Family Ties: Season 1 DVD - Sitcoms Online Photo Galleries

Family Ties aired from September 1982 until September 1989 on NBC.

One of the most popular family sitcoms of the 1980's, Family Ties was created by Gary David Goldberg. It was originally intended to focus on the generation gap between the parents and their children: mom and dad were caring liberals who traced their ideology to the turbulent sixties ( the original opening title sequence, with it's flashback photos, illustrated the point), while the kids were either conservative or apathetically materialistic. The dichotomy was downplayed, however, after network research indicated that viewers were more interested in the children. The result was that one of the kids, Michael J. Fox, became a superstar; ironically, NBC executives had originally balked at Goldberg's suggestion of Fox for the role.

The series was set in the heartland of America, or in this case Columbus, Ohio. Appearing as the Keaton family were : Meredith Baxter-Birney as Elyse, an architect; Michael Gross as Steven, manager of WKS-TV, the local public TV station; Michael J. Fox as eldest child Alex, a whiz kid who worshiped Richard Nixon, William Buckley, and The Wall Street Journal; Justine Bateman as elder daughter Mallory, an unsophisticated teen who loved shopping; and Tina Yothers as younger daughter Jennifer. On January 31, 1985 a fourth Keaton kid appeared ,as Elyse gave birth to baby Andrew, who grew up to worship his older brother ( in real life Meredith Baxter-Birney had had twins the previous fall); Tyler and Grant Merriman appeared as baby Andrew, but Brian Bonsall took over the role in the fall of 1986 ( this meant that Andy grew from baby to preschooler virtually over the summer). Goldberg revealed in 1987 that his inspiration for the Alex character came from the stepson of a newspaper editor friend, while that of Jennifer came from his own daughter, Shana. Marc Price was featured as neighbor Irwin " Skippy" Handleman, a hopeless nerd who had a crush on Mallory.

In the fall of 1984, Alex left Harding High for Leland College, where a year later he met his first regular girlfriend, Ellen Reed ( played by Tracy Pollan). Ellen left for Paris at the beginning of the 1986-1987 season. The following year Alex met Lauren Miller ( played by a pre-Friends Courtney Cox). In real life, however, Michael J. Fox married Tracy Pollan ( if you ever saw the show you can see they had a lot of chemistry together). Meanwhile , Mallory began dating junk sculpter Nick Moore ( played by Scott Valentine), much to the chagrin of her parents and her older brother.

Though most episodes were played for laughs, Family Ties also had its share of serious programs, including a three-parter dealing with Steven's heart attack and a poignant one-man show starring Fox, on which Alex comes to grips with the death of a friend. The series was also paid an unusual tribute by PBS, which on October 15, 1988 broadcast a one hour special about the preparation of a single episode.

Family Ties enjoyed its peak popularity between 1984-1987 when it followed The Cosby Show on NBC's Thursday night schedule. In the fall of 1987 it was moved to Sunday opposite Murder She Wrote and ratings began to slip. The last first run episode, in which Alex left home, was aired on May 14, 1989. The episode finished No. 1 for the week, a fitting finale for the Keatons, one of America's most beloved TV families of the 1980's.

For more on Family Ties go to Family Ties Online right here at Sitcoms Online.

Here's how Family Ties was described in the 1982 Fall Preview Edition of TV Guide.

Elyse and Steven Keaton ( Meredith Baxter-Birney, Michael Gross) are showing their three children slides of those long-ago, faraway, good ol' days-the 1960's. The scene is a peace rally, and the person on screen has long dark hair, a headband and a buckskin jacket. " Oh Mommy, you look so pretty. Like an Indian princess," says Jennifer ( Tina Yothers), 9. Elyse: " That's your father , dear." This is in 1982, and the Keaton kids can't quite relate to flower children and activism. Alex ( Michael J. Fox), 17, dresses for Success and has a poster of William F. Buckley Jr. over his bed. His sister Mallory ( Justine Bateman), 15, is into designer jeans, boys, and junk food. Jennifer gets off on Pac-Man. They're a loving bunch-with a chronic conflict. These ex-radical parents will never stop trying to convert their children to the joys of bean sprouts and Bob Dylan. And these conservative kids will stoutly defend their right not to be left. NBC.

A Review from The New York Times

NBC Has Family Comedy

By John J. O'Connor
Published : September 22, 1982

The basic situation in NBC's ''Family Ties'' revolves around a couple of former ''flower children'' who got married in the 1960's and who now find themselves with three children whose tastes are decidedly conservative. For the Keaton children, especially 17-yearold Alex (Michael J. Fox), the inevitable buzzwords are Ronald Reagan, William F. Buckley, Eliot Janeway, The Wall Street Journal and, curiously, Robert M. Vesco.

