In case anyone doesn't know- Jump the shark means a show dramatically changes for the worst

I love this show, just a fun topic I thought of. I came up with a few options, if they happened, which one do you think would have caused the show to jump the shark

1. If the show continued on following Alex in New York

2. If it was revealed what the P in Alex P. Keaton stands for

3. If Mallory and Skippy ended up together

4. If Andy was a "Cousin Oliver" and was added to the show much later on

5. If they brought back any of the past guest stars as reoccurring roles

6. If they for some reason changed everyone's ages and made the kids significantly younger randomly

7. If they changed the focus of the show back onto Steven and Elyse and the other kids were just really...there

What do you guys think? If you guys could think of any, feel free to say them

The P didn't stand for anything. MJF ad-libbed that in the pilot and they kept it in the show because it was funny.
I think if they suddenly made the kids much younger that would jump the shark. They would need different actors/actresses to pull it off. MJF always looked younger than his age, but even he wouldn't have been able to pull off playing for example, a 12 year old if there had been an eighth season.

If Mallory and Skippy ended up together

I think this would have made the show better. :D I think Mallory and Skippy should have ended up together.

If Alex went to prison for insider trading and shared a cell with Milburn Drysdale.

[QUOTE=Family Ties Forever!]The P didn't stand for anything. MJF ad-libbed that in the pilot and they kept it in the show because it was funny.

Yeah, I remember hearing that. I'm saying though if they did make the P stand for something

The show jumped the shark when Andy was suddenly ages by 3-4 years. I could not stand him. He was totally an unnecessary character.

The show jumped the shark when Andy was suddenly ages by 3-4 years. I could not stand him. He was totally an unnecessary character.

I actually liked Andy. I felt that he really helped Jennifer step out of the shadows of her older siblings.

I actually liked Andy. I felt that really helped Jennifer step out of the shadows of her older siblings.

Good point. She did mature after that. Maybe a bit too much when she started pontificating about global warming or whatever it was. :lol:

Alex was a senior for 2 years. That was a bit of a shark jump. :)

I agree with Anna; Alex's two senior years was a bit of a shark jump.

I really liked Ellen, and didn't really care for how they jumped from Ellen to Courtney Cox's character. That seemed very sudden. I had just invested in Ellen, and then she was gone. They even aired a previously-taped Ellen episode partway through Courtney Cox's run on the show, confusing matters. WTF, NBC?!

Aging Andy by about four years didn't help.

I agree with Anna; Alex's two senior years was a bit of a shark jump.

I really liked Ellen, and didn't really care for how they jumped from Ellen to Courtney Cox's character. That seemed very sudden. I had just invested in Ellen, and then she was gone. They even aired a previously-taped Ellen episode partway through Courtney Cox's run on the show, confusing matters. WTF, NBC?!

Aging Andy by about four years didn't help.

Well, to be fair, Ellen was only removed because her actress, Tracy Pollan, wanted to spend more time with her then real life boyfriend, Kevin Bacon. As for the Ellen-Lauren episode mix up, the episode was supposed to appear much sooner, but NBC Entertainment president Brandon Tartikoff initiailly vetoed it, claiming that it made Jennifer seem too nasty.

Well, to be fair, Ellen was only removed because her actress, Tracy Pollan, wanted to spend more time with her then real life boyfriend, Kevin Bacon.

What you say makes a lot more sense than what I have always heard: that she and Michael J Fox were an item on the set of FT, and that they wanted to spend time apart, so she left the show. She was doing episodes of FT until 1987, and she and MJF married in 1988, so it seems as though spending more time with Kevin Bacon didn't help. :lol:


As for the Ellen-Lauren episode mix up, the episode was supposed to appear much sooner, but NBC Entertainment president Brandon Tartikoff initiailly vetoed it, claiming that it made Jennifer seem too nasty.

Thanks for that info. Weird that it even aired, then. What's the point of delaying an episode, unless changes are made to it?

