Granted I wouldn't have been a fan of doing that type of sitcom either, but as long as I was earning money and people loved the show, I would've been fine. Even Max Wright said that in an interview several years ago, that people loved it so it didn't matter how "bad" the set was. I feel like Ben, based on stuff he's said, doesn't have any fond memories of the tapings.
shareI think their comments may be exaggerated out of bitterness that their careers didn't take off after the show the way they hoped. A 20-hour shooting schedule isn't too unusual for a sitcom. As Paul Fusco said, everyone in the cast as well as the production team knew what they were getting into before they signed the contracts so the actors hindsight complaints are kinda hypocritical.
"Death solves all problems." - Stalin
It seemed like Ben and Anne and Andrea all quit acting. Ben didn't like acting and quit in 1993 after that movie where he was the voice of an animated mole. Either Anne got tired of the stuff that she got cast in, or felt like she wanted to stop. She hasn't been on TV since 2001, in a couple episodes of Judging Amy. Andrea Elson hasn't really acted since the 90s. Max Wright was doing some show with Jesse Tyler Ferguson on Broadway in 2010. Either they got tired of it or just didn't like the roles they had to play. I wish there was an ALF reunion. I wonder if any of the cast has talked to each other since the show ended?
Like the proverbial cheese, I stand alone. Even while seated.
by
Bluecher
» 5 days ago (Tue Aug 26 2014 04:55:57)
IMDb member since October 2004
I think their comments may be exaggerated out of bitterness that their careers didn't take off after the show the way they hoped. A 20-hour shooting schedule isn't too unusual for a sitcom. As Paul Fusco said, everyone in the cast as well as the production team knew what they were getting into before they signed the contracts so the actors hindsight complaints are kinda hypocritical.
Hypocritical indeed. They needed a good, as TV Tropes calls it, "Reason You Suck Speech." That would have given them a good reality check, making the show go on for another season or two.
Sitcoms don't shoot for 20 hours. Where do you get that from? Usually they are live on tape. If they do it like a film, then they aren't shooting the whole show in one day.
shareThe scripts weren't exactly stellar, and the actors were lucky to be paying their mortgage. I don't know how shows like 'Alf' and 'Small Wonder' ever made it past the pilot phase of production.
Come to think of it, ever seen 'Joanie Loves Chachi'? BLECH!
Can you imagine how boring it would be waiting for hours on end to shoot one scene? Sure, maybe the first few weeks could be tolerable but how about after that? After awhile it's not work, it just becomes a mind numbing chore. Negativity can spread like a cancer over the whole cast and crew. I'm amazed they got 4 seasons under their belt without losing their minds lol.
In the end, I think one actor finished his final scene and just walked out and went home..didn't say bye or nothing!
There's no more Hollywood anymore, there's just a bunch of banks
I wonder if also it is because Alf is the one getting all the laughs. Max Wright was playing straight man to an alien. Maybe that bothered him. He wasn't very well known and did have a few cancelled series before (and after), so maybe he was willing to do this show because it was a talked about series that would get decent ratings. It is also the fact that people take jobs because they need the money and they have to eat.
shareI think you're right- I remember reading an article years ago, possibly on IMDB that said Max Wright "despised playing second fiddle to a puppet who got the best lines."
That said, it makes me wonder why he stayed with the show. Before they started, he obviously would have known that ALF was the "main" character.
True, Max must have known that he would play the second fiddle to a puppet. But it doesn't mean that he couldn't have gotten tired of it very quickly. And if you like your job less and less, then I guess that going to it every day for four long years can become close to torture.
Intelligence and purity.
Did they cash the checks when they got paid?
Get the facts first - you can distort them later!share
A while back I read an interview with Jm J Bullock who was on much of the last season. He said working on this show as by far his worst acting experience ever. Said that the people were all miserable and that everyone on the show (including the kids) smoked. Said it was AWFUL!
...............ZING!
Well, you gotta realize how technically difficult ALF was the time. Keep in mind that this was 1986, and everything was done as a practical effect. Today they would just CGI ALF.
shareIt could very much be that the actors thought it was a terrible show right from the start, but they still agreed to do a pilot episode just for a quick paycheck, thinking that no network would want to actually want to launch it. But then it was launched and even became a big hit, and so they were stuck with it for four long years.
How sad it is that many people liked this show back then, but no cast member expect for Paul Fusco had anything good to say about it afterwards. Even a few actors, who only had a bit part on it and could move on fast enough, will tell you that it was the worst working experience of their career.
Intelligence and purity.
I'm sure it paid for houses and whatnot. The show was a big family hit in the States and overseas. They got all they could out of the show and they simply moved on after the ordeal was over. Who would want to stay in the studio all day working with a puppet?
Shall we play a game?
http://mentalfloss.com/article/86458/out-world-oral-history-alf
shareGoing to save that for later, thanks for sharing!!
http://www.trespasser.nl/div/pta/pta.pdf -->> Planes, Trains and Automobiles script
the actors sound pretty spoiled. of course we weren't on the set and maybe there were good reasons they disliked working on the show, but it sounds a lot like the fact that they all hated it was what made working on the show unbearable. i've worked with people who hated their job before and it sucks, their anger and annoyance can be contagious in a way. i love my job but hated going to work when one certain co-worker was there, too. she's gone now, luckily, but she made this awesome job annoying because she hated it. whenever she wasn't around, i was back to loving it.
if we're being honest, these actors got to experience something most actors dream of and will never achieve. their show became an international success, they're airing reruns on german tv again, 30 years later (and i think the show is rather timeless, still funny after all this years). it's crazy, how many shows from the 80ies were that popular? people enjoyed their work even though they didn't, that's awesome. and all they do is complain that the puppet got the better lines and that they had to watch where they were going? (i'm sure there's more dangerous jobs out there that pay way less).
everyone's entitled to being discontent or unhappy about their lives, but they sound ungrateful. but maybe we don't know the whole story (i'll read the link posted here later, thank!)
"Angel Investigation - we hope you're helpless" - Doyle
Excellent points ranmalein! I agree with what you said, and feel the same,
I read the article and It showed some insights into why the actors were so miserable. Made me understand it a little better, but I still think just about anyone would have traded spots with them. But it did show how tough it was for them.
With time, the actors have realized how many people still love the show and this made them look at the past more leniently. And the royalties from syndication.
share