The parents (Meredith Baxter Birney and Michael Gross) are more comfortable with old Bob Dylan records and fresh bean sprouts. All of which adds up to still another variation on the generation gap, a favorite sit-com subject.

This evening, Alex begins courting the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in town. The young girl comes to dinner and announces her desire to help others. She explains, ''I really want to be a cheerleader.'' When she learns that Mr. Keaton is the manager of the local public-television station, she sincerely exclaims, ''Oh, how cute!'' Alex is charmed. Dad is distressed, especially when he discovers that the young couple's first date will be at a posh country club with notorious restriction policies. Alex protests, ''I just want to go to a party, I don't want to change the world.''

And the situation unfolds, already along terribly predictable lines. Needless to say, despite the tensions, this is a loving family, and the final five minutes of each episode will abound in little reconciliations. Dad will worry about possible blurrings of the line between protecting his children and simply interfering. Well-meaning father and exasperated son will realize that ''one of us is bound to grow up, sooner or later?''

The cast is pleasant enough. The rest depends on how cleverly Gary David Goldberg, the creator and producer of the series, can bring a sense of freshness to an overworked device.

An Article From USA TODAY Published on November 1, 1984.

TELEVISION/BY JEFFERSON GRAHAM

'Family Ties': A comeback for the contemporary family

HOLLYWOOD-Although NBC is known as the network that sticks with shows with low ratings, producers were surprised when Family Ties, the 3 year-old Thursday sitcom earned two renewals. In the '82-83 season, it finished 56th out of 98 shows in the Nielsen Rankings; last year it was 42nd.

But now NBC has the last laugh. Ties finished 11th last week and has been in the top 20 for the past five weeks.

" I love the fact that so many more people are seeing the show and there's a new level of acceptance," says Ties creator and executive producer Gary David Goldberg.

He also should love the fact that NBC matched Ties this year with a blockbuster of a lead in - The Cosby Show.

The two shows make up network TV's lone hour of nuclear family comedy. " Much to our amazement," says NBC Entertainment president Brandon Tartikoff about the original decision to program Ties, " we looked over the TV landscape and realized there wasn't one TV series featuring a mother,father, and kids from that marriage. There was every other variation and permutation except a nuclear family."

But Ties is a nuclear family comedy with a contemporary feel. " I wanted to see on TV a more accurate reflection of people I know and the life I was leading," says Goldberg. " Parents who are together for 20 years, yet are still compatable and still find each other sexually attractive."

He doesn't have to look far for new family models. Ties star Meredith Baxter-Birney gave birth to twins three weeks ago. And her character's pregnancy and delivery will coincide with the competitive February ratings period.

TV births of course, are traditionally big ratings grabbers, and NBC expects big numbers for the February event. But Tatikoff can't help dreaming of taking even more advantage of the possibilities.

" I thought that since Bill Cosby plays an obstetrician on his show, he could cross over and deliver Meredith's baby. But I don't think the dream will come true."

Because of her real-life pregnancy , Baxter-Birney only appears in five of the first 13 episodes Ties has completed so far this season. And the show is now on vacation, with Baxter-Birney planning to return after Thanksgiving. While she knows the gender of her own offspring ( a boy and a girl), the sex of her character's baby is still up in the air. Twins, however, are out-" at the request of Meredith," says Ties writer/producer Michael Whitehorn. " She wanted to maintain some distance between her life and her TV character."

One thing is known, however. It won't just be mom who brings up Ties' new baby.

" The family will all be involved in bringing up the kid," Goldberg says, stressing that TV husband Michael Gross won't be puffing on his pipe while his wife changes the diapers and feeds the kid. He'll be an 80's parent-as involved with the new baby as his wife, and all three kids will be involved as well. " We're very aware," he says, " of the images we present."

And live out in real life.

Ties offices are in a little section of the Paramount Studio. Taking up a portion of Goldberg's office is the crib his 11 month old daughter occupies each Tuesday and Thursday when she visits.

An Article from TV Guide ( Oct. 18-24, 1986 Ed.)

To Andrew at 3

How to be a good Capitalist-and ignore disappointments ( such as your sisters)

Family Ties' Alex P. Keaton has some sage advice for his little brother

By Alex P. Keaton

Dear Andrew,

Now that you're a young man of 3, the time has come for me to take pen in hand and put down on paper some thoughts and reflections that can help you along the Alex Keaton path to happiness, success and financial security in your fourth and subsequent years.

