How Michael J. Fox's Finest Hour Made Family Ties' Greatest Episode

Ойын-сауық

“Music by Karl Casey” / “Music by White Bat Audio” @whitebataudio Consider Subscribing! @tvsbesteps
-- One-Man Eps --
"A, My Name is Alex" (Family Ties)
Aired: March 12, 1987
Season 5. Episode 23/24
Written by: Gary David Goldberg & Alan Uger
Directed by: Will Mackenzie
Alex (Michael J. Fox) is devestated to learn his friend, Greg (Brian MacNamara), was killed in a car accident... especially because Alex was supposed to be with him. Crippled with survivor's remorse and haunted by visions of Greg... Alex seeks the help of a psychiatrist (voice of David Wohl) who takes Alex through his life. After experiencing a series of vignettes with his sisters (Justine Bateman and Tina Yothers) and brother (Brian Bonsall) as well as his mom and dad (Meredith Baxter Birney and Michael Gross), Alex realizes he has a lot to be grateful for.
This special one-hour episode aired without commercial interruption for its second half and earned Family Ties (including creator Gary David Goldberg) and Michael J. Fox Emmy awards and critical praise.
Music By White Bat Audio and RFM/CFM
Further Viewing:
Full Greg Scene:
• Family Ties - Full Gre...
#MichaelJFox #FamilyTies #GaryDavidGoldberg #ClassicTV #BestEps
#backtothefuture

Пікірлер: 418

  • @juliemcgugan1244
    @juliemcgugan124421 күн бұрын

    Who also remembers "Sit, Ubu, sit! Good dog! *Bark*"

  • @mishmashmedley

    @mishmashmedley

    20 күн бұрын

    absolutely. It was among all the other great sign-offs. I used to repeat them every episode and annoy my older brother. 😁

  • @kellenfurter

    @kellenfurter

    20 күн бұрын

    Oop! You beat me.

  • @Teacher-Thayse

    @Teacher-Thayse

    20 күн бұрын

    Love and miss it!

  • @douglasdixon524

    @douglasdixon524

    20 күн бұрын

    You gotta love Ubu.

  • @handsomeDRAC

    @handsomeDRAC

    15 күн бұрын

    Thought the name was Bubu

  • @mishmashmedley
    @mishmashmedley20 күн бұрын

    I too remember watching this that night, because I was an avid Night Court fan. And our house loved Family Ties because they were another big(ish) family like ours in Ohio. So when we were all sitting in the living room, me laying on the floor up close, the episode came on and our house got quiet, just like on the set. 12-year old me was stunned and sad. My mom was crying a little, and my dad was clearing his throat with his arms crossed. One of my older brothers was sitting picking at the carpet, and one of my older sisters was crying a bit, too. We didn't talk a whole lot like sitcom families do, but we did talk to each other. And that night, my mom said, "That was a very good television program." and then she looked at me, her youngest, and asked, "Do you understand what happened on that show?" And then we talked about it, all of us (sans my oldest brother and sister, who were busy being in college) and the tv faded into the background noise, as we talked about loss. My dad had somewhat recently lost his mom, who I didn't know that well, but dad talked and helped mom explain to me why the characters acted the way they did. It wasn't like that was my introduction to death as a child (It had been a year since the The Transformers The Movie had killed off lots of my favorite toy characters along with Optimus Prime), but it was the first time all of us were together when something happened, even if it was just on TV. The night wore on, and I laid on the big couch with my dad and I fell asleep like kids do. It was a good night. Thanks for making this video, it's one of _your_ Best Eps.

  • @tvsbesteps

    @tvsbesteps

    20 күн бұрын

    What a wonderful and touching story. Thank you for sharing it. And for your kind words.

  • @mishmashmedley

    @mishmashmedley

    20 күн бұрын

    @@tvsbesteps thank you.

  • @cursedcancersurvivor

    @cursedcancersurvivor

    10 күн бұрын

    🫢😐🤨😆🤣

  • @mishmashmedley

    @mishmashmedley

    10 күн бұрын

    @@cursedcancersurvivor what's your deal?

  • @craigorlikowski2507

    @craigorlikowski2507

    2 күн бұрын

    #2 pleeeeeeease!, #1!!

  • @LB-gz3ke
    @LB-gz3ke21 күн бұрын

    The part of his therapy that i always remember is when he is asked about his father. Alex often mocks how much of an old hippie Steven is during the show. But when the therapist asks if he considers his dad weak, Alex defends him immediately. You can see how much he loves and respects his father.