What you say makes a lot more sense.
Thanks for that info. Weird that it even aired, then. What's the point of delaying an episode, unless changes are made to it?

There was an entire season (season 5) where Alex didn't have a steady girlfriend. It was after Tracy Pollan left the show (her choice) and before Courtney Cox was added the following season (season 6).

The show produced more than 24 episode in some seasons and NBC wouldn't allow the extra episodes to air. Later on when there was space they added those episodes in. Yes, that did cause confusion. I still would rather have the episode and see them, than to have never saw them. There would be people complaining about unaired episodes if NBC had not not done that.

There was an entire season (season 5) where Alex didn't have a steady girlfriend. It was after Tracy Pollan left the show (her choice) and before Courtney Cox was added the following season (season 6).

The show produced more than 24 episode in some seasons and NBC wouldn't allow the extra episodes to air. Later on when there was space they added those episodes in. Yes, that did cause confusion. I still would rather have the episode and see them, than to have never saw them. There would be people complaining about unaired episodes if NBC had not not done that.

It's not that NBC chose to air the episode, it's when the chose to air the episode that was confusing and weird: August 1987, right before the Lauren episodes started, in September 1987.

Well, to be fair, Ellen was only removed because her actress, Tracy Pollan, wanted to spend more time with her then real life boyfriend, Kevin Bacon. As for the Ellen-Lauren episode mix up, the episode was supposed to appear much sooner, but NBC Entertainment president Brandon Tartikoff initially vetoed it, claiming that it made Jennifer seem too nasty.

8 Things You Didn’t Know About Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan’s Relationship (http://www.fame10.com/entertainment/8-things-you-didnt-know-about-michael-j-fox-and-tracy-pollans-relationship/)

8. Meeting
They met on the set of Family Ties. She played his character’s girlfriend, but in real life she already had a boyfriend. A couple of years later, they met again on the set of Bright Lights, Big City, and that’s when they began dating. The next spring I was casting a movie in New York, and I saw Tracy, who had come in to read for a part. I said, ‘How’s so-and-so?’ She said, ‘We’re not together anymore.’ ‘I was like, (a) You have the job and (b) let’s have lunch.’ By the time the movie was finished, we were on vacation together – and less than a year later we were married,” Fox told Oprah.

7. Rumors
During the first year of their relationship, there were rumors that Fox had broken up with Pollen and was dating his Family Ties co-star Courteney Cox. “It’s really funny,” Fox told People in 1987. “People always want to read there’s romance when it’s just two actors having a good time working with each other. I’m having a great personal relationship with Tracy and a great professional relationship with Courteney.”

Thanks for that info. Weird that it even aired, then. What's the point of delaying an episode, unless changes are made to it?

Well, what happened was that later on, creator and executive producer Gary David Goldberg and the other writers and producers eventually got enough clout with NBC in order to air the episode unaltered.

In case anyone doesn't know- Jump the shark means a show dramatically changes for the worst

I love this show, just a fun topic I thought of. I came up with a few options, if they happened, which one do you think would have caused the show to jump the shark

1. If the show continued on following Alex in New York

2. If it was revealed what the P in Alex P. Keaton stands for

3. If Mallory and Skippy ended up together

4. If Andy was a "Cousin Oliver" and was added to the show much later on

5. If they brought back any of the past guest stars as reoccurring roles

6. If they for some reason changed everyone's ages and made the kids significantly younger randomly

7. If they changed the focus of the show back onto Steven and Elyse and the other kids were just really...there

What do you guys think? If you guys could think of any, feel free to say them

Family Ties seemed to start to unravel with the birth of Andy (the classic "jump the shark" indicator is when a new baby is added to the family) and then miraculously aged by five years the following season. You combine that with Jennifer getting older and the arrival of Nick (Scott Valentine was like the '80s version of the Fonz but without Henry Winkler's talent or a 3rd rate Sylvester Stallone minus the muscles). Lauren arguably wasn't that great of an addition either in the later seasons.