ALF Tales

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ALF Tales
Created byPaul Fusco
Tom Patchett
StarringPaul Fusco

Tabitha St. Germain (as Paulina Gillis)

Dan Hennessey


Noam Zylberman
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes21
Production
Running time30 minutes per episode
Production companiesDIC Animation City
Saban Entertainment
Alien Productions
DistributorLorimar-Telepictures
Release
Original networkNBC
Audio formatStereo
Original releaseSeptember 10, 1988 (1988-09-10) –
December 9, 1989 (1989-12-09)

ALF Tales is a 30-minute Saturday morning animated series that aired on NBC from September 10, 1988 to December 9, 1989.[1] The show is a spin-off of ALF: The Animated Series which featured characters from that series playing various characters from fairy tales.[2] The fairy tale was usually altered for comedic effect in a manner akin to Jay Ward's "Fractured Fairy Tales".[3]

Each story typically spoofs a film genre, such as the "Cinderella" episode done as an Elvis Presley film. Some episodes featured a "fourth wall" effect where ALF is backstage preparing for the episode, and Rob Cowan would appear drawn as a TV executive (who introduced himself as "Roger Cowan, network executive") to try to brief ALF on how to improve this episode. For instance Cowan once told ALF who was readying for a medieval themed episode that "less than 2% of our audience lives in the Dark Ages".

Cast[]

Episodes[]

Season 1 (1988–89)[]

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleOriginal air date
11"Robin Hood"September 10, 1988 (1988-09-10)
Alf plays the titular character in this version of the classic tale.
22"Sleeping Beauty"September 17, 1988 (1988-09-17)
Alf plays the titular character in this version of the classic tale.
33"Cinderella"September 24, 1988 (1988-09-24)
Set in 1963, Alf plays an Elvis-like rock star version of the prince who will marry only the girl whose voice can shatter glass.
44"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"October 1, 1988 (1988-10-01)
Sleepy Hollow gets an NYC makeover with Alf as Ichabod Crane.
55"Jack and the Beanstalk"October 8, 1988 (1988-10-08)
Alf plays Jack Bates (son of Norman) in this take on the classic fairy tale filled with Hitchcock references.
66"The Aladdin Brothers and Their Lamp"October 15, 1988 (1988-10-15)
In this (possible) Road to ...-style take on the tale, Alf and Skip play Ziggy and Roy Aladdin, a down-on-their-luck song-and-dance pair whose lives change when they find a magic lamp containing a genie who resembles Johnny Carson.
77"Rapunzel"October 29, 1988 (1988-10-29)
Let's just say this version really puts the "rap" in Rapunzel.
88"Rumplestilskin"November 12, 1988 (1988-11-12)
Alf plays Sam Shovel (a parody of Spade), a detective hired by the daughter of a miller to learn the identity of a certain fella.
99"The Princess and the Pea"November 19, 1988 (1988-11-19)

Alf plays a prince who secretly wishes to be a jester in this version of the story.

Note: Starting here, there is no more mailbag segment.
1010"John Henry"December 3, 1988 (1988-12-03)
Alf turns the folk hero into a chef.
1111"The Three Little Pigs"December 10, 1988 (1988-12-10)
Rick, Skip, and Alf play the respective trio (Ernie, Chip, and Robbie) in this take on the classic story. The beginning and ending scenes parody The Twilight Zone. Also, the straw is switched to soup cans.
1212"Alice in Wonderland"December 17, 1988 (1988-12-17)
Alf doesn't want to do this story, but everyone else does. As he begins to ready, he falls asleep and a humanoid rabbit named Blanche du Lapine steals his birthday present for Rhonda. Alf follows her down an elevator shaft and through a cat door to a Wonderland featuring obnoxious flowers, a Pee-Wee Herman version of Humpty Dumpty, a Wooster-Chester cat, a saxophone-playing caterpillar (possibly played by Skip), the Tweedle Sisters (Dee is changed to Blonde), Rick and Larson as The Mad Catter and The March Hare, and a very awful Queen. In the end, Blanche reveals herself to be Rhonda and the whole thing was an un-birthday surprise for Alf, and the whole thing was a dream.
1313"Peter Pan"January 7, 1989 (1989-01-07)
Alf plays the titular character in this unusual take on the classic story featuring Crocodile Dumbdee.

Season 2 (1989)[]

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleOriginal air date
141"Hansel & Gretel"September 16, 1989 (1989-09-16)
152"The Wizard of Oz"September 23, 1989 (1989-09-23)
163"The Elves and the Shoemaker"September 30, 1989 (1989-09-30)
174"The Emperor's New Clothes"October 14, 1989 (1989-10-14)
185"Goldilocks & the Three Bears"October 28, 1989 (1989-10-28)
196"Little Red Riding Hood"November 11, 1989 (1989-11-11)
207"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"December 2, 1989 (1989-12-02)
218"King Midas"December 9, 1989 (1989-12-09)

Home media[]

The first seven episodes were released on DVD on May 30, 2006 in Region 1 from Lionsgate Home Entertainment in a single-disc release entitled ALF and The Beanstalk and Other Classic Fairy Tales.

See also[]

  • List of animated spinoffs from prime time shows

References[]

  1. ^ Hyatt, Wesley (1997). The Encyclopedia of Daytime Television. Watson-Guptill Publications. p. 4. ISBN 978-0823083152.
  2. ^ Erickson, Hal (2005). Television Cartoon Shows: An Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1949 Through 2003 (2nd ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 72. ISBN 978-1476665993.
  3. ^ Perlmutter, David (2018). The Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 20–21. ISBN 978-1538103739.
  4. ^ Damian Inwood. "Pi Theatre, Independent Vancouver Theatre >> The Baroness and the Pig". Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved October 30, 2011. That's what Vancouver actresses Diane Brown and Tabitha St. Germain do with the delightful black comedy, The Baroness and the Pig. (...) St. Germain – better known to Vancouver audiences as Paulina Gillis – plays the Baroness as a naïve gentlewoman, full of prissy mannerisms and twittering, bird-like movements.

External links[]

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