As you know, you are very special to me . I waited many years to have a brother. Many, many years through two crushing disappointments-you know them better as your sisters, Mallory and Jennifer. Though they're harmless enough in small doses, prolong exposure to them can lead to a mindless addiction to shopping and an inability to hang up the telephone. This brings me naturally to further discussion of girls in general ( Please see the attached letter, " Alex Keaton: On Girls," to be opened on your 16th birthday, preferably in the presence of a lawyer.)

You've come into the world at a very excitable moment in history. While there's some disturbing loose talk around about taxing corporations and eliminatating the " business lunch," the overall picture is rosy. As I told you at our last quarterly meeting, interest rates are down., inflation is down, and so are Mallory's grades. Everything is as it should be.

You were very clever to be born during the Reagan era. This makes you a Reagan baby, with all the privileges and responsibilities that come with it. Needless to say you've been pre-registered as a lifetime member of the G.O.P. ( Please refer to enclosed packet containing voter-registration material, a brief history of the party, and the name of a good accountant. Please open this packet on your 18th birthday. Preferably in the presence of another Republican.)

Today with your fourth birthday drawing nearer , I'm sure you must be thinking of a career. Last night at dinner, you casually mentioned that you might want to be a cowboy one day. ( Please see attached wage scale for cowboys not in movies or in the White House. This may have a sobbering effect on any future cow-punching plans you might harbor.) A good rule of thumb is to avoid all jobs that do not require a suit and tie.

Mom and Dad will undoubtedly try to push you toward some kind of public-service occupation, one that benefits others more than it benefits you, a career that focuses on working toward the greater good of society as a whole while overlooking the legitiment needs of a privileged few. They're your parents and they mean well . Forgive them, they came of age in the 1960s when nobody was thinking straight. Be patient...but firm.

About the '60s. You will often hear mom and dad refer to this period in reverential tones as if it were some sort of golden age, a renaissance of human freedom and ideals. It was , in fact, a hairy, noisy little decade , culminating with an entire generation dressing up as Indians. I sat out this period in exile, refusing to leave the house until America shaved.

While we're on the subject of Mom and Dad , lets get a few things straight. They're terrific. They're loving, they're caring, and they're nonreturnable. So are Mallory and Jennifer, by the way. Believe me I've tried.

This brings us to possibly our most important subject: survival in the Keaton household. Let's start with Mom. Let me say right off the bat, I like this woman. And it's a constant struggle to keep my emotions from interfering with our professional relationship as mother and son. The bigest problem with Mom is her misguided notion that women are equal to men . Lets pause now for a hearty laugh. Finished? Good. Let's go on . I guess it could be worse. After all some, mothers drink, some are gamblers. Ours is a feminist.

I'm afraid that Dad is not much help in this area. He belongs to a guerrilla band of outlaw males who subscribe to this " women are equal" viewpoint. I call them the feministas.

One can only hope that feminism is a fad that will go the way of prohibition and the Hula-Hoop. Until that time comes, many men my age are sitting it out with a pipe and a golden retriver.

About Dad. I think you're going to like him as you get to know him better.He's good to talk to when you have a problem.Unless of course, the problem is Dad. In which case you can still talk to him, but he gets a little bit defensive. He'll toss around a softball with you, he'll take you to the park, and he's authorized to lend you up to five dollars without checking with Mom.

Well there it is, Andy-your family for better or worse , and the world for you to make a better place. I'll be there when you need me for advice , support, and a small fee.

So, go out there and knock 'em dead , little brother. Take the white-collar job of your choice and make us proud. Be a good citizen. Respect your elders. Pay your taxes, vote and most importantly , be your own man and follow your own instincts. Do what you think is right. ( Enclosed find a packet containing day-by-day itinerary for years 4 through 20.)

Your brother

Alex P. Keaton

Here's an article from The New York Times talking about one of the most famous Family Ties episodes of all time.

TV REVIEWS; HOURLONG 'FAMILY TIES'

By JOHN J. O'CONNOR
Published: March 12, 1987

OVER the years since it was created in 1980 by Gary David Goldberg, NBC's ''Family Ties'' has evolved from a series about a once ultra-liberal couple coping with the demands of a middle-class marriage to a show about their brash yuppie son celebrating the joys of making money. It helps enormously, of course, that young Alex P. Keaton is played by Michael J. Fox, an ingratiating 25-year-old actor who, between TV seasons, has won deserved attention in films like ''Back to the Future.''

No doubt as a token of gratitude, the show's executive producer, Mr. Goldberg, and the supervising producer, Alan Uger, have written an hourlong tour de force for Mr. Fox. ''A, My Name is Alex'' is being broadcast at 8:30 this evening. With a bow of staging homage to Thornton Wilder's ''Our Town,'' the confident Alex is profoundly shaken by the death of a friend and, wandering between past and present, begins to question the meaning of living.

