| Complete series cast summary: | |||
| Meredith Baxter | ... |
Elyse Keaton
(171 episodes, 1982-1989)
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| Michael Gross | ... |
Steven Keaton
(171 episodes, 1982-1989)
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| Michael J. Fox | ... |
Alex P. Keaton
(171 episodes, 1982-1989)
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| Justine Bateman | ... |
Mallory Keaton
(171 episodes, 1982-1989)
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| Tina Yothers | ... |
Jennifer Keaton
(171 episodes, 1982-1989)
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| Brian Bonsall | ... |
Andrew 'Andy' Keaton
(74 episodes, 1986-1989)
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Steven and Elyse Keaton, once 1960s radicals, now find themselves in Reagan-era American trying to raise a traditional suburban family. Their three first kids are Alex (a very ambitious Young Republican), Mallory (a ditzy and boy-crazy fashionista) and Jennifer (whom we first get to know as a precocious nine-year-old tomboy). Later on, a fourth child (Andrew) was added to the Keaton family. Most of the comedy arose from the conflict between the ex-hippie parents vs the conservative Alex and the brainless beauty Mallory.
Two former 1960s left-wing hippies (Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter) try to rear their children (Michael J. Fox, Justine Bateman and Tina Yothers) in the 1980s and naturally have problem after problem in "Family Ties", one of the more memorable television successes of that impressive boob-tube decade. The show ran from 1982 to 1989 and even added another child (youngster Brian Bonsall) by the middle of its run. When the show premiered in 1982 it just could not generate any substantial interest ("Cheers" had the same problem during its initial year). After that though it was all peaches and cream as the series dominated on Sunday evenings and was consistently a top 5 or 10 show each week until they exited quietly (of its own free will after eight years). Fox and Bateman were definitely the two who dominated the show. Fox was a Republican-styled teen who seemed to only care about money and social status while Bateman was a polar opposite. She was a ditsy teen who seemed to care more about makeup, clothes, boys and being popular (in other words she was a normal youngster). Every cast member had their moments, but the series was not all fun and games. It consistently had "special" episodes where life crept into the family's crazed television world. Another of those NBC products from the 1980s that survives due to its performers and its intelligence. 4 stars out of 5.