Family Ties

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Family Ties

The iconic Family Ties "family painting" from the third season in 1984.
Format Sitcom
Run time approx. 0:30 (per episode)
Creator Gary David Goldberg
Starring Meredith Baxter-Birney
Michael Gross
Michael J. Fox
Justine Bateman
Tina Yothers
Marc Price
Scott Valentine (1985-1989)
Tracy Pollan (1985-1986)
Brian Bonsall (1986-1989)
Courteney Cox (1987-1989)
Country USA
Network NBC
Original run September 22, 1982May 14, 1989
No. of episodes 180

Family Ties was an American television sitcom which aired on NBC for seven seasons, from 1982 to 1989. At the height of its popularity, the program was #2 in the yearly Nielsen ratings for two straight seasons (1985-86 and 1986-87).

It starred Meredith Baxter-Birney and Michael Gross as Elyse and Steven Keaton. Elyse was a very successful architect and Steven ran a public television station; both were former flower children. They lived in Columbus, Ohio with their three children: Alex Keaton (played by Michael J. Fox), Mallory Keaton (played by Justine Bateman), and Jennifer Keaton (played by Tina Yothers).

The majority of the show's humor is derived from the tension between Alex's (Michael J. Fox) conservative, Republican mindset, Mallory's uninformed consumerism, and their parents' attitudes as liberal Democrats.

The show had been sold to the network on the basis of the pitch "hip parents, square kids," and the parents were originally intended to be the main characters. However, the audience reacted so positively during the taping of an early episode in which Alex Keaton lost his virginity to a girl who shared his passion for Milton Friedman that the focus of the show was changed to him (and to a lesser extent, to his siblings).

In 1984, Elyse found out that she was pregnant, and much comedy came from all the children: Alex thought Elyse was too old to be having children, Mallory thought her mother would seriously cramp her social life, and Jennifer didn't want the new baby at first because she wanted to stay the baby of the family. Elyse gave birth to Andrew Keaton in 1985, and the child was aged to a pre-schooler (played by Brian Bonsall) in 1986.

Other characters included Alex's best friend Skippy Handelman (Marc Price), who had an undying crush on Mallory, and in later years, budding artist Nick Moore (played by Scott Valentine), who became romantically involved with Mallory and alarmed various members of the family with how unknowingly crass and unmannered he could be. The final two seasons also featured Courteney Cox as Lauren Miller, a love interest for Alex; before, his primary love interest was a college girl named Ellen Reed (played by Tracy Pollan, who later became Michael J. Fox's real-life wife).

Family Ties was broadcast on Thursday nights from 1984 until 1987, immediately following the top-rated program The Cosby Show and just before the also wildly popular sitcom Cheers. That period represented the height all three programs' popularity; they were, for example, the top three most-watched U.S. television programs during the 1986-87 season, when 33% of all U.S. households with televisions tuned in to Family Ties during an average week. The show moved to Sundays in 1987, where the ratings began to decline. Producer/creator Gary David Goldberg and Michael J. Fox decided to leave the show after the 1988-1989 season so it was decided to end the show with Alex leaving home to move to New York.

President Ronald Reagan declared Family Ties his favorite TV show during the 1980s.

Trivia

  • Meredith Baxter and Michael Gross were born on the same day, June 21, 1947.

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