Every ’80s Kid Expected ALF to Go Home — Then the Finale Handed Him to the Military

Celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2026, the popular science-fiction sitcom ALF premiered on NBC on September 22, 1986. It followed the life and misadventures of Gordon Shumway, an extraterrestrial from the planet Melmac who is normally just called ALF in the series, an acronym for Alien Life Form. In the series premiere, ALF crashed his spaceship into the Tanner family’s garage. Over the course of four seasons totalling 97 episodes (100 with the three one-hour specials split for syndication), the series followed ALF as he lived with the Tanners while trying to repair his ship, frequently causing problems for them. While with the Tanners, ALF was also in hiding from the military’s Alien Task Force, who wanted to capture him.

Viewers of ALF always expected the series to end with the extraterrestrial completing the repairs of his ship and leaving his life in California to return home to Melmac. Unfortunately, that homecoming would never come to pass. When the fourth season finale aired in March of 1990, it ended with “To be continued.” NBC had given Alien Productions, the company behind the series, a verbal commitment for a fifth season. But with ratings declining, the network pulled its support, and the fourth season finale cliffhanger became the series finale cliffhanger and it was grim.

The Cliffhanger Ending Delivered ALF to the Military

When the fourth season of ALF concluded with the episode “Consider Me Gone,” it ended on a major cliffhanger that left audiences concerned about the fate of the titular character. In the finale, ALF receives a radio message from two other residents of Melmac, sent in Melmacian code. They had purchased a new planet, dubbed New Melmac, and wanted ALF to join them in colonizing their new home. He responded, saying he would go, and they sent coordinates for where they would pick him up. Unbeknownst to ALF and his comrades, the Alien Task Force intercepted their communications. While it took some time, they were able to crack the coded messages and learn the location of their meeting.

After ALF told the Tanner family he was leaving, they said their emotional goodbyes and drove to the landing site outside of Los Angeles. Their spaceship was running low on fuel, so ALF would only have one chance to meet up with his friends and return home. They drove to the rendezvous point, unloaded his belongings, and waited for the Melmacian duo to arrive. Unfortunately, the reunion wasn’t meant to be. As the craft arrived, the Alien Task Force moved in to capture ALF. His friends fled, and the task force surrounded ALF. Willie Tanner, the Tanner family patriarch, tried in vain to stop them. The episode and series ended with ALF trying to talk to the military about the Los Angeles Lakers while the surrounding forces looked on in disbelief. ALF was known for his wit, so it’s fitting that he kept it up until the very end.

What Happened to ALF?

When the series ended, viewers were left to wonder what would become of America’s favorite alien. Everyone always expected the series to conclude with ALF returning home, but the abrupt cancellation never allowed that to happen. Thankfully, ALF’s fate would be revealed. NBC had drawn up plans to film one final episode to bring the story to a close and while those plans were ultimately scrapped, all was not lost. In February 1996, ABC premiered the Project: ALF made-for-television film. It picked up with ALF in military custody and the Tanner family in Iceland under witness protection. Some within the government sought to kill ALF, while others tried to protect him and expose the secret plot to kill him. By the end, the bad guy was stopped, and ALF was appointed as an ambassador to Earth by a military panel.

Attempts have been made to reboot ALF, including in 2018. Development was cancelled later that same year. While no further projects have succeeded in making it off the ground, ALF remains popular to this day. Reruns and streaming have kept the series in the public eye. ALF even maintains a humorous social media presence. Vintage merchandise remains a common find amongst the vendor tables at retro-themed conventions, and new products continue to be made on occasion. In February of 2022, Shout! Studios announced that they had acquired distribution rights to ALF and intended to produce new content with the character. So far, only an advertisement made together with Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort has been released. Any further media in development by the studio remains a closely guarded secret.

Where you traumatized by the ALF series finale cliffhanger? Let us know in the comments.