History Trivia / FamilyTies

** If the radical politics of Millennials and Zoomers (fueled by the Great Recession) are anything to go by, Alex would certainly not fit in with the Alt-Right and the 'liberal' parents would not fit in with the SJW (Social Justice Warrior) Left crowd of today, either.

* TheCastShowoff: In later seasons, Jennifer. In earlier episodes, Elyse.

* CompletelyDifferentTitle: The show was titled ''Blomsterbørns børn'' (Children of Flower Children) in Denmark, ''Fem i familjen'' (Five in the Family) in Sweden and ''Quem Sai aos Seus'' in Portugal (an [[{{Irony}} ironic]] reference to the expression "''quem sai aos seus não degenera''", a rough equivalent to "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree").

* CompletelyDifferentTitle: The show was titled ''Blomsterbørns børn'' (Children of Flower Children) in Denmark, ''Fem i familjen'' (Five in the Family) in Sweden and ''Quem Sai aos Seus'' (an [[{{Irony}} ironic]] reference to the expression "''quem sai aos seus não degenera''", a rough equivalent to "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree").

* CompletelyDifferentTitle: The show was titled ''Blomsterbørns børn'' (Children of Flower Children) in Denmark and ''Fem i familjen'' (Five in the Family) in Sweden.

* RomanceOnTheSet: Michael J. Fox and Creator/TracyPollan, who played Alex and Ellen respectively, got married in real life. However according to Fox's autobiography ''Lucky Man'', the two actors did not start dating until sometime after ''Family Ties'' concluded its run, as Pollan was already dating Creator/KevinBacon, while Fox was dating [[Series/TheFactsOfLife Nancy [=McKeon=]]]. Fox did have a crush on her, though.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: If there was ever a show that reflected America under the Reagan administration, ''Family Ties'' is it. Republicans at the time saw Alex P. Keaton as cool and hip, no doubt due to Michael J. Fox's performance. Cut to 2016: With America still living under the shadow of 9/11 and the Great Recession, race relations becoming more problematic, and the Republican Party's continued controversial attempts to pander to fundamentalist Christians, it's quite possible that most conservatives would now view Alex as a liberal, and the Democratic parents would probably be viewed as Communists. WordofGod seems to defend this: in one of his [[http://garydavidgoldberg.com/blog/2008/02/wwakd_what_would_alex_keaton_d_1.html last blogs]], written during the 2008 Presidential Election, creator Gary David Goldberg believed that Alex would not fit in with modern-day Republicans, would become a registered Independent, and would consider voting for UsefulNotes/BarackObama because of his Recession-related fiscal reforms.

** The main focus of Season 3 - as hinted in the last two episodes of Season 2 ("Diary of a Young Girl" and "Working at It") and the Season 3 premiere, "The Gambler," was intended to be Elyse working outside the home and the changes which happened to the family as a result, including Alex, Mallory and Jennifer taking on more responsibilities. This changed when Meredith Baxter Birney returned from the summer break pregnant, and it was decided to [[ThrowItIn work that into the show]]. As a result, planned episodes were rewritten, to give the older kids and Steven a different reason to reorganize their lives.

* WordOfDante: In March 2008, Gary David Goldberg wrote an essay for The New York Times speculating about what Alex Keaton's political beliefs would be now. Goldