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PODCAST

ALFsplaining

Ben Baker and John Matthews

An episode by episode love letter to the 1980s sitcom ALF from a British perspective with Ben Baker and John Matthews.

tv & film tv reviews

All Episodes

00:36:56

Changes

ALFsplaining ·

2025/12/01

"Kate starts working and then discovers that she is pregnant."My that is inconvenient timing but if anyone knows how schedule a joke its Willie Tanner and his clearly fully functional downstairs which has put a fictional baby in Kate's fiction factory. Its an episode clearly written on the fly to accommodate Anne Schedeen's real-life pregnancy and Pod Detectives Baker and Matthews have a few ideas when it might have happened. And WHERE. If you want to support this hairy progeny of

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00:38:29

Turkey In The Straw (Part Two)

ALFsplaining ·

2025/11/24

"ALF must avoid the Alien Task Force when a homeless guy blows the whistle on him."Im sure he's had worse blown on him....I mean, erm....happy Thanksgiving. Or Fappinao if you're from Melmac like ALF who is in danger of being pulled apart for experiments thanks to the shady behaviour of Flakey Pete. Its almost like his name was trying to tell us something. Sat in the van waiting for action are Ben Baker and John Matthews with some magazines and a deflated balloon for company. Also: Trevor sings!If

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00:38:39

Turkey In The Straw (Part One)

ALFsplaining ·

2025/11/17

"The Tanners are invited to a Thanksgiving dinner with the Ochmonek's bizarre relatives"TWO PARTS? And we're getting double Trevor and Raquel?? Strap us down and feed us rubber vomit! And who wrote this? The bloke who did ALF's Christmas Special? Oh ffffff.........well, this is going to be an interesting Fappiano for Ben Baker and John Matthews. But could it be a miracle?If we stuff your turkey, why not consider joining the Orbit Guard and supporting this season of ALFsplaining

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00:39:35

Pantosplaining - Pilot (Video Version)

ALFsplaining ·

2025/11/14

NOTE: If the video doesnt play, check out the alternate source here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovYesOJsi88And this is the panto poster we are discussing: https://bsky.app/profile/pantosplaining.bsky.social/post/3m52374ra622qIf you've got this far into the series of "ALFsplaining" you'll be unsurprised that Ben Baker and John Matthews are pretty obsessional men. Not about anything predictable of course - this ALF podcast proves that! But as we've a week between episodes of the sitcom, we

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00:39:38

Pantosplaining - Pilot (Audio Only)

ALFsplaining ·

2025/11/10

If you've got this far into the series of "ALFsplaining" you'll be unsurprised that Ben Baker and John Matthews are pretty obsessional men. Not about anything predictable of course - this ALF podcast proves that! But as we've a week between episodes of the sitcom, we thought you might like to learn about another of our big shared loves - panto posters. Listen along to the pilot of "Pantosplaining" where we pluck a poster from panto history and look at what we can find

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00:39:35

Pantosplaining - Pilot

ALFsplaining ·

2025/11/10

NOTE: If the video doesnt play, check out the alternate source here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovYesOJsi88And this is the panto poster we are discussing: https://bsky.app/profile/pantosplaining.bsky.social/post/3m52374ra622qIf you've got this far into the series of "ALFsplaining" you'll be unsurprised that Ben Baker and John Matthews are pretty obsessional men. Not about anything predictable of course - this ALF podcast proves that! But as we've a week between episodes of the sitcom, we

en

00:43:45

Promises, Promises

ALFsplaining ·

2025/11/03

"ALF reveals that Lynn is dating Eddie to her parents' dismay."They do seem obsessed with Lynn dating oddballs, dont they? And few come odder than Michael "Des" "Barnes", aka that British bloke who was in all the American sitcoms. Equally odd and also with erm...well you know, Ben Baker and John Matthews are also here. But you knew that. If we make your teeth chatter comedically, why not consider joining the Orbit Guard and supporting this season of ALFsplaining and

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00:37:02

Tonight Tonight

ALFsplaining ·

2025/10/26

"ALF hosts The Tonight Show for Johnny Carson...."ALF is live across America and its not a dream sequence. I mean, its not really much of anything but who needs explanations when you've got the U.S' most beloved late night talk show of all time? Its all a ruse to make a clip show but there's a fair bit of new material with the ALFer meeting lots of interesting guests, including...The Pope? In the wings, Ben Baker and John Matthews wait eagerly to see if they've been bumped

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00:38:43

Breaking Up is Hard to Do

ALFsplaining ·

2025/10/20

"Trevor and Raquel have a falling-out, so ALF and Jake try to get them back together."Oh boy, its an Ochmonek episode! Finally things will be getting back on track after a weird pair of openers. This comedy masterclass will be overseen by visiting romance experts in the field Ben Baker and John Matthews who attempt to bring harmony to another episode of ALF. If thinking of us makes Chicago's music appear in your minds, why not consider joining the Orbit Guard and supporting this season

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00:33:58

Stairway to Heaven

ALFsplaining ·

2025/10/13

"ALF meets his guardian angel who makes him see life without the Tanners, and vice versa."A wonderful life - it is?! ALF's getting out of the house by means of fantasy again and this time it involves Sheena Easton. Ben Baker and John Matthews look on confused and wondering how this all ties into "Saved By The Bell", Bloomingdale's or Donald Trump. All will be revealed inside! Want some of our personal Preparation Shumway? Join the Orbit Guard and support our journey

