Family Ties Cast: Meredith Baxter Birney Michael Gross Michael J. Fox Justine Bateman Tina Yothers Brian Bonsall Marc Price Scott Valentine Courtney Cox
Yes, well with Back to the Future becoming a big hit, you'd think he'd want to just do movies, but no, he stayed with the show till the end. That was great of him.
This is my happy childhood right here. Watching Family Ties with my sister and parents. I'd love to relive this all over again. Life in those days just seemed....so much simpler...and so much happier.
Well but the other thing was that the disabled were discriminated against by society. As a disabled person,I didn’t understand why people were being prejudiced against me. So the last I went to a convenience store. After 1990, I wasn’t discriminated against. Now it’s the 21 century Im discovering that I got a mental disorder. Which is untreatable, it was handed down to me by my pop. But to minimize the damage. My mom divorced my pop. Then started a guy when I was 9-10 yrs old. Then they married when I was 16 yrs old. My stepdad practically raised me since I was 10.
@@SM-zm5hz the internet was around. But it was harder to have it. Because the router had to know the number/ someone else had to have a router too. So it cost $100 installation fee&another $100 dollars per month. It the phone company would charge for cross country connections. So not at of ppl didn’t get it. So it made things easier.
Well said. I just started a rewatch and it really was an innocent time- and it was a genuine sitcom and did an excellent job of chronicling the ups and downs of life/family, without being heavy-handed.
it is almost like she is Alex's real mother the way she sees him tear up and brushes his hair before hugging him, it's nice and obvious they were close.
I remember watching this when it first aired and I didn't cry until Michael j. Fox teared up. This just goes to show that he really meant it when he said he loved the show , the people he worked with and playing Alex.
I got misty-eyed, too --- this show ended 3 weeks before I graduated high school and it felt like it was a ceremonial final chapter to my childhood --- I watched the show every week while doing homework!
I remember watching this when It originally aired. and they show the ep minus the curtain call just now on rewind. I had such a crush on Michael J Fox. The only movie of his I wasn't allowed to see was Causalities of War bc it involved rape. Finally saw it. Yeah I realize why my parents did not take me to see it.
As I grow old, I am so grateful for you tube and being about to remember things that were a part of my younger self. NBC Thursday night line up - Crosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, Night Court, and Hill Street Blues. I remember we had a old Zenith TV with the dial to switch stations. Wait.. we had a Viacom cable box. Happy to have these memories as part of me.
You can see how emotional Michael j Fox is. I admire him so much not because he is handsome but because he has a really good heart. I too am sensitive and watching the curtain call made me cry as well. Reading about how he deals with Parkinson’s helped me become stronger. He made people happy and he will always continue to do so. He truly is an inspiration to many. He is my idol. He is my hero.......... may you live longer Michael j..........🌈☀️😻
You could see the emotion in Michael J. Fox's face, like in spite of believing they all made the right choice, he was sad to see it end. It takes guts to stop a show when its still loved, instead of continuing it into apathetic oblivion.
I know that while the cast was ready for the show to end and move on, it was still really hard for them to say goodbye. You could tell that they really all loved each other and enjoyed working together. While everyone was sad to see Family Ties end, also everybody realized that all good things do have to come to an end.
I think the cast made the right decision to end the show on THEIR terms and have a proper curtain call where they could be applauded --- plus, this show helped define the 80's and it woulda been weird to see it dragged limping into the 90's trying to figure itself out
My girlfriend and I like to pretend that the movie, "Secret of My Success" is what followed after Alex left. Michael J. Fox's character in that movie might as well have been Alex Keaton because both they're so much alike.
@@jenpeterson3712 We know that Family Ties ended in 1989 but we like to pretend it that way just for fun. Plus, Alex was moving to NYC which is where "Secret of My Success" takes place.
I remember watching this live. 'Family Ties' was appointment TV. I was 10 when this finale aired and I always remembered this curtain call. It's been 27 years and I still get misty eyes watching it.
Barry Goldsbury omg me too. I was 11 and in 5th grade. I still remember this curtain call and Michael J Fox fighting back his tears will always stand out and I well up. I just binged watch all the season on Prime and I wanted to see the final curtain call. I’m so glad it’s on here. Fondest memories of my childhood with this timeless classic. One of the best.
One of my all time favourites without a doubt! Fresh Prince,Threes Company,Cosby's,Family Ties & The Jeffersons would have to be MY top 5 sitcoms EVER!
I remember the night when the show went off the air I cried so hard this show taught me so much and it's funny now I’m 43 and I’ll still watch the reruns and the Kenton’s will always be a family show I grew up to watch and Michael J Fox will always be my favorite actor
I got misty-eyed, too --- this show ended 3 weeks before I graduated high school and it felt like it was a ceremonial final chapter to my 80's childhood --- I watched the show every week while doing homework!
It really is heart moving because I still tear up watching. After all these yrs I'm watching a repeat on Antenna TV as I type this. This is a show that stands the test of time!
