Alex's friend dies in an accident. As the family grieves, Alex tries to mask his pain, but he can't hide his sadness and other emotions forever.
Mallory introduces her new boyfriend, Nick, to the family. He isn't well received, and Steven realizes that he needs to trust Mallory and let her make her own choices.
Alex is an emotional wreck, still with boring Tricia - who he doesn't care for - after kissing her intriguing roommate Ellen, who turned back to accept her Dennis' proposal to a sudden wedding in ...
Here are three streaming picks that capture the spirit of Christopher Nolan's mind-bending masterpiece in their own way.
Keep up with all the biggest announcements and updates with IMDb's breaking news roundup of Comic-Con@Home 2020.
Related lists from IMDb users
Title: Family Ties (1982–1989)
Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below.
| Complete series cast summary: | |||
| Meredith Baxter | ... | Elyse Keaton / ... 172 episodes, 1982-1989 | |
| Michael Gross | ... | Steven Keaton / ... 172 episodes, 1982-1989 | |
| Michael J. Fox | ... | Alex P. Keaton 172 episodes, 1982-1989 | |
| Justine Bateman | ... | Mallory Keaton / ... 172 episodes, 1982-1989 | |
| Tina Yothers | ... | Jennifer Keaton / ... 172 episodes, 1982-1989 | |
| Brian Bonsall | ... | Andrew 'Andy' Keaton 75 episodes, 1986-1989 | |
Steven and Elyse Keaton, once 1960s radicals, now find themselves in Reagan-era America 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 family. Most of the comedy arose from the conflict between the ex-hippie parents vs. the conservative Alex and the brainless beauty Mallory.
"Family Ties" creator Gary Goldberg didn't like Michael J. Fox on his first audition, thought he played Alex a little too smart-assish. But on his second try, Fox approached it a different way and won the part that shot him to stardom. He quickly became the focal point of the show as the money obsessed teenager Alex P. Keaton. You could understand Meredith Baxter-Birney's disappointment, as the show was to be geared toward her character as the mother. But she and the rest of the cast pretty much faded into the background behind Fox. Not that he wasn't supported by a great group of performers. Michael Gross as the easy going father, Justine Bateman as the typical phone hogging, boy troubled teenage daughter, and Tina Yothers as the tomboyish younger sister. In later years some nice additions were Scott Valentine as Bateman's weirdo boyfriend, and making numerous appearances over the years was Marc Price as the nerdy next door neighbor, Skippy. High point episodes over the years were the Alex turns 18 one, the Alex rents out the rooms of the house one, and also the 4(!) part heartattack episode with the focus being on Michael Gross' father character, Steven. Shows major misstep occured during their final year when they tried to become too socially concious. Episodes dealing with book banning, oil spills, toxic fumes from household products, and racism seemed a bit out of place and more importantly, took away from the comedy. The last hurrah was a decent episode that saw Alex move to New York to be an investment banker. But most recommended from the series would be the shows middle years, where the writing was at its best. Show also must of set some sort of record with at least 6 or 7(!) of those flashback type episodes featuring clips of the past stories. But no harm done.