How Popular Was Alex Keaton?

[bttf4444]

I'm sure many of you who are big Michael J Fox fans would say something like, "How can somebody as cute as Alex P Keaton NOT be popular?" I know I was baffled when a few suggested that Marty McFly didn't have any other friends besides Jennifer and Doc. I was like, "You GOT to be kidding me! How can somebody as cute as Marty McFly have difficulty making friends?"

Of course, there's also the fact Marty McFly pretty much fits all the standards of your typical '80s "cool teen". He rides a skateboard, he plays the electric guitar, and he wears clothes that are fashionable in the '80s. Alex P Keaton, on the other hand, doesn't fit those standards at all. He always wears a suit and tie and he's really not into rock music, which is fairly uncommon for an '80s teen.

Still, I don't really see Alex as being a misfit on par with Skippy Handelman - even though he is very close to Skippy. I basically see that as Alex being a nice guy, though, who isn't afraid to be friendly towards the misfits. I know he had another friend named Howie, who made a couple of appearances. Of course, in the one Very Special Episode, he had a best friend named Greg who was killed. However, he has never appeared or even been mentioned in any other episodes - so I'm not sure how many consider that to be canon with the overall Family Ties Universe. (I'll address the issue of FT canon in another topic.) Of course, there's also quite a few episodes featuring a group of friends (pretty much never the same group of friends) that Alex has.

So, as a result, it is a little confusing whether or not Alex has a lot of friends. Maybe he has a lot of friendly acquainces, but only a few close friends (like Skippy, Howie, and maybe Greg). We never really see anybody being mean to Alex or picking on him - even there have been a few instances of where some the other kids go out of the way to avoid him.

So, anyway, what are your thoughts of this?

[needles1987]

I don't think Alex is very popular to tell you the truth. The other kids go out their way to avoid him. And he definitely doesn't follow the in-crowd.

[bttf4444]

I think he's too cute to be especially unpopular. I mean, I think he's more serious than Marty McFly - and I wouldn't exactly call him a cool teen. He's certainly not into your typical teenage-y stuff. He seems to have a fair amount of friends, though. He even seems to have three friends named Doug.

BTW, I like how he's friends with Skippy. I take that as proof that he truly is a nice guy.

[needles1987]

I think a person can be the most attractive person in the world and still be especially unpopular.

[bttf4444]

Well, I suppose - if the person happens to be a complete jerk. I don't really see Alex being that much of a jerk, though. Sometimes, he can be a little annoying - but I think that, all in all, he truly does have a heart of gold. He just doesn't always show it.

To be honest, I probably wouldn't want to hang out with Alex - but that's mostly because I just think we wouldn't have that much in common.

Then, again, I guess I sort of see your point. If you happen to run into him, during the times where he's real cocky or whatever, I suppose that could turn some people off - like how Ellen initially didn't like him.

[tv star collector]

Originally Posted by bttf4444

I'm sure many of you who are big Michael J Fox fans would say something like, "How can somebody as cute as Alex P Keaton NOT be popular?" I know I was baffled when a few suggested that Marty McFly didn't have any other friends besides Jennifer and Doc. I was like, "You GOT to be kidding me! How can somebody as cute as Marty McFly have difficulty making friends?"

Of course, there's also the fact Marty McFly pretty much fits all the standards of your typical '80s "cool teen". He rides a skateboard, he plays the electric guitar, and he wears clothes that are fashionable in the '80s. Alex P Keaton, on the other hand, doesn't fit those standards at all. He always wears a suit and tie and he's really not into rock music, which is fairly uncommon for an '80s teen.

Still, I don't really see Alex as being a misfit on par with Skippy Handelman - even though he is very close to Skippy. I basically see that as Alex being a nice guy, though, who isn't afraid to be friendly towards the misfits. I know he had another friend named Howie, who made a couple of appearances. Of course, in the one Very Special Episode, he had a best friend named Greg who was killed. However, he has never appeared or even been mentioned in any other episodes - so I'm not sure how many consider that to be canon with the overall Family Ties Universe. (I'll address the issue of FT canon in another topic.) Of course, there's also quite a few episodes featuring a group of friends (pretty much never the same group of friends) that Alex has.

So, as a result, it is a little confusing whether or not Alex has a lot of friends. Maybe he has a lot of friendly acquainces, but only a few close friends (like Skippy, Howie, and maybe Greg). We never really see anybody being mean to Alex or picking on him - even there have been a few instances of where some the other kids go out of the way to avoid him.

So, anyway, what are your thoughts of this?

The reason that Alex P. Keaton wore a suit and tie and had a disdain for
rock music was that, unlike his parents who were former hippies, he was
a conservative and a Republican. That was the gag; it was the '60s
"generation gap" in reverse.

[needles1987]

I admit there are a lot of girls attracted to Alex.

[bttf4444]

Originally Posted by tv star collector

The reason that Alex P. Keaton wore a suit and tie and had a disdain for
rock music was that, unlike his parents who were former hippies, he was
a conservative and a Republican. That was the gag; it was the '60s
"generation gap" in reverse.

Well, yeah, I pretty much knew that - and I wasn't saying that it was bad. I was mostly just comparing him to Marty McFly, and mentioning how Marty seemed to embody the attributes of the "cool '80s teen" a little more. I was mostly just asking how popular Alex would be. He didn't seem to be too popular - but he didn't seem to be especially unpopular, either. Skippy was probably a little more unpopular.

It's more like, well, he's kind of more serious than most teen boys are - even though his life isn't quite "all work and no play". He's probably average, if anything - as far as his social status goes. Any, yeah, some of the girls seemed to really dig him.

BTW, I'm not sure if he only has one friend named Doug - or if he has two or three friends by that name. There also seemed to be two different Neils. As a fan of Back to the Future, I tend to favour the Doug that's played by Crispin Glover - even if he only appeared in one episode.

Does Alex ever get bullied, in the series? So far, I've watched everything up top Season Three. I heard that he sort of gets bullied in the movie, but I'm not sure about the rest of the series. I'm sure Skippy, though, was the type to be bullied almost all the time.

BTW, I guess Frank Bannister from The Frighteners was probably the most socially awkward character that MJF played. He did have pretty odd mannerisms, that kind of turned people off. He also seemed to be a bit of a recluse, with the ghosts seeming to be his only true friends. Of course, the fact that he was also a con artist didn't seem to help.

Other than that, most of his characters seem like people who would be reasonably well-liked, even if not necessarily the most popular.