Noiseless Chatter Archive

  ALF Reviews: “We’re So Sorry, Uncle Albert” (season 2, episode 15) For all my complaining about the recycled plots on this show, I really should be happier that they found an original storyline to explore here. But then I remember that the storyline is “ALF murders a dude,” and I’m suddenly not as interested in singing its praises. I will say that this episode stumbled onto a few truly interesting themes to explore, which is far beyond what I would have expected, but it doesn’t so much “explore” them as it does “mention” them. It’s an example of a story that could have been told in an infinite number of ways, and nearly all of them would have been better than the one we got. This one opens with Willie introducing his longbox. He teases that it contains something he hopes ALF and Brian can enjoy together. I’m trying to come up with a dirty joke, but failing to think of anything dirtier than what Willie just said. It’s a tent, which he bought because ALF is going to have to live in...

  ALF Reviews: “Can I Get a Witness?” (season 2, episode 14) “Can I Get a Witness?” comes dangerously close to being a good episode. This, unfortunately, makes it more frustrating than most. The fact that it comes so close to being a good episode is frustrating on its own, but that’s compounded by the fact that it comes so close with  such a stupid premise . Stupid premises leading to greatness bring to mind “La Cuckaracha” and “Oh, Pretty Woman,” and part of the reason I liked them so much was that their central concepts had me rolling my eyes. They were  dumb ideas , and on a show that bungles nearly all of its  good  ideas, I’m legitimately (and pleasantly) surprised when they hit a grand slam off such a wimpy pitch. Normally, this show is just lousy. Sometimes it’s incredibly bad (“Wild Thing,” “ALF’s Special Christmas”) and other times it’s disarmingly good (“Going Out of My Head Over You,” “Working My Way Back to You”), but, mainly, when the show just chug...