Family Ties

I Bought this on Saturday. I must say that I have seen every episode of Family Ties from season four to the end of the series, but I have neglected to watch the first couple seasons of the show--with the exception of the Uncle Ned episodes with Tom Hanks.

After watching every episode from season one--22 in all--I must say that the Jennifer (Tina Yothers) actually played an integral role on the show. Next to Michael J. Fox, Yothers portrayal of the precocious younger sister helped make the show interesting--she often was the one to put the outspoken Alex into his place. Once she hit puberty, Yothers was regulated to Michael Fishman or Kiesha Knight Pullium duty.

In the show's infancy, Michael Gross was sans beard. When I was a kid, Michael Gross with beard was one of the most recognizable characters on television.

I talked to someone last night about Family Ties, and he said that the show was a carbon copy ripoff of Growing Pains. Well, for one thing, Growing Pains premiered in 1985; Family Ties premiered in 1982. Family Ties--especially, early on--had some interesting social commentary; Growing Pains was all about Mike Seaver getting in trouble or getting fired from his job at the burger joint.

Best Episode from season one: "Death of a Grocer"
This is the episode where Alex leaves his job at Alder's Market to work in cat toys at the new supermarket. In the end, Alex realizes that he received more pleasure working at Alder's and quits the job where he was known only as 28. Also, Erwin "Skippy" Handleman (Marc Price) made his series debut during this episode. Skippy (Mr. Price) went above and beyond to make the character his own. Some compare Skippy to Urkel in annoyance, but Skippy was never one-dimensional like Urkel; he was comprised of many layers--he could be Alex's goofball friend or a great friend who is always there for his buddy.