My ALF season 4 episode guide reflects the contents of the TVD package. That means I'll be listing the repeats and leaving out the omissions. The episodes “It’s My Party” and “Make ‘Em Laugh” are not included. The order may also be different than lists on IMDB and other sites. There are 24 episodes, but only 20 of them are not repeats.
1) Baby Come Back
The Tanners need a babysitter, and ALF volunteers. When Eric vanishes ALF freaks out.
-This is a pretty good start to the season. ALF has a point about the Tanners’ trust in him, but he doesn’t remain consistent throughout the following episodes. He seems to go from wanting to win their trust to not caring in the least.
2) Lies
ALF gets upset about a tabloid story and writes in to correct the publisher. They offer to buy his story then show up to interview him in person putting Willie in the hot seat. It goes from bad to worse when the photographer accidentally gets a shot of ALF watching in the background.
-This might just be my favorite episode in the season. It’s goofy, geeky, and extremely funny.
3) Wanted Dead or Alive
Is Willie a wanted felon? Someone thinks so and turns him in to the FBI. Now ALF, the most likely suspect, is hiding from the Tanner family mob.
-If "Lies" is my favorite this one is its closest contender. If all the episodes this season were the quality of these first few I doubt the show would have been canceled.
4) We’re in the Money
ALF invests in the stock market thinking it’s a computer game. When he shows an amazing aptitude for it Willie decides to turn him loose. It wouldn't be an ALF episode if there weren't trouble looming on the horizon.
-Not as strong as the earlier ones, but still a good episode.
5) Mind Games
This is one of the ones from a previous season. ALF takes up the hobby of amateur psychiatry forcing the Tanners to turn to a real doctor for help.
6) Hooked on a Feeling
ALF is hooked on cotton (which acts as a drug for Melmacians) and starts acting even stranger than usual. It’s time for an intervention! The family hosts a support group with Willie standing in for ALF.
-One of the better attempts at working in a serious subject, but it seems to be something of a turning point. ALF gets more unlikable from here on out, and the Tanners tend to act more like they’ve had their fill of him.
7) He Ain’t Heavy He’s Willie’s Brother
This is the introduction of Neal Tanner. He’s going through a divorce and shows up unexpectedly having ditched his old life. ALF is confined to the attic about which he is none too happy, and Kate thinks Willie should stop shielding his brother.
-I like Neal. He’s dorky yet lovable and provides some new interaction with ALF. ALF is understandably upset about being confined to closed quarters, but this begins a trend of disagreements with more venom in them than I imagine the creators actually intended.
8) The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
Neal has moved in down the street and his constant presence keeps ALF pretty much a prisoner in the attic. Willie’s solution is to have them meet, but ALF isn’t too sure about the idea.
9) Live and Let Die
Lucky has died and ALF wants to send him off properly… on a plate! He and the Tanners can’t see eye to eye on the matter, and Brian in particular isn’t taking the loss well. ALF must either satiate his cat hunger or find a way to subdue it.
-With all of the cat-eating dialogue I could see this being a little disturbing for some viewers.
10) Break Up to Make Up
It’s ALF’s landing anniversary. Time for a celebration! Dot crashes the party after she leaves Whizzer who also shows up at just the right time to run unexpectedly into ALF. Now it’s Whizzer vs. Dot in the Tanner house with ALF doing all he can to get in the way.
-Another particularly good episode, arguably the last really good one.
11) Happy Together
ALF and Willie have a row and ALF decides to take off. He moves in with Neal, but Neal learns what it’s like to live with an alien.
-The idea is fun in concept, but poorly written. The conflict between ALF and Willie seems forced, and ALF’s actions with Neal seem deliberately malicious.
12) Fever
Another one from an earlier season. In this one ALF gets sick.
13) The Future’s So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades
ALF realizes he’s going to outlive the Tanners and worries about what will happen to him. He fantasizes about what the future may hold, and being who he is those ideas are severely skewed.