  • @spritezero79

    @spritezero79

    17 күн бұрын

    I love when he said, I wish I was more like my father. 😢

  • @sunrise2463
    @sunrise246310 күн бұрын

    I remember watching the night this episode aired: I was lying in a hospital bed a few weeks after being in a car accident with a friend of mine, who was killed. Like Alex and his friend who died, we were 21. Like Alex, I felt unspeakable Survivor's Guilt. This show was so beautifully written and so beautifully acted, I will never forget it.

  • @claytonbouldin9381
    @claytonbouldin938128 күн бұрын

    I remembered this when it originally aired. Man, I'm getting old!

  • @spikeoramathon

    @spikeoramathon

    28 күн бұрын

    Ditto, but getting older is the better than the alternative...

  • @SirHumphrey498

    @SirHumphrey498

    27 күн бұрын

    yeah me too , we aint teenagers no more

  • @TimeVextorX

    @TimeVextorX

    26 күн бұрын

    I know how you feel I remember when it aired in 87 I was in Junior High.

  • @TimeVextorX

    @TimeVextorX

    26 күн бұрын

    ​@@SirHumphrey498Yeah I miss being one a little bit.

  • @mcbane89

    @mcbane89

    26 күн бұрын

    I was 7/8 at the time. Never forgot this episode

  • @richardjohnson9543
    @richardjohnson954322 күн бұрын

    Some people mock the Very Special Episodes, but the truth is that most were very good and modern sitcoms are no longer capable of this

  • @vintvarner16

    @vintvarner16

    19 күн бұрын

    I love the one with Tom Hanks as the alcoholic uncle

  • @Supernautiloid

    @Supernautiloid

    19 күн бұрын

    This was back when TV was still mostly televised theater, and not the crass foolishness that passes for television now.

  • @powerofk

    @powerofk

    18 күн бұрын

    Right. The problem honestly came when they were overdone (Blossom had so many “Very Special Episodes” that they lost their impact). But Very Special Episodes worked when the writers of a show had an important message they needed to tell, often because of real life happening to the writers.

  • @lifewithlee6298

    @lifewithlee6298

    15 күн бұрын

    They stick with you better than a lifetime movie

  • @FrenkTheJoy

    @FrenkTheJoy

    14 күн бұрын

    I really don't think most of them are good. Most of them handle their subject matter is a really offputting way. I mean remember the very special episode of Silver Spoons (or was it Mr. Belvedere?) where the kid says he has AIDs and the audience busts a gut laughing?

  • @theincrediblemisternobody8724
    @theincrediblemisternobody872421 күн бұрын

    I was eight years old when the episode first aired. I said "this wasn't exactly a Family Ties episode" to my dad. "Well, it is exactly your bedtime," he retorted.

  • @JimmyDThing

    @JimmyDThing

    20 күн бұрын

    This comment is gold. I'm still chuckling several minutes later.

  • @lifewithlee6298

    @lifewithlee6298

    15 күн бұрын

    Good comeback 😅 from your dad , what did you watch next

  • @kaglekoa

    @kaglekoa

    13 күн бұрын

    That is such a dad thing to say lol

  • @JimmyDThing

    @JimmyDThing

    13 күн бұрын

    Still making me laugh. Happy father's day to your dad.

  • @MaximumWarp2099
    @MaximumWarp209916 күн бұрын

    I still remember watching this episode when it originally aired. That “Why am I alive??!!” line has stayed with me ever since. It was like a punch in the gut.

  • @paradoxical_taco

    @paradoxical_taco

    15 күн бұрын

    Yes! An apt description of that line. This is an episode of TV from the 80s that every so often, I randomly think about, ot was that powerful. And when I think about it, that’s the first part that comes to my mind.

  • @bassboi2001
    @bassboi200122 күн бұрын

    I was too young to understand the emotional connection of these sitcoms. Now that I'm 46 years old, I understand and it brings a tear to my eyes 😭😭

  • @calhoun24
    @calhoun2422 күн бұрын

    I remember that episode. It felt like it was straight out of theatre. Very well written and executed.

  • @PaperbackWriter92

    @PaperbackWriter92

    20 күн бұрын

    It really did, especially Part 2 and I had no idea that the staging in it was actually modeled after a real play-- "Our Town" like the video mentioned. I'm not familiar with "Our Town" as a play but when I had watched "A My Name is Alex" before, the stage play like setup of Part 2 was something that stuck in my memory.

  • @darkangel_1978
    @darkangel_197819 күн бұрын

    I can identify with what Goldberg went through. I lost my parents less than 2 weeks apart, both to suicide. He handled his parents deaths better than I did. I pretty much stayed in bed, for 9 months. I only ever got out of bed to eat, shower, or go to the bathroom. I had my husband worried, and my two best friends worried, because I just wanted to sleep the days away. I eventually got help with a therapist, and that helped me immensely.

