Isn't it always a perverse thrill to see goody-goody classic TV stars go bad? Recently, actor Michael Gross — best known as Michael J. Fox's hippie pacifist pop on Family Ties — went against type with some nasty new roles. Not only is he recurring as the frosty father of Noah Wyle's Dr. Carter on ER, he's downright homicidal on Sunday's Law & Order: Criminal Intent (airing 9 pm/ET on NBC). Gross finds parenthood on ER far different from his Family Ties days. Muses the actor: "I suppose the biggest difference in dads here is that while Steven Keaton was nothing if not emotionally accessible, [Jack Carter] is not. One might say he's emotionally constipated — and perhaps physically as well! It's a good thing his son is a doctor. But Carter's mother and father are both very reserved, so you're certainly not getting the touchy feely thing that people got on Family Ties." On Criminal Intent, he plays "a psychiatrist who is absolutely smitten with a young, beautiful woman. In fact, he has someone murdered in order to impress this woman, like [John Hinckley, Jr.] impressing Jodie Foster [by shooting Ronald Reagan]." And what's the big twist? "He is apprehended and he pleads insanity," Gross previews. "Who better than a psychiatrist to know how that plea works? "So the suspense of the episode is not so much whodunit," he adds, "but 'Is this man just crazy about the girl or is he just plain crazy?!' That's what's fascinating, because Criminal Intent gets into the mind of the criminal." Yikes! If only Alex P. Keaton could see his peacenik daddy now..

I think Michael Gross is a versatile actor. He proved his comedic talent on Family Ties, and now he's flexing his dramatic muscles and is doing terrific.
I'm glad to know we can discuss movies and TV roles that Family Ties cast members appear in on this board.
What a great idea for a new thread--I'll create one.