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00:38:37

Stop In The Name Of Love

ALFsplaining ·

2025/10/06

"Lynn's date at the drive-in goes well until she discovers ALF hiding in the back of the car."We're back! Unless you're listening to this in the moon year of 2027 in which case we never went away so shut up. Ben and John are here with more than a little befuddlement as to the....everything of this episode, and in particular, the beer mat it was seemingly penned upon. Please still love us, Uncle Fusco. If this is very much your kind of root beer, why not consider joining the

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00:37:05

Paul Fusco Interview (Part 2)

ALFsplaining ·

2025/06/09

The second part of our exclusive chat with Paul Fusco, the man who gave the world ALF, voice and soul. In this part he talks about the strangest merchandise to make the shelves, celebrity fans, who ALF would be feuding with on social media right now, the influence of Monty Python and The Two Ronnies on his humour, there's an encounter with right wing pundit Bill O'Reilly, why ALF is needed more than ever in the current climate, his annoyance of "dark side" anecdotes about the

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00:41:29

Paul Fusco Interview (Part 1)

ALFsplaining ·

2025/06/02

What do you do when you finally meet God? Its a question Ben and John are about to learn the answer to as they meet the person central to their obsession this past fifty episodes - Paul Fusco, puppeteer, producer, writer, and creator of both the show and, of course, ALF himself. He gives a rare all-access interview talking about how ALF came to exist, his early work, the oft-reported tensions on the set, the show he regrets turning down, battles with executives, the nearly made "ALF"

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00:38:01

Season Two Wrap-Up

ALFsplaining ·

2025/05/12

NOTE: DONT LISTEN TO THIS ONE BEFORE YOU HEAR SEASON TWO! Thought you were done with Ben Baker and John Matthews for the summer? Not even close! Not only will we have lots more exciting one offs here and there but there's the now standard series lookback where we go over our favourite episodes of the second run alongside some listener-doxxing stats, an investigation into the TV landscape our furry friend thrived in, questioning Dan Aykroyd's part in the ALF phenomenon, the crowning of the series'

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00:36:23

Varsity Drag

ALFsplaining ·

2025/05/05

"After realizing that Willie and Kate have emptied Lynn's college fund to support him, a guilty ALF gets ten newspaper routes to earn money for the family." Another episode in which ALF learns a valuable lesson about....nah, of course not...although he is briefly aware of his impact on the Tanners. Ben Baker and John Matthews fully weigh up the impact he's had on them too as we reach the end of season two and our last review episode for a while. There'll still be regular

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00:39:38

We Are Family

ALFsplaining ·

2025/04/28

"The Tanners plan a party for ALF, who is depressed that he is the only one of his species."There have been some odd episodes of ALF this season but your hosts Ben Baker and John Matthews might have been officially outfoxed by this mix of dream sequences, sketches, downplayed melodrama, boffo gags, horrendous sound effects and confusing the blind. We'll miss it when its gone. If you want to help us buy more cheap imitation porcelain, perhaps consider joining the Orbit Guard. You'll get a tons of

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00:39:14

Tequila

ALFsplaining ·

2025/04/21

"ALF plays pink elephant for Kate's alcoholic friend Maura" Crack open a tinny and pour that nebuchadnezzar of floor polish as its a boozy, woozy sort of episode with a very special message - although your hosts Ben Baker and John Matthews are struggling to find it in amongst the salad and dry heaving. Maybe don't listen to this one whilst eating....If you want to help us buy more delicious medicinal pints, perhaps consider joining the Orbit Guard. You'll get a tons of bonus

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00:37:26

I'm Your Puppet

ALFsplaining ·

2025/04/14

"ALF gets a ventriloquist dummy in the mail that takes control of him."Well that all seems perfectly straightforward! Join Ben Baker and John Matthews for a surprisingly not very meta look into a puppeteer's art, soul and hooves. Helping them out on pre-recorded tape are former guests Al Jean, Mike Reiss and Phil Fletcher who all add some interesting pointers on the episode which is good because the first two wrote the episode...and the last one has probably seen it. If you want to

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00:37:42

Movin Out

ALFsplaining ·

2025/04/07

"Willie gets a promotion that relocates him to San Diego, however despite hating the new job and proclaiming how much he loves the house they currently live in, it takes drastic moves by ALF to make him realize what he's doing."Willie's out! And we're all bowing under its enormous pressure as his new job takes him away from the loving bosom of his family....and the actual bosom of ALF. Ben Baker and John Matthews await their cheques eagerly as - inevitably - chaos ensues. No,

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00:38:31

Hit Me with Your Best Shot

ALFsplaining ·

2025/03/31

"Willie tries to teach Brian nonviolence in dealing with a school bully, but changes his ways when the bully's lowlife father comes to the Tanner residence and insults the entire family."An episode about Brian being repeatedly punched in the face? Erm..., we didnt kill him. That is to say, your hosts Ben Baker and John Matthews didnt, as they're still rubbing liniment into their unmentionables after this heavyweight Melmacian Mauler smackdown. If you want to help us buy more

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