Family Ties

Family Ties is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC for seven seasons, premiering on September 22, 1982, and concluding on May 14, 1989. The series, created by Gary David Goldberg, reflected the move in the United States from the cultural liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s to the conservatism of the 1980s.[3] This culture was particularly expressed through the relationship between young Republican Alex P. Keaton (portrayed by Michael J. Fox) and his ex-hippie parents, Steven and Elyse Keaton (portrayed by Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter).

Family Ties
GenreSitcom
Created byGary David Goldberg
Starring
  • Meredith Baxter
  • Michael Gross
  • Michael J. Fox
  • Justine Bateman
  • Tina Yothers
  • Brian Bonsall
Theme music composer
  • Jeff Barry
  • Tom Scott
Opening theme"Without Us" performed by
Dennis Tufano and Mindy Sterling (season 1 episodes 1-10)[1]
Johnny Mathis & Deniece Williams (season 1 episodes 11-22, seasons 2–7)
Country of originUnited States
Original language(s)English
No. of seasons7
No. of episodes176 + one film (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s)
  • Gary David Goldberg
  • Lloyd Garver
  • Alan Uger (co-executive)
Producer(s)
  • Susan Borowitz
  • Ruth Bennett
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time24 minutes
Production company(s)
Distributor
  • Paramount Domestic Television
    (1987–2006)
  • CBS Paramount Domestic Television
    (2006–2007)
  • CBS Television Distribution
    (2007–present)
Release
Original networkNBC[2]
Picture format4:3
Audio formatStereo
Original releaseSeptember 22, 1982 (1982-09-22) –
May 14, 1989 (1989-05-14)
Chronology
Related showsThe Art of Being Nick (TV pilot)
Day by Day

The show won multiple awards, including three consecutive Emmy Awards for Michael J. Fox as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

Plot

Set in suburban Columbus, Ohio, during the Reagan administration, Steven and Elyse Keaton (Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter) are baby boomers, liberals and former hippies,[3] raising their three children: ambitious, would-be millionaire entrepreneur Alex (Michael J. Fox); fashion-conscious, gossipy Mallory (Justine Bateman); and tomboy Jennifer (Tina Yothers). Married in 1964, Elyse is an independent architect and Steven, a native of Buffalo, New York, is the station manager of WKS, a local public television station.

Much of the humor of the series focuses on the cultural divide during the 1980s when younger generations rejected the counterculture of the 1960s and embraced the materialism and conservative politics which came to define the 1980s.[4] Both Alex, and, to a lesser extent, Mallory, embrace Reaganomics and exhibit conservative attitudes: Alex is a "Young Republican", and Mallory, while not overtly political, is a more materialistic young woman in contrast to her feminist mother.[3] Mallory is also presented as a vacuous airhead, who is fodder for jokes and teasing from her brother. Jennifer, an athletic tomboy and the youngest child, shares more the values of her parents and just wants to be a normal kid. Steven and Elyse have a fourth child, Andrew (or "Andy", for short), who is born in early 1985. Alex dotes on his young brother and molds Andy in his conservative image.

Regarding the concept, show's creator Goldberg observed, "It really was just an observation of what was going on in my own life with my own friends. We were these old kind of radical people and all of a sudden you're in the mainstream...but now you've got these kids and you've empowered them, and they're super intelligent, and they're definitely to the right of where you are. They don't understand what's wrong with having money and moving forward."[5] A recurring theme involved Alex hatching a scheme involving some amount of greedy money-making, which led to a humorous misadventure and ended with Alex being forced to apologize for his choices. According to Goldberg, "We actually had this structure that we'd inherited from Jim Brooks and Allan [Burns] , which was six scenes and a tag...And then the last scene became Alex apologizes, in every show, we just left it up. Alex apologizes. Some version of it."[6] Nevertheless, Fox's portrayal of a likeable Alex proved to be an important part of the show's success. Goldberg again stated, "With Alex, I did not think I was creating a sympathetic character. Those were not traits that I aspired to and didn't want my kids to aspire to, actually...But at the end of Family Ties, when we went off the air, then The New York Times had done a piece and they said, 'Greed with the face of an angel.' And I think that's true...[Michael J. Fox] would make things work, and the audience would simply not access the darker side of what he's actually saying."[5]

Cast
Cast of Family Ties (from left): Tina Yothers, Brian Bonsall (added in season five), Michael Gross, Meredith Baxter, Michael J. Fox, and Justine Bateman.

