Answer: ALF

The 1980s American sitcom ALF focused on the lives of the suburban Tanner family after they take in an alien. It probably hasn’t injected a whole lot of things into modern culture you can name off hand (unless you still harbor a deep desire to eat a cat, thanks to the show’s titular character and his obsession with eating the family cat).

What we can thank ALF for, however, is serving as a test bed for the release of Dolby Surround sound into the television market. Prior to 1986 and ALF’s first broadcast, all U.S. television programming was either broadcast in mono sound or simple 2 channel stereo sound. With a proper sound system hooked up to your television set, you could enjoy ALF in all its glory with full sub-woofer support.

From there the use of surround sound grew and in the present we have broadcasts with multi-channel complete surround sound so you can enjoy your crime dramas and sci-fi shows with true wrap-around surround sound effects.