How Did ‘Family Ties’ End? And Who Cried During the Show’s Final Curtain Call?
NBC’s Family Ties, a show about an ex-hippie couple raising some very ’80s kids, was one of the biggest sitcoms of that decade; it ran from 1982 to 1989 and launched the career of Michael J. Fox, who played the family’s Nixon-loving son, Alex. But while you may remember the show’s big moments (like when Alex gave up his dreams of Princeton, or Mallory tried to elope), you might not recall exactly how the series ended.
Why did Family Ties Get Canceled?
Family Ties premiered on September 22, 1982, and finished up on May 14, 1989, giving us seven seasons with the Ohio-based Keaton family. Peace-loving former hippies Steven and Elyse Keaton (played by Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter) headed a household that consisted of eldest son Alex (Fox), who embodied the decade’s “greed is good” ethos; the kind-yet- airheaded middle child Mallory (Justine Bateman); and tomboyish little sister Jennifer (Tina Yothers). In the fifth season, the family’s unexpected fourth child, baby Andy (Brian Bonsall), was born.
As with most hits, there were multiple reasons why the show was canceled. The most notable might have been the rising star of Michael J. Fox. Thanks to the success of the show, along with his starring roles in big-screen blockbusters like Back to the Future and Teen Wolf, Fox’s career simply evolved beyond weekly sitcom life, and the money he could command would no longer fit the budget of a TV show – not even a beloved one like Family Ties.
Of course, there was a larger reason for the show’s conclusion as well: The family simply grew up. By the seventh season, the Keaton kids were no longer school-aged, as Alex had now conquered grad school and Mallory was ready to embark on a career in fashion. Much as the elder Keatons would do in the series finale, we as a TV audience needed to let the children we loved go off on their own.
What happened in the last episode of Family Ties?
In “Alex Doesn’t Live Here Anymore,” Alex scored his dream job, which was a position with a bank in New York City (famously jumping into his dad’s arms upon receiving the news — it made for a classic TV moment!)
There were no wacky twists or turns here — Alex simply spent the episode grappling with the reality of leaving his lifelong home. Elyse, meanwhile, initially rebelled against the idea of her first son leaving the nest (spoiler alert: she eventually came to terms with Alex’s need to find his own way in the world and supported his decision).
Throughout the episode, we got touching final moments between Alex and his parents, his siblings, his best friend Skippy (played by the always hilarious Marc Price) and even Mallory’s dim-witted boyfriend, Nick (Scott Valentine).
The episode is basically one long goodbye — not just between Alex and the family, but from these beloved characters to the fans that laughed and cried with them for seven seasons.
And fans weren’t the only ones who were sad about bidding adieu to the Keatons — the actors themselves teared up while shooting the final episode. “We started a half-hour late because everyone was crying and we had to redo their makeup,” creator Gary David Goldberg told the Los Angeles Times, while Fox noted, “I was fine until the curtain call, then I started weeping. I felt like an idiot, until I looked around and realized I had company.”
In the video of the show’s curtain call, you can see Fox arrive teary-eyed on the set. He then gets a big hug from Meredith Baxter, who wipes away a few tears of her own.
A well-deserved farewell
Whether hits or flops, not all TV shows get to go out on their own terms. Thankfully, the Keatons got to call their own show and leave the primetime TV nest with their heads held high … and, for that, Family Ties fans will always be grateful.
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April 2019
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