Family Ties
A Word to the Wise (2)
TV Flash files “A Word to the Wise (2)” as hour 87 of 176 in the TV Flash guide — Family Ties (1982–1989) on NBC, season 4, episode 19, aired 1986-02-13, 30 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S04E19: listed hour 87 of 176 in the Family Ties guide, hour 19 of 24 in season 4. It aired 1986-02-13 (30 min). The listed hour before it is “A Word to the Wise (1)” (S04E18). Next is “Art Lover” (S04E20).
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
The Keaton family fills Alex's girlfriend, Ellen, in on some of the more humorous events in Alex's life before they met.
Viewer FAQ
Where does A Word to the Wise (2) sit in the Family Ties guide?
S04E19 is listed hour 87 of 176 — hour 19 of 24 in season 4, season 4 episode 19.
When did Family Ties S04E19 air?
A Word to the Wise (2) aired 1986-02-13 and is listed at 30 minutes.
Is Family Ties only the Alex P. Keaton show?
It became that, which is the story. Liberal former-hippie parents were the premise; Fox's popularity reshaped the center of gravity mid-run, and the series survived by handing him the engine.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Fox at full young-star voltage: Alex P. Keaton as the Reagan-kid yuppie mascot opposite hippie parents Meredith Baxter and Michael Gross. Family multi-cam that actually engages 1980s politics without a textbook. His Back to the Future scheduling wars are the gossip; the rebalance around Fox is the show. Economics never had a cozier sitcom spokesman.
The kid ate the series. Not a rumor — a rebalance. NBC's Family Ties (1982–1989) opened as Gary David Goldberg's living-room gag about hippie parents and a Reagan-kid son, then Michael J. Fox's Alex P. Keaton vacuumed the center of gravity until Meredith Baxter and Michael Gross were playing opposite a superstar. Seven seasons, 176 episodes, supply-side sitcom spokesman in a sweater. The museum guard wants the decade's politics as text. Fine. **The heat was a supporting kid who became the show.**
Filed against
- Michael J. Fox as Alex P. Keaton
Michael J. Fox minted Alex P. Keaton as Family Ties’ Reagan-kid yuppie mascot opposite hippie parents, then spun a mayor’s office like a war room on Spin City. 1980s politics without a textbook; 1990s political farce with muscle-memory…
- Meredith Baxter as Elyse Keaton
Meredith Baxter’s Elyse Keaton held Family Ties’ hippie-parent line against Alex P. Keaton’s Reagan-kid yuppie mascot — 1980s family multi-cam that actually engaged the politics without a textbook. Michael Gross on the other couch, Fox at…
- Michael Gross as Steven Keaton
Michael Gross’s Steven Keaton held the other hippie couch on Family Ties — 1980s multi-cam that put Reagan-kid Alex P. Keaton against parents who still had the old arguments. Meredith Baxter as partner, Fox at young-star voltage. TV Flash…
- Justine Bateman as Mallory Keaton
Justine Bateman’s Mallory Keaton was Family Ties’ shopping-mall counterweight — Alex P. Keaton as Reagan-kid yuppie mascot, hippie parents Meredith Baxter and Michael Gross, family multi-cam that actually engaged 1980s politics without a…
- Tina Yothers as Jennifer Keaton
Tina Yothers youngest-childed Family Ties as Jennifer Keaton — Alex P. Keaton as the Reagan-kid yuppie mascot opposite hippie parents, family multi-cam that actually engaged 1980s politics without a textbook. Rebalance as the long game.…