Family Ties

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Family Ties ranks 1,334 out of the 18,229 shows on TV.com.

The 549 users who count themselves as Family Ties fans have written a total of 26 reviews.

Status

Premiered

Ended

Genre

Theme

Related Shows

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• Growing Pains
• My Wife and Kids
• The Brady Bunch
• The Cosby Show
• Full House

Family Ties first aired in September of 1982 on NBC and was one of the first of a wave of family comedies that emerged in the 1980's. With a rocky start in the ratings, Family Ties rose to number 2 after it was placed in the prized time-slot right after The Cosby Show and remained there from... more »

Family Ties first aired in September of 1982 on NBC and was one of the first of a wave of family comedies that emerged in the 1980's. With a rocky start in the ratings, Family Ties rose to number 2 after it was placed in the prized time-slot right after The Cosby Show and remained there from 1984 until 1987.

The series centered around the Keaton family, Steven and his wife Elyse, both flower children of the 1960's. They had four children, Alex, Mallory, Jennifer and Andrew, who was born in 1985.

What was unique about Family Ties was that it blended family comedy with politics. The 1960's flower children, Steven and Elyse clashed with the 1980's conservative, Alex. The show, in a way, showed the changing values during the Reagan era. Besides political views, Family Ties covered a number of controversial topics ranging from suicide to racism to drug dependency.

Skippy was a neighbor who had a never-ending crush on Mallory. Ellen was Alex's first serious girlfriend. After breaking up with her, he became seriously involved with Lauren, a psychology student and Nick Moore was Mallory's serious boyfriend.

First Telecast: September 22, 1982
Last Telecast: September 17, 1989

Episodes: 180 Color Episodes

Theme Song:

Without Us

Written by: Jeff Barry and Tom Scott

Sung by: Mindy Sterling and Dennis Tufano (1982)
Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams (1982-1989)



NBC Broadcast History

September 1982-March 1983----Wednesdays----9:30 p.m.
March-August 1983----Mondays----8:30 p.m.
August-December 1983----Wednesdays----9:30 p.m.
January 1984-August 1987----Thursdays----8:30 p.m.
August-September 1987----Sundays----8:00 & 8:30 p.m.
September 1987-September 1989----Sundays----8:00 p.m.


Nielsen Ratings:
(Top 30 or Better)

#5 in the 1984-1985 Season
#2 in the 1985-1986 Season
#2 in the 1986-1987 Season
#17 in the 1987-1988 Seasonless «

• Blooper Clip

  Check out these Family Ties bloopers: http://media.putfile.com/tiesbloopers-178

  Check out these Family Ties bloopers: http://media.putfile.com/tiesbloopers-178 less «

  IndianaMom Last online 6 hrs, 20 mins ago
  8 comments, last one Jun 25, 2009 + Add Comment

• Favorite Character

  Who is your favorite character? I have two that are my favorite: Mallory and Skippy.

  Who is your favorite character? I have two that are my favorite: Mallory and Skippy.less «

  MalloryFan Last online Aug 7, 2007
  31 comments, last one Jun 25, 2009 + Add Comment

• Which one is the Christmas Carol episode?

  I'm certain I remember an episode where Alex was acting very Scrooge-like, and he was visited by 3 ghosts (played by me...more »

  I'm certain I remember an episode where Alex was acting very Scrooge-like, and he was visited by 3 ghosts (played by members of the family) who showed him his past, present and future. I particularly recall Alex making some kind of sarcastic in-joke, since one of the ghosts was obviously Mallory/Justine Bateman. But I scanned the list of episodes and I can't seem to find a synopsis for that one. Can someone please help me? Thanks! less «

  tomakalinus1 Last online Jun 11, 2009
  2 comments, last one Mar 14, 2009 + Add Comment

•  

  10 Perfect

  The one "family comedy" teenagers would actually like to watch. hide « show »

  Family Ties is such a funny show! I've it since I saw reruns when I was six or seven and I still like watching now that I'm a teenager. Of the "family classics" my parents talk about, family ties is one of the few I actually like It deals with real-life situations that regular teenagers face on an everyday basis, but puts a hilarious twist on it. Between Mallory, Alex, and Jennifer, the audience really connects with their personalities. It is a must-see for all ages, anf families. Definitely one of my all time favorite shows to watch with family and friends.

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  VaMpIrEsSuCk Added Jan 5, 2008 All my reviews
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  9.1 Superb

  Actually, a wonderful show. hide « show »

  "Family Ties" was my brother's favorite show while he was growing up. He would go off and play while "The Cosby Show" was on, but come running at 8:30 to watch Michael J. Fox & company. He never missed an episode.
  
  I am writing this instead of him because he suffered from severe depression, and committed suicide. "Family Ties" and MJF were some of the few things that brightened up his otherwise dark life. (Side note: "Back to the Future", which I took my brother to see for his 13th birthday, was the ONLY movie to ever make him laugh out loud, and for that I will forever thank Robert Zemeckis and MJF.)
  
  The show was different from anything else on TV at the time or since. The chemistry between the stars was wonderful; the writing was spot-on. I still enjoy watching any reruns that are aired. My favorite episode will always be "A, My Name is Alex".

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  ktfahel Added Nov 13, 2007 All my reviews
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  10 Perfect

  This show was great, back when shows had meaning, they didn't try to force a view down your throat in fact they had different views and mocked them all. hide « show »

  I think this show was one of those like the Cosby show were there was always a lesson involved, but it still was good anyways because the jokes were funny for the time, and actors were also good. I said before they made fun of different views and tried to show the good of different views as well. The characters did that anyways, I can't say that about the actors in real life. It was a typical 80's primetime sit-com, it was good for the whole family and was entertaining to watch. They also had some episodes that were a bit more serious, and they were just as good as the regular episodes.

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  kevinb4444 Added Mar 2, 2007 All my reviews
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  10 Perfect

  I Loved this show back then and Still do Now! hide « show »

  anytime i watch this show on TV Land brings back memories of when i was 4yrs old sitting in the living room with my folks and watching this show, I had my first Childhood crush on Michael J. Fox too and i still do to this day. Michael J. Fox, Michael Gross and the Rest of the Cast were great together! There will never be a show as good as this one.

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  StarbucksAddict Added Jan 17, 2007 All my reviews
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  9 Superb

  American family teaches America how to be an American family hide « show »

  Another show that i find magical, special, unique, off the wall. All these, make this show such an amazing piece of art. The stories are always so simple, yet so moving and powerful, i could relate to Alex and his love for money and this was another reason to watch, i think we became one in some kind of crazy way. If i could encompass the show in just one word that would have to be "Love", you could feel these people were really in love with each other and it showed through the screen. Great clean fun for the family unlike most of todays sitcoms.

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  twilightboy Added Dec 21, 2006 All my reviews