Friday, February 8, 2008

A Very Special Episode of Family Ties

On Thursday, the cast of one of the greatest family sitcoms ever sat down with Matt Lauer to help their creator, Gary David Goldberg, plug his new memoir, Sit, Ubu, Sit. I have to admit, I got a little choked up at seeing Steven, Elyse, Mallory, Alex and Jennifer reunited (Skippy and Nick were missed. Little Andy? Not so much) for, according to Michael Gross, the first time in 18 years! As a longtime fan (like many of you girls, the man's face was all over my walls at one point), it's not really easy to watch Michael J. Fox battle Parkinson's Disease, but I certainly admire him. If you are interested, his book is really good.

It was interesting that at one point Matt asked if any of them thought the show could be on the air today, and no one really thought so. I've said as much myself. We've gotten to the point where broadcasters air mostly adult sitcoms, while leaving anything even remotely family-oriented to the likes of Disney and Nickelodeon, who have to make the shows so squeaky clean that they wouldn't dare deal with issues of molestation, teenage drinking or drug abuse as shows like Family Ties, Growing Pains, Facts of Life and Different Strokes did. These shows were meant to create dialogue between parents and kids about these touchy subjects, and though we may laugh now, I'm guessing they helped more that a few families talk about some tough stuff back in the day.

Anyway, they all look great, and it was nice, long interview, so I thought I'd share it here. They did another segment with Al where they took some e-mail questions, which is also on the Today site, so look for it. I'll be back with some Project Runway thoughts, among other things, soon. In the meantime...Sha-la-la-la....




2 comments:

Don said...

This is the type of nostalgia that makes my heart hurt. Literally. This was a family favorite and my brother and I still pull out classic Michael Gross lines and most everything in life can tie back to Family Ties in some way. When my Jimmy was born and wouldn't sleep, without even prompting each other, he and I would both sing "Down by the Old, Mill Stream" and then discuss whether we should be in the bedroom and the crib should be in the hallway or some other combination. NO ONE knows what I'm talking about, but my brother does.

I love and hate nostalgia and that feeling. This is good nostalgia. Thanks for embedding the vid.

Don said...

Oh, Queen ...what is the "back story" on Spin City. I don't think I know it. Do tell.