Family Ties: Season Three

In a large number of television sit-coms the parents are either portrayed as completely unaware of what is going on in the family or completely absent. It would appear that they are there only to keep children’s services away from abandoned kids. In the early eighties one series did try to incorporate parents more into the family dynamic. The show was ‘Family Ties’. For seven seasons encompassing 1982 to 1989 this was a well regarded part of the television landscape. In 1984, just in time for the third season the series was moved to the best piece of television real estate possible, sandwiched between two sit com phenomena ‘the Cosby Show’ and ‘Cheers’. This gave NBC a solid hold on the Thursday night line up. Much of the humor in this series was topical, depending on the social environment of the time. As such some of it does not hold up well over the years. Fortunately, there is enough comedy based on family relationships that makes this series timeless. Trends may come and go but there will always be conflict between parents and their kids. While this show may not get a lot of new fans with the DVD releases it certainly will appeal to the millions that tuned in every week to watch. Yes, this is nostalgic but that is one thing about the television series on DVD; they help us revisit our favorite series. This DVD of the third season is being released by Paramount Home Entertainment. They have the most incredible vault of classic television imaginable. From the fifties to last month they have the history of some of the best television ever aired.

The series takes place in Middle America, Columbus, Ohio to be specific. It is there that the Keaton Family lives and works. The nominal head of the family is the dad Stephen (Michael Gross). Is has lived his life as a liberal; protesting in the sixties, going to Berkley and working for the Peace Corp. Now he works for a public broadcasting television station. His wife Elyse (Meredith Baxter-Birney) has shared most of his liberal background and fully agrees with his political views. She now works as an architect balancing caring for her family with her job. At the start of the season they have three children. The eldest, Michael P. Keaton (Michael J. Fox) is an uber-conservative. He absolutely idolizes Ronald Reagan and believes Richard Nixon was the best president ever. He is farther to the right than his parents are to the left. Middle child Mallory (Justine Bateman) is the Ohio version of a valley girl. Her life is centered on clothes, makeup, trends and popularity. She has a true and faithful heart but often comes across as a flake. The youngest (so far) is Jennifer (Tina Yothers). She is smart, sardonic and usually sides with Mallory against Michael. In all the Keatons is a family that seems to have found a way to live and love together.

Many people may not realize this but being a writer for a popular sit com is a difficult job to have. In a series like this by the third season you are looking for ways to keep the core values and theme while keeping the show fresh. For a series centered on the family one method to accomplish this is to add a character, usually a baby. This was case for ‘Family Ties’. The third season under consideration here started on the usual track. On a family vacation to Atlantic City Elyse displays an addiction to gambling. As the episode starts the kids are practicing blackjack. Mike is certain that with his superior intellect he has a system that will make a fortune. The only thing is the three of them are too young to gamble. So he needs a parent to implement his scheme. Mom starts betting, gets in over her head and the family rallies around to help her out. Some episode lists out there incorrectly list this as the last episode of season two but it was the first episode of three.

The season really gets off on the new theme with the second episode. The Keaton clan is planning on a family vacation (didn’t they just have one) on a camping trip. Stephen has a difficult time getting the kids into the spirit of roughing it. Jennifer is okay with going back to nature but Malloy absolutely needs just about everything in her room and Alex can’t live without modern conveniences. Elyse has just received a clean bill of health after a medical exam but she has a lot of work to catch up on and has been feeling a little off lately. Of course there are many mishaps about to happen. After the family leaves the neighbor Skippy (Marc Price) comes over and stays for breakfast. Elyse gets a phone call from the doctor, she is pregnant. Meanwhile on the trip there is a heavy rain but Mallory tossed the tent to make room for her makeup table. When they get back home Stephen is not in the mood for another child and the kids argue; Mike not wanting another girl and the girls refusing to cope with another boy in the house.

The impending new addition is only one of the changes in store for the Keatons this season. Little Andy (an infant here but later played by Brian Bonsall) arrives in a two part episode allowing for all the TV new baby jokes and gags. Mike is starting his first year at college. He finds that while he was the best in high school he has to work harder than ever to make a dent in college. He also has several jobs in a row to earn extra cash for school. Jennifer discovers boys when a neighbor Scott (Matthew Barry) returns to the block and Jennifer has a crush on him. Since he is closer in age to Mallory he has eyes for her making Jennifer extremely jealous of her big sister. Mallory also gets a job at a clothing store and for once her infatuation with design and fashion is a big help. There is even a dream sequence where Mike does back to the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

According to the infamous web site ‘Jump the Shark’ many consider the birth of Andy as the downfall of the series. After watching all the episodes again a good case can be made that the series changed but remained true to their fans. The new plot lines faithfully followed the course many families take. The children are growing up and the family dynamic is changing. For the writers it is a no win situation. If they don’t allow the characters to change and grow the audience condemns them for being stale. If you do make changes the audience still complains. The bottom line is this season was still funny. Sure the tone of some of the humor changed but this remained one of the best family comedies on the air. Some of the episodes jumped around a bit but that is closer to real life after all.

This is the series that made Michael J. Fox a household name. He shows his innate sense of humor and comic timing beautifully here. Fox fits into the cast perfectly especially with his interactions with the actresses playing his sisters. In this season Justine Bateman was finally given more to do than being the air head middle child. She allows her character to mature and move away from being the dumb one. The change in the focus of the stories also permitted Tina Yothers to move towards a teen role rather than just the precocious kid. Even with all of these changes the entire cast retains their chemistry.

Paramount is the place to go fro classic television. While many of their season DVD sets are plain vanilla this one has some cute extras. There are episode promos that can be seen either alone or preceding the episode. The last disc in the set contains a fun to watch gag reel. The technical specifications are naturally full screen and Dolby stereo. Forget the people that feel this was a negative turning point for the series and just enjoy it.

Posted 01/24/08