Character mistake: When Alex mentions to Mallory that he's had sex before, he tells her he was 17 and that it was leap year. Not correct, this event occurred in 1982 (during one of the first episodes when Alex was 17), which was not a leap year.
Family Ties (1982)
Starring: Michael J. Fox, Michael Gross, Meredith Baxter, Justine Bateman
Dear Mallory - S6-E3
Continuity mistake: Mallory starts reading one of her advice column letters to Alex. The letter she pulls from the stack is on blue paper in a blue envelope. After a cuts to Alex, there's a close-up of Mallory as she reads the letter, and then in the next wide shot the letter is on orange paper with an orange envelope. The letter is from a girl who intrigues Alex, so he grabs the orange envelope and starts to tear off the return address. The shot changes to show Elyse walk into the room, and Alex is now tearing the corner from the original blue envelope. When Elyse sits down, Alex reads the address holding a slip of the blue envelope, then starts to get up. In the immediate cut that follows, Alex is holding the orange envelope when he stands up. (00:53:50 - 00:54:55)
4 Rms Ocn Vu - S3-E8
Factual error: Some of the visitors came to the Keaton "hotel" (their house) for the "ocean view." This takes place in central Ohio (near Columbus). There are no oceans around there.
Trivia: Michael Gross, who played the father in the show, painted the portrait of the family shown in the opening credits.
Trivia: Michael J. Fox wasn't the original choice to play Alex. Fox was cast after Matthew Broderick backed out, not wanting to commit to a TV series.
Trivia: Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter, who play the Keaton parents, share the exact same birthday.
Alex P. Keaton: Mallory, someone stupid called... sometime today... about something trivial.
Mallory Keaton: Alex you know that could be any one of my friends.
Steven Keaton: Alex destroyed all of them when he was two, he found them politically offensive.
Alex P. Keaton: You have no proof that was me.
Elyse Keaton: We found your rattle on the shelf in the bookcase.
Alex P. Keaton: It could have been some other babies rattle.
Elyse Keaton: It was your Nixon rattle.
Alex P. Keaton: Remember when we were kids and I ran you over with my bicycle?
Erwin 'Skippy' Handleman: Yes.
Alex P. Keaton: I have a car now.
Question: I have always been confused by the kitchen 'door' behind the table as it appears to lead nowhere. Characters are always coming in and out of that door from elsewhere in the house. But as far as I can tell the door leads to nowhere else in the house, and based on the layout of the other rooms, it certainly doesn't lead to either the living room or the upstairs. (In stage terms, I'm referring to the door 'downstage', not the three 'upstage' which lead outside, to a food cupboard and to the living room respectively). Does anyone know where the magic door leads?
Question: Does anyone know which episode it was when Steven decided to grow a beard, or why he decided to grow one? I never watched the show in order and still can't figure out why he suddenly has one in the second half of the show's run.
Chosen answer: Steven Keaton (Michael Gross) did not grow the beard for an episode. He grew it between season 1 and season 2 as a character he was playing in an Off-Broadway play. When the show began taping for season 2, it was decided to have him keep it. It never was a plot point on the show.
Question: I remember an episode where Alex does the grocery shopping for the family and comes home with groceries and more money than when he started out. Elyse (Mom) says to Alex "I only gave you $20" and Alex replies that he used coupons and went on double coupon day or something like that and after the trip the store ended up owing him money. I can absolutely remember this part but have rewatched every episode (I think) recently and cannot find it. Does anyone else remember this part or episode?
Answer: A scene very similar to the one described happened on the show Mr. Belvedere that was on in the same time frame as when Family Ties was on. Perhaps this is what you are remembering.
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Answer: Since they don't have a door there in the living room but they do have a door there in the dining room I assume it leads to the dinning room and the door upstage is probably straight to the living room while the door downstage goes to the dinning room and then through more doors you get to the door in the the living room. Hope that made sense.