Alex is one of the more curious characters devised for the special world of situation comedy. Basically he is obnoxious, a bright know-it-all with a talent for amusing himself at the expense of others. The show's writers spend much of their time and best lines attempting to show that nasty Alex really doesn't mean most of what he says. It is a tricky balancing act, pulled off superbly by Mr. Fox.

In this evening's special, Alex is especially upset because if he had not refused a favor to his friend Greg (Brian McNamara), he, too, might have been in a fatal car accident. ''I was lazy, small, I couldn't be bothered,'' Alex remembers bitterly. Then he gets to the key question: ''Why am I alive?'' Searching for an answer he reaches out to science and religion, meeting separately with a monk and a psychiatrist. He talks with his parents, sister and baby brother. He even argues with his dead friend.

This is a masterfully constructed playlet, a miniature portrait of the bright young person who, even in childhood, was singled out for being above the ordinary herd. A note from one teacher conceded, ''I'm assuming this paper deserves an A - I don't fully understand it.'' Trapped in the middle of this extraordinary attention is poor Alex, rather lonely for all of his bluster, decidedly sad for all of his wisecracks. While the other kids were fingerpainting, Alex was learning the stock market. In sitcom isolation, he cuts a sympathetic figure. In a world of Ivan Boeskys, however, Alex is a worry, no matter how cleverly he is presented. Thornton Wilder, for one, would have been appalled by such a young man.

But the script by Mr. Goldberg and Mr. Uger is a marvel of ''on the one hand but on the other'' sculpting. Will MacKenzie's direction offers a textbook illustration of the importance of timing. And Mr. Fox proves once again that he is far more than merely an appealing performer. He is a formidable actor, firmly in control. That still leaves the problematic Alex who, after everything, concludes: ''God wouldn't have made me so smart if He didn't want me to make money.'' But these days, apparently, obnoxiousness sells.

Here's another article about that episode from USA TODAY

TV PREVIEW/BY MATT ROUSH
Published: March 12, 1987

A heart-tugging 'Family Ties'

Alex P. Keaton, the kid you hate to love. Wall Street is his religion, smug sarcasm his tool. What makes him tick?

Family Ties, of course. Despite his boorish bravado, he's really a softie.

Tonight's hour long episode in which Alex faces death and doesn't like what he sees, gives Michael J. Fox an acting workout like he's never had.

Don't worry that the younger kids will get upset by the difficult subject matter. Watch this emotional show with your family. You'll want to hug them afterward.

Aside from the theme, the episode is unprecedented in presenting the last half-hour commercial free-the ads are bunched up in the first 30 minutes. This uninterrupted segmant gives Fox the unusual vehicle of a mini-play of self-exploration. It works.

The show opens after the funeral of Alex's pal Greg, killed in an auto accident. If Alex hadn't backed out of helping his friend, he also could have died. " My life was saved out of smallness," he says unforgivingly.

You know it's no ordinary show when Greg's ghost appears, forcing Alex to drop his brave front and weep in his parents' arms. The second half goes further, a seriocomic tour de force with Alex spilling his guts to an off-camera shrink.

You might think you've stumbled across an old Playhouse 90 during this rambling character study. Its surreal and stark, with actors fading in and out of memory, and Alex always center stage.

Brought up short by intimations of mortality, Alex wonders about God and examines his strong family ties.

Regressing to a second-grader with a Nixon lunch box, he recalls the pressure of being a " special" teacher's pet. And he yearns for the " security and safety" of home sweet home.

Most affecting is Alex's re-appreciation of his good-guy dad. An awakened Alex muses, " I can be gentle, forgiving, thoughtful... and I can make a lot of money." Some things never change.

Laughs and tears mingle freely here. It's not exactly profound television, but it's a welcome stretch for a show that, over time, has become part of our own families.

An Article from the Associated Press
Published on April 23, 1989

LOS ANGELES-When actor Michael J. Fox was invited seven years ago to read the part of Alex P. Keaton for the new show " Family Ties," he was a walking poster child for Hollywood's heartbreak.

" I was at a point," Fox said recently, holding up a thimble-sized container of coffee creamer, " where I'd say , ' Can you eat this?' Three ketchups, a thing of cream and a package of salt and pepper and I was pigging out."

But Fox hasn't had to worry about his pantry since he picked up that first " Family Ties" script and was handed the job too. The situation comedy, which is leaving the NBC schedule with a one-hour special May 14, has lasted longer than " Leave it to Beaver," " The Flintstones," or " Hogan's Heroes."

