ALFsplaining

"ALF begins to go through a Melmacian psychological and physiological transformation which happens every 75 years..." Its the inevitable 'Evil ALF' episode...although to be honest its hard to tell as its mostly business as usual for the cat-caressing child of another planet where this sort of thing is standard. How will the Tanners cope? Can Willie create a suitable cage in time?...

"ALF befriends a Mexican teenage immigrant who wants to go back home." But more importantly, ALF's got a smallholding and he wants us all to revel in its pleasures. Whatever the hell it is that he's growing in there. Ben Baker and John Matthews are more agog at seeing Willie's office life, not to mention his poisonous banter with his secretary. Truly, its got everything - and...

"ALF tries to leave and disovers that he is naked. They won't let him leave and he feels that he is a hostage." Things have heated up in the Tanner residence since last episode - and we dont mean the complaints over ALF's "speciality bath" - as Ben, John and returning guest Phil Fletcher wonder out loud if ALF will ever get his memory - or his trousers - back. Lots of g...

"ALF loses his memory and thinks he is insurance agent Wayne Schlegel after accidentally electrocuting himself in the bathtub. The Tanners then use flashbacks to restore his memory." Yes, its a clip show, the scourge of the American TV environment...apparently. As we've seen most of the clips already, Ben Baker and John Matthews thought it was an apt time to bring in a ringer who has...

"ALF plays matchmaker with Dorothy and her new boyfriend Whizzer." Boyfriend.... pushy oddball who lives in her apartment block...same difference, right? We've another star guest turn in this episode from Paul Dooley although Ben Baker and John Matthews are really more excited about that endless box dragging. What does it all mean? Ah, just listen already! And if you like the series,...

"Dorothy thinks ALF's favorite TV soap opera, Midwest General, is sleaze, and shows him her favorite, One World to Hope For, which ALF thinks is boring. Angered, ALF argues that he could write a better script for the series than the writers are coming up with. So ALF actually writes a script and sends it in." Oh that standard sitcom trope! Join Ben Baker and John Matthews as they att...

"Kate's mother Dorothy arrives for a surprise visit that forces the Tanners to lock ALF in the garage for several days." After half a season its time for someone else to meet ALF and who better than the terrific Anne Meara who gives a lot from a very little in this hairy take on the classic warring family tropes from lesser sitcoms. Applauding it all in the wings are John Matthews an...

"ALF spends his first Christmas on Earth." ITTTSSSS CHRRIIIIIIISTTTMMAAAASSSSSS! Wait, no it isnt. Its bloody May. Still thats how it used to be back in the old TV days and to prove it, ALF is on the lookout for snow. Despite living in California. Ben Baker and John Matthews are on hand to unwrap ALF's many gifts and if you fancy sending one yourself, support the show via our smashin...

" Willie suggests that they go to San Diego on vacation. Kate is all for it, but the family is unsure what to do with ALF." ALF and the Tanners on holiday in a tiny camper? Why the stink must be unbearable! Also: holiday adventures apparently just next to Christmas, a guest turn for some meat-enthusiast woodsman and a running ALF that has to be seen to be believed. Or heard. Your hosts a...

"ALF buys a car for Lynn after the family car continues to be unreliable." Was it your dream to imagine our favourite Melmacian crusing down the freeway in a very expensive sports car bought for a teenager? Of course it was, you're just regular people like John Matthews and Ben Baker who navigate through the bees to bring you their reaction to this very strange episode. And if you li...

"For Willie's birthday, ALF gives him a box he found in the basement full of photos from high school and college. There is also a menu, on the back of which Kate and Willie both made lists of things they wanted to achieve in life. Kate actually did the things on her list, but Willie did not. This starts to haunt him so badly that he decides to do the list..." And Daddy Tanner will make you...erm,...

"Lynn is excited because her boyfriend Scott wants to keep all his band equipment in the Tanners' garage. ALF is not happy because he was supposed to be redecorating his room with Lynn. And he also has a crush on Lynn, so he proceeds to sabotage Scott's time with Lynn while trying to come up with something to impress her..." Yeah, thats the premise and ooft, its a doozy. But does ALF pull it off?...

"Brian's 7th birthday is approaching and it gets ALF depressed because he realizes he is never going to see his friends on Melmac again — he was finally going to get together with his true love Rhonda and then the planet exploded." Innit typical? You finally get to snog on a lass and your whole civilization crashes into oblivion! Still, Ben Baker and John Matthews are here with a com...

In 1989, the German voice of Tommi Piper released an album that was to change the face of the world forever. "ALF - Alles Paradiso" took the world of our hairy pal one stage further with his musings on relaxing, doing very little, hanging about and, of course, becoming leader of the country. The tracks we look and listen at are from Side A of the original record and are: ALF Wird Unser B...

"ALF meets a blind woman named Jody" Nudge nudge, wink wink...its Willie and Kate's anniversary and apparently ALF isnt part of it. Ben Baker and John Matthews arent either but that gives them extra time to discuss spoiling Nicholas Nickleby, censored Chipmunks and whether the old ALFer watches the Tanners at it from the cupboard. Spoilers: he definitely does.

"To solve the Tanners' money problems, ALF gets a job selling make-up." Ben Baker and John Matthews are your special Terry Faith girls for this very strange episode which is sort of about pyramid selling but mostly about ALF giving facials. No, stop that. He's just trying to make a pound note!

"After ALF uses the shortwave radio to call the President about the nuclear disaster, and Willie gets blamed and is thrown in jail." Yeah that standard sitcom trope! Ben Baker and John Matthews sing hail to the chief as ALF sorts out the little hand on the world's doomsday clock. There's a famous voice guest too, plus some humourous terrorism fun and Tootsie on HBO for all.

"When Lucky, the Tanner's family cat, disappears, ALF is accused of eating him. ALF must search for Lucky to prove his innocence." Welcome to ALFsplaining with Ben Baker and John Matthews - the programme that always has cat endangerment on mind. But only after ALF tidies up this goddamned mess, the risky businessman. But who is the real Fugitive in this situation...?

Its our first ALFsplaining trip out and where better to go than the famous Puppet Workshop of Phil Fletcher, the man behind such fuzzy faced legends as Josh, Terry Mole, Swads and, of course, Titty Bob. He's also pals with Hacker T Dog from CBBC somehow. Normal men, innocent men etc. Phil is a big fan of ALF's puppeteer Paul Fusco and talked to us about his early years, memories of ALF on...

"Everybody but Brian and ALF are leaving the house for the evening. Kate does not want ALF to babysit Brian, so Willie asks their ever-snooping neighbour, Mrs. Ochmonek." Ben Baker and John Matthews are hiding behind the sofa this week as ALF tries to watch "Psycho" without alarming the neighbours. Nobody mentioned there'd be pizza though... linktr.ee/alfsplaining

"Gordon Shumway, a Melmacian who escaped his planet Melmac before it was destroyed, crash lands into the garage of the Tanner family." Where it all began...for ALF that is. We started the other day but dont let that out you off Ben Baker and John Matthews looking at the pilot episode of "ALF" from September 1986. There's trivia, silly jokes, appreciation of a Top Willie, ou...

Welcome to a new series called "ALFsplaining", a not especially serious podcast by Ben Baker and John Matthews exploring our mutual fascination with the American sitcom ALF which ran on NBC between September 1986 and April 1990. And boy are its legs tired! In this preview episode, Ben and John talk about how they got into this ridiculous situation, the world ALF crash landed into and the...