"Sweet Lorraine" is the seventh episode in the second season of the NBC family sitcom Family Ties. It originally aired on November 16, 1983, and is the twenty-ninth episode of the series overall.
Synopsis[]
Working at the school radio station Alex sets himself up a blind date with a fellow music enthusiast. This date ends up being the 39-year-old Lorraine. The two enjoy themselves as their relationship blossoms, but Alex's parents have problems with the age difference between the two.
Plot[]
Alex is working at the school radio station (WHSH), which Mallory says no one listens to. An older lady, Lorraine Ferrar (played by Carolyn Seymour), calls the show and obviously shares many of Alex's interests in music. He then invites her to a Woody Herman concert (though neither prefer blind dates). They dance in the Keaton's living room (bringing a hilarious response from his parents), go ice skating, and eat Chinese food together. Though they have much in common, the difference in their ages (39 and 17) does separate them.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- Meredith Baxter as Elyse Keaton
- Michael Gross as Steven Keaton
- Michael J. Fox as Alex P. Keaton
- Justine Bateman as Mallory Keaton
- Tina Yothers as Jennifer Keaton
Guest Starring[]
- Carolyn Seymour as Lorraine Ferrar
- Hannah Cutrona as Melissa Ferrar
Co-Starring[]
Quotes[]
Trivia[]
- The title references the title of a song by Duke Ellington and others.
- Part of this episode is used as a flashback in "Return of the Native".
- Radio station phone number is 555-7955.
- A caller reports an error to Alex: "Duke Ellington didn't write Wanderlust by himself. It was Johnny Hodges and the Duke." Then she asks him to play Sweet Lorraine .
- Alex apparently didn't have fun ice skating with Lorraine, but Michael J. Fox played lots of ice hockey growing up (in Canada).
- Alex also works the radio station at Leland - "The Blues Brother"
- Lorraine is an arbitrageur, and when she tries to explain to Alex, he explains to her that "you deal in the simultaneous sale and purchase of equivalent commodities in order to profit from the price discrepancies." The two are perfectly matched.
- Lorraine suggests seeing the film "Wild Strawberries" (though Alex wants to see no more Swedish films), and when asked what kind of movie he likes, he suggests "Conan the Barbarian" (released the year before this episode).
- Lorraine visits Alex at the radio station and suggests he take time to live like a seventeen-year-old, to which Alex responds, "I've never led the life of a seventeen-year-old!"
Gallery[]