The departure of " Family Ties," planned for two years won't match the majestic 1983 parting of CBS' " M*A*S*H." But the program's exit after seven seasons does illustrate how one modest series both created careers and helped revitalize a stegmant television genre, the nuclear-family sitcom.

" We could do more, stick around and do three more years," said Gary David Goldberg, the show's creator and executive producer. " But why? We've done 180 episodes of this show and this family. Surely there must be other things we want to turn our attention to."

The actors' of " Family Ties" shared a chaotic mixture of sadness, gratitude and exuberance as their program's last episode approached, as the character of Alex set off for a job on Wall Street, where there aren't any more television cameras.

" I have very ambiguous feelings about it," Meredith Baxter Birney , who plays " Family Ties" parent Elyse Keaton said of the show's conclusion. " I think I'm going to be dreadfully emotional the last couple of days. But until then, I'm so excited, I can't see straight!"

All of the cast now will have time to pursue other projects . But without " Family Ties," a half-hour centering on consumer-minded children in a home headed by former hippies, there might not be any such projects to pursue.

" There is no way to overemphasize how important ( " Family Ties") was for me," Fox said. " With all the things I have going on right now, everybody says , ' Boy, I bet you can't wait to get that chain off your neck.' But I never think of it in those terms...The success through association that I've enjoyed, that's really been the blessing."

Justine Bateman, who co-stars in " Family Ties" as dippy dress-for-excess older daughter Mallory says she doesn't have to follow her prominence on " Family Ties" with other prominent roles.

" I am definately looking forward to playing other characters ," she said. " But because of " Family Ties," I have the unique privilege of not having to worry about paying the mortgage. So now I can just work with good people...and not have the pressure of carrying a film.

Other " Family Ties" veterans are using the show's ending to follow related interests. Fifteen-year-old Tina Yothers, who plays younger sister Jennifer , will now have more time for her singing career, more time to polish her rendition of " Baby, I'm Back in Love Again."

Yet just as the show's once domminant popularity has brought the cast fame and riches-"Family Ties" was the nation's No. 2 program in the 1985-86 and 1986-87 TV seasons, just a step behind NBC's "The Cosby Show"-the exposure also means the actors must prove there's more to them than good timing and silly jokes.

Here's an article from the May 13-19 Edition of TV Guide.

Our Final Season: A Journal
Join the family
Witness the problems, jokes , deals, fears as the Family Ties gang wraps up seven years together

By Michael Gross
(aka Steven Keaton)

NBC has scheduled the final episode of Family Ties for Sunday, May 14, at 8 P.M.( ET)

Sept. 12 It is the first rehearsal day of our final season, and there is already a feeling of nostalgia. The sound stage resounds with greetings: cast, crew, writers, production staff, everyone connected with the show. It has been a long vacation due to the writers guild strike, and we've all got a lot of catching up to do. The dressing rooms have been freshened up with a coat of paint, but the old, familiar bowls of trail mix and fruit are in place as we sit down to read our first two scripts. Parts 1 and 2 of an episode dealing with a massive coronary by my character, Steven Keaton.

Sept. 30. Our two-part heart-attack episode turned into three, and I am glad they are coming to an end. I seem to be experiencing strange psychosomatic symptons. I have numb odd feelings in my right leg and arm. My right hand and foot don't seem to work properly. Called the doctor, but he'll be out of town 'til next week. I'm worried but perhaps I am taking this work too seriously.

Oct. 3. Symptons disappear as we begin a less intense episode. I am not the only one to have misgivings about my health stirred up. Executive producer Gary David Goldberg tells me he went to get a stress test! He's in perfect health, but it shows what a toll such subject matter can take on our minds.

Nov. 1. One occasionally hears stories about actors who sabotage other performers, but on our stage , we do as much as we can to help each other out. When one of us is responsible for things not going quite right, there is a tendency to feel more remorseful then is warranted. Recently Michael J. Fox and I were exiting a scene that had been extensively rewritten in the course of rehearsal. Fox had the exit line, but we had decided to do a version in which I had a joke just prior to being hustled out the door by him. This was to be the way we'd do it for our studio audience but, in a moment of forgetfulness, Fox said his exit line, eliminating my line, and walked to the door. We exited, but no sooner were we out the door when Michael J., realizing his mistake, turned around, bent over and, in a great illustration of caring for a fellow performer, said, " Give me a swift kick, Michael." Though the target was tempting, I declined.

