Family Ties is my favorite sitcom ever. In the 1980’s, I would immediately stop playing Barbies or admiring my Lisa Frank stickers as soon as I heard Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams start singing the Family Ties theme below.
Even now, I would leave a pile of laundry to rot if I caught it on TV. Really, any excuse to do that to my laundry would do. But, sadly, I am mad at "Family Ties" and I have been for a while. Here are 5 reasons why:
#1: It was cancelled. This one should be obvious. It aired from 1982 to 1989. Seven years wasn’t long enough. I am one that gets hooked on TV shows and never want them to end. When Felicity ended in 2002? Dagger in my heart.
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| Apparently, this dramatic change wasn't good for Andy/Brian either. http://www.warmingglow.uproxx.com/ |
#2: It featured a REALLY, REALLY, REALLY fast growing boy with a bowl hair cut. Andrew came on the scene in 1986 as a four-year-old. This stressed me out. I caught no episodes with a baby Andrew because there were none. He was age-advanced and I wasn’t having it. I don’t like dramatic changes in my favorite shows. I still haven’t gotten over Vivian Banks changing to a completely different woman in season 4 of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
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| I may change my name to Mallory, which means this blog will change to Mallory's Break Room. Still sounds okay, right? http://www.shine.yahoo.com/ |
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| I'm telling Steven! |
#5: It made me believe Elyse & Steven were really married. Family Ties won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series in 1987 for a good reason: they could make you feel like you were actually sitting in the Keaton kitchen with Nick, Mallory, Jennifer & Alex. They could make you feel like this was a REAL family. There wasn’t a day that went by that I didn’t hope to meet APK. So, when I discovered that Elyse was really a lady named Meredith Baxter-Birney (Meredith Baxter since 1989) who was married 3 times, a mother to 5 children and a grandmother to many, I had to stop myself before trying to track down Steven to break the news of her infidelity. Seven years ago, she decided life would be better with her partner Nancy Locke. All of this news comes as a shock to me given that, up until this post, I thought she was a lady named Elyse happily married to a man named Steven and touring around the country in an RV on their way to Mount Rushmore to meet up with Jennifer, her husband and their gaggle of kids.
Whew! It felt good to get that all out. I'm not mad anymore.
37 comments:
I'm mad that Alex P. can't give me investment tips. That would be so helpful!
I watched that show more than I'd like to admit. Most of those crazy family sitcoms from the day were on my list of things to do. I'm a sad and pathetic woman!
Love that show! Just now realized that Andrew showed up as a 4 year old... Not sure why that never sunk in before. Thanks!
Did you catch Justine Bateman (Mallory) playing a prostitute in an episode of Arrested Development?
Kelley, you and I would have so hung out back-in-the-day. Know why I have a bone to pick with Family Ties? It introduced Billy Vera & the Beaters' "At this Moment" to pop music culture. That song will, to this day, pop into my mind from time to time and make me want to go to a sock-hop and bawl my eyes out.
I truly hated that show with every ounce of my being!! I didn't think APK was cute (at the time- though I sure do think he turned out quite fine!!) and I thought the whole show was drivel. I thought they were AWFUL actors!! Mallory being the worst. And what about Tina Yothers???? I forgot about baby Andy. I think at one point I might have imagined he was really Mallory's child. UGH that is not a show I would drop anything for to go running.
I too do not understand how they changed Vivian Banks and we all just bought it.
Or how on the old episodes of The Cosby Show, it was a totally different house and they called Theo Teddy. Have you ever seen one of those?
Oh My Gosh. I loved this post. I loved the show too and I'm with you on, any show that is my favorite should never be cancelled. Thanks for making my day
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this blog! You and I BOTH feel the same way about TV show "changes". I HATE when a fave shows get cancelled...I HATE when they change actors/actresses for a particular character. Just glad someone else feels the same way! LOL!!!
I know! I hate that they cancel shows after we've come to know them like family..... There's even a mourning period when you know it should be on but it's not. Here's the reunion show: http://youtu.be/tSDqtqQI1dQ
It looks like someone taped it with a video camera, so bad quality, but it's interesting seeing them now.
Do you remember when they changed Beckys on Roseanne? But then would make fun of it, like "you look so different" lol.
Favorite. Show. Ever. My thoughts exactly!
My friend has a daughter named Mallory, and I once shouted, "MALL-O-REE!" at her just like her boyfriend Nick used to say to her. And what ever happened to Skippy.