Main cast
  • Meredith Baxter (Meredith Baxter-Birney) as Elyse Donnelly Keaton: Steven’s wife and the mother of Alex, Mallory, Jennifer, and later on Andy. She is a successful architect and an ex-hippie liberal who lived in California in the 60s. She is determined, kind, and loving wife and mother. She met Steven in college where they later married.
  • Michael Gross as Steven Keaton: Elyse’s husband and father to Alex, Mallory, Jennifer, and later Andy. He is a branch manager of the local PBS station who is an ex-hippie liberal who lived in California in the 60s. He can be stubborn at times, but in the end is a loving and devoted father who cares about his family deeply. He met and married Elyse in college in Berkeley.
  • Michael J. Fox as Alex P. Keaton: the son of Steven and Elyse and brother to Mallory, Jennifer, and Andy. He is an intelligent and ambitious Young Republican with only one goal in life: to be successful and make money. He later goes on to attend Leland University and has longtime relationships with two girls: Ellen Reed and Lauren Miller. He often bickers with his parents about their liberal politics which conflict with his own conservative views.
  • Justine Bateman as Mallory Keaton: the daughter of Steven and Elyse and sister to Alex, Jennifer, and Andy. She is a dimwitted material girl, but sweet natured and determined, whose only real cares are shopping and boys. She has a longtime relationship with Nick Moore, a Sylvester Stallone type boy.
  • Tina Yothers as Jennifer Keaton: the daughter of Elyse and Steven and sister to Alex, Mallory, and Andy. She is a tomboy who cares mostly include athletics. She shares her parents liberal views in contrast to her siblings’ more conservative views. She is shown to be protective, but gentle. She is shown to be jealous at first of Andy, but later cares for him. She is also shown to be intelligent and sweet-natured.
  • Brian Bonsall as Andrew "Andy" Keaton (seasons 5–7)
    • Garrett and Tyler Merriman as Baby Andrew "Andy" Keaton (season 4): the son of Elyse and Steven and brother to Alex, Mallory, and Jennifer. He is born during season 3 due to Meredith Baxter-Birney being pregnant in real life. After he is born, the whole family quickly shows affection and a loving attitude towards him, especially Alex who attempts to mold him into a Republican just like him. He quickly ages by about 4 years between seasons 4 and 5.

Main stars Meredith Baxter and Michael Gross are exactly the same age, sharing the same birthday on June 21, 1947. In the series, their characters were intended to be approximately five or six years older, given that their "son", played by Michael J. Fox, was in fact only fourteen years younger than Baxter and Gross in real life.[7]

Recurring cast
  • Marc Price as Irwin "Skippy" Handelman
  • Scott Valentine as Nick Moore (seasons 4–7)
  • Tracy Pollan as Ellen Reed (season 4)
  • Courteney Cox as Lauren Miller (seasons 6–7)

Guest stars
  • River Phoenix as Eugene Forbes in the episode "My Tutor"
  • Jeff Cohen as Marv Jr./Dougie Barker in 2 episodes
  • Corey Feldman as Student Walter in the episode The Disciple
  • Tom Hanks as Ned Donnelly in 3 episodes
  • Martha Plimpton as Jessie Black in the episode "You've Got a Friend"
  • Wil Wheaton as Timothy Higgins in the episode "'D' Is for Date"
  • David Faustino as Keith Baily in the episode "To Snatch a Keith"
  • Geena Davis as Karen Nicholson in 2 episodes
  • Maura Tierney as Darlene in the episode "My Best Friend's Girl"
  • Crispin Glover as Doug in the episode "The Birthday Boy"

The show had been sold to the network using the pitch "hip parents, square kids."[8] Originally, Elyse and Steven were intended to be the main characters. However, the audience reacted so positively to Alex during the taping of the fourth episode that he became the focus on the show.[3][8] Fox had received the role after Matthew Broderick turned it down.[9]

Supporting cast and characters includes neighbor Irwin "Skippy" Handelman (Marc Price), who has an eternal crush on Mallory; Nick Moore (Scott Valentine), Mallory's Sylvester Stallone-esque artist boyfriend; Lauren Miller (Courteney Cox); and Alex's feminist, artist girlfriend Ellen Reed (Tracy Pollan, whom Michael J. Fox later married in 1988). In season 3, episode 17, Elyse gave birth to her fourth child, Andrew (who was played by Brian Bonsall from season 5 onward). Twins Garrett and Tyler Merriman played baby Andrew.

Production

Theme song

The theme song, "Without Us" (credited in season one as "Us"), was composed by Jeff Barry and Tom Scott in 1982. During the first season, it was originally performed by Dennis Tufano and Mindy Sterling.[10][11] For the rest of the show's run, the song was performed by Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams.

Connection to Day by Day

During its final two seasons, Family Ties was scheduled on Sunday nights often followed by Day by Day, another series from Ubu Productions. Michael Gross and Brian Bonsall brought their respective roles of Steven and Andy Keaton to the Day by Day episode "Trading Places", which reveals that Steven went to college with Brian Harper (Doug Sheehan).