Nov. 4. We had a narrow escape this week: the night before taping I had a household accident and opened a large gash in my head that required the services of a plastic surgeon and a visit to an emergency room. There I was, about 12 hours from taping, with 18 stitches in my head! I called the makeup man to warn him, then called one of our producers to discuss our options. I couldn't get the wound wet, so that eliminated dabbing makeup on its surface. We even discussed wearing a series of hats in the episode-caps, fedoras, sweatbands, whatever, to hide the wound-but our makeup man, Bron Roylance, rose to the occasion and concealed my bandage perfectly with a large swatch of latex, spirt gum, surgical adhesive and oil-based makeup. It was all but invisible to the camera and, in fact many of the crew were unaware of the injury.

Nov. 11. Brian Bonsall, who plays little Andrew has just walked into my dressing room, carrying a pail full of rocks. " Do you want to buy a rock?" says he. Thinking I may be able to save myself some shopping on my way home, I ask, " How much are they?" Well it turns out the small ones are 25 cents, slightly larger ones are 50 cents or a dollar, and the largest are five dollars. I wonder if this isn't a subtle form of " protection racket" ( buy a rock so your window won't be broken by it). We part friends with my deal for a 25 cent rock. I should have asked if it comes with a guarantee.

Nov. 16. Meredith Baxter-Birney's image is to some extent, that of the self-possessed , rather elegant woman, but I can never again look at a dish of chocolate pudding without thinking of a different Meredith. At the Paramount commissary one day, she invented a new use for this dessert. She began taking mouthfuls of the pudding, running outside and, whipping her head around, seeing how far she could fling the dessert out of her mouth. It was reminiscent of a shot-put or discus-throw competition, so I joined her, giving rise, perhaps, to a new event for the Battle of the Network Stars: " The celebrity-Doubles Pudding Toss."

Dec. 2. This episode concerns Mallory's boyfriend, Nick, and his little dog, Scrapper, that has been a part of his family for many years. Scrapper is hit by a car, and Nick is forced to put the dog to sleep.

Shows with animals always verge on anarchy because, well-trained as animals might be, one never knows what they will do next. They always seem to go through their paces well during the day, but when the producers walk through the door and the run-through begins, all hell breaks lose.

This week is no exception. In the course of the episode, Nick decides it would be best for his little dog if it were put to sleep, but before handing it over to the veterinarian, he wants to have a few moments alone with his beloved dog. The nearly comatose animal is wrapped in a blanket in his arms, and Nick is somewhere in the middle of his farewell-a tender speech wherein he expresses his great love for the dog and his assurance that doggy heaven will be a wonderful place-when the dog begins to growl. Small chuckles from the audience. Scott Valentine as Nick bravely continues, " I love you, and I'll miss you so,..." Another growl, and suddenly the dog attempts to fight its way out of Scott Valentine's arms and the blanket. Then at the following day's run-through, the dog jumps not into one of the cast member's arms as it is supposed to, but right into the lap of one of our producers, watching from the sidelines. The dog is probably, like any smart actor, trying to butter one of the men at the top.

Dec. 16. Very unfortunate, this week, to see one of our guest actors disappear. We worked all day Tuesday, finished the run-through and signed out for the day. The next morning we discovered the actor missing, replaced by another. Cruel business. Crueler still because the decision to replace him had very little to do with talent. He was perfectly capable, a fine actor, but the producers simply wanted a slightly different " type." In many cases, there is just not time in our 22 minute, 30 second format to develop subtle characterizations or complex life histories. Characterizations are often enhanced by their recognizability, and a " look" can be as important a consideration as talent in casting a show like ours.

Feb. 10. Friday morning as we gather in the makeup room, we discuss the strange phenomenon of the fan who suddenly goes overboard. The conversation was prompted by the arrest, reported in yesterday's paper, of a woman accused of sending more than 5000 threatening letters to Michael J. Fox in the last year. Assuming she wrote every single day for a year, it works out to some 13 letters a day! Clearly , such a person needs help and/or confinement. The vast majority of the mail we receive is, of course, from warm, wonderful people who just want to share their thoughts about our show and be sent an autographed picture. But there are those interesting few: there's a guy who has sent me more than a hundred letters in the past six months asking me to send him an airline ticket so he can fly to Los Angeles to see a taping, promising, " I'll pay you back when I get there."

March 13. A pleasant two weeks off for most of us. Justine Bateman surely had the most exotic vacation as she spent part of her break in Rio de Janeiro, hang-gliding. Meredith took a bad fall on the slopes of a celebrity ski tournament, but the biggest news by far, was the public revelation of her decision to divorce David Birney. The scandal journalists have had themselves a time over the past few weeks. I gave my family specific instructions not to purchase any of the publications featuring the story because paying the cover price is a way of financing such invasions of privacy.