  • @kendallrivers1119
    @kendallrivers111924 күн бұрын

    Truly one of the greatest episodes of any television show made! Michael EARNED that freaking emmy that year! I hold it up as the gold standard for doing an episode where a character goes to therapy and goes through a deep analysis of their life and who they are. Only one other show came close to this: Hey Arnold's Helga on The Couch.

  • @tvsbesteps

    @tvsbesteps

    23 күн бұрын

    I agree but would argue “Maude Bares Her Soul” and Bojack’s “Free Churro” are up there as well.

  • @kendallrivers1119

    @kendallrivers1119

    23 күн бұрын

    @@tvsbesteps Ah, good picks. I would also say the King of Queens "Shrink Wrap" episode was great stuff as well.

  • @tvsbesteps

    @tvsbesteps

    23 күн бұрын

    Will def check that out thanks!

  • @kendallrivers1119

    @kendallrivers1119

    22 күн бұрын

    ​@@tvsbestepsanytime 👍

  • @tvsbesteps

    @tvsbesteps

    16 күн бұрын

    Just finished “Shrink Wrap”. Great episode with Ben Stiller playing his father’s father and a nice surprise appearance by Stiller’s Broadway pal William Hurt. Thanks for the rec!

  • @daveassanowicz186
    @daveassanowicz18628 күн бұрын

    Still remember the episode from when it first aired. Alex can tell the difference in coins by hearing them drop

  • @kyliedadify

    @kyliedadify

    12 күн бұрын

    Was it ' Two quarters, three dimes and a nickel".?

  • @widmerwonderland

    @widmerwonderland

    8 күн бұрын

    That was hilarious! I always remembered that part! 😂

  • @2099EK

    @2099EK

    8 күн бұрын

    "The soft squish of a dollar bill."

  • @AndrewKendall71
    @AndrewKendall7117 күн бұрын

    I was 16 when this aired. I was stunned and profoundly moved. So so well done, it's hard to imagine it was considered such a risk internally. Brilliant.

  • @davewebbtheauthor
    @davewebbtheauthor24 күн бұрын

    Before this episode I thought Fox was a really good actor. After this episode I thought he was a great actor.

  • @c.m.8158
    @c.m.815810 күн бұрын

    I was eight years old and remember my whole family being in tears during this episode. It was huge! Such a groundbreaking episode for such an amazing show.

  • @mechajay3358
    @mechajay335822 күн бұрын

    This episode really showcases Fox's skill as an actor.

  • @treychilton
    @treychilton21 күн бұрын

    "A little cough, a little sniffle, you walk in and say 'I have malaria give me some hot chocolate" I thought that was one of the funniest lines ever. That and Alex questioning the psychiatrist's intelligence because of where he got his degree.

  • @Statsy10
    @Statsy1026 күн бұрын

    This definitely hit me hard as a kid. A great moment in TV history.

  • @The_Deaf_Aussie
    @The_Deaf_Aussie21 күн бұрын

    I was a young boy then... and family ties was the house must see show.,we never missed an episode. And that episode, stunned us. I remember we were all quiet, in deep thoughts for a while before dad said "well.. that one will be hard to beat...." and got up, walked to the tv set, and turned it off...

  • @amandagardner565

    @amandagardner565

    20 күн бұрын

    your dad sounds like a smart man, he probably also wanted you (and any others watching with you) to THINK about what you saw and not be distracted by whatever else was on TV afterwards. G'day from another Aussie, i never saw this as i was 20 and running around drinking and whatever, i really wish i had seen it then.

  • @scottbourret1190
    @scottbourret119021 күн бұрын

    This aired my senior year of high school in a small rural community. We lost a class friend from a neighboring school at the start of the school year and then lost a classmate right before graduation both due to auto accidents. I recall this episode being very impactful to some of us because to the proximity of events.

  • @mishmashmedley

    @mishmashmedley

    20 күн бұрын

    "impactful" I see what you did there. 😉 (yes, i know it's not funny when people die, but that's part of how we humans deal with things like that, we make jokes to help us get through it)

  • @kurtb8474
    @kurtb847428 күн бұрын

    This episode touched me as it did many. Just 7 years before, I lost my best friend to an auto accident. I was deeply crushed. I remember having a kind of hope that he would come knocking at my door telling me it was all a big mistake. That he didn't die.

  • @wylierichardson-tu6zs

    @wylierichardson-tu6zs

    23 күн бұрын

    that sounds like the 'denial' stage of grief. I am sorry you lost your friend.

  • @TheKrispyfort
    @TheKrispyfort12 күн бұрын

    The sitcoms were the greatest device for true dramatic stories because we already had trust in the Team. M*A*S*H* truly paved the way

  • @carlosyamara
    @carlosyamara22 күн бұрын

    I remember this episode like it was yesterday, I still believe it would have worked even better if we had actually met his friend in past episodes. It would have hit so much more if it had been someone we, the audience, also knew.

