Season 4

Episodes

24

Premiered

September 26, 1985

Concluded

May 8, 1986

Episode Duration

23-25 minutes

First Episode

"The Real Thing: Part 1"

Last Episode

"Paper Chase"

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Season 3	Season 5

Season 4 of the NBC family sitcom Family Ties aired from September 26, 1985 to May 8, 1986.

Plot[]

The show's fourth season marks the appearance of Alex's first serious girlfriend, Ellen Reed. Alex tries to pick out his perfect girl in the school directory but falls in love with her roommate, with whom he has nothing in common.

Cast[]

Starring[]

Co-Starring[]

Marc Price - Skippy Handelman
Scott Valentine - Nick Moore
Tracy Pollan - Ellen Reed
River Phoenix - Eugene
Corey Feldman - Student Walter

Episode Guide[]

#	#	Title	Code	Writer	Director	Air Date
69	1	"The Real Thing: Part 1"	074	Michael J. Weithorn	Will Mackenzie	September 26, 1985
College Sophomore Alex dates a cute freshman he spotted in the school catalogue, but ends up falling for her roommate, Ellen, instead.
70	2	"The Real Thing: Part 2"	075	Michael J. Weithorn	Will Mackenzie	October 3, 1985
With encouragement from Elyse, Alex travels to Pennsylvania to tell Ellen how he feels, even though she has gone there to elope with her boyfriend.
71	3	"Mr. Wrong"	073	Alan Uger	Will Mackenzie	October 17, 1985
Mallory brings home her new boyfriend, Nick Moore, who looks to be exactly the type of guy Steven and Elyse hoped their daughter wouldn't get involved with.
72	4	"Designated Hitter"	070	Stephen J. Curwick	John Pasquin	October 24, 1985
Jennifer defends her boyfriend from the attacks of a bully with complications. In the subplot, Alex is devastated when Mallory scores higher than he does on an IQ test.
73	5	"Don't Go Changin'"	079	Marc Lawrence	Asaad Kelada	October 31, 1985
Alex tries to change his personality to impress Ellen's artsy & dancing friends. As a subplot, Steven balks at having to go to Elyse's book club meetings during football games.
74	6	"The Old College Try"	076	Ruth Bennett	Barbara Schultz	November 7, 1985
Mallory upsets Elyse when she announces that she is not going to college.
75	7	"My Tutor"	080	Jace Richdale	Sam Weisman	November 14, 1985
To help him with math, Alex hires a tutor who he later learns is a fourteen-year-old named Eugene. Eugene then falls for the younger Jennifer. However, he soon realizes it's a mistake when Jennifer acts her age and embarrasses him at a party. The subplot has Steven working tirelessly on the family budget.
76	8	"Mr. Right"	081	Alan Uger	Sam Weisman	November 21, 1985
Nick decides that he wants to impress Steven and Elyse and enlists the help of Alex, who turns Nick into a clone of himself.
77	9	"Just One Look"	082	Gary David Goldberg & Michael J. Weithorn	Andrew McCullough	December 5, 1985
Steven's old college buddy Richard Schofield comes to town. Steven then learns that Elyse and Richard were previously in a relationship, which sends him into a jealous rage.
78	10	"How Do You Sleep?"	083	Marc Lawrence	John Pasquin	December 12, 1985
Alex has trouble sleeping, and his problems affect the whole family, much to their displeasure.
79	11	"You've Got a Friend"	085	Ruth Bennett	John Pasquin	December 19, 1985
Alex and Mallory catch a young girl, Jessie, stealing from the store where Mallory works, Mallory turns her in and then later decides to help the girl and befriend her. However, Jessie may not be ready to accept Mallory's offer.
80	12	"Nothing But a Man"	086	Jean Kraynak Brinck	Will Mackenzie	January 2, 1986
Steven gets a long awaited promotion at the TV station, but his long work hours cause him to miss dinners with the family, even private time with Elyse. Meanwhile, Alex is dismayed when the only toy Andy will play with is a doll Ellen gave him.
81	13	"The Disciple"	089	Rich Reinhart	Will Mackenzie	January 9, 1986
Jennifer asks Alex for help with her social studies class oral report, but Alex's intellect takes over the whole assignment, so that Jennifer's school is very impressed with the finished project but Jennifer does not understand a word of it herself.
82	14	"Where's Poppa?"	090	Susan Borowitz & Marc Lawrence	Will Mackenzie	January 16, 1986
Alex sets up a reunion with Ellen and her father, Franklin Reed, who was absent for most of Ellen's childhood.
83	15	"Fool for Love"	091	Marc Lawrence	Lee Shallat	January 23, 1986
Skippy refuses to let go of feelings for Mallory, despite her dating Nick.
84	16	"Checkmate"	092	Michael J. Weithorn	Sam Weisman	January 30, 1986
Alex competes in the Chess match finals against Russia's top player, Ivan Rozmirovich. However, things start to go awry when Alex figures out that his opponent is attempting to throw the match.
85	17	"Engine Trouble"	093	Ruth Bennett	John Pasquin	February 6, 1986
When Alex and Elyse have to walk home after the car breaks down, they decide they should take a class in mechanics, but Alex soon turns it into a battle of the sexes. Meanwhile, Steven continuously denies that he is ill, although it clearly shows.
86	18	"A Word to the Wise: Part 1"	087	Susan Borowitz & Marc Lawrence	Will Mackenzie	February 13, 1986
As Alex and Ellen celebrate their six-month anniversary, the Keatons regale Ellen with stories about Alex's past schemes.
87	19	"A Word to the Wise: Part 2"	088	Susan Borowitz & Marc Lawrence	Will Mackenzie	February 13, 1986
After Ellen hears many wild stories about Alex, Alex begins to wonder whether she still wants to be his girlfriend.
88	20	"Art Lover"	094	Bruce Helford	Andrew McCullough	February 20, 1986
Mallory becomes suspicious when a wealthy and beautiful older woman (Christine Belford) takes a special interest in Nick's artistic creations.
89	21	"Teacher's Pet"	095	Marc Lawrence	John Pasquin	March 2, 1986
Alex gets a position as an assistant professor at the college and convinces Ellen to enroll in the class that he is teaching. In the subplot, Steven wants to enroll a too-young Andrew into preschool, which Elyse opposes.
90	22	"My Buddy"	096	Alan Uger	Sam Weisman	March 6, 1986
Steven has to learn to accept that Jennifer is growing up. The only way he can get any time with her is to take her to her Sunflower Girls meeting, where he sticks out like a sore thumb. Meanwhile, Alex goes out early on a Saturday to fight a traffic ticket he feels he didn't deserve.
91	23	"Once in Love with Elyse"	097	Michael J. Weithorn	Sam Weisman	May 1, 1986
Elyse must deal with Paul, a young architect associate who has fallen in love with her.
92	24	"Paper Chase"	098	Susan Borowitz	Sam Weisman	May 8, 1986
Mallory faces the possibility of not graduating high school unless she passes a tough final oral exam taken by 'Mrs. Hillman' her strict history teacher.