This week, we’re trying something new. It’s not the silver screen, it’s the ~small screen~, so welcome to a new age (not to be confused with New Wave, but we love that, too)! Here’s the Bitchin’ Bio on the first episode of Family Ties.
Episode: Season 1, Episode 1: “Pilot”
Air Date: September 22, 1982
Synopsis: In the first episode of this long-running sitcom, seventeen-year-old Alex P. Keaton (Michael J. Fox) has a date with popular, wealthy Kimberly (Cindy Fisher), but his and her parents’ (Meredith Baxter, Michael Gross) principles do not align when he agrees to accompany her family to their restricted club, which has racist and anti-Semitic membership policies.
Degrees of Kevin Bacon: Going by the whole show, instead of this particular episode, 1. Kevin Bacon was dating actress Tracy Pollan, who plays one of Alex’s love interests, at the time she joined the show in Season 4. A lovely fun fact: she and Michael J. Fox met on set and have been married since 1988.
Come For: Pre-Back to the Future Michael J. Fox.
Stay For: The truly funny and natural family dynamic that comes from hippie parents not understanding how they raised a Republican child.
How I Watched It: CBS All Access, but this and many other episodes are available for free on the CBS website (with ads).
Had I Seen It? No, which is the reason I love writing this column—the opportunity to experience new things whenever I want to with a deadline that makes sure I actually do so!
Do I Like It? I had some problems with this episode. Though I was really enjoying the humor and most of the characters (sister Mallory (Justine Bateman) wasn’t my favorite, but it’s only the first episode), it ends in an unsatisfactory place. I kept expecting Mr. Keaton to educate Alex about his behavior until his son learned that what he did was wrong, but instead he apologizes for interrupting his date and agrees that this apology is “Not enough” when Alex tells him it isn’t. With all of his talk about morals, he lets the fact that Alex isn’t sorry for going to the restricted club slide. The father and son come to an understanding that it is fine because Alex is a teenage boy and girls are the most important part of his life. The thing is, racism is not a laughing matter or something that can be brushed off as “boys being boys.” Romantic pursuits should not create horse blinders that block out obvious and unacceptable prejudice. I was surprised, uncomfortable, and definitely disappointed in this show, as I was excited to watch it.
I want to keep watching Family Ties to see if the program’s way of handling moral disagreements between parent and child improves. There are some things that are plain wrong, and it is not alright to say “Conflicting points of view are hilarious!” and make excuses in order to glaze them over. Hopefully, I can report back to you in the future with an episode that sets a better example, because I don’t see how a show that ended like this every week could have lasted for seven years.
Until then, we’ll try to focus on some more positive things. I am especially excited for next week, when I’ll be sharing with you a list of some of my favorite ‘80s songs!
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