I try to use the Toobworld Dynamic as a means to splain away the many discrepancies that occur when trying to see every TV show as being part of the same universe. What I'm not trying to promote is fanfic (although I personally don't have any problem with people writing stories about their favorite characters.) However, certain aspects of the Dynamic could be looked upon as fanfic, like the theories of relateeveety.
I suppose my suggestion of an organization, which I called "UNreel", that would make certain people and events to be considered fictional by the general populace of Earth Prime-Time has to be considered fanfic. But "UNreel" splains away why a character like Dr. Walter Bishop would consider Sherlock Holmes as fictional, when we know that he exists in so many TV dimensions.
In fact, it was Dr. Watson's published accounts of Holmes' cases, which many people regarded as fictional, that proved to be the inspiration for the work of "UNreel".
Usually, "UNreel" produces a TV show to mask the reality of an individual in Earth Prime-Time, like 'The Man From U.N.C.L.E.' Sometimes they use a movie franchise, like the one that masked the fact that James Bond is real. Or it could be a combination of both as used in the case of the Gallifreyan Time Lord known as the Doctor.
But sometimes "UNreel" (possibly a division of UNIT) would eschew a visual medium to find an alternate way to debunk an individual's existence.
Stuffed animals, for instance.
"UNreel" was probably aware of the arrival of an alien from Melmac on Earth from the very beginning, thanks to the Doctor. But as long as he remained hidden away at the Tanner House, they thought monitoring Alf would be sufficient.
But just in case, "UNreel" initiated a program to prevent any pozz'ble panic - they flooded the market with stuffed animals, key chains, T-shirts, and even cartoons, to suggest that ALF was nothing more than a toy. They provided a background for the doll's "life" that hewed close to the truth - including mention of Melmac and the fondness for feasting on felines - so that anybody who claimed to have the inside scoop on such an ET sighting would be seen as a kook who thought the doll was real.
Blossom Russo had such a doll in her early teen years. And it so had a hold on her affections that it once even influenced her dreams. It was the kind of result which "UNreel" would have been striving for.
It's likely that "UNreel" didn't share its intel with the United States military, which probably added fuel to the fire once they finally learned of ALF's existence......
The 'Blossom' episode featuring ALF in the dream sequence has its embedding disabled. So you'd have to follow these links to watch the episode:
But if you only want to see the ALF sequence, skip ahead in Part One to the 8 minute mark. (The scene does bleed over into the beginning of Part Two.)
Two posts about 'ALF' today. Two for Tuesay!