Other appearances

Some characters were featured on Mickey's 60th Birthday, the 1988 television special broadcast on November 13, 1988 on NBC, and featured Justine Bateman as Mallory Keaton, Tina Yothers as Jennifer Keaton and Brian Bonsall as Andrew "Andy" Keaton, trying to help Mickey Mouse when everybody fails to recognize him due to a spell. Michael J. Fox had a cameo in a flashback (with archive footage) as Alex P. Keaton.

Episodes
SeasonEpisodesOriginally airedRankRating
First airedLast aired
122September 22, 1982 (1982-09-22)April 4, 1983 (1983-04-04)56[12]N/A
222September 23, 1983 (1983-09-23)May 10, 1984 (1984-05-10)4216.0 [13]
324September 20, 1984 (1984-09-20)March 7, 1985 (1985-03-07)522.1
FilmSeptember 23, 1985 (1985-09-23)N/AN/A
424September 26, 1985 (1985-09-26)May 1, 1986 (1986-05-01)230.0
530September 25, 1986 (1986-09-25)April 30, 1987 (1987-04-30)232.7
628September 13, 1987 (1987-09-13)March 13, 1988 (1988-03-13)1717.3
726October 30, 1988 (1988-10-30)May 14, 1989 (1989-05-14)3514.5 [14]

Awards

Emmy Awards
  • 1986: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Michael J. Fox)
  • 1987: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Michael J. Fox)
  • 1987: Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
  • 1987: Outstanding Technical Direction
  • 1988: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series (Michael J. Fox)

Golden Globes
  • 1989: Best Performance by an Actor in a TV-Series (Michael J. Fox)

TV Land Awards
  • 2008: Character You'd Pay to Do Your Homework for You (Michael J. Fox)
  • 2011: Fan Favorite, Presented by Ben Stiller

Young Artist Awards
  • 1985: Best Young Actress in a Television Comedy Series (Justine Bateman)
  • 1985: Best Young Supporting Actress in a Television Comedy Series (Tina Yothers)
  • 1986: Best Young Actor Starring in a Television Series (Marc Price)
  • 1988: Best Young Actor Under Nine Years of Age (Brian Bonsall)
  • 1989: Best Young Actor Under Ten Years of Age in Television or Motion Pictures (Brian Bonsall)

Syndication

NBC aired reruns of Family Ties weekday mornings from December 1985 until January 1987 before it was replaced by the Bill Rafferty version of Blockbusters. In the fall of 1987, the series went into syndication in the United States. Currently, it airs on Antenna TV. Reruns previously aired on MeToo, Disney Channel, FamilyNet, WGN America, TBS, YTV, Nick at Nite, TV Land, Hallmark Channel, The Hub and Pop.

In Canada, reruns of Family Ties began airing on CTS, a Christian-based network, on September 6, 2010. On May 15, 2011 Netflix began to stream season 1-7 on its "watch instantly" streaming service.[15]

In Australia, reruns aired on Eleven (a digital channel of Network Ten) in the afternoons and late night until June 2013. As of November 2015, two episodes are shown on weekdays between 11 am and midday. Family Ties was a perennial favourite seen on the Nine Network from 1983 to 2008. Prior to Eleven, the show screened on pay TV network TV1.

In the UK, Family Ties aired on Channel 4 from July 1985.

Home media

DVD

CBS DVD (distributed by Paramount) has released all seven seasons of Family Ties on DVD in Region 1, as of August 13, 2013. The second through fifth season releases contain special features, gag reels and episodic promos. The second season contains interviews with Michael Gross and Michael J. Fox along with other cast members. The fourth season contains the made-for-TV-movie, Family Ties Vacation. Paramount has also released the first three seasons on DVD in Region 4.

On November 5, 2013, CBS Home Entertainment released Family Ties - The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1.

On November 11, 2014, CBS Home Entertainment re-released a repackaged version of the complete series set, at a lower price, but did not include the bonus disc that was part of the original complete series set.[16]

DVD nameNo. of
episodes		Release dates
Region 1Region 4
The Complete First Season 22 February 20, 2007 April 9, 2008
The Second Season 22 October 9, 2007 September 4, 2008
The Third Season 24 February 12, 2008 April 2, 2009
The Fourth Season 24 August 5, 2008
The Fifth Season 30 March 10, 2009
The Sixth Season 28 April 9, 2013
The Seventh Season 26 August 13, 2013
The Complete Series 176 November 5, 2013/November 11, 2014 TBA

Streaming

All seven seasons of the series were made available for streaming through Netflix (removed again August 15, 2015[17]) and Amazon Video as well as Hulu Plus.[18]