-The sheer randomness of some of the elements in this episode make it pretty good. The elderly Kate and Willie are particularly amusing. Old Kate doesn’t get nearly enough screen time. The age makeup looks rough, though. Lynn actually manages to look ugly, and I mean really ugly. And keep in mind that’s coming from someone who’s had a crush on her since the 80’s. It's not a bad episode but not as outstanding as ones such as "Lies."
14) Love on the Rocks
Neal’s ex wants him back, and Willie is disgusted by the thought. He convinces Neal to drop her, but they’re both in for a few surprises. Should ALF interfere?
-This is a necessary moment between ALF and Neal after "Happy Together."
15) True Colors
Lynn is working on her painting skills, and ALF decides to get back into it himself. Naturally he becomes a nuisance with it, but Lynn's art teacher actually likes it. Fame and fortune appear to be withing ALF's grasp, at least in his imagination. But Lynn's teacher has other motives.
-A decently funny episode, but some of that behind the scenes venom shows through.
16) Gimme That Old Time Religion
ALF needs to pay proper respect to his god leading him to become a minister. He gets annoying as usual but convinces the Tanners to let him officiate a renewal of their marriage under his practices.
-The whole religious aspect of Melmacian culture comes out of nowhere. While the episode does manage to be somewhat touching it’s not as powerful as it tries to be mostly due to the weak story and dull comedy.
17) I Gotta Be Me
Lynn’s dating a mime. Sounds like prime material for a funny episode. If only. She wants to take him to a weekend getaway, and the parents aren’t happy about it. Now she’s talking about moving in with the guy, and ALF’s not helping matters.
-The episode fails to be moving or funny making it less than entertaining. I just don’t think 30 minutes of Lynn’s sexual activities makes for good ALF-style material.
18) When I’m 64
One of ALF’s idols, a movie star, has moved in nearby, and ALF is desperate to meet her. Turns out she’s a pretty mean old lady. It’s too late, though, ALF has exposed himself. He makes the best of it by making other friends in the retirement home.
-While perhaps a little too sappy at times this one does manage to mix in some good laughs and touching moments.
19) When I’m 64
Yep, here it is again on the next disc.
20) Mr. Sandman
Going through old prospecting tools the Tanners find a hidden map with “X” marking the spot. ALF and Willie are gung ho for treasure hunting. Not so Kate and the kids. As the guys hike through the desert looking for buried treasure they discover trouble due to lack of drinking water.
21) Stayin Alive
ALF is worried about the environment. He decides to write letters gaining Willie an audience with a CFC-producing corporation. Comedic confrontations ensue.
-While there are some amusing moments this one is too preachy without anything to raise its entertainment value.
22) Hungry Like a Wolf
ALF is gaining weight which could cause him to implode. Now a strict diet may cause him to resort to a primitive nature, but the Tanners think he’s just making excuses to get off his diet.
-Once again there are some funny moments, but it just isn’t as good a story as many earlier ones. I guess mainly it’s that with all the quantities and odd types of things ALF has eaten over the years he only has to worry about his weight for one episode? It might have been more effective if he had gone on a binge for some reason or had found something in particular that caused him to gain weight more than other things he eats.
23) I Gotta Be Me
Here it is again in case you want to watch it a second time without putting disc 3 back in. At least they could have repeated a GOOD episode.
24) Consider Me Gone
Skip and Rhonda want to pick ALF up and take him with them to start a new Melmacian colony. The Alien Task Force intercepts a transmission and sets out to capture ALF.
-This is it, folks, the end of ALF. Actually that’s not true, he does come back in that awful follow-up movie. It is the end of the Tanners, though. Granted it was intended to be a cliffhanger, but still it ends the series on an unpleasant note. It’s really not as emotional as it tries to be, yet spends so much time trying to be so it forgets that it’s supposed to be a comedy.