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Friday, October 14, 2016

Show Notes: Episode 4: Alf, "Tonight, Tonight"

*"Tonight, Tonight" aired Monday, October 24, 1988 at 8:00 P.M. on NBC.

*Perhaps the greatest of all nuclear apocalypse sitcoms, not that there is a lot of competition, is Woops! a short-lived 1992 Fox comedy. Here's the synopsis from TV.com:

Woops! was a postapocalyptic comedy in which two kids playing with an electronic toy at a parade accidentally set off a nuclear missle, triggering a nuclear holocaust which wiped out most of the world's population in under an hour.

Sounds like a regular riot!

*Paul Fusco created the ALF character and was the main puppeteer, but Michu Meszaros, who passed away after the taping of the podcast, played the role in costume during some full-body shots during season 1. He apparently was not being used by the show by the time this episode aired.

*The less said about Max Wright's (Willie) post-ALF issues, the better. Google it. Apparently the series was a lot more interesting behind the scenes than on screen, with the cast feuding amongst itself and even wholesome daughter Lynn, Andrea Elson, having some issues according to gossip.

*Rich Little was a frequent presence on The Tonight  Show, making dozens of appearances as both a guest and a guest host, but he stopped getting booked in the eighties and never knew why. On The Carson Podcast, Little told Mark Malkoff he didn't think, as one theory had it, that Johnny disliked Little's imitation of him, and in fact he recounted a story that indicated the opposite. Little's take on Carson was the standard bearer before Dana Carvey came along.

*The movie we talk about with the horrible musical score is Murphy's Romance with James Garner and Sally Field.

*Jay Leno was permanent guest host of The Tonight Show at this point.

*The episode Rick "sing-quotes" (in clumsy fashion) ALF singing "City of New Orleans" is "Night Train" from season 2.

*Alf and Ed McMahon reunited in 2004 for Alf's Hit Talk Show.

*ALF was on Hulu for years, but is no longer on the service. The series, including this episode, can be viewed for free on TubiTv.

*The TV Guide game begins at 00:44:00.

*Check out our YouTube channel for a playlist for this episode, including much of the stuff mentioned in this post!


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