ALF (TV series)
ALF is an American science fiction sitcom that aired on NBC from September 22, 1986 to March 24, 1990. It was the first television series to be presented in Dolby Surround.
The title character is Gordon Shumway, a friendly extraterrestrial nicknamed ALF (an acronym for Alien Life Form), who crash lands in the garage of the suburban middle-class Tanner family. The series stars Max Wright as father Willie Tanner, Anne Schedeen as mother Kate Tanner, and Andrea Elson and Benji Gregory as their children, Lynn and Brian Tanner. ALF was performed by puppeteer/creator Paul Fusco.
Produced by Alien Productions, ALF originally ran for four seasons and produced 99 episodes, including three one-hour episodes which were divided into two parts for syndication totaling 102 episodes.
Plot
ALF is an alien from the planet Melmac who follows an amateur radio signal to Earth and crash-lands into the garage of the Tanners. The Tanners are a suburban middle-class family in the San Fernando Valley area of California. The family consists of social worker Willie (Max Wright), his wife Kate (Anne Schedeen), their teenage daughter Lynn (Andrea Elson), younger son Brian (Benji Gregory), and their cat Lucky.
Alf (album)
Alf is the debut solo studio album of British singer-songwriter Alison Moyet, her first since leaving early 1980s synthpop duo Yazoo (also known as Yaz). Released on 9 November 1984, the album, which took its title from the singer's nickname, went to No. 1 on both the UK and New Zealand album charts and includes three hit singles; "Love Resurrection", "Invisible" and "All Cried Out".
The summer of 1985 saw the release of the non-album single "That Ole Devil Called Love", originally performed by Billie Holiday in the 1940s, in some European territories followed by a remixed version of "For You Only".
In 2006, "Love Resurrection" appeared in the popular video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories. The song can be heard on a fictional pop/rock/New Wave radio station called Flash FM.
Track listing
All tracks written by Steve Jolley, Alison Moyet and Tony Swain (Copyright Control/Rondor Music Ltd.-London/J&S Music) unless otherwise noted.
Side A:
List of ALF characters
A listing of the characters from the ALF television series that ran between 1986 and 1990.
ALF
ALF (an acronym for "Alien Life Form"), is an alien from the planet Melmac. ALF's real name is Gordon Shumway; he was given the nickname "ALF" by Willie Tanner in the pilot episode.
ALF was born on October 28, 1756 (though he mentions that his birthday is in August in Episode 7, "Help Me Rhonda") on the Lower East Side of the planet. Melmac was located six parsecs past the Hydra-Centaurus Supercluster and had a green sky, pink grass and a purple sun. The commonly used currency is Wernicks, and the substance we call foam is revealed by ALF in the first season episode, "Baby, You Can Drive My Car", to be as precious on Melmac as gold is on Earth. Lint also has value on Melmac as hinted in the cold open of the same episode, though ALF did not reveal what it corresponded to on Earth in terms of value.
ALF's body is covered with rust-colored fur (he once described his color as burnt sienna). He has a rippled snout, facial moles, eight stomachs, his heart is apparently located in his head near his ear. He likes to eat cats and had a best friend on his home planet named Malhar Naik. He attended high school for 122 years and was captain of a Bouillabaisseball team (which is played on a normal baseball diamond using fish parts as a ball). He has at least two cousins "Pretty Boy Shumway" and "Blinky", and has had liposuction. During a bout of amnesia, he believed he was an insurance salesman named Wayne Schlegel.
Séries+
Séries+ is a Canadian French language Category A specialty channel devoted to scripted comedy and dramatic programming. The channel is owned by Corus Entertainment.
History
On May 21, 1999, Alliance Atlantis Communications (AAC) and Premier Choix Networks (a division of Astral Media) were granted approval by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to launch a national French-language specialty television service called Canal Fiction, described as a "service devoted to drama."
The channel was launched on January 31, 2000 as Séries+ at 6pm EST.
On January 18, 2008, a joint venture between Canwest and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners known as CW Media purchased AAC and gained AAC's interest in Séries+.
On October 27, 2010, Shaw Communications completed its acquisition of Canwest and Goldman Sachs' interest in CW Media, giving it control of CW Media's 50% interest in Séries+.
On March 4, 2013, Corus Entertainment announced that it would acquire Astral Media's stakes in Séries+ and Historia, as well as several other properties, under separate transactions with the two companies. The purchase was tied to Bell Media's pending takeover of Astral Media; an earlier proposal had been rejected by the CRTC in October 2012 due to concerns surrounding its total market share following the merger, but was restructured under the condition that the companies divest certain media properties. In a separate deal, Corus also acquired Shaw's interests in Séries+ and Historia, giving it full ownership. The deals were approved by the CRTC on December 20, 2013 and Corus officially become the full owner of the channel on January 1, 2014.
203 series
The 203 series (203系) is an electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated in Japan between 1982 and 2011 by Japanese National Railways (JNR) and later by East Japan Railway Company (JR East), and currently operated by KRL Jabodetabek in Indonesia and Philippine National Railways (PNR) in the Philippines.
Operations
The 203 series sets were on through services between the Joban Line and Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line until they were replaced by E233-2000 series EMUs, and finally withdrawn from services in Japan in September 2011.
Formation
The sets were formed as follows.
Cars 3, 6, and 9 were each fitted with one PS21 pantograph.
Interior
Interior view, September 2007
Interior view, September 2007
Priority seating, November 2010
Priority seating, November 2010
History
Withdrawal
The trains were gradually replaced by new E233-2000 series EMUs, and the last set ran in revenue service on 26 September 2011.
Overseas operations
Indonesia
Five former 203 series sets have been sent to KRL Jabodetabek (KCJ) in Jakarta, Indonesia. All trains are in operation in the Jabodetabek area with 8 cars per set, due to the short platforms at most stations in Indonesia.
281 series
The 281 series (281系) is a DC electric multiple unit (EMU) train type operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It was introduced on September 4, 1994 for passengers travelling to/from Kansai International Airport. Provisions are made for luggage racks and dedicated luggage room.
Design
Built jointly by Kinki Sharyo and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, the trains are used on the Haruka limited express service via the Kansai Airport Line in 3- or 6-car formations.
Formations
Sets are based at Hineno Depot, and are formed as shown below.
6-car sets
3-car sets
Interior
281 series standard-class interior
281 series standard-class interior
281 series Green (first class) car interior
281 series Green (first class) car interior