  • @gunkyzip

    @gunkyzip

    12 күн бұрын

    yea, that was a pretty big gaping hole in continuity there

  • @user-ik9kt1gm6z

    @user-ik9kt1gm6z

    7 күн бұрын

    I agree, but also in a way feel like if we had a deeper connection with a new friend the episode might’ve been too real for people. And we would be dealing with our own emotions instead of focusing on Alex’s.

  • @ystrw

    @ystrw

    7 күн бұрын

    @@user-ik9kt1gm6z That's a very good point. This was about seeing it through his eyes, but also of being on the outside, as his parents and sister were. They knew the kid, but they didn't have the connection; we didn't even know the kid. So we felt his grief, but we also felt the helpless dismay at how hard he was taking it.

  • @PaperbackWriter92
    @PaperbackWriter9220 күн бұрын

    I'm 32 so 'Family Ties" was before my time but I'm familiar with it because a cable channel (Antenna TV) in my subscription package airs reruns and it was also released on DVD so I own the fifth season with "A My Name is Alex.". Despite not being able to remember when it originally aired, even I can't deny that it was a stellar episode and Michael J. Fox's acting left me speechless.

  • @mollietenpenny4093

    @mollietenpenny4093

    15 күн бұрын

    I saw it on Antenna TV too! It's also available on regular antenna TV too. However, the TV signal at my last apartment was terrible so the signal came in a bit glitchy.😅

  • @spiritfilledlife79
    @spiritfilledlife7912 күн бұрын

    I remember at 7 years old watching this and thinking "man, this guy can act!"

  • @charleskadletc2431
    @charleskadletc243119 күн бұрын

    Family Ties was the bedt program in the 70s. Fox was awesome in the show and an "ACE" ACTOR. He makes everything GOLD.

  • @duchess_of_petty9323

    @duchess_of_petty9323

    18 күн бұрын

    80’s

  • @HappyBanjo-oc3pc
    @HappyBanjo-oc3pc21 күн бұрын

    A My Name Is Alex is without a doubt the best Family Ties episode ever.

  • @HistoricLife
    @HistoricLife12 күн бұрын

    My family where part of the 36 million. The 80s had some amazing episodes of dramady

  • @brianarbenz1329
    @brianarbenz132923 күн бұрын

    I honestly had not heard about this, and I knew Gary David Goldberg only by name. This was a wonderful and enlightening look at this. Both Gary and Michael are great people!

  • @tvsbesteps

    @tvsbesteps

    23 күн бұрын

    Thanks!

  • @lawdogwales5921

    @lawdogwales5921

    19 күн бұрын

    Yeah, I never watched TV in the 80s and never saw this show or this episode. It's nice to learn there was something good on the boob tube.

  • @robf6105
    @robf610521 күн бұрын

    Michael did an amazing job. I remember wanting to BE Alex when I was a teenager. This is a great and informative video. I have always been a huge fan of Michael and I learned things here.

  • @tvsbesteps

    @tvsbesteps

    21 күн бұрын

    Glad you liked it!

  • @ASmith-jn7kf
    @ASmith-jn7kf20 күн бұрын

    He put his heart into that episode, amazing.

  • @kevinramsey417
    @kevinramsey41721 күн бұрын

    This was a weird episode but it made people stand up and take notice of Michael J. Fox.

  • @ldylkr
    @ldylkr16 сағат бұрын

    I still remember this episode. It's still one of my favorites. In some ways, it changed me forever.

  • @jeremytheloner
    @jeremytheloner21 күн бұрын

    I watched this and recorded it the night it aired, and it's stayed with me ever since. It was broken up into two episodes and heavily edited in syndication, so after I lost that original VHS tape I never saw its TRUE version ever again. Michael J. Fox was outstanding. This was the first video of yours that I've seen, and it was good enough to earn an immediate subscription to your channel. Bravo, sir. 👏👏👏

  • @tvsbesteps

    @tvsbesteps

    21 күн бұрын

    Thank you!

  • @Steve-ef5pj
    @Steve-ef5pj20 күн бұрын

    I vividly remember watching this episode when it first aired. I was amused by it's humor and stunned by it's seriousness. I have watched the episode numerous times since them and I always laugh and always get tears in my eyes. What more can I ask for in one television episode?

  • @lindalochirco2921
    @lindalochirco292120 күн бұрын

    This is one of my favorite episodes. It was so awesome and so powerful so sad. To this day this is my favorite family ties episode.

