The Michael J. Fox Database is dedicated to covering the entertainment career of actor, producer, writer, director and activist Michael J. Fox. This site strives to provide complete details of all of Michael J. Fox's entertainment endeavors. Online since February 4, 1999, the site has been the MJF fan's one-stop information site for a decade.
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Posted By Brandi, MJFDB Webmaster on June 2, 2009
Check out this picture of MJF, Tracy Pollan and their son Sam…where do you think he got the height from?
A Teen Wolf parody is used to poke fun at the Twilight fans…Read more
Posted By Brandi, MJFDB Webmaster on May 30, 2009
Michael J. Fox is scheduled to appear on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’ on June 5th...Read more
Posted By Brandi, MJFDB Webmaster on May 28, 2009
Disney has already started promoting Robert Zemeckis’ new actor-free motion-capture flick A Christmas Carol. Michael J. Fox is providing a voice-over. Hey U Guys has a video and many pictures of the most recent event….Read More
Michael J. Fox was included in a list of Top 10 TV Performances That Stood Out in 2009 for his work on Rescue Me. (Seems kind of early for this - it’s only May)…Read More
Book Review of Always Looking Up by Clarence Yu…Read More
The Accidental Advocate Screenings information (MJF and others will make appearances)…Read More
Midnight Madness inspires a rap song…Read More
Hey, someone else remembers MJF’s short film for David Letterman’s film festival! Yay!…Read more
Posted By Brandi, MJFDB Webmaster on May 21, 2009
Shout! Factory, the company that has released the first 2 seasons of Spin City on DVD are conducting a poll on their website to see which tv shows get the most votes for more season sets to be released. If you want to see more Spin City on DVD you might want to check it out and cast your vote.
Posted By Brandi, MJFDB Webmaster on May 13, 2009
Please remember that this site is an unofficial site and there’s very little chance that your comments will be read by Michael J. Fox and/or answered.
Posted By Brandi, MJFDB Webmaster on May 5, 2009
It’s been over a month since I posted any news - and just when there was actual news to post! I apologize for my slacking. The reason for it? My department has become shorthanded at my real-world job and the stress was getting to me.
So, with no further delay, here are all the news postings I meant to post during the month of April:
Rescue Me News
Rescue Me Finally Ignites a new season - Except:
It’s dangerous. It’s funny. It’s dangerously funny.
And that’s the way “Rescue Me” rolls through a season. There’s no playing it safe. There’s no pulling of punches, comedic or tragic. There’s no apologizing for the TV-MA rating this show earns for . . . well, you’d quickly lose count if you tried to keep track of the reasons for the TV-MA rating….Read more
Fox to the Rescue: Firehouse Comeback - Excerpt:
Fox is brutal, savage, nasty, dirty and funny. He deserves an Emmy - and not because he’s a disabled man fighting for a career, but because he’s a most able actor who has put in a hell of a scary, powerhouse performance….Read more
Fox Embraced Bad Guy Role - Excerpt:
MICHAEL J. FOX jumped at the chance to play a bitter, drug-addicted character in U.S. TV drama RESCUE ME - so he could ditch his reputation as Hollywood’s ‘Mr. Nice Guy’….Read more
ABC Optimism Special
Michael J. Fox Came Close to Death - Excerpt
Michael J. Fox almost lost his life and a finger while shooting a new documentary about optimism in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan - after falling down a mountain. The actor travelled to the tiny nation, dubbed the happiest place on earth, to discover if the region deserved its cheery reputation….Read More
Michael J. Fox in Bhutan - Excerpt:
Michael J. Fox is inspired by Bhutan’s development philosophy of ‘Gross National Happiness’, which places holistic individual and social well-being above mere economic and material gain. The philosophy can include organized days for school kids to pick up garbage….Read more
See a Sneak Peak…Read More
MJF’s New Book: Always Looking Up - The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist
Review: The Star Who Will Never Give Up…Read more
Michael J. Fox, Michael Pollan to Discuss New Book - Excerpt:
Michael J. Fox will keep it all in the family when he appears May 1 at Herbst Theatre to talk about his new book, “Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist.” He’ll be featured in the City Arts & Lectures conversation with his brother-in-law, author Michael Pollan, a professor at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism and the brother of Fox’s wife, Tracy Pollan….Read more
Michael J. Fox Talks about Parkinson’s and Optimism…Read more
Optimism for Rebirth - Excerpt:
Optimism blogger uses Michael J. Fox’s new book, Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist, to teach thirty straight days of optimism! This is not your typical “peachy keen” optimism. It’s the down and dirty, roll up your sleeves, take on a challenge, and overcome a difficulty kind. Optimism guru Dr. Russ Buss identifies a four step process for self -reinvention. Get on the bus, the Dr. Russ Buss, and check out the blog!…Read more
Michael J. Fox: Optimist at Wrigley Field…Read More
Miscellaneous
10 Questions for Michael J. Fox from TIME Readers…Read More
What MJF thinks about the new Bright Lights, Big City remake…Read More
MJF interviews at Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am (golf) event…Read More
Michael J. Fox teams with champion golfer Tim Simpson…Read More
Stiles…still feelin’ the love after all these years…Read more
Michael J. Fox comes to San Francisco…Read more
MJF makes surprise appearance at Back to the Future cast & crew reunion…Read more
Posted By Brandi, MJFDB Webmaster on April 2, 2009
Five things to know about Rescue Me.
