One of TV’s sharpest and funniest sitcoms, “Family Ties” cast Meredith Baxter Birney and Michael Gross as Elyse and Michael Keaton, two liberal baby boomers from Ohio whose children in the 80s exhibit very different attitudes than their parents did in the 60s. Alex (Michael J. Fox) is a republican, Mallory (Justine Bateman) is self-obsessed, and Jennifer is a cynical tomboy.
Elyse must deal with Paul, a young architect associate who falls in love with her
Steven has a very difficult time accepting that his youngest daughter, Jennifer, is growing up and no longer wants to "pal around" with him
Alex lands an assistant teaching position and runs into big trouble when he has to grade a student who also happens to be his girlfriend, Ellen
Mallory suspects there's more involved than "art appreciation" when a wealthy and beautiful older woman takes a special interest in Nick's creations
Elyse enrolls in an auto mechanics class to prove to Alex and Steven that women can be just as competent with cars as men, but to protect his own masculinity, Alex joins the class to prove her wrong
A chess tournament between Leland College students and a visiting Soviet team turns into a wrestling match when Alex and his opponent, Ivan Rozmirovich, match wits and "fight" for their countries
The Keaton family fills Alex?s girlfriend, Ellen, in on some of the more humorous events in Alex's life before they met
The Keaton family fills Alex?s girlfriend, Ellen, in on some of the more humorous events in Alex's life before they met
Steven gets the promotion he has been waiting years for, but as the new regional manager of the station, he is required to put in long hours at the office and soon realizes he has no time for his fami more »
Mallory begins to feel severe guilt after reporting a young girl to the police for shoplifting, especially when she learns that the girl is from a home for abused children