Familienbande

'Family Ties' is great and even though I haven't seen that many episodes, I still rank it among my top ten favorite TV shows. The cast is great, the writing is excellent, and it just makes me laugh about a million times within the half hour of air time.

Michael Gross, Meredith Baxter, Justine Bateman, and Tina Yothers are all terrific in their given roles. They are all funny and great and anything else that I want in a television show, but the real stand out is of course, Michael J. Fox. I've adored Fox for many years and then when I finally got around to seeing him as Alex P. Keaton, well he just amazed me. He's so excellent with his quick comedic timing and snappy comebacks. (Particularly the ones given to Mallory make me laugh the hardest.) All in all he's a wonderful actor, not just in this show even though it brings the best out of him, but on any project he works on.

The writing is fast moving, hilarious, and just about some of the best that I've seen in a comedy serious. Although it is now...20 years old, the series is still one of the best, even up against today's series. Lets face it, today's television has gone straight to the trash can with the exception of a very small percent of shows.

Each episode is great, and if the plot isn't all that good, the writing and performances make up for it. I have to say that there were many episodes that I saw where I was so bored (about the plot), yet they still turned out good because of the comedy.

All of the Emmys and Golden Globes and many more awards that 'Family Ties' was nominated for and having won throughout the years were all well deserved. A couple of more wins wouldn't have hurt. I can honestly say that this is one show that I try to catch (only on Nick can it be seen where I'm at). I love it, I love Fox, and good job to the writers. The show is great!

I often watch old sitcoms that I use to love as a kid. A lot of times, I'm disappointed because they are not near as good as I remembered, and in some cases they are just plain bad, when seen through my now-adult eyes. Family Ties is NOT one of those sitcoms! It's more impressive now than it was then. And of course, there are things that I pick up on now that I didn't when I was 10 years old. (politics/ hippies)

I also never realized how FUNNY Michael Gross was until I started watching it again recently. I have no idea how that slipped by me! He is hilarious. Micheal J Fox is very funny too, of course. He had a lot of funny lines, but I've only recently noticed how much physical comedy he did as well. It's really sad to watch how quick and nimble he use to be; the way he could jump up onto the kitchen counter in one quick motion and slide all the way across it.

There was always a moral lesson, too. I think all '80s sitcoms had those, but Family Ties pulled it off w/o being too cheesy about it. It's such a great show for both kids & adults. Every time I watch it, I find myself thinking "what ever happened to good, quality TV!?"

Family Ties was one of the best shows in the 80's. The show that made Michael J. Fox popular. The show was funny and also a little bit dramatic. The actors were great. I wonder what some of the actors are doing nowadays.

"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.

I get nostalgic about television shows like Family Ties. It was based around two parents who graduated University of California at Berkeley in the sixties. It was wise to have their eldest son, Alex P., to be on the opposite fence of politics. ALex with his tie and pictures of Ronald Reagan and Nixon. His younger sister, Mallory, played well by Justine Bateman cares more about fashion than grades or Alex's politics. It's great watching these two in action. The younger sister, Jennifer, develops from a young girl to an independent adolescent. There were always two story lines going on in every episode. Marc Price's SKippy is priceless for a thankless job. Scott valentine plays Mallory's boyfriend, Nick, a painter who never finished high school. Some of the best moments in this series happens after Nick enters the Keatons lives and his relationship with them. The mixture of great characters with witty dialogue. You can't stop laughing when Mr. Keaton tries to apologize to Nick in a ladies' shoe store. He comes across as a former gay lover than the father of Mallory but it's full of laughs. Despite the witty dialogues, this was a believable family who introduced Andrew, the youngest and fourth child. What do the children think when they find out. "I was talking about closet space" Mallory says to Alex. Oh, this is truly a family show for everybody. I can't say how I miss a family centered show on such a wonderful family like the Keatons.