I did too. Appreciated in the end Steven admitted that he hadn't shown Nick respect after all. Nick was the 1980's counterculture. Steven had to admit that he was now the 'square parent'.
They don’t make them like this anymore. These were the times. These were the best times. Michael J Fox breaking down in Meredith’s arms is everything. One of the greatest television shows of our time.
I am 18 and look up to Michael J Fox as a hero, watching this put me at tears also, I wish I lived back then everything there is way better then it is now , I prefer 80s music over any of the music that is played today. Watching this show makes me wish all families were like this but its not that way. All we can do is try to make this world a better place it wont be easy but i say we can do this!! I also know another things the cure is coming soon Mr. Fox will find that cure, I have faith in him
One of the best sitcoms from the 80s, yet a little overlooked at times. Great ending for a classic series...simple, yet extremely well-written. Today's "comedies" could learn a little something from this and a few other shows.
"What would we do, baby, without us"? This was one of the greatest sitcoms of the 80's. A great story about a idealist American family. Also I loved the theme song, the version by Johnny Matthis & Deniece Williams " Without Us'.
I remember watching this as a kid and crying as everyone was saying goodbye over the slow, sad version of the theme. It's a shame there are no more family sitcoms like this or TGIF anymore.
On 24 December 1984, I took a flight from SFO to YVR. It originated at LAX and one of the passengers was Michael J. Fox, who was ridiculously famous by then. In the Customs line I watched him step up and hand the lady his passport. Her eyes nearly popped out
Same happened to me, I could never watch the whole series, my parents didn't allow me to spend a lot of time in front of the TV. And so I didn't have the opportunity to watch this last episode among others. I cry like a baby 😢
I just finished watching the show yesterday and I cried so hard. The whole thing about Alex going to New York made me sad, when he said goodbye to his family got me with a tear off my eye, when the whole cast appears and Michael started crying I started crying too, and at the end when everybody (producers, the creator and the actors) says goodbye I cried like a baby, Family Ties it's my favorite show and its ending made me so sad, such good memories of that beautiful show, I learned, laughed and cried a lot with it.
I remember the end of this, where Gary David Goldberg says, "...it will never happen again..." , but this is the first time I'm seeing (or maybe remembering) this in it's entirety, & I am in tears😢. When a successful series comes to an end, it's not just the cast & fans affected, it's also everyone who worked on & was connected to the show. It was great, but life has to go on. I wish them all the best.
Sad watching Michael J. Fox welling up in tears and Meredith Baxter Birney comforting, hugging and kissing him. The two had a really great bond together.
@briansam2524 It was revealed that Meredith would often pick up Michael J. Fox and bring him to the set and give him a ride home during the early seasons of the show. And a secret Meredith kept hidden from the entire cast and crew is that she was being abused by her then husband so the safety net for her was also over so to speak at the time. 😢♥🙏📺
I've watched every episode so many times, but I've only watched the last 2 episodes once. I don't know if I'll ever watch the end again. I need to believe they all still live together in that house.
I was 11 when this aired and I cried my eyes out. This show was a huge part of my childhood. I also have an older brother who had just moved across the country for college the year before, so seeing Alex saying goodbye to everyone was like reliving it. Totally gut wrenching, but that's life. If not for sadness, there would be no joy.
Me and my Mon, this was BY FAR our favorite show. She saw a lot of Alex in me. We watched this religiously, we would even turn a hockey game off or have it on a different set so we would not miss it. We loved watching it together. Sadly my Mom never got to see this, she died in Nov 1989, I was 16 and she was 47. I am now 46. She would be very upset if she saw how Michael got sick and I often wonder what she would think of me since I am transgender. Kind of a role reversal with Meredith I guess. We loved the show.
Awe I loved this show!! I was only 6 when it went off but I remember being sad. They all seemed really close there and everyone was so emotional it made me cry!
they didn't have a cartoon of this did they? Interesting bc they had a cartoon of Teen Wolf and Back to the Future--the two movies Mike did (he did not do the voices). I just realized that. They made cartoon tie ins for everything in the 1970's and 80's. They made a cartoon tie in for Fonzie and Mork and Mindy etc after that show went off the air? Why not this one?
Michael later said that he was crying because he's "safety net" was gone, he was married and tracy was pregnant and he was unsure of the future. I love Michael !!!
Wow this is so awesome! I just randomly watched the final episode OTA and was curious about this particular episode and found this, what a great upload! I used to always watch this show whenever I stayed home sick growing up in the 80s/90s. Thank you for sharing this time capsule!
For the very last time we'd be introducing the cast of "FAMILY TIES". Courtney Cox! Scott Valentine! Marc Price! Brian Bonsall! Tina Yothers! Justine Bateman! Michael J. Fox! Michael Gross! And Meridith Baxter Birney! And our showman, Gary David Goldberg! Thanks for seven wonderful years!
