Family Ties. De leukste sit-com ooit.

Family Ties was an American television sitcom which aired on NBC for seven seasons, from 1982 to 1989. At the height of its popularity, Family Ties was #2 in the yearly Nielsen ratings, as it aired in the prized time-slot right after the top-rated Cosby Show on Thursday nights.

It starred Michael J. Fox as Alex P. Keaton, the conservative, business-oriented son of liberal parents Elyse and Steven (Meredith Baxter-Birney and Michael Gross). Elyse was a successful architect, while Steven ran a public television station. They lived in suburban Columbus, Ohio (apparently on the west side, since Steven's heart attack occurred after a jog to Darby Creek Park) with their children: Alex, Mallory ("Mal") (Justine Bateman) and Jennifer ("Jen") (Tina Yothers). Another child, Andrew ("Andy") (Brian Bonsall), was added later.

This show began two spinoffs, Day by Day, which lasted two seasons, and The Art of Being Nick, which was produced as a pilot but never picked up as a series.
The show had been sold to the network using the pitch "hip parents, square kids," and the parents were originally intended to be the main characters. However, the audience reacted so positively during the taping of the fourth episode, in which Alex lost his virginity to a girl who shared his passion for Milton Friedman, that the focus of the show was changed to him (and to a lesser extent, his siblings).

The majority of the show's humor is derived from the tension between Alex's conservative, Republican mindset, Mallory's uninformed consumerism, and their parents' attitudes as liberal Democrats, who grew up as hippie flower children in the 1960s (as seen in one of the intro themes).

In the 1985 season, Elyse gave birth to Andrew; the child "grew" into a pre-schooler (Brian Bonsall) by the next season.

Other characters included the Keatons' socially inept neighbor Erwin 'Skippy' Handelman (Marc Price), who had an undying crush on Mallory, and in later years, Rambo-like budding artist Nick Moore (Scott Valentine), who became romantically involved with Mallory and alarmed various members of the family with how unknowingly crass and unmannered he could be.

Alex's primary love interest was a college student named Ellen Reed (Tracy Pollan, who later became Michael J. Fox's real-life wife). The final two seasons featured Courteney Cox as new girlfriend Lauren Miller.

Cast of Family Ties from a later season. (From left to right) Justine Bateman, Michael J. Fox , Meredith Baxter, Michael Gross, Brian Bonsall, and Tina YothersMichael J. Fox almost wasn't cast because the producers felt he was too short compared to Michael Gross. Fox is only 165 cm (5'5") while Gross is 195 cm (6'5"), leading the producers to worry that no one would believe someone as tall as Gross would have a son as short as Fox. Additionally, Fox was viewed as too much of a smart aleck in his first audition, but the casting director liked him and brought him back. The second time, he gave a slightly different pitch, and the part was his.

Several Hollywood stars appeared on the show in the early days of their careers before they became famous, including Tom Hanks as Elyse's immature, alcoholic younger brother Ned, Geena Davis as an inept housekeeper, and Courteney Cox as Alex's girlfriend, Lauren.

Family Ties was broadcast on Thursday nights from 1984 until 1987, immediately following the top-rated program The Cosby Show and just before another wildly popular sitcom, Cheers. That period represented the height of all three programs' popularity; they were, for example, the top three most-watched U.S. television programs during the 1986-1987 TV season, when 33% of all U.S. households with televisions tuned in to Family Ties during an average week. The ratings began to decline in 1987, when the show was moved to Sunday nights at the request of Bill Cosby, to make room for A Different World. Producer/creator Gary David Goldberg decided to end the show with the 1988-1989 TV season. In the final episode Alex moved to New York to begin his career on Wall Street.



The Wonder Years is de leukste gewone serie. Family Ties de leukste sit-com.

Alles gebeurde in één kamer, buiten de slaapkamer van Alex, waar ie een foto van Nixon op zijn dressoir had staan.

All in the family is ook briljant Ex eaquo met Family Ties.

Meer fans ?

quote:

Op woensdag 5 september 2007 18:57 schreef TAV74 het volgende:
Family Ties is wel legendarisch ja. Heb dat echt al lang niet meer gezien, ben wel benieuwd of ik het nu nog steeds leuk zo vinden.

De Belg heeft het herhaald. En het bleef brijant

Ja maar was een klasse minder

Ik ken die serie niet