AlfTales, along with the maniacally inspired Alf cartoon, was, of course, short-lived. Only the good die young.
AlfTales spoof both a fairy tale and a film genre simultaneously, with often surrealistic results. One treasured moment is the Cinderella-meets-Elvis episode, in which the father summons the new evil stepsisters ... "Oh, Janet! --- Latoya!" The horrid stepfamily ("played" by Alf's Melmac neighbors, the Fustermans) inform the horrified girl that they're also a rock-and-roll group, and launch into an off-key intro: "We're ... (bum-bum-bum-bum) ... The Evil Step-Tones!" The blimb from Blade-runner puts in an appearance announcing that Gordo (our Elvis take-off) will be choosing a bride at his concert tonight. Cinderella's Brandoesque fairy godMOTHER(?) grants favors with a tap of his magical cigar. The evil stepsisters notice that the transformed Cinderella looks very familiar ... "She looks just like... like... Teri Garr!" (And at that moment, you notice that strangely enough, she does, despite the snout and pink hair.)
Back on Melmac, Marcel Duchamp is in charge. A favorite pasttime is a variation on miniature golf played with dustpans and cans of anchovy paste. The Schmidlap family of Methanol Falls is introduced as a possible set of contestants on Wheel of Cheese. Gordon's father works in a mayonnaise mine, where the lodge members chant, "Mayonnaise is more than sandwich spread... it's in our hearts and in our heads." A Bondesque villian infiltrates the Furry Chunks cereal factory as part of an evil plan to win the Sweepstakes Adventure. The muscle bound Gut-Squisher with an Austrian accent shows pathological devotion to his Cuddly Naptime Aardvark. You get the idea.
If you can find old tapes, snatch them up. If you find reruns, record them. Share them with demented friends and children. Like a good wine, animated Alf and AlfTales episodes improve with age.