I knew Meredith had been wounded by this nonsense over the past few weeks, and I also knew the best way to deal with her was to get her laughing, so I started the day with a salvo of jokes directed at the publications as well as at the entire situation, and we all relaxed . She has a lot on her mind: David, the children, finances, but there also seems to be some sense of relief at having made a decision.

We discussed some of the nonsense written about us over the past seven years. In some cases the stories had been laughable ; in others distressing. But I can say categorically that the stories that surface from time to time of this, or that cast member being "jealous" of Michael J. Fox, for example, are patently untrue. I think the lies about our dislike for each other cause the most damage to the public at large who, I think, read us quite accurately as a group of people inordinately fond of each other.

April 10. For some years now, Tina Yothers and I have been involved in something approaching a continuing free-for-all: we can occasionally be observed running through the sound stage at full-tilt, barracading ourselves in our dressing rooms or loudly protesting about who is or isn't " it." These episodes usually conclude with one or both of us slamming into a wall, breaking an on-stage lamp or simply making to much noise for the rehearsal to continue. It's a game called " Last Tag." The player most recently tagged is " it" and remains so until he or she successfully tags the other. Certain areas of the stage have been designated as " in or out of bounds," so it is possible for one of us to tag the other, run to a place of safety and be unable to be tagged in return. It is, therefore, theoretically possible to be " it" for several minutes, several hours, or even longer. I am looking forward to the final episode of Family Ties if for no other reason than if I tag Tina as she exits our final season's wrap party, she will be " it" FOR THE REST OF HER LIFE!

An Article from The New York Times

3 TV Shows That Captured a Decade

By STEPHANIE BRUSH; STEPHANIE BRUSH IS A SYNDICATED COLUMNIST FOR THE WASHINGTON POST WRITERS GROUP.
Published: June 4, 1989

Suddenly, it's the end of three eras: ''Moonlighting'' is television history, and ''Family Ties'' and ''Miami Vice'' have aired their (respectively, tearful and explosive) all- time finales.

These were shows (more than shows, really) that we once arranged our lives around, canceled dates for, argued about, chewed on - and, yes, bought the wardrobe and soundtrack of. It feels particularly cataclysmic if you include the demise this spring of the long-run ning ''Dynasty'' and ''Kate & Allie'' - almost as if the 80's have been purged from television in one fell swoop.

But ''Moonlighting,'' ''Miami Vice'' and ''Family Ties'' are likely the ones that future TV historians will dissect most lovingly, even though on the sur face the three had little in common, except for, arguably, a male star you somehow couldn't take your eyes off: They made household words out of Bruce Willis, Don Johnson and Michael J. Fox.

Looking back and calling them ground-breaking originals now, we forget that ''Miami Vice'' was once just another cop show, with maybe an updated designer-loafer budget. ''Moonlight ing'' started life as a poor man's ''Remington Steele.'' ''Family Ties'' was ''Father Knows Best'' with granola.

But they were shows that were inextricably of their time; they somehow became that way, through writing, or ''style'' or luck or all three. You could even argue that ''Miami Vice,'' wholly of south Florida, and ''Family Ties,'' wholly of Columbus, Ohio, were distant reflections of the same 80's syndrome: ''Miami Vice'' was rampant greed and acquisitiveness, with a drug dealer's hooves and horns. Alex P. Keaton of ''Family Ties'' was greed with the face of an angel.

''Family Ties'' was a show about a wholesome, decent, liberal household that had somehow hatched a comical but morally repellent life form. (At first, the idea seemed a schematic gimmick: ''Ha! Ha! A switcheroo - hippie parents with a son who likes wearing neckties!'') Then it turned out that the creators were a little too prescient, and Alex-like characters were popping up all over the 80's, although Alex's deep-down venality always seemed to do them one better.

But the writers and the actors continued to add dimension to the show during its seven years, and through the central cartoon of Alex (who became less cartoonlike) the issues of alcoholism, teen-age suicide and the endangered nuclear family were explored. It's easy to forget, looking back, that the essential monstrousness of Alex Keaton's proclaimed values would have made him impossible to watch if Michael J. Fox had not been so, miraculously, cuddly. .

All of these shows did things for us that we needed to have done at a precise notch in history.

''Miami Vice'' supposedly was the product of a single high-concept two-word phrase generated by NBC's president of entertainment, Brandon Tartikoff: ''MTV cops.'' And there was never so much as a single comprehensible plot to mar the series' five-year run. It was the ultimate triumph of style over (controlled) substance. But that style was seductive; it had an emotional life of its own. Dead bodies always fell into pools, in perfect red blossoms of blood, like begonias in David Hockney paintings. The screams of the dying drug warriors in gun-battle scenes were muffled by throbbing synthesizers or the gorgeous, sad wailing of Peter Gabriel or Phil Collins or Godley and Creme.

