Season 2

Family Ties - Season 2

The second season of Family Ties aired from September 28, 1983 to May 10, 1984 on NBC.

• The opening credits for this season began with the Family Ties logo appearing over a sketch drawing of the Keaton family, as a hand with a paintbrush begins to paint. Then, we see clips from various episodes, and then, the cast's names appear onscreen over faces of the Keaton family, and ends with a full painting shot of the Keaton family.
• Starting with this season, a rerecorded version of "Without Us" is used. This stayed until the show's ending in 1989.

Season 2 Summary

Set during the early years of the Reagan administration, Elyse and Steven Keaton (Meredith Baxter-Birney and Michael Gross) are baby-boomers, former Hippies and liberals raising their three children: Alex (Michael J. Fox), Mallory (Justine Bateman) and Jennifer (Tina Yothers) in suburban Columbus, Ohio. Married in 1964, Elyse, an independent architect, and Steven, a station manager at a local public television station, were hippies during the 1960s. According to the episode, "A Christmas Story" in season one, they were influenced by John F. Kennedy and were members of the Peace Corps following their marriage in 1964. Alex was born in 1965 in Africa. Mallory was born while Elyse and Steven were students at the University of California, Berkeley in 1967, and Jennifer was born the night Richard Nixon won his second term in 1972.

Much of the humor of the series focused on the cultural divide during the 1980s when younger generations rejected the counterculture of the 1960s and embraced the conservative politics which came to define the 1980s. Both Alex and Mallory embrace Reaganomics and exhibit right-wing attitudes: Alex is a Young Republican and Mallory is a more traditional young woman in contrast to her feminist mother. Mallory was also presented as a vacuous airhead, which was fodder for jokes and teasing from her brother Alex. Jennifer, an athletic tomboy and the youngest child, shares the values of her parents and just wants to be a normal kid. Elyse and Steven have a fourth child, Andrew, born in 1984.

Cast

Main Cast

• Meredith Baxter-Birney - Elyse Keaton
• Michael Gross - Steven Keaton
• Michael J. Fox - Alex P. Keaton
• Justine Bateman - Mallory Keaton
• Tina Yothers - Jennifer Keaton
• Brian Bonsall - Andrew Keaton (seasons 5-7)

Recurring Cast

• Marc Price - Irwin "Skippy" Handelman
• Scott Valentine - Nick Moore (seasons 4-7)
• Tracy Pollan - Ellen Reed (season 4)
• Courtney Cox - Laureen Miller (seasons 5-7)

Guest stars

• Judith Light - Stacey Hughes (season 2)
• Tom Hanks - Ned Donnelly (seasons 1-2)
• Geena Davis - Karen Nicholson (season 3)
• River Phoenix - Eugene (season 4)
• Julia-Louis Dreyfus - Susan "Raindrop" White, Esq. (season 6)
• Crispin Glover - Doug (season 2)
• Wil Wheaton - Timothy Higgins (season 5)
• Corey Feldman - Student Walter (season 4)
• Jeff Cohen - Marv, Jr. (season 5)/Dougie Barker (season 3)
• Christina Applegate - Kitten (season 5)
• Stephen Baldwin - Bobby (season 7)
• Joseph Gordon-Levitt - Dougie (season 6)

Episode list

Tender is the Knight

Directed by: Sam Weisman, Written by: Ruth Bennett, Original air date: September 28, 1983, Production code: 023

The Homecoming

Directed by: Sam Weisman, Written by: Douglas Wyman, Original air date: October 12, 1983, Production code: 027

The Harder They Fall

Directed by: Sam Weisman, Written by: Rich Reinhart, Original air date: October 19, 1983, Production code: 026

This Year's Model

Directed by: John Pasquin, Written by: Susan Borowitz & Richard Raskind, Original air date: October 26, 1983, Production code: 032

Not an Affair to Remember

Directed by: Sam Weisman, Written by: Ruth Bennett & Gary David Golberg, Original air date: November 2, 1983, Production code: 029

Speed Trap

Directed by: Sam Weisman, Written by: Michael J. Weithorn, Original air date: November 9, 1983, Production code: 025

Sweet Lorraine

Directed by: Sam Weisman, Written by: Alan Uger, Original air date: November 16, 1983, Production code: 031

Batter Up

Directed by: Sam Weisman, Written by: Lisa A. Bannick, Original air date: November 30, 1983, Production code: 028

A Keaton Christmas Carol

Directed by: Will Mackenzie, Written by: Robert Caplain (story) & Rich Reinhart (teleplay), Original air date: December 14, 1983, Production code: 037

To Snatch a Keith

Directed by: Sam Weisman, Written by: Alan Uger, Original air date: December 21, 1983, Production code: 024

Birthday Boy

Directed by: Will Mackenzie, Written by: Michael J. Weithorn, Original air date: January 5, 1984, Production code: 033

Go Tigers

Directed by: Will Mackenzie, Written by: Michael J. Weithorn, Original air date: January 12, 1984, Production code: 036

M is for the Many Things

Directed by: Will Mackenzie, Written by: Lisa A. Bannick, Original air date: January 19, 1984, Production code: 038

Say Uncle

Directed by: Will Mackenzie, Written by: Ruth Bennett, Original air date: January 26, 1984, Production code: 039

Ladies' Man

Directed by: John Pasquin, Written by: Alan Uger, Original air date: February 2, 1984, Production code: 040

Ready or Not

Directed by: Lee Shallat-Chemel, Written by: Ruth Bennett & Michael J. Weithorn, Original air date: February 9, 1984, Production code: 041

Double Date

Directed by: Will Mackenzie, Written by: Douglas Wyman, Original release date: February 16, 1984, Production code: 044

Lady Sings the Blues

Directed by: Andrew McCullough, Written by: Alan Uger & Michael J. Weithorn, Original air date: February 23, 1984, Production code: 042

Baby Boy Doe

Directed by: Will Mackenzie, Written by: Ruth Bennett & Alan Uger, Original air date: March 8, 1984, Production code: 045

The Graduate

Directed by: Will Mackenzie, Written by: Ruth Bennett & Lloyd Graver, Original air date: March 15, 1984, Production code: 043

Diary of a Young Girl

Directed by: Sam Weisman, Written by: Ruth Bennett, Original air date: May 3, 1984, Production code: 034

Working At It

Directed by: Sam Weisman, Written by: Lloyd Garver, Original air date: May 10, 1984, Production code: 030