ALF is back, and just as funny as ever in this third season of mayhem. Unfortunately, we are again treated to syndicated cut versions of the show. Still, this appears to be all we’re going to get. Not sure if I mentioned it before, but having the episode titles has pointed out that each ALF episode uses a song title as the production name. This season songs like Stop In The Name Of Love, Funeral For A Friend, and Stairway To Heaven are represented. There are quite a few more “fantasy” episodes here. ALF is shown what life in the Tanner household would be without him. He dreams of hosting The Tonight Show. The laughs are still in high gear.
Video
Each episode of ALF is presented in its original full frame format. Again, let’s understand what we’re dealing with here. For a sitcom, these episodes are pretty well preserved. There is an occasional smudge, and colors are not at all consistent from episode to episode. Still, the presentation is as good as it ever was on broadcast TV. Colors are typical of 1980’s videotape, a bit saturated and unreal, but the print is mostly quite clean
Audio
Each episode sports an adequate Dolby Digital 2.0 track. Let’s face it. This is at heart a TV sitcom. Dialogue is all that’s important, and dialogue is all you’re going to get. It’s lean, but it’s very clean.
Special Features
The ALF hosted menus are back. I also offer congratulations that Lionsgate has done away with the overlapping disc cases. The case is the same, but only one disc per side is used. Way to go!
Final Thoughts
ALF still resides in my memory as one of the most original sitcoms, certainly in its own day. It’s remarkable that while the show feels dated, it doesn’t actually play out that way. ALF’s been making quite a comeback of late, and there is rumor of an ALF television film in the works. I wouldn’t be surprised if that reality is not dependent on the sales of these DVD sets. There’s still one more season yet to come so “don’t panic”.
