Ties

Family Ties was a popular 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). more...

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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. They lived in suburban Columbus, Ohio, with their four children: Alex (played by Michael J. Fox), Mallory (Justine Bateman), Jennifer (Tina Yothers), and Andrew (Brian Bonsall).

The majority of the show's humor is derived from the tension between Alex's conservative, Republican mindset, Mallory's uninformed consumerism, and their parents' attitudes as liberal Democrats, who grew up as hippie flower children in the 1960s (as seen in one of the intro themes).

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 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 the 1985 season the mother, Elyse gave birth to Andrew, and the child was aged to a pre-schooler (played by Brian Bonsall) in 1986.

Other characters included the Keatons' socially inept neighbor Erwin 'Skippy' Handelman (Marc Price), who had an undying crush on Mallory, and in later years, Rambo-like budding artist Nick Moore (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).

Episodes

Popularity

Family Ties was broadcast on Thursday nights from 1984 until 1987, immediately following the top-rated program The Cosby Show and just before another wildly popular sitcom, Cheers. That period represented the height of 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 ratings began to decline in 1987, when the show was moved to Sunday nights at the request of Bill Cosby, to make room for A Different World. Producer/creator Gary David Goldberg decided to end the show with the 1988-1989 season. In the final episode Alex moved to New York to begin his career on Wall Street.

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