As of February 2019, all seven seasons are still available on Prime Video (included with Amazon Prime membership), and also available on CBS All Access, but no longer available on Netflix or Hulu.[19] The first ten episodes of the series are also available for free (with commercials) on the CBS website.[20]

References in other media

Over a decade after the cancellation of Family Ties, Michael J. Fox's final episodes on Spin City featured numerous allusions to the show. In these episodes, Michael Gross played a therapist for Fox's character Michael Patrick Flaherty[21] and the episode contained a reference to an off-screen character named "Mallory".[22] In the episode, after Flaherty becomes an environmental lobbyist in Washington D.C., he meets a "conservative junior senator named Alex P. Keaton."[23] Meredith Baxter also portrayed Mike Flaherty's mother, Macy Flaherty, in the episodes "Family Affair" (Parts 1 and 2).

The cast of Family Ties publicly reunited for the first time on February 7, 2008 for an interview on The Today Show.[24]

References
  • Fox, Michael J. (2002). Lucky Man: A Memoir. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 978-0-7868-6764-6.
  • Goldberg, Gary David. "Comedy Stop: What Would Alex Keaton Do?." The New York Times, March 3, 2008.
  • Haglund, David. "Reagan's Favorite Sitcom: How Family Ties spawned a conservative hero." Slate. March 2, 2007.
  • Hurst, Alex. "Remembering an icon from the 'Me-Decade'." The Daily Pennsylvanian, April 24, 2001.
  • Patterson, Thomas. "What would Alex P. Keaton do?." CNN, November 1, 2006.
  • Saenz, Michael. "Family Ties". - Museum of Broadcast Communications
  • Stewart, Susan. "The Parents Ate Sprouts; the Kid Stole the Show." The New York Times, February 25, 2007.

Notes
  1. Biography for Dennis Tufano on IMDb
  2. Clements, Erin (October 7, 2015). "Family Ties cast reflects on show 3 decades later: 'We all loved each other'". USA Today.
  3. Saenz, Michael. "Encyclopedia of Television: Family Ties". Museum of Broadcast Communications. Archived from the original on June 6, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2018.
  4. Kiehl, Stephen (June 7, 2004). "What he left behind: From Tom Clancy to Alex P. Keaton, Ronald Reagan's legacy extends beyond the political and into the cultural". The Baltimore Sun.
  5. Primetime Propaganda: The True Hollywood Story of How The Left Took Over Your TV" by Ben Shapiro, Broadside Books, 2001, p. 125
  6. Primetime Propaganda: The True Hollywood Story of How The Left Took Over Your TV" by Ben Shapiro, Broadside Books, 2001, p. 127
  7. Baxter, Meredith (2011). Untied: A Memoir of Family, Fame, and Floundering. Random House LLC.
  8. Haglund, David (March 2, 2007). "Reagan's Favorite Sitcom: How Family Ties spawned a conservative hero". Slate.
  9. The Biography Channel - Matthew Broderick Biography Archived February 20, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  10. Amazon Video: Family Ties Retrieved February 18, 2013
  11. Netflix: Family Ties Retrieved February 18, 2013
  12. |1982-83 Ratings History|http://www.tvratingsguide.com/2017/07/1982-83-top-30-soap-bubbles-rise.html
  13. |1983-84 Ratings History|http://www.tvratingsguide.com/2017/09/1983-84-ratings-history-networks-are.html
  14. |1988-89 Ratings History|http://www.tvratingsguide.com/2017/07/1988-89-ratings-history-wga-writers.html
  15. Netflix: Family Ties (1982–1988) Seasons 1–7
  16. Lambert, David (August 22, 2014). "Family Ties - 'The Complete Series' Gets Re-Released in a New 'Unlimited' Box". TVShowsOnDVD.com. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved August 24, 2014.
  17. Knolle, Sharon (July 27, 2015). "What's Leaving Netflix in August 2015". Moviefone.
  18. Amazon Video: Family Ties Retrieved January 23, 2013
  19. "Family Ties - Watch Episodes on Prime Video, CBS All Access, and Streaming Online | Reelgood". Reelgood. February 11, 2019.
  20. "Family Ties - Watch Full Episodes - CBS.com". CBS. February 11, 2019.
  21. Wallace, Amy (March 20, 2000). "Putting His Own Spin on 'City's' season finale". Los Angeles Times.
  22. Shales, Tom (May 24, 2000). "Michael J. Fox, Playing 'Spin City' to a Fare-Thee-Well." The Washington Post. p. C1.
  23. Michael J. Fox Database Archived November 19, 2004, at the Wayback Machine
  24. "Family Ties: Reunited After Almost 20 Years!". TVSeriesFinale.com. Archived from the original on August 11, 2007. Retrieved February 7, 2008.
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