  • @heartofjesusdj

    @heartofjesusdj

    15 күн бұрын

    Ditto

  • @samanthakennedy9514
    @samanthakennedy951425 күн бұрын

    Real emotions through this one !!! Me being in my 30's just learn how much the Alex finally got how he could learn how to deal with death . even seeing the family in a whole different way

  • @finnmcginn9931
    @finnmcginn993121 күн бұрын

    In Michael J Fox's home country of Canada the episode was named "My Name is Alex, Eh"

  • @tvsbesteps

    @tvsbesteps

    21 күн бұрын

    Ok that’s funny.

  • @KariIzumi1

    @KariIzumi1

    9 күн бұрын

    Bruh 😂

  • @pablosonic892
    @pablosonic89225 күн бұрын

    Yeah, it was a really inspired idea. An hour long episode I remember with the first half playing out like a regular 3 Act sitcom structure with usual commercial slot times at Act breaks. Then somewhere at the 30 minute mark when the bottom falls out from the story and Alex has his emotional meltdown and the show immediately goes from easy listening family comedy hour to a Tennessee Williams tragic cautionary tale and morality play. When it comes back from the especially long commercial break, the rest of the show's half hour run time is blocked and choreographed in minimalist stage sets a la 'Our Town' and plays out with ZERO commercials till the end of the episode. I waited to watch your content to see how much I get right from a 40 year (!) ago episode I saw at 16 years old. But, it was truly Fox's finest hour and showed what he was really capable of and his true impressive dramatic chops and range as a performer. At the time, Hollywood industry types were questioning why he stuck around on the series after BTTF made him the biggest star in the world. The answer was Goldberg and Michael J. W something who was the head writer at some point and wrote season 4's two partner The Real Thing where Alex meets the love of both their lives, Ellen (Tracy Poland). This is the two part episodes that blew my teen mind hole and study sitcom and screenplay writing as an obsessive hobby. A, My Name Is Alex clearly was the show's peak at quality and excellence. There was no way you were going to top an existential crisis about life, love, creation, fate, free-will and if God exists. One joke my friends and I still will break out to this day is from this episode. The off camera faceless voice only psychiatrist and Alex's back and forth jostling till the perpetually pompous Alex looks on the Psychiatrist's wall at his framed degree and interrupts the soul searching sessions to incredulously ask, 'Whoa, whoa, wait a second here. You got your medical degree from Grant college?' 'Oh, you've heard of it?' (smugly) 'Yeah. Oh yeah, I've heard of it. My sister Mallory goes there.' 'You can get a fine education there.' 'Oh, I'm sure. Grant College. Where they offer a course on how to open umbrellas.' (a beat) 'I got an A in that!' That last mic drop line from the disembodied psychiatrist always killed us. Still does. Now I gotta go rewatch it. Thanks for doing this and putting it out into the world. Shaa-La-laaaa!

  • @tvsbesteps

    @tvsbesteps

    25 күн бұрын

    Great memory! Thanks for sharing!

  • @mlk27743

    @mlk27743

    24 күн бұрын

    The scene goes like this: "Wait a minute... You went to Grant College?" "That's Right!" "Maybe you weren't pretending.... Maybe you don't know anything." "How do you know Grant College?" "My sister Mallory goes there" the other scene "You know what's bothering me... I mean really really bothering me.... some... something I'm having a very difficult time getting past." "What's that!" "I'M PAYING YOU FOR THIS! I'm paying you to sit there and listen to me.... I'm paying a guy from Grant College to sit & listen to my life story & give me advice..... Grant College a school that gives a course on opening umbrella's."

  • @soulgirl66
    @soulgirl6615 күн бұрын

    I remember watching this. MJF was absolutely BRILLIANT! The whole episode was just wonderful

  • @317Chris
    @317Chris6 күн бұрын

    This episode really shaped my empathy as a kid. It hit me really hard, (in a good way) just realizing that people with hopes, dreams, plans, can just...end. We don't think about this enough.

  • @simonssays78
    @simonssays7822 күн бұрын

    Sit UBU sit, good dog!

  • @ermannodifederico7820
    @ermannodifederico782028 күн бұрын

    Brilliant performance 👏

  • @JasonSmith-vj1de
    @JasonSmith-vj1de21 күн бұрын

    Alan Uger won an Emmy for writing for Family ties that year.

  • @tvsbesteps

    @tvsbesteps

    21 күн бұрын

    That’s true!

  • @leonardvicari2857
    @leonardvicari285723 күн бұрын

    I watched the episode when it Aired I was 21 years old a great episode the 80s were a great decade .

  • @timcross2510

    @timcross2510

    21 күн бұрын

    If you were 20 in 1980 and trying to get a job while 20 percent interest rates and inflation that was 4 times wages, it was not a great decade. Cocaine and Reagan got us through it

  • @jeremiahrose4681
    @jeremiahrose468122 күн бұрын

    I have the series and am currently watching it, I have about a season left. Yes, saw this episode and it was as impactful as much as I saw it as a teen when it first aired.

