, in which about 98% of your inside jokes come from shared moments in front of the TV set. One classic line is when Alf is all dressed up, ready to travel, after the Tanners agree to go on the trip.
[Alf walks into the room, dressed in tropical clothes]
Alf: I'm ready!
[The Tanners look at him awkwardly.]
Alf: [picking up on the nonverbal cues] Uh-oh... [takes off sunglasses] Am I going alone?
Willy Tanner: No, Alf... We're going.... alone.
My Dad and I especially love this part, since once I was so excited at the prospect of going on a trip that I packed my suitcase before they even made a decision, and it's reminded us of that dialogue since then.
By the way, I don't think we even went that time.
The Tanners have no choice but to keep Alf in the hotel room, while they spend time with their neighbors. Thankfully for Alf, he has the prize -- a talking toaster with an accent somewhere between robot and Mexican -- to keep him entertained.
This..... is my absolute favorite part of the episode.
HAAAAA!!!
That part gets me every time!
Just go with the catfish thing.
I don't wanna spoil
it for you guys out there.
I should probably not give away the ending, because it's just too much to write here. Besides, as great as this was, it wasn't even my favorite episode!
That would be Season 1, episode 2, "Strangers in the Night." And I'm not exaggerating when I say "favorite episode." I can't tell you how many times I've watched this episode. My poor DVD player... one Christmas (or birthday, again with those fuzzy details!) my loving parents decided to get me ALF season 1 on DVD. I remember it costing quite a bit because it had just come out on DVD. I bet it costs a lot less now, since the entire series is out, plus it first came out years ago.
*Checks Best Buy*
Yep, the whole series costs
about $43 now. Quite the
difference from the past.
Words could not express how happy I was. I don't think I was as happy with each new Barbie doll combined! That's. Saying. A lot. Plus, I guess my poor parents didn't think they put themselves through enough torture, knowing that within a week their daughter would be quoting almost every episode. "Strangers in the Night" probably the one episode that I used to quote VERBATIM.
I was an odd child. You should've seen
toddler me conduct with Bugs Bunny in
exact gestures during "Long-Haired Hare."
I'm not even kidding. EVERY. MOVE.
So you can imagine the fun I had watching this one. Basically a night turns into a fiasco. Lynne (the daughter) and Kate (the mother) are off to a bridal party, leaving Brian (the son) and Alf (the alien) under the watch of Willy (the father). However, Willy has to go to the office for a work emergency. Alf offers his services as a baby-sitter, promising to keep out of trouble by watching Psycho on TV -- great idea, right? -- but the parents turn it down, and Mrs. Ochmonek is chosen to watch young Brian. They of course lock Alf up in their bedroom, ordering him to stay put.
I really do not feel it's in good conscience to tell you the whole episode, but it gets crazy. At one point, Alf is in a blue dress. I'm gonna leave it right there. Hopefully, you and your family will find as many humorous quotables as my family and I did.
My second fave episode is their first Christmas episode. I'll keep this brief, since I know you've been reading quite a bit already. Willy tries to find a Christmas tree for the family, but waited until the last second. He ended up getting a fake tree. Not the good kind you find at Wal-Mart in late September, either. This one made Charlie Brown's tree look like the kind that you find in Wal-Mart in late September. Naturally, this draws disappointment and disapproval from family and neighbors, so Willy and Alf go and find a real tree. I'll leave the ending for you to watch.
That's it, really. This was the show that transitioned me from kiddie shows to sitcoms and TV dramas (or at least what was on PAX TV back then). It was appealing to all audiences, and not offensive to anyone, really. People (not my parents) might've overreacted, in my opinion, to Alf (who was probably well over 200 years old) drinking beer, but I don't object to that being limited to just the first two episodes. The cat addiction is way funnier. My tweenhood years with just season 1 was reason enough for me to jump up and down and scream in muffled tones. It's a good show, if you ask me. I know some people love it, and some hate it, but then again, you could say the same about Homestar Runner, and you may know by now how much I love it.
I have been watching the TV re-airing for over a week, and it's great just to see how much of it I remember, how much I've forgotten, and how much I get now that I'm older. And I hope to see it someday with my tween kids.
Oh, what the heck. I was probably 5 or 6 years old when I was first watching this, my future progeny will probably be younger than that. They'll have to wait a few extra years before watching shows like "Dragnet" or "Adam-12," though.
See you next week! (I hope, I hope, I hope.)
What's your favorite old/childhood TV show?
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