Parkinson’s made MJF a better dad.
EW.com gives a brief review of Rescue Me’s new season. Here’s an excerpt:
And you cannot miss Michael J. Fox’s performance as a wheelchair-whirling, scruffy, profane rival for Janet’s affections. By the time he takes Tommy for a hair-raising car ride in week 5’s episode, you feel as though you’re in the backseat, hanging on for dear life, happily.
Five things that make MJF happy.
Posted By Brandi, MJFDB Webmaster on March 30, 2009
Michael J. Fox will be appearing on Oprah tomorrrow, March 31, 2009.
Get a sneak preview here.
And remember, Always Looking Up hits the shelves tomorrow.
From the publisher:
The actor’s memoir is a journey of self-discovery and reinvention, and a testament to the consolations that protect Fox from the ravages of Parkinson’s. With the humor and wit that captivated fans of his first book, “Lucky Man,” Fox describes how he became a happier, more satisfied person by recognizing the gifts of everyday life.
Posted By Brandi, MJFDB Webmaster on March 26, 2009
According to the official CBS Press site, Michael J. Fox will be appearing on Late Show with David Letterman on April 2.
Posted By Brandi, MJFDB Webmaster on March 18, 2009
Posted By Brandi, MJFDB Webmaster on March 17, 2009
I just noticed that the release date for Always Looking Up: The Adventures of an Incurable Optimist has been changed over at Amazon. Instead of April 7, it will be coming out on March 31. Woo hoo! One whole week earlier.
Posted By Brandi, MJFDB Webmaster on March 17, 2009
FOUR TIMES winner of Golden Globe Award and two time winner of Screens Actor Guilds Awards for the best actor Michael J Fox, the internationally known Hollywood star, visited the renowned Marwah Studios at Film City, Noida. on the invitation of Sandeep Marwah, the President of Marwah Group Of Creative Enterprises.
Posted By Brandi, MJFDB Webmaster on March 14, 2009
Variety reports on MJF’s upcoming TV special on ABC:
The Michael J. Fox special, which airs Thursday, May 7, at 10 p.m., will follow the actor as he looks to spread his positive attitude to others during a time of economic turmoil.
Posted By Brandi, MJFDB Webmaster on March 9, 2009
Michael J. Fox will be appearing in a special for the ABC network in May titled Michael J. Fox: Adventures of an Incurable Optimist, which also happens to be the partial title of his new book coming out on April 7.
Posted By Brandi, MJFDB Webmaster on March 9, 2009
Excerpt:
Actor Michael J. Fox, a longtime advocate for embryonic stem cell research, expressed his enthusiasm for the president’s plan and commended Obama for “recognizing the inherent value of research freedom and creating an environment in which it can flourish.”
“Today is a new day. I’m thrilled to see President Obama has honored his commitment to get politics out of science,” Fox, who has Parkinson’s disease, told “Good Morning America.” “The last few years have been incredibly frustrating for patients and researchers who believe that embryonic stem cell research has the potential to bring better treatment.”
Posted By Brandi, MJFDB Webmaster on March 8, 2009
Michael J. Fox will be participating in the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am 2009 tournament. Since I am sports-ignorant, I have no idea what sport this is and the article does not say. Nice to know that news organizations know how to reports the news, eh?