The episode where rocker Ted Nugent blows up Sonny Crockett's Testarossa in a deserted sand pit had a sort of existential Samuel Beckett-hits-Dade-County quality. And who can forget that episode about the achingly vulnerable hooker who falls in love with Rico Tubbs, ties him to a bed between stabbings and then shoots herself in the head? (''This is what you want,'' the soundtrack chanted over and over. ''This is what you get.'')

This was what we got. This was what we wanted.

Still, arguments remained: Was ''Miami Vice'' a ''moral'' show? Specifically, it was a show about immorality but with a moral center: Lieut. Martin Castillo, played by Edward James Olmos with a pained, nearly Christlike stoicism. (''Family Ties,'' in contrast, was a show about morality, with an ostensibily immoral center: young Alex Keaton, who, in the last season, was training his tiny younger brother in the fine art of evicting widows and orphans from real estate holdings. But we laughed and laughed. Cuddle, cuddle.) Before ''Miami Vice,'' south Florida had no reputation at all, other than as a gray-headed Geritol-and-Ex-Lax capital. Then, in the space of a single television season, south Florida got young. The summer that ''Miami Vice'' was at its peak, I remember traveling in Oslo, Norway, and everyone in sight was dressed like Sonny Crockett. And they didn't even know who Sonny Crockett was. More importantly, it didn't matter.

If ''Miami Vice'' succeeded in making the war on drugs something you could hum to, ''Moonlighting'' made the war between the sexes something you could healthily giggle at. It was based on a million Hollywood ''screwball'' movies about two people who belonged together, by virtue of despising everything each other stood for. Except that all those movies conveniently ended; they remained movies. But, if television is only a box, ''Moonlighting'' climbed out of the box. Not only did Bruce Willis's Dave and Cybill Shepherd's Maddie address us personally, we believed Dave/Bruce's and Maddie/Cybill's feelings were real. For a brief while, it was like watching a great Tracy-and-Hepburn movie, knowing that the sparks flying on screen were absolutely genuine. And the supermarket tabloids gleefully perpetuated this. (We wanted no part of the news that Cybill Shepherd wasn't really in love with the smirking David Addison - and was in fact pregnant with twins by her real-life chiropractor. It wasn't a well-written situation.) On some level, we knew that the fireworks set off by Dave and Maddie were generated precisely by their spectacular wrongness for one another. It was like watching a car accident, addictively, week after week. ''Moonlighting'' was an ode to better (if tenser) living through sexual chemistry, and we were just as happy to watch, rather than participate. You only wanted to know: ''Are they going to kiss?'' We wanted to balance on that tense pinnacle forever. We wanted to hold our breath. We didn't want to see the messy stuff. The moment the tension was gone, the show was gone, was essentially over. We didn't want to witness the ugly trench warfare that ensues when real sex gums things up - the ''Did you call me?/Did I call you?'' business.

During its four-season life, the Blue Moon Detective Agency, with its background scrim of faceless employees, was a wonderful boxing ringof the sexes: Dave and Maddie would emerge from their respective corners, go a few rounds and retreat, gasping, behind their respective office doors. You watched it with your boyfriend or husband, you cheered for your ''team.''

In a way, for the same reason that all these shows needed to exist, they needed to eventually trundle off.

''Miami Vice'' probably had to go because the reality of the drug problem became more grotesque and theatrical than anything television could dream up. The series' final episode, about a drug-dealing Central American megalomaniac, was upstaged by the real-life elections in Panama.

And Alex Keaton, right on Inauguration Day cue, was becoming noticeably kinder and gentler, which is death to comedy. Besides, all the siblings on ''Family Ties'' looked a bit creaky to still be living at home with the folks. Michael J. Fox was developing forehead creases. The female stars' hairstyles and wardrobes were becoming suspiciously more Melrose Avenue than Columbus.

''Family Ties'' ended on the classiest note, beautifully written and played until the end. Everyone cried freely at the closing curtain call. In the eternity of rerun-land, the theme song will probably take on a whole new meaning: ''What'll we do, baby/ Without us?''

Probably watch ''Roseanne.'' But it won't be the same.

To watch some clips from Family Ties go to http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=family+ties&aq=f

For a Website dedicated to Family Ties go to http://web.archive.org/web/20051226103151/www.familyties-tv.com/

To read a transcript of The Family Ties Today Show Reunion in 2008 go to http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/23048314/

For two Reviews of Family Ties go to http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/F/htmlF/familyties/familyties.htm and http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/familyties.htm