  • @davefordavefor
    @davefordavefor21 күн бұрын

    This is one of the best KZread videos I have ever seen. Well done. Family Ties is one of the best sitcoms. They obviously had great writing and the cast was perfect. I was fortunate enough to see it when it aired. Now, I may want to watch it again.

  • @tvsbesteps

    @tvsbesteps

    21 күн бұрын

    Thank you! That means a lot!

  • @davefordavefor

    @davefordavefor

    20 күн бұрын

    @@tvsbesteps you’re welcome.

  • @Simmer4Decades
    @Simmer4Decades28 күн бұрын

    What a great idea! Focusing on the extraordinary episodes is genius. This was a powerful one. Thanks!

  • @tvsbesteps

    @tvsbesteps

    28 күн бұрын

    Glad you enjoyed it!

  • @spikeoramathon
    @spikeoramathon28 күн бұрын

    this really hit me hard when I saw it at original airing. It was beautiful and poignant and game-changing.

  • @mollietenpenny4093
    @mollietenpenny409315 күн бұрын

    I remember seeing this episode on TV a few months ago. It was halfway through the episode when I saw it. I had been keeping the TV on for background noise but I became invested in the show. The episode really resonated with me since I lost my dad when I was a teenager. My mom didn't really believe that we needed grief counseling so I didn't go to a therapist until I was in my mid-twenties. Sometimes talking to family and friends is good, praying is also good too,but sometimes you need to talk to someone who isn't connected to your family. A therapist can help you find ways to process your grief in a healthy way. A,My Name is Alex was definitely ahead of its time.

  • @BrickBuildersMD
    @BrickBuildersMD20 күн бұрын

    Wow you just gave me such a blast from past, and also made me feel so old😂, I very much remember sitting on living room floor with my whole family watching this episode, my step mom was crying, this episode HIT

  • @conscientiousobserver8772
    @conscientiousobserver877221 күн бұрын

    I remember watching this show and it is this episode that still sticks with me. Bravo!

  • @RageTVHTX
    @RageTVHTX22 күн бұрын

    Such a great and memorable episode. I remember watching it in my room the night it aired. Saw it again on PlutoTV Family Ties channel not too long ago and it holds up. Still very moving

  • @blackphoenix77
    @blackphoenix775 күн бұрын

    I remember this episode and I remember reading the TV Guide "close up" feature on it before it aired. When it basically turned into a one man play, I was shocked; I'd never seen anything like that on TV at the time. I think about this one a lot: impressive that it has this much staying power with me after all these years.

  • @coachwhitford7315
    @coachwhitford73155 күн бұрын

    Back when TV was still purposeful and wholesome.

  • @gaspartiznado6418
    @gaspartiznado64186 күн бұрын

    I saw this episode. Very heartbreaking, and MJF’s best performance.

  • @CCNutritionist
    @CCNutritionist14 күн бұрын

    This episode aired at about the same time that Northwest flight 255, a big 747, crashed on takeoff in Detroit, killing everyone on board except for a very young girl. It was a huge news story in Detroit and in Windsor where I grew up. I remember watching this episode with my mother and when Alex was exclaiming, "Why am I alive??" my mother was brought to tears and said to me, "That's what that poor little girl is going to go through."

  • @hattorihanzo2275

    @hattorihanzo2275

    10 күн бұрын

    The girl was in a documentary, Sole Survivor. My grandparents lived on Middlebelt in Garden City yet I have no memories of the crash as a kid.

  • @thorinbane

    @thorinbane

    6 күн бұрын

    Funny I don't remember the crash, but I do remember the concord at Windsor airport

  • @melaniemills4505

    @melaniemills4505

    6 күн бұрын

    I was at my parents house when that crash happened. Their house was in the subdivision behind the airport. I heard the impact...I thought it was thunder. My mother saw the fireball reflected in her bedroom mirror...☹️

  • @BeaXRSmith
    @BeaXRSmith12 күн бұрын

    I don't remember a lot of Family Ties outside of bits and pieces. This episode I remember vividly. I was fifteen and had just lost three family friends in the previous year. This episode actually helped.

  • @Nerdlord14
    @Nerdlord142 күн бұрын

    i was born 92" i didnt grow up with this show.. but i found it years later and this was the first episode(s) i ever saw it hit me hard :(

  • @fasillimerick7394
    @fasillimerick739417 күн бұрын

    "We can tell you're nervous, so take the night before taping off. Just prepare, and relax". "Oh, and Steven Spielberg will be in the front row".