Another Family Ties Season 5 DVD Review.
Posted By Brandi, MJFDB Webmaster on March 7, 2009
This coming Tuesday, March 10, Family Ties Season 5 will hit the store shelves. I was fortunate enough to receive a review copy.
STORIES AND CHARACTERS
First of all I have to assure you that season 5 is an improvement over season 4. Season 4 was the first season after Michael J. Fox’s double-triumph with Back to the Future and Teen Wolf and the omnipresence of Alex was overbearing. I was watching the show when it originally aired and at the time it didn’t bother me - but I was a 13-year-old MJF fanatic and the more Alex the better.
Now that I’m older and have an appreciation for the other performers on the show, I find season 4 a little painful to watch. Alex wasn’t just prominent in every episode, he often felt shoehorned into plots in which he just didn’t belong. This ultimately made Alex appear even more obnoxious than he already was and by the end of season 4, I was Alex-weary.
It may not have been intentional, but season 5 returned to a more balanced show. Yes, Alex is still in more scenes than he was prior to season 4, but the plots in which he was involved worked to knock him down a few pegs and make him more human. Also, the other characters got to have a moment or two to themselves.
Season 5 is probably most remembered for the introduction of ‘talking’ Andrew, played by Brian Bonsall. For all you Andrew-haters, do not despair. This is his first season and doesn’t talk very much. It was later, when he started grasping language better, that he became a bit too precocious. In this season, Bonsall is still parroting lines given to him and the few times he goes off script actually work. The picture I include here was my favorite Andrew moment, in which he perfectly mimicks Nick’s (Mallory’s boyfriend) ‘Hey!.’
The only character who really got a short shrift in season 5 was Jennifer (Tina Yothers). While not a bad actress, her style just doesn’t seem to fit in with the others. She was best when delivering dry, witty lines and Family Ties just did not utilize dry humor very often. This may be why she was not given much to do, but I honestly don’t know what the actual reason was.
Jennifer did have one stand out episode, which was rather prophetic. She put together an all-girl rock band, over which Alex immediately took management. After Family Ties, Yothers formed a group with her brother and was later in musical theater. There is also a Jennifer-centric two-part episode that ended the season that was actually shot during the previous season. No doubt this confused viewers because after a year of Alex being sans girlfriend, Ellen (Tracy Pollan) shows back up and appears in both parts.
This two parter wasn’t the only out of order, shot in previous seasons offering in the 5th. There is also an episode that aired in the middle of the season in which Alex uses a computer to find Mallory (Justine Bateman) a boyfriend. This might not have been quite as confusing since the opening credits were still from the previous season, but it’s still jarring. Especially since at the beginning of the season, she was trying to convince Nick (Scott Valentine) to marry her.
Other than Andrew, season 5 is remembered for the Emmy award-winning two part episode A, My Name is Alex. In this episode, Alex is saved from a fatal car wreck in which his best friend (that we have never seen before) dies. Alex is saved from death solely due to his own selfishness and has a mental breakdown from the guilt he feels as a result. More than half the hour-long episode takes place in a psychiatrist’s office and is shot like a play. The doctor is never seen, Alex is sitting in a chair with a window hanging behind him to indicate a wall and behind that are mini-sets in which he walks around and interacts with his loved-ones. When these sets are not being utilized, everything is black and hidden.
This episode was very innovative for the time and even more so for Family Ties, which was an extremely formulaic situation comedy. Most of the actors got to do something a bit different with their characters, especially Justine Bateman, and Michael J. Fox probably earned his second Emmy award with this one episode alone.
GUEST STARS
Family Ties rarely did stunt casting. I honestly can’t remember them ever doing it, actually. However, they have had a few actors on the show that later became stars and season 5 included a few.
Wil Wheaton of Star Trek: The Next Generation fame appears as Jennifer’s boyfriend in one episode. Wheaton is more famous today as a blogger, but at one time he was a promising child actor. Unfortunately for him, he has many detractors due to the annoying writing of his character on Star Trek. He also starred in Stand By Me with River Phoenix, who appeared on Family Ties in season 4 - as a Jennifer love interest. Wheaton also shared the screen with Brian Bonsall when Bonsall was cast as Worf’s son, Alexander.
