Product Description
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Michael J. Fox, Michael Gross. With it's soft rock
theme, hip parents and comical kids, who wouldn't jump for
another installment of this typically '80s sitcom? Steven, Elyse,
Alex, Mallory, Jen & Andy make it a full house of laughs. Season
4 also introduces Mallory's dim-bulb boyfriend, Nick Moore. 24
episodes on 4 DVDs. 1985-86/color/11 hrs., 13 min/NR/fullscreen.
.com
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Romance was in the air in Family Ties' fourth season
(1985-86), when it was in the coveted 8:30 p.m. slot following
The Cosby Show in NBC's Must-See TV Thursday lineup. When Alex
(Michael J. Fox) is starting his sopre year at Leland
College, his plan to pick a prospective girlfriend from the
freshman directory goes awry when he battles with her art-major
roommate, Ellen (Tracy Pollan). Not surprisingly, sites
attract, and Alex and Ellen's dance together and the
heart-tugging aftermath became one of the series' emotional high
points and made a No. 1 single out of Billy Vera and the Beaters'
"At This Moment." (It turns out that Fox and Pollan's incredible
chemistry wasn't just acting: they married less than three years
later.) Many of the season's best episodes feature Alex and
Ellen, including those involving her her (played by Ronny
Cox), but another major character was added in Nick (Scott
Valentine), the Kawasaki-riding, garbage-art-making,
earring-wearing boyfriend of Mallory (Justine Bateman). Nick,
whose favorite greeting is "Ayyy!", immediately sets off warning
bells for Mallory's her Steven (Michael Gross), though the
Rambo comparisons seem silly today.
Also in the season, Mallory tops Alex in an IQ test, Stephen
finds a new and demanding job, Elyse (Meredith Baxter-Birney) and
Alex take an automotive class, Jennifer (Tina Yothers) winds up
in a difficult spot when Alex helps her with a speech, and Skippy
(Marc Price) finally decides to pursue Mallory. Guest stars
include River Phoenix as Alex's 13-year-old math tutor, Martha
Plimpton as a young shoplifter, and Peter Scolari as Elyse's
romantically inclined coworker. The four-DVD set has the
90-minute Family Ties Vacation movie that aired before the season
started, episode promos, the original theme song, and the
original Billy Vera song. --David Horiuchi
.com
In TV Land, a new baby, or the introduction of new love
interests are traditionally ratings ploys to prop up a sagging
series. This was not the case with Family Ties, which in its
fourth season was ranked second only to The Cosby Show in the
ratings and Emmy-nominated for Best Comedy Series. Breakout star
Michael J. Fox would win his first Emmy as Alex, primetime's
first compassionate conservative, while costar Justine Bateman
received a nomination for her deft work as underachiever Mallory.
The season, and this box set, gets off to a jolly good start with
the feature-length "A Family Ties Vacation," which sends the
Keatons off to England, where they become embroiled in espionage
(hey, it could happen). Once the season proper begins, the show
regains its solid footing with the key additions of Tracy Pollan
and Scott Valentine in recurring roles. Pollan, the future Mrs.
Michael J. Fox, is introduced in the Emmy-nominated two-parter,
"The Real Thing," in which Alex meets his match in the beautiful
and brainy Ellen Reed, and falls in love with her (to the
indelible tune of "At This Moment" by Billy Vera & the Beaters).
Valentine etches a fine and funny portrait of every parent's
initial nightmare as Mallory's new boyfriend, an "environmental
artist" who seems to be channeling Sylvester Stallone. He reveals
his more soulful side in the episode, "The Old College Try," in
which he changes Mallory's mind about not wanting to go to
college. Family Ties' ensemble is thoroughly at home in their
iconic characters. Each handles the prolific jokes like Friars
Club roasters, as well as the more emotional moments. Happily,
this season goes easy on the Very Special Episodes. Even so, the
few two-parters aside, there is no issue that cannot be resolved
within the allotted 30 minutes, whether it be Ellen's
estrangement from her her (Ronny Cox) in "Where's Poppa," or
Mallory being forced by a teacher to "grow up" and apply herself
in order to graduate high school in "Paper Chase." There are no
early appearances by future A-listers along the lines of Tom
Hanks and Geena Davis from previous seasons, but a young River
Phoenix impresses in the episode, "My Tutor," as Alex's
13-year-old tutor who becomes a "crazed lunatic" over Jennifer
(Tina Yothers). The Keatons were one of television's most
functional families and it's heartening to watch them grow. These
are the Ties that bind. --Donald Liebenson