Man, I'm teary-eyed... Who am I kidding? I just cried. I began to watch Family Ties in February 2023 and finished today. The Keaton family became my family. Nick, Skippy & every single character made a connection with me, you know. I've learnt so many things from these people. Watched the show bit by bit, just so that it doesn't become forgettable. I wouldn't have known that the last episode was gonna be so daunting. Goodbyes are difficult when they're with people you love so much. The no. 1 show in my book - *Family Ties.* *6 July 2024* _9:31 pm_
The last episode of Family Ties sounded sad to me because Alex was leaving far away from where Family Ties took place, and everybody except Elyse was proud of him for getting the job he applied for in New York City. I don't find it hard to believe that Michael J. Fox lives there in reality.
+Carly Steffen It was kinda sad, but it ended the show strong and was true to the characters. The conflict between Alex and Elyse brought some heavy and realistic drama into Alex leaving home. It wasn't that Elyse wasn't proud of him, she tells him she is. She just had some major mommy issues in seeing her baby boy leave home to move so far away. Alex leaving also signified the beginning of eventually all her children leaving home and Elyse who identified herself so strongly as a mother found it hard to deal with. She also was hurt and upset by the fact that Alex seemed too happy in leaving. They end up talking through their problems in the end. Alex comes to understand her mommy issues and she realizes that because of those issues she didn't see how hard it was for him to leave, and how afraid he is of taking that huge step and possibly failing. In the end Alex and Elyse spend all night before he leaves reminiscing and the rest of the family join them in time to send him off with a group hug.
@@cisio64123 it was the dynamic between Elyse the free spirit who had done her own thing still wanting to cling to her first born baby. And as 'money hungry' as Alex was, he is still the vulnerable little boy who doesn't want his mom to hurt. Many shows fail with their ending bc they change in the end....or just fiz out. They forget themselves and go away. Family Ties remembered who it was up to the last minute. This is why you love watching it years later. Okay there are some moments better than others (how did Andrew age?) but overall its a strong series
@@robinorlowski2449 Agree the writers knew their characters and stuck faithfully to them right to the end. The conflict between mother and son here was very true to who they were crafted to be. It was realistic of how hard this transition was on both of them because of their paticular bond that had been built up on the series. True to that bond they loved each other too much to leave their issues unresolved.
@@robinorlowski2449 So true. The writers never forgot the characters that had been created and what made them so beloved in the first place. Even this conflict was indeed in character for Alex and Elyse . Elyse as the loving mama bear would have a hard time with this transition and letting her baby go thus would be moody and unable to support it . Alex due to their bond would be hurt by his mothers inability to support him in making such a huge step in his life. It also was true to their bond and love for each other that they couldn't end things that way and hashed things out. Being so true to the characters made this series so great right up to the very end.
It's the first series finale that I remember watching. It was one of the best I ever seen. Little did I know that the next year, I would be treated to THE greatest series finale of all time (Newhart).
After seeing Michael J Fox at the Winter Olympics, it seems that he's not doing too bad considering his disease. He got a very loud ovation when he appeared. I don't know what it is, but watching this gets me sad and I never get sad for this kind of stuff. Maybe that's part of my sensitive side, or the fact I watched this for years and any good thing has to come to an end.
I watched this final episode when it aired and remember crying so hard when Michael J. Fox and Meredith became emotional. There never has been a show like this since.
Im 33 from Argentina, I bought Family Ties dvds some months ago. Im watching it and I'm IN LOVE. The show is just heartwarming and i always end up feeling joyful and happy after eveey episodem I was born on the year it ended and where im from we dont get many tv shows from US (from back then i mean). First time i heard of Family Ties was this year when i stumbled with a nat geo documentary about the 80s. People in US, specifically those who lived throughout the 80s, you are the luckiest people in the world.
I remember back in the 70's and 80's (maybe some early 90's?) shows did an ending like this...where the cast came out and it was always so touching. I wish shows still did that. I miss that.
katrina sangineto Scott Valentine was a great asset and every girl in my high school crushed on him. Bigly! He did a damn movie with President Trump, called Lucky; & Stamos was in it too! Those were the days. IMBD.com Bee Bopper R.I.P.
I was 13 years when this finale aired. I cried so hard! I loved this show. During the '80s I liked Growing Pains more, now as an adult of 40 I look back at such fondness for this series and it's values. It really was superior. 😭
i remember seeing the final episode. i was a loyal fn and watched it every week. i remember tearing up at the end of the episode. i'm kinda tearing up now.
TV was a very one-way media while I grew up in the 80s/90s. No easy way to learn more about the actors, or to see bloopers, or the back stories unless I bought 3rd party magazines like TV Guide. I was never asked to be a Nielsen family. I was stuck having to watch commercials. I couldn't watch what I wanted, when I wanted it. And there was no comment section. So seeing this final curtain call would've been very cool.
I always loved when a show would do a curtain call not too many shows do this and am glad to see when they do. I wonder what the first show to do this was
I was a kid when this aired, I literally lashed out and had a tantrum because I was so upset it was ending. I was sent to my room and didn't see the end. Even watching it now I'm a grown ass man crying... End of an era.