Another Star Trek favorite, this one from Deep Space Nine, made an appearance: Terry Farrell. She plays Liz Obeck, one of the oft-mentioned Obeck neighbors - in fact, she’s the only Obeck we ever see in the entire run of the series (that I can remember). Alex’s reaction to Liz is pretty much the same that my husband has towards Ms. Farrell.
And, finally, Christina Applegate makes an appearance as the keyboard player in Jennifer’s all-girl band. She’s the only one that seems to have any appreciation for Alex’s management skills.
DVD PRESENTATION
Like season sets 2-4, the picture quality is good, considering the show was originally shot on video tape. The sound seems even better than previous seasons.
Bonus features, as usual, are lacking. I was quite disappointed that the episode promos were not included in this set. They had been part of three previous season packages. However, there is a gag reel from the season and unlike the previous set gag reels, these include bloopers from rehearsals and not just tapings. It was interesting seeing the actors out of their ‘costumes’ and MJF even rehearsed in a ‘Barbusters’ t-shirt, which is the name of the rock group his character was part of in the film Light of Day.
What I most liked about this set was the lack of music cuts. I didn’t notice any scenes cut at all and I couldn’t find any music replacements. Several episodes used popular songs such as ‘I Got You Babe’ by Sonny and Cher and ‘Light My Fire’ by The Doors. There were even scenes left in, music intact, that would have been very easy to cut, such as Steven (Michael Gross) singing a popular 60’s pop tune at Jennifer’s birthday party in the next-to-last episode.
Now, if only they would release the butchered episodes from previous seasons on later discs to replace the very bad music-cut choices they made in the past.
SUMMARY
I recommend the set for several reasons. One is the A, My Name is Alex two parter. I do wish they had put it on the disc as it originally aired, which was a one-hour special episode. Instead, they chose to put in on the set as two seperate episodes. The placement of the cut for syndication is very abrupt and inorganic and ruins the flow of the ‘one-act’ portion of the episode, but it is still a powerful episode.
Second is the return to a ‘Family’ program as opposed to an ‘Alex and Friends’ program. Maybe this isn’t a plus for some, but I’ve always enjoyed the camaraderie of the cast and the good chemistry between the actors.
Third is the fact that CBS is finally starting to take some care with their decisions regarding music cuts.
And finally, I think this season has some of the best writing and not just the A, My Name is Alex episode. The first few episodes are weak (and Alex heavy) but once past that, the writing, acting and ‘feel’ of the show get much better.
So, when Tuesday comes, go out and get your own copy (or order it online so you can get it delivered to your mailbox) and enjoy all the 80’s family fun from the Keaton clan.
And now, in parting, some more visual previews of the season 5 dvd set:
Alex helps Nick get his high school diploma and a little bit of Nick rubs off on Alex:
Michael J. Fox spills orange juice all over himself in one of the gag reel takes. This leads to a question I have: just how much orange juice did the Keatons drink during the 1980s?
Alex meets his match in his new boss Rebecca Ryan. Melinda Culea appears in three episodes as Ms. Ryan and proves herself to be quite funny as well as a talented actress. I always hoped she would make more appearances, but alas, no one but Skippy and Nick ever stick around long on Family Ties.
And speaking of Skippy, young Irwin actually gets a girlfriend this season. Way to go, Skippy!
Posted By Brandi, MJFDB Webmaster on March 6, 2009
Posted By Brandi, MJFDB Webmaster on March 1, 2009
The TV Schedule has been updated.
Posted By Brandi, MJFDB Webmaster on February 8, 2009
Looky. A picture from MJF on his upcoming ‘Rescue Me’ appearances.
So, yeah. The 10th anniversary of the MJFDB passed by this past week - February 4, 2009 - and I did absolutely nothing to commemorate it. Wasn’t because I didn’t want to. There’s this thing called time that I never have enough of. If I had a freakin’ pimped out Delorean it wouldn’t be a problem, but we’re not all Marty McFly, are we?
Oh well. Hope you enjoyed the picture, anyway. MJF looks good with the scruffy little beard, doesn’t he? I never woulda thought it.
Oh yeah - don’t forget: The new BTTF dvds come out this Tuesday, February 10. You can order them here:
Back to the Future
Back to the Future II
Back to the Future III
