Remember ‘ALF’? He’s Back, in Reboot Form

What do we, as an entertainment audience, want? Original, exciting works that introduce us to new worlds? Or…an ALF reboot? The answer, according to Warner Bros. TV, is the latter. So now there’s an ALF reboot in the works. Congratulations, everyone! ALF is back, in reboot form!

Variety is reporting that execs at Warner Bros. TV were sitting around recently, throwing darts at a wall covered in slips of paper. On each slip of paper was the title of an old TV show that could possibly be rebooted. A dart hit the paper marked ALF, and now here we are! Okay, that’s not exactly how it happened, but it might as well be. Everything old is new again, and rather than spend too much time developing new projects, producers are keen to just repackage old junk, because they know the easily suckered TV audience will snap it up.

In case you forgot about ALF, the series ran on NBC from 1986 through 1990, and focused on Gordon Shumway, a snout-nosed alien nicknamed ALF (for alien life form). Much like E.T., ALF ended up on earth, and was taken in by some kindly humans – the Tanners. Rather than run screaming in terror at this furry puppet monster, the Tanners decided to house ALF in secret, even though the alien frequently threatened to eat their pet cat. The series ended on a bit of a down-note, with ALF being captured by the US Air Force while attempting to leave Earth. Rather than have the show go out on such a bummer, a made-for-TV movie – Project ALF – was produced. The movie didn’t go over too well, primarily because none of the members of the Tanner family returned (the movie explained their absence by claiming they moved to Iceland).

And now here we are! Gearing up for an ALF reboot. Apparently, the reboot is going to ignore the made-for-TV movie entirely, and might focus on “ALF emerging from Area 51–where he has been held captive since the original series finale–and observing how much the world has changed since that time.”

Look: I’m sure people who love to lather themselves in ’80s nostalgia are going to love this idea. ALF has a following still, albeit an overly ironic way. But me? I’m exhausted. Because ALF joins a growing-list of endless reboots, including Roseanne (which was cancelled, only to now be rebooted as The Connors), Will and Grace, and a recently-rumored Frasier reboot. I know I shouldn’t be so cynical. I know that sometimes, reboots work out – Showtime’s Twin Peaks revival is a great example of this.

But man oh man, is this what it’s come to? An ALF reboot? Really? Whatever.