The fourth and final season of ALF was marked by the additional of a new recurring character: J.M. J. Bullock as Neal Tanner, obsequious younger brother of Willie Tanner (Max Wright), whose household has been hosting visiting space alien ALF for lo these past three years. Neal's apparent determination to remain with his brother's family on a permanent basis makes it all the more difficult for the Tanners to keep ALF's presence a secret from the dreaded Alien Task Force. A more significant addition to the cast had occurred at the tail end of season three, when Willie's wife, Kate (Anne Schedeen), gave birth to the family's third child, a son named Eric. Accustomed to trading wisecracks with the Tanner's older kids, Lynn (Andrea Elson) and Brian (Benji Gregory), ALF finds his conversations with baby Eric to be rather one-sided, so he finds other ways to express his fondness for the kid -- such as changing his first diaper in the season opener. From this point, let's jump ahead to the season finale, as chaotic an episode as has ever been concocted for any sitcom. Contacted by Skip and Rhonda, two fellow space creatures who like ALF had managed to escape the planet Melmac before it exploded into oblivion, ALF is invited to join his countrymen in establishing a new space colony. After bidding a tearful farewell to the Tanners, ALF prepares to leave their home -- when suddenly the minions of the Alien Task Force descend upon our nonplussed hero and place him under arrest! And that's the last we see of ALF until the 1990 TV movie Project: ALF, which belatedly details his fate after his capture.
by Hal Erickson
synopsis
