IMO, a perfect example of on-screen chemistry. I really feel like they're a family. Stephen and Alex are hilarious. Am I exaggerating how good this show is because of childhood memories or something?

No it really is good, accept for that little Andy they dragged on latter. And the show would get a little maudlin and overly serious at times, which is a symptom of a lot of '80s TV.

It's always been one of my favorites.

As good as Michael J Fox is on the series, it did go a bit overboard turning iitself into the Alex P Keaton Show.

No. For a while Nick-at-Nite ran an incredible powerhouse of All in the Family, The Cosby Show, Cheers, and your Family Ties. To me, that's the best show of the 70's and the three top sit-coms of the 80's. Family Ties was that rare breed of perfect chemistry and comic timing blended with a genuine heart. Where family sit-coms would become a cornball-fest in the 90's with Family Matters and Full House, Family Ties knew how to present conflict resolution in a realistic and heartfelt manner.

It didn't hurt that Gary David Goldberg is a genius when it comes to casting and spotting talent.

das

I completely agree about it being too serious at times. I don't really like it when any show I like tries to spice it up every now and then and be really dramatic. I admire the effort but Family Ties was one of those perfect shows to me so when it would go against its own formula, I didn't really dig it too much.

When Nick-at-Nite began to air Family Ties I watched it a few times, but that show is so preachy! This is what I dislike about a lot of family shows from the 80's.

Since Nick started airing so many 80's series it's really gone downhill and I haven't watched Nick-at-nite for months now. The Cosby Show, Family Ties, Alf and the others need to stay in the studio vaults where they belong! :P

If you want a powerhouse of shows, try All in the Family, The Jeffersons, Maude, and the other Norman Lear productions. If I want to see The Cosby Show or Cheers I can watch that on almost any network tv channel during the syndication hours of 6-8pm.

"Yo, Mallory!"

Nick was THE MAN!!

It was replete with stinkiosity. And the Egret regrets it.

I really like Family Ties and I still watch it on Nick.

Justine Bateman used to be so cute...then, when I saw her on those couple of episodes of Lois and Clark...geez, she didn't age too well.

One of the best ever? No.

A very good show? Yes.

Funny how Mallory was always so obsessed with clothing and now Justine is doing fashion design for a living.

http://www.justinebateman.com

one of the best shows ever overall - yes!

And soo many cute girlfriends.. Mmm... Young Courtney...

Negative. it's ok, nothing I would keep the channel on if I was bored at. flip to something more interesting if you ask me.

I used to watch it all the time.
Remember before Alex became the star of the show that it actually was a show about Hippie parents?
I had a friend that worked on the show and after it shifted to the kids as the stars there was a certain actress that was not real happy.

• Quoth cooper2000 •<HR SIZE=1>I used to watch it all the time.
Remember before Alex became the star of the show that it actually was a show about Hippie parents?
I had a friend that worked on the show and after it shifted to the kids as the stars there was a certain actress that was not real happy. <HR SIZE=1>

Yeah, but she got to do all those great TV movies like 'My Breast' and 'A Mother's Justice'!!!

The show was definitely at its best in those early years where the focus was on two liberal parents trying to raise their decidedly conservative kids, especially Alex. It was a great concept for the 80's and provided a nice backdrop for some good social commentary.

das

I think I enjoyed it UP to the part where they aged Andy from newborn/1 to FIVE between seasons while everyone else stayed the same age. What was THAT about? Tina Yothers must have been getting to brassy and deep voiced to be cute any more - like when that other little girl on Cosby replaced/filled in the "Rudy" slot once that actress was too old.

Not a good show at all. It had a charming cast, but piss-poor writing, and a smug attitude. Laughtrack from hell. Every punchline visible from a mile away, when they even bothered to write punchlines, rather than warmed-over slogans or putdowns. Every character a gimmick, every ending a sermon. The perfect precursor to all the other bad 3-camera family shows, and only marginally better than, say, Step by Step...

One of the very worst success stories of the 80's. Right up there with Top Gun.

Loved it! Not every episode was a winner, but which show can boast that anyway?

At the risk of being hyperbolic, Michael Gross (Steven Keaton, dad) is probably the most underrated comedic actor in television history. He was the anchor of the show I think, and he had incomparable timing and delivery. His facial expressions, reactions, and perfectly conveyed sarcasm still leave me rolling with laughter whenever I happen to catch a rerun.

Best show ever?? Not even close!

For sitcoms it was probably the best with Growing Pains being 2nd.

After 9 1/2 years, I'm going to also chime in and say that it was one of my favorites, but not really the best show ever.

Great 80s show but not one of the best ever.

Show started out decent, an okay inoffensive time waster. Then it got really good for a few seasons. Then Back to the Future came out and Fox became a superstar. Thus it became the Alex P. Keaton show, the quality dipped as a result but it was still an enjoyable time waster for a few more seasons. Then Andy was born and it turned to shit.

A lot of the humor still works, but the premise of hippies from Woodstock now parents in their mid to late 30s with a son that worships Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan is fossilized at best.

And yes, it did turn into the Michael J. Fox show after a while, with a lot of preaching.

The most pompous episode I've ever seen of any show has to be the one Alex going to the shrink, with just Fox on set by himself.

I've been going through the series for the first time, in it's entirety on Netflix...I'm really enjoying it. I feel like they did a lot more serious episodes early on then went for more comedy.