Here Comes Steven’s Beard!
While the stories in the first season of Family Ties were typical sitcom fare, and often hokey, it introduced us to the now iconic Keaton clan comprised of the liberal ‘flower children’ parents, Steven and Elyse Keaton (Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter-Birney) and their Reagan-era children, uber-conservative Alex P. Keaton (Michael J. Fox), uber-consumer Mallory Keaton (Justine Bateman) and uber-precocious Jennifer Keaton (Tina Yothers).
Season two was still sometimes hokey, but the writing was noticeably better. The characters were fleshed out enough for the writers to really start to work with, manipulate and milk for all the laughs they were worth.
Several of my all-time favorite Family Ties episodes come from season two: The Harder they Fall with the nasty Mr. Tedesco, played brilliantly by Edward Edwards; Say Uncle featuring the return of Uncle Nick Donnelly played by Tom Hanks back when he was doing comedy and making us laugh our asses off; and Speed Trap, one of the first ‘very special episodes’ in which Alex becomes addicted to amphetamines and begins to literally bounce off the floors, walls and staircase of the Keaton abode.
The season one DVD set was rather disappointing. Some scenes were cut because of music rights – and one was completely unnecessary, the music could have been replaced – and there were absolutely no extra features. The menus looked like they were designed during the early days of DVD production and the print quality of the episodes was adequate, but not great.
Each episode (yes, every one of them) includes the NBC promo for that particular episode. And, oh my, were 80’s promo pieces terrible. Very fun to watch.
The thirty minute documentary The Making of Family Ties started out with all those stories we’ve heard since the mid-80’s. You know the ones – how Gary David Goldberg, the creator of the show, didn’t want Michael J. Fox at first, but was convinced by the casting director; how Justine Bateman had never acted before this show, blah blah blah. However, once they get past the old, known stories, there is some new, interesting information told by Gary David Goldberg, Michael J. Fox, Michael Gross and Tina Yothers in footage shot specifically for this DVD set. Intercut with the interviews are clips from the show and bloopers from the shooting of several episodes. The only thing missing that would have made it even better were interviews with Meredith Baxter and Justine Bateman.
Michael J. Fox: The Best Gig in the World, a short documentary about Michael J. Fox’s impact on the show, did not hold any new information, but was still interesting. The viewer gets to hear from the creator and fellow actors’ in their own words about how they and Fox dealt with his immense fame due to the release of Back to the Future in July of 1985.
The final documentary is titled The Year of the Beard. This is a short explores the appearance of Steven Keaton’s beard in season two - why Michael Gross grew it and how it impacted his character and, therefore, the show.
This set is a must-buy for any Michael J. Fox and/or 1980’s television sitcom fan.
The second full season of the hit 1980’s sitcom ‘Family Ties,’ hits the streets on October 9, 2007.
Fela | 02-Oct-07 at 6:13 pm | Permalink
I LOVE Michael J. Fox. I was disappointed with the first dvd set..and yes the first season of this sitcom was horrible, but it did get better. I can’t wait for this to come out. I’m so excited.