Elyse (Meredith Baxter) and Steven Keaton (Michael Gross) are former hippies with three kids living in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. The oldest Alex P. Keaton (Michael J. Fox) is a money-obsessed Reaganite. Mallory (Justine Bateman) is the boy-crazy middle child. Jennifer (Tina Yothers) is the youngest. At the end of season 3, the family gets new son Andy. Their neighbor Skippy has a crush on Mallory although she does get gruff boyfriend Nick Moore at the start of season 4. Alex has two steady girlfriends over the years. First, there is Ellen Reed (Tracy Pollan), and later Lauren Miller (Courteney Cox).In addition to Alex's two longtime girlfriends, there are many other future stars in their early works. Geena Davis is the memorable statuesque and adorably clueless short-term house maid Karen Nicholson. Of course, Pollan would be the real-life future Mrs. Fox. Fox is the breakout star. He plays well with others and holds the screen with ease. There is also that song with Pollan and Fox getting together in the season 4 premier. The memories flood back and it is a time. The romanticism is epic and meta going from fiction to reality. This is a top level network sitcom that isn't trying to break new grounds. Bateman is surprisingly great in her dramatic acting. It works for the simple fact that everybody is an appealing character and actor.

What exactly must be wrong with someone to not see through the incredible weirdness and lazy writing in this show? It's probably the same people go to church every Sunday and say "fudge" instead of...well, you know.With every few exceptions, every single episode takes the easy way out. No matter what happens, it will always be solved by a heartfelt apology by the ever self-aware and good-hearted characters. The situations they get into are equally impossible to swallow and, even for a FICTIONAL TELEVISION SHOW, entirely unrealistic and vomit-inducing in their utter lack of respect for viewers whose brain development surpasses that of a two-year-old.Characters fall in love with people they've barely met, they go out of their way to take in complete strangers and get involved in crap no sane person would ever get into. The mother actually mediates between a friend of her daughter's and the girl's mother when the girl gets knocked up--who the hell would ever get involved????? And what sane mother would let a complete stranger even so much as attempt to advise her on her stupid daughter getting fertilized at sixteen? The older sister befriends a juvenile delinquent and thinks she can "fix" her. Do the parents open up their mouth to voice concern that Malory is letting a young girl with behavioural problems into their home? Or that the girl has severe psychological issues which Malory's "good heart" CANNOT FIX? The father is the most spineless, useless excuse of a man you'll ever see. When his daughter brings home a piece of street trash who speaks in grunts, he's afraid to tell her not to see him. As if she weren't his daughter, but some buddy of his. What a sad sack. Even the uneducated high-school drop-out that Malory brings home is portrayed as stupid but--you guessed it--a harmless boy with a heart of gold. 'Cause every one in this show is a god damned saint. In reality, illiterate guys from the wrong side of the tracks who dress in rags and speak in grunts are also on drugs or sell them or are involved any number of other illicit activities. That's what happens when you're poor. Just not in 'Family Ties,' which exists in the twilight zone.The show was somewhat tolerable in the first and second seasons. Third and fourth were equally mixed with duds and the occasional halfway enjoyable episode, such as when Alex turns eighteen and challenges his mother's authority. The two actors had some great chemistry and experienced an actual clash, not some wishy-washy cutesy problem. The fifth season has truly begun to go downhill, and cast members have become increasingly uglier, such as the big-boned troll that plays the younger sister. Also, previously cute Bateman's face has begun to show the lizard-like mold into which it would grow in later years.Overall, you'd have to be below the age of eight to not be annoyed by the lazy writing and the way all tension gets resolved without having ever even explored the issue in any halfway plausible manner. If you do take this show seriously and enjoy it without gritting your teeth at its stupidity, you probably believe unicorns exist too.

