Laikals
The greatest movie ever made..!
Grimossfer
Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%
Stephanie
There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
videorama-759-859391
Family Ties, is one comedy sitcom that'll stay with me forever. No matter how many years pass or viewings, whatever, it will never lose it's credit. No other sitcom, has really effected me in that sort of way. Although a comedy, the Keatons did have their fair share of dramas, a lot in quite heavy and powerful doses. They're a family you can't shake off. Of course it was Michael J Fox, in one of his best ever roles as cocky, smart beyond his years, Alex P Keaton. The character were exceptionally well created, and I'm taking more so the kids. FT really touched on a lot of powerful, serious issues, teen angst and other, very realistic stuff, while still managing to pull in it's quota of laughs, the two opposites of laughs in even tune. I don't really know any other sitcom, that can pull that off in such magnitude, as this. The performances should be well praised. The real powerfully and hardly humorous episode was that of Alex's guilt trip, in quite a freaky, confronting story line, when he passed on a car trip, where his friend died.
S.R. Dipaling
If there's something that popular culture from the decades of the 1950s and 1980s share,it's the "family" sitcom(i.e. unitary parents and kids,all attractive and relatively free of deep problems). And while there was some variance of family types,from the more safe,traditional families of "The Cosby Show","Growing Pains" ,"Mr.Belvedere",to the not-so-conventional domestic groupings as "Full House", "The Hogan Family"(originally "VAlerie",which originally aimed to BE a conventional family sitcom) and "Who's the Boss"(or,for that matter,surface-traditional-looking shows "Roseanne" and "Married...With Children"),it seemed to me that as these shows went,none of them matched the wit,warmth and viability as "Family Ties".The Keatons are about as polarized a unit as they come: parents Steven and Elyse(MIchael Gross and Meredith BAxter-Birney,both excellent!)are '60s Lefty IDealists,and as such,carried their idealism into their work as adults--Steven works for Public TElevision and Elyse carries her form of modified feminism into a successful job as an architect--but cannot seem to carry it into their children. Alex(Michael J.Fox,birthing much of his career out of one very iconic role,which is no mean feat!),a buttoned-down Conservative practically from birth,MAllory(Justine BAteman,who is STILL a babe IMHO),the dim,materialistic mall-girl younger daughter and Jennifer(Tina Yothers,who became as famous for disappearing from showbiz as appearing),the bright but resigned youngest,who is neither idealist or materialist. As the show ran along,you added such extra characters to the pastiche as Skippy(MArc Price,doing stand-up somewhere now),the dippy,well-meaning neighbor kid with a painful crush on MAllory,Nick(Scott VAlentine),MAllory's equally dim but cool boyfriend,Ellen(Tracy POllan,future Mrs.Michael J.Fox),Alex's unlikely liberal girlfriend and LAuren(Coutreney Cox,yes,THAT Coutrney Cox),another lock-horns girlfriend of Alex's and baby brother Andy(Brian "Mikey" Bonsall),Alex's potential protégé. After a bit of a sluggish start,NBC wisely gambled to keep this on and it managed to hook on to Thursday and Sunday night schedules and ride steadily improving ratings over the remainder of the show's run. While it's been some years since I've seen any of the shows,I was a loyal viewer of the show and enjoyed it quite a bit. I'm not sure if or where this show is re-running,but I may have to check these shows out again soon,if for nothing else to re-visit one of the more well-crafted TV programs to grace the airwaves over that rascally decade of greed,spandex and hair.
Kristie
I'm so thrilled that FAMILY TIES is finally out on DVD. To me, this was the best sitcom of the 80's. Even today, its themes are still relevant. I always thought it was great that the kids were allowed their own ideas, the parents weren't divorced, and that they were an imperfect family just doing their best. Unlike the Cosby Show, which was all about the dad, Family Ties let each character deal with their own issues in a very real way. I just watched the episode where a family friend makes a pass at Mallory, and that is something that some young people have to deal with. It dealt with racism, alcoholism, rape, politics, and a host of other things that kids are exposed to. It's still funny and is a great show that kids and parents can watch together and not be embarrassed.
georgeferreira
There are such a number of great things to talk about this TV series, but one very important thing about Family Ties, is that, the inconvenient, irresponsible, but very funny Elyse's (Meredith Baxter) young brother, was played by the two times Academy Award winner, Tom Hanks, (he had at the time 28 years old and any big hit in his career) which did several chapters during 1984. Besides, it had Michael J. Fox in his earlier American fame, long time before he become worldwide famous with Back To The Future, in 1985. None of the actors in the main cast survived to the fame after that (Fox continued for a little more time), but Family Ties is a chance to see these actors in very good shape.
