The alien on my DVR
It probably says a lot about me that the first show I ever recorded with a DVR was ALF. No, not some new reboot. The original show from the 1980s. Yes, I now have access to a state of the art TV recording device, and I use it to record sitcom reruns.
Don’t judge.
Like most who share my 31 years, I grew up watching ALF. I remember watching reruns after school as a kid. This might explain how I developed my own smart-mouth sarcastic humor (and perhaps, my fondness for cats). As a kid, the show’s draw was it had a puppet. But, as an adult, I get much, much more of the humor and enjoy its brilliant absurdity.
OK, and I still like that it has a puppet.
I watched a favorite episode the other day — where the Tanners throw a Halloween party, and ALF shows up with a zipper taped to his chest to pass off as a guest (“Some Enchanted Evening”).
I’m still laughing about it. Yes, it was a cheesy, simple gag, but I loved it. The visual is hilarious on two levels — the zipper looks totally out of place, and ALF interacting with a room full of adults, instead of just the Tanners, really puts the focus on his shortness.
Ah, sitcoms.
The episode also has one of my favorite comedic reversals. I’m paraphrasing here, but it goes something like this:
Willie: Where did you get that zipper?
ALF: You know that old jacket you’ve been meaning to throw out?
Willie: Yeah.
ALF: Well, you might wanna hang on to it. I ripped this out of your new raincoat.
Ha! Classic.
I don’t care much for sitcoms these days, but I will always watch ALF when I can. Maybe it is the connection to my youth, or maybe it is the humor.
Or maybe, just maybe, I like smart-mouth puppets.
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Daniel J. Hogan writes humor and draws comics for clattertron.com. You can follow him on Twitter, @danieljhogan.