  • @hharden4969
    @hharden496911 күн бұрын

    I absolutely love this two-part episode! The beauty behind it and Alex’s character really connects well to anyone who watches it, so well done in it’s storytelling🙌🏻Definitely Michael’s finest hour on this show

  • @Joshua_Froschauer
    @Joshua_Froschauer21 күн бұрын

    Bring back this stuff man...the love the fear the hate the humor the existential Crisis and done with sincerity and actual ponderings instead of moral cudgels telling one how to be

  • @ImDBatty1
    @ImDBatty113 күн бұрын

    What a video to watch on Father's Day, 8 months to the day, almost to the hour, that my father passed... 🥺 In the words of another Micheal J. Fox great role, "this is heavy!" 🥺

  • @ebinrock
    @ebinrock16 күн бұрын

    Michael J. Fox is such a great actor, and this is by far his greatest performance IMO.

  • @soulgirl66

    @soulgirl66

    15 күн бұрын

    I agree!

  • @cwstiles85
    @cwstiles8521 күн бұрын

    This is one of the best videos I've ever seen on KZread! I've loved this episode of FT forever and you had me in tears at the end! Take a bow!

  • @tvsbesteps

    @tvsbesteps

    21 күн бұрын

    Thanks so much!

  • @smittysmeee
    @smittysmeee21 күн бұрын

    This channel is underrated. You do very good work. I feel like I got to know people who were, in a superficial way, a part of my life. It's neat.

  • @tvsbesteps

    @tvsbesteps

    21 күн бұрын

    I appreciate that!

  • @splatypus-8573
    @splatypus-85739 күн бұрын

    I had this taped on vhs and watched it many times. Still makes me tear up.

  • @PeterM8987
    @PeterM898719 күн бұрын

    This was my favourite show while growing up in the 1980's.

  • @jmodic
    @jmodic10 күн бұрын

    I had forgotten this episode, But after seeing this I remembered. It was one of the most profound things I ever saw.

  • @3within1
    @3within19 күн бұрын

    I don’t remember this episode, unfortunately, but I did watch a lot of family ties. It was definitely a different time. It made me think of seeing the movie Stand by me in the theater. It was the first time that I realized that everything was going to change in life. That my friends and relationships would change as I got older. In a way, it ended my childhood innocence. A very heavy movie for me.

  • @spritezero79
    @spritezero7915 күн бұрын

    As many times as I've seen this episode in 35 plus years, I cry everytime.

  • @nancymcmonarch
    @nancymcmonarch2 күн бұрын

    In May, 1987 my one and only baby brother was murdered. He was only 23. To this day, I can't hear "What would we do, baby, without us?" and not cry. Love, love, love Michael J. Fox, particularly now that my bright, beautiful Mama's stuck in a baked-potato body with that damned Parkinson's. Life just ain't right sometimes.

  • @freethebirds3578
    @freethebirds357816 күн бұрын

    We did not regularly watch Family Ties (or any sitcoms, really) but I remember that episode airing. Alex and his friend singing the Doors is what I remember best.

  • @rmjmoviereviews6876
    @rmjmoviereviews687621 күн бұрын

    Damn...I remember watching this episode the night it aired too. My god I feel old too. It was a powerful episode. Michael J. Fox in an all black room just acting was crazy, and showed how good Michael J. Fox was.

  • @michaelcarey8388
    @michaelcarey838820 күн бұрын

    All I remember of this was a bit where the interviewer dropped a bunch of loose change and Alex could tell how much money was there just from the sound. Thought that was hilarious.

  • @nancyt2848
    @nancyt284815 күн бұрын

    I remember this episode well. I am also a big fan of Brian McNamara so I was excited to see it. They did such a great job with telling that story.

  • @lgmnowkondo938
    @lgmnowkondo93820 күн бұрын

    I never thought this was a particularly good episode...but I think I should reconsider now.

  • @gippywhite
    @gippywhite15 күн бұрын

    I remember this episode. I couldn’t tell you what it was about, but I remember seeing the stills that you showed here it on my TV and I remember that there was a shocking feeling in my house after it. After seeing the shot of the script, I realized that they started writing it on my 10th birthday. 🤯 So… yeah, I think I’m going to have to find this episode and rewatch it. 💙💙💙

  • @K.J-LaMon
    @K.J-LaMon7 күн бұрын

    I remember this episode. The part where Alex counted the money in the air had me laughing. That's what I remember. It was super sad.❤❤

  • @fredtyler8925
    @fredtyler89259 күн бұрын

    It felt like a Broadway show Michael j Fox is just amazing

  • @jeffreyelya9996
    @jeffreyelya999619 күн бұрын

    My father hyped me up for Family Ties, and I watched the show as it was coming out on DVD, and there were a few dated jokes I didn't quite get. I can see why this one hour episode hit home for so many. It's very normal to fear death. The DVD collection featured this cut into three episodes, but it was still uncut since it was on DVD. This sat differently with me than most people, not because I wasn't phased by it, but because they chose to bring the concept of God into the show. Most people want to use the word religion in the same sentence when referring to God, I was taught just the opposite. I was also taught not to fear death. That being said, the idea of knowing that you're going to be okay when you die and having assurance, knowing you're going to be with God is better than not knowing what comes after death. I'm not trying to bother anyone by my statement here, I just think when we go, we should go with an eternal assurance rather than the idea of 'that it, this is just the circle of life'.

