Family Ties Part II

This summer I spent a ridiculous amount of time with my Netflix Instant Viewing account. One of the things I watched was the entire series of Family Ties. That's right, all seven seasons. After Jamie came in several nights in a row to me watching, he inquired as to why I was watching this particular show. Then I reminded him that Family Ties debuted in 1983... I wasn't born until the next year. Therefore, I had never actually seen an episode of the show. My mom had happened to mention that she thought I would enjoy the show, so when I saw it was on Instant Viewing, I decided to give it a try.

The first couple of episodes were a little slow going, but I quickly got wrapped up in the characters and stories. I like that so much of the day to day of it involves the politics of the parents vs. the children. I can't really think of any shows that handle that so much today. It's also a clever, funny show. So many times, I go back and watch old 'family' shows and they're just so much cheesier than I remember (I'm looking at you Full House!). Thankfully, this show does not fall into that category. I also enjoyed the fact that it had so many actors "before they were famous." Geena Davis, Courtney Cox, Tom Hanks, and even a five-year-old Joseph Gordon Levitt graced the screen during the years. There was also a really quirky casting choice that I don't think could ever happen now: the same actor played FIVE different characters through different seasons. It was always a background role, but viewers would call out producers in two seconds if they ever tried to do that now. And obviously it was more apparent to me since I was watching the seasons within days, and not years. Still interesting though.

As I watched, I tried to think what show in the 90's or 2000's would compare to Family Ties. What I came up with was Home Improvement, which made sense to me, since that used to be my favorite! There were no political undercurrents, but the feel of the show and the family situations and issues were very similar. Which brings me to this picture....

"Entertainment Weekly" is doing a reunions issue and Home Improvement happens to be one of the shows featured. I am SUPER excited about it, because I used to be obsessed with Jonathan Taylor Thomas. This photo shoot was apparently the first time the rest of the cast had seen him since he left the show in 1998.

In honor of his reappearance and 30th birthday, the website TooFab! did a photo gallery of 90's heartthrobs then and now, so I would like to share:
Teen Idols- Then and Now   

Enjoy! Who were your faves?