If there's something that popular culture from the decades of the 1950s and 1980s share,it's the "family" sitcom(i.e. unitary parents and kids,all attractive and relatively free of deep problems). And while there was some variance of family types,from the more safe,traditional families of "The Cosby Show","Growing Pains" ,"Mr.Belvedere",to the not-so-conventional domestic groupings as "Full House", "The Hogan Family"(originally "VAlerie",which originally aimed to BE a conventional family sitcom) and "Who's the Boss"(or,for that matter,surface-traditional-looking shows "Roseanne" and "Married...With Children"),it seemed to me that as these shows went,none of them matched the wit,warmth and viability as "Family Ties".The Keatons are about as polarized a unit as they come: parents Steven and Elyse(MIchael Gross and Meredith BAxter-Birney,both excellent!)are '60s Lefty IDealists,and as such,carried their idealism into their work as adults--Steven works for Public TElevision and Elyse carries her form of modified feminism into a successful job as an architect--but cannot seem to carry it into their children. Alex(Michael J.Fox,birthing much of his career out of one very iconic role,which is no mean feat!),a buttoned-down Conservative practically from birth,MAllory(Justine BAteman,who is STILL a babe IMHO),the dim,materialistic mall-girl younger daughter and Jennifer(Tina Yothers,who became as famous for disappearing from showbiz as appearing),the bright but resigned youngest,who is neither idealist or materialist. As the show ran along,you added such extra characters to the pastiche as Skippy(MArc Price,doing stand-up somewhere now),the dippy,well-meaning neighbor kid with a painful crush on MAllory,Nick(Scott VAlentine),MAllory's equally dim but cool boyfriend,Ellen(Tracy POllan,future Mrs.Michael J.Fox),Alex's unlikely liberal girlfriend and LAuren(Coutreney Cox,yes,THAT Coutrney Cox),another lock-horns girlfriend of Alex's and baby brother Andy(Brian "Mikey" Bonsall),Alex's potential protégé. After a bit of a sluggish start,NBC wisely gambled to keep this on and it managed to hook on to Thursday and Sunday night schedules and ride steadily improving ratings over the remainder of the show's run. While it's been some years since I've seen any of the shows,I was a loyal viewer of the show and enjoyed it quite a bit. I'm not sure if or where this show is re-running,but I may have to check these shows out again soon,if for nothing else to re-visit one of the more well-crafted TV programs to grace the airwaves over that rascally decade of greed,spandex and hair.

"Family Ties", aired by NBC, is a classic sitcom. It's more than just a TV show. It's a way of life. It's pure family comedy. More than one of the 80's best sitcoms, it is one of all time's finest sitcoms. This is among the purest kind of classic humor. Such entertainment and fun, not to mention endlessly comical. Without a doubt, it's an endless fountain of good laughters. To accent this feeling of something classic and extremely humorous, this is one of those sitcoms which we can hear whenever the audiences laugh and clap their hands.This show focus on the coolest and funniest family of television: the Keatons. The Keatons are the perfect example of how a family should be: friendly, united and humorous. The Keatons live in a very nice and pretty house and they are all great characters: Steven, Elyse, Alex, Mallory (our "Dear Mallory"), Jennifer and Andy. But there are other nice characters, such as Irwin Handelman (best known as "Skippy"), Nick Moore and Lauren. All of them are beautifully portrayed by the actors and their chemistry is just perfect.The characters are all hilarious, one way or the other. Each one has his/her personality and sense of humor. However, the funniest of all are Alex, Skippy and Steven. The reasons? Alex because of his love for money (as well as economics and wealth), his conservative Republican attitudes, open sense of humor and the way he teaches his Republican ideas to his brother Andy, not to mention that he is openly a fan of Ronald Reagan. Skippy because he's so goofy, so shy and so nervous that in every scene when he goes to the extreme is a full plate. Steven because of his genial sense of humor and sarcastic comments towards Nick. Mallory... what can I say about our "Dear Mallory"? Not the smartest girl in the world, but beautiful, adorable, sweet and charming. Her boyfriend Nick Moore, despite being eccentric and a Rambo-like artist, is a nice and funny guy. I also like Lauren (Alex's charming and pretty girlfriend). And, of course, Andy (a cute little boy and often as funny as his brother Alex). Skippy has a crush on Mallory, although he doesn't openly admit.I love the song "Without Us" (by Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams). It really captures the essence of this show and it's a very romantic and beautiful ballad, with that "nostalgia" feeling.Overall, "Family Ties" is a timeless classic TV series and brings back very good memories from the past. I grew up with "Family Ties", but also with other classic TV series from that decade like "Knight Rider" and "MacGyver". Sad that nowadays they just don't make television of this level. Most of the modern stuff is mediocre or rubbish. The sitcoms from the 80's are nostalgic. I have no doubts about that.It's funny that Alex likes Ronald Reagan so much and, as a coincidence, Ronald Reagan said once that "Family Ties" was his favorite television sitcom. Funnily, Michael J. Fox's character mentions once Ronald Reagan in the original "Back to the Future".One of the funniest episodes ever is "Designatted Hitter", with Noah Hathaway as Adam Galardner.One last word: I always loved Ubu Roi, the black Labrador Retriever that appears after the final credits grabbing a Frisbee with his mouth and his bark after the famous line «Sit, Ubu, sit! Good dog!». I always thought it was «Sit, Booboo, sit! Good dog!». LOL