Is it Hard to Enjoy This Show Now...

[tlc38tlc38]

ALF was the "star" ---as he was meant to be. However, it was an ensemble cast and they all did a great job.

I still very much enjoy this 80s novelty.

[Mace Dolex]

I wonder if the live audience taping took much longer than on a regular sitcom, I'm guessing someone on the lot was on call for ordering take-out for the patient audience.

[Mr. Television]

Originally Posted by Mace Dolex

I wonder if the live audience taping took much longer than on a regular sitcom, I'm guessing someone on the lot was on call for ordering take-out for the patient audience.

Was it filmed in front of a studio audience? I always thought they just used a laugh track.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Mr. Television

Was it filmed in front of a studio audience? I always thought they just used a laugh track.

ALF from my understanding, was not at all filmed in front of a live studio audience simply due to the complicated logistics of filming.

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by vampirevsrobot

here's an interesting tidbit I found via the "Archive of American Television", in which Bernie Brillstein, one of the executive producers of ALF calls the cast, "The worst casting ever done..." (he stops himself); and later says, "the cast just didn't work".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vuLLipDhA9U

The video begins @ the 6 minute mark.

What is he talking about? The ALF cast was brilliant. Every member of the family, and both of the neighbors, were perfectly cast.

And he also says "There was no puppetry involved at all, but the voice"---him saying that does not make any sense whatsoever.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by Furienna

It is really sad that the cast hated working on the show that much. But still, Paul Fusco has said that they all knew what they were in for. So some of their complaints, especially the one about playing second bananas to the actual star of the show, do sound really petty. Some people think that they are angry in retrospect because their careers never took off after "Alf" ended. But on the other hand, I guess minding trap doors for four whole years doesn't sound that funny. And it also seems like Paul Fusco maybe wasn't the easiest person to work with. So I say the truth probably lies somewhere in between.

ALF in general appeared to be a hellscape for just about everyone involved: a tyrannical creator, troubled cast, brutally uncomfortable set, and nightmarishly long shooting schedules.