RPO: Family Ties

 

Image from Amazon.com

Family Ties is an old TV Series which aired from 1982 through 1989, and it has young, Michael J. Fox in it! I’m sold 🙂

In Ready Player One, we are introduced to Family Ties by Wade. He is sitting in his room, (aka: the laundry room), with a laptop he pieced together from random parts, watching Family Ties. He says it’s one of his favorite TV Shows, and he watches it with a sort of jealous (or maybe longing) feeling for a family like The Keatons. His own family is a mess, almost non existent, and his desire for a mother and father who love their children as much as Steven and Elyse do is very big.

We learn that Wade’s mom overdosed when he was just a little boy, and so he had to go live with his aunt. The only reason his aunt took him in was to get the extra weekly food vouchers the government would send for him. He made it sound like they never used the food vouchers for him, so he had to scavenge for food (which, apparently, he was pretty good at). She and her many boyfriends, never cared for Wade, and he was very aware of this situation. The negative family life he had at home, made watching Family Ties a sort of escape for him.

In Family Ties, we follow Steven and Elyse Keaton, and their three kids. Their dynamic is nothing like what it was for me and my family, so I find it interesting to watch it. I’ve only seen the first four episodes, but already I feel like I have a good grasp on the family. Steven and Elyse are both hippies, who love each other more as time goes by. Alex, the oldest (Michael J. Fox) is very intelligent, loves politics and economics, and is an all around over-achiever. Mallory, is the typical teenage girl: shopping and boys are all that’s important for her. Jennifer, the youngest, is probably one of my favorite characters. She’s witty and smart for her age, and probably has most of the jokes in the show.

I will write a review once I finish this Season, so I can encompass all of Season 1 into one post. I did want to let you know I am watching these, and although I haven’t live-tweeted while watching these first 4 episodes, I will live tweet with all the next ones.

Have you seen Family Ties? Do you remember seeing it back in the day? What is your family like compared to The Keatons?