  • @KramericaIndustries-jd9cy
    @KramericaIndustries-jd9cy12 күн бұрын

    Amazing episode! I, too, remember seeing this when it aired.

  • @alejandrovillegas177
    @alejandrovillegas17719 күн бұрын

    I remember this episode, it really broke me and had a hard effect in my life. The story is so human makes us appreciate life and Michael's portray on how to survive loss. It still one of the best things I ever saw. SO thnakful for this story. Hard to known it c ame from such grieve but art helps us to channel so many things specially bad fellings into somenthing good for others.

  • @TwoWrights
    @TwoWrights21 күн бұрын

    Subscribed. Well done on this video. You are making quality original work. Keep it up. This was great.

  • @tvsbesteps

    @tvsbesteps

    21 күн бұрын

    Thanks. Means a lot.

  • @kw3593
    @kw359313 күн бұрын

    I remember being stunned by this episode, even as a kid I understood how amazing a performance this was

  • @qwaurk985
    @qwaurk98514 күн бұрын

    Now it would have a trigger warning before it.

  • @SarahMichelle777
    @SarahMichelle77710 күн бұрын

    This is my favorite episode set. ❤i used to love seeing teen hearthrobs cry LOL When it aired I was a very troubled 14 year old. I already felt like I needed therapy but didnt dare say anything. Seeing this episode helped me out a lot.

  • @kevinspliid8509
    @kevinspliid850911 күн бұрын

    Well done!

  • @tvsbesteps

    @tvsbesteps

    11 күн бұрын

    Thanks!

  • @majorforcexx
    @majorforcexx11 күн бұрын

    There are only a few specific episodes that I remember from tv shows back that long ago and this was one of them. It was a punch to the gut and still is.

  • @haruruben
    @haruruben10 күн бұрын

    Wow I haven’t thought about this episode in decades 😢

  • @Lord.Kiltridge
    @Lord.Kiltridge10 күн бұрын

    It's true. When you lose someone, it's with you every day, forever. You learn to live with it most of the time, but you never lose it.

  • @vinceventresca6763
    @vinceventresca676310 күн бұрын

    Even when it originally aired, I was not surprised at just how good this episode was. Family Ties was one of those shows that you could just sit back and admire the Writing, it was that good. The cast, too, was perfect. In the seasons prior to this episode, there were many times that Family Ties successfully straddled the line between Comedy and Drama, and doing it so well that I believed the term Sitcom was underselling the show. This “Why?” aspect of this episode haunted me for a long time, most likely due to the fact that I was four years into a deep Depression (I didn’t know it, though; I just figured that I was Useless and deserved my misery) at the point it originally aired. A little over a year later, the fallout from a near-death experience, that included an official Depression Diagnosis, allowed me to get the help I needed. I’ve watched “A, my name is Alex” a number of times over the years, and there’s a part of me that still identifies with Alex’s questions about life and his views of those around him. TV can be so great sometimes, it’s actually breathtaking, and this particular Family Ties is one of those times.

  • @spritezero79
    @spritezero7917 күн бұрын

    My favorite episode!!

  • @phillyphan1225
    @phillyphan122510 күн бұрын

    I can’t imagine actors today performing live like they used to😮

  • @michelleeggers719
    @michelleeggers71919 күн бұрын

    That was some fine writing.

  • @fearisthemind-killer
    @fearisthemind-killer22 күн бұрын

    NBC's Thursday night lineup. Wow.

  • @toob1979
    @toob19796 күн бұрын

    This episode hit hard. I can't say I went through something like this, but I can see how this episode could help someone who did. Please do something about "Atomic Shakespeare."

  • @tvsbesteps

    @tvsbesteps

    6 күн бұрын

    Coming soon. It’s one of my faves.

  • @hdjksa52
    @hdjksa5218 күн бұрын

    I remember this episode. It was really good

  • @jadall77
    @jadall7715 күн бұрын

    I still think it is cool that he didn't stop filming family ties when he did back to the future he did both at the same time. Them saying Back to the future was almost all filmed at night as they worked around his family ties schedule. He was 18 for real too I think.

Келесі