Twenty-seven
years ago tonight, NBC introduced “Family
Ties,” the sitcom that probably defined middle-class America in the 1980s
better than any other show.
The premise was
a reverse generation gap: Steven and Elyse Keaton (Michael Gross, Meredith Baxter-Birney)
were liberal parents raising three conservative children, including the
archetypal young Republican, briefcase-toting Alex (Michael J. Fox).
Creator and
executive producer Gary David Goldberg based the show on his own family, but it
also reflected the era’s broader political shifts. After all, President Reagan
won re-election in 1984 with 59 percent of the young vote, his biggest victory
among any group.
(Reagan once
declared “Family Ties” his favorite show and offered to make a guest
appearance; Goldberg demurred.)
Third-place NBC
had high hopes for “Family Ties,” promoting it in a summer ad campaign that
kept the show’s title and premise under wraps. By early September, the network’s
promos finally took the show “out of the box.”
Reviews were
tepid.
The best thing
the Washington Post’s Tom Shales had to say about the pilot was it offered “a
lack of coarseness that could pass for warmth.”
“Family Ties” struggled
in the ratings until 1984, when NBC scheduled it after its blockbuster “Cosby
Show” on Thursdays. By 1985, it was prime time’s second most popular show,
after “Cosby.”
“Family Ties” is
remembered for making a star of Fox, although NBC exec Brandon Tartikoff
objected to his casting, saying Fox’s face would never wind up on a lunchbox.
Fox later sent
the exec a lunchbox from his hit movie, “Back to the Future.” The note inside
read, “Eat crow, Tartikoff.”
From
the Pages of TV Guide
Also airing
Sept. 22, 1982:
8 PM ABC TALES OF THE GOLD MONKEY –
Adventure
Debut: This South Seas adventure series, set in the 1930s,
revolves around an idol, a gold monkey that just about everyone – good guys and
bad guys alike – is bananas to posses. Caught in the middle is Jake Cutter
(Stephen Collins), a roguish American cargo pilot who, in the opener, contends
with Nazi spies, vicious simians and a sassy Government agent named Sarah White
(Caitlin O’Heaney). Ron Moody plays saloonkeeper Bon Chance Louie (a role
played by Roddy McDowall in future episodes). Corky: Jeff MacKay. Princess
Kogi: Marta DuBois. Tenboom: John Calvin. Todo: John Fujioka. (2 hrs.)
Guest Cast
Monocle … John
Hillerman
Tiki … Elizabeth
Lindsey
Bobbi … Loyita
Chapel
Sam … Ken Smolka
8 PM CBS SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS
– Comedy-Drama
Crane (Peter
Horton) talks the family into buying co-op grain that’s subsequently impounded
when the warehouse owner goes bankrupt. Horton sings “Deep Inside.” Adam:
Richard Dean Anderson. Brian: Drake Hogestyn. Hannah: Terri Treas. Daniel:
Roger Wilson. Evan: Tim Topper. (60 min.)
Guest Cast
Allison … Amy
Steel
Judge Carlson …
Dana Elcar
Schiller … Ian
Patrick Williams
Prosecutor …
Phillip Baker Hall
Freleng … Don
Eitner
11:30 NBC TONIGHT
Scheduled:
Richard Benjamin, Maureen Murphy, Manhattan Transfer. Johnny Carson, Ed
McMahon, Doc Severinsen orchestra. (60 min.)
Recent Comments