I love Glee too, but the Keatons were the best thing to ever happen to my great state of Ohio!
Did Jennifer, like, suck Mallory's life force out of her or something? Seriously, look at that photo of them on The Today Show. The hell???
Mallory used to be so cute back in the day. sigh.
Oh my gosh! My brother had a bowl cut when he was that age, and he became a thieving drug dealer for a while! I never saw the connection!
Dude, this is funny timing because last night, my TV was randomly on some channel that plays Family Ties re runs and did you know that Geena Davis guest starred on it once!? I had no idea. And I bet it was before she was all super famous too.
You really need to get out more often.
Loved the show too but Mallory always made me think of Mallomars candy...
Loved that show. I used to wonder how APK could count the change just by listening to it fall out of his bank.
I just heard for the first time a few weeks ago that MBB prefers the lady type and I was all "Whhhaaaa - Nooooo!" How can that be? Tina Youthers & Tracy Gold should write books...wait they prolly did already.
I so very loved that show.
I still get crushes on preppy little Republicans whos ideologies conflict with mine.
I used to get home, start my homework (allegedly) and shower, and then get ready for FT, back when it used to air. I was in love with APK! But then I fell in love with Mallory's bf, I forgot his name real and screen! lol Years later, after it was canceled. "Steven" started making a lot of Lifetime movies. And each character was either a pedophile, a rapist or a murderer! I grew to loathe him and now, he just creeps me out.
Oh and the little sister? Was her name Jennifer? Anyway, she irritated me. I saw no use for her on that show! lol
Stop being hilarious. Seriously, I can't breathe from laughing so hard!!
I freaking loved that show. I felt like I was ON that show since Tina Yother's character was named Jennifer, cleary a homage to me. Was I in love with MJF and maybe was a republican for 16 seconds b/c of his character? Maybe. Did my world fall apart when it ended? Yes, but not as much as when Felicity ended. I am still reeling from that. Life will just never be the same. (I might latch onto shows as well...I might kinda be a stalker)
KKelley, I never saw the show, not a single episode, but now having read this, I feel like it was quite special...thanks for the laughs!
Let us not forget The Yothers.
I am still mad Friends was cancelled/ended... and it lasted 10 years. Wine helps me cope.
That last one still gets me. Are you sure Steve is okay with it?
I straight out support a lesbian who has 5 children.
And Alex P. Keaton still makes me swoon. How can he be so uptight and lovable?
You know you can still watch this show? I am in love with the Hub. Family Ties and Doogie? Best channel ever.
Oh, and it made me think that painting with oils turned into a picture made with pastels... Just saying.
Remember when Alex was on drugs?
You are so so funny!
Youre right, they showed him as a 4 year old and I had a huge crush on Mallory too. There was somethig abut her clulessness that was kinda hot
Family Ties sounds good. Will try getting the DVD sometime.
Isn't Michael J Fox the best thing ever?
Back To The Future. Enough said.
I did quite enjoy that show but the later years not quite as enjoyable for me. I also loved Felicity - what happened there. Shalalala
Totally laughed when you said Lisa Frank stickers. I so collected stickers when I was a kid and those were some of my favoites. Can you even imagine if kids collected stickers today. They would for sure be called
Re-tards!
Oh and I so remember when Andrew appeared it was like, "whos kid is that?" And I loved the name Mallory, but my husband didn't. I think it was because he had a crush on her and didn't want to think of her when looking at our daughter, lol!
Megan
What happened to Andrew??? Scary. I love the name Mallory too but also discovered it's unfortunate meaning when I was looking for girl's names that began with an "m". Unusable in my mind.
OMG, you had me at Felicity. (True story: I got sympathy cards from coworkers when that went off the air. I'm still convinced she & I would be BBFs in real life.*wiping tear) Hilarious post. Family Ties was the best! I was just looking at old pictures of my bedroom with posters of Ralph Machhio & Alex P. Keaton plastered on top of my Holly Hobbie wallpaper! Ah, those were the days!
But surely you aren't mad at their theme, right! I loved the theme song. I would sing it on my way to my tap classes (I know, tap...shuddup).
And I had wanted Mallory too! See, we are totally destined to share a bed!
I am going to take that baby girl - or pet chinchilla - away from you if you name it Mallory. And I'm gonna name it something really worthy and TV fabulous, like Jem. Or Kimber. That will do, too. Or maybe even Hologram.
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