I know the show stopped airing in March of 1990 due to being cancelled, so I would think it was probably being produced into January or February 1990? But then again I wouldn't be too surprised if they had recorded the 1990 episodes all in 1989. Does anyone know for a fact when they stopped producing ALF?

ALF ran from September 1986-March 1990.
That wasn't the question. ;)

@winteriscoming
Sorry, no idea when they stopped shooting.

I know the show stopped airing in March of 1990 due to being cancelled, so I would think it was probably being produced into January or February 1990? But then again I wouldn't be too surprised if they had recorded the 1990 episodes all in 1989. Does anyone know for a fact when they stopped producing ALF?


I would go with sometime in February of '90. :)
"Make 'Em Laugh" was probably the only episode from 1990 that was filmed in the winter of 1989.

I would go with sometime in February of '90. :)
"Make 'Em Laugh" was probably the only episode from 1990 that was filmed in the winter of 1989.


This applies to TV shows in general. One thing I've noticed with copyright dates on shows is that in more recent years, the copyright year has a greater tendency to reflect the show's proposed airdate, even if filmed in the previous year. However, especially prior to the late '90s, the copyright date given reflects when the filming was completed and is especially more prevalent in syndicated shows, though it also applies to network programming. Watch a bunch of shows that had Jan/Feb airdates and you can see for. On average, a primetime show is taped about six weeks before it airs. (Animation is an exception, which takes about six months from script to airing for primetime & network Saturday Morning shows to around a year for cable/syndicated cartoons).

That said, syndication and cable typically has a longer turnover due to a larger quantity of episodes required to be "in the can" before being released, and on average a show gets produced about three months before going to air. For example, some episodes of Nick Arcade/Family Double Dare were already six months old by the time they got to air, since a season was typically shot in just over a month for airing over a 4-6 month period on Nickelodeon in the late '80s/'90s/early '00s. For instance, the entire first season of Nick Arcade (42 episodes) all have a 1991 copyright on them despite some of them not airing for the first time until May 1992. Of course there are a few extreme cases where a show's pilot doesn't get the greenlight yet goes to series years later and usually includes the old pilot to air.

And to the OP: yes, the final episode of ALF was definitely made in early 1990 with its 1990 Copyright date.

This applies to TV shows in general. One thing I've noticed with copyright dates on shows is that in more recent years, the copyright year has a greater tendency to reflect the show's proposed airdate, even if filmed in the previous year. However, especially prior to the late '90s, the copyright date given reflects when the filming was completed and is especially more prevalent in syndicated shows, though it also applies to network programming. Watch a bunch of shows that had Jan/Feb airdates and you can see for. On average, a primetime show is taped about six weeks before it airs. (Animation is an exception, which takes about six months from script to airing for primetime & network Saturday Morning shows to around a year for cable/syndicated cartoons).

That said, syndication and cable typically has a longer turnover due to a larger quantity of episodes required to be "in the can" before being released, and on average a show gets produced about three months before going to air. For example, some episodes of Nick Arcade/Family Double Dare were already six months old by the time they got to air, since a season was typically shot in just over a month for airing over a 4-6 month period on Nickelodeon in the late '80s/'90s/early '00s. For instance, the entire first season of Nick Arcade (42 episodes) all have a 1991 copyright on them despite some of them not airing for the first time until May 1992. Of course there are a few extreme cases where a show's pilot doesn't get the greenlight yet goes to series years later and usually includes the old pilot to air.

And to the OP: yes, the final episode of ALF was definitely made in early 1990 with its 1990 Copyright date.


The last episode aired March 24, 1990, so I'm thinking with that information they probably filmed up until about Feb 8, 1990 or so if not a tad later.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhF0LaGOgO0

Are you referring to the series finale where he got caught by the police? ↑

"Make 'Em Laugh" was probably the only episode from 1990 that was filmed in the winter of 1989.


According to the credits, actually the first two episodes (January, 8th and January 15th) were filmed in 1989. The first episode with a 1990 in the credits is the one of January, 22nd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhF0LaGOgO0

Are you referring to the series finale where he got caught by the police? ↑


Yes, I believe he was.

According to the credits, actually the first two episodes (January, 8th and January 15th) were filmed in 1989. The first episode with a 1990 in the credits is the one of January, 22nd.


Oh wow, I had no idea.

They also made Project ALF as sort of like the continuation from where he left off.

According to the credits, actually the first two episodes (January, 8th and January 15th) were filmed in 1989. The first episode with a 1990 in the credits is the one of January, 22nd.


So they were probably filming about 3 weeks in advance or so, meaning the last episode was probably filmed around March 1, 1990.

So they were probably filming about 3 weeks in advance or so, meaning the last episode was probably filmed around March 1, 1990.


This is where ALF was caught by the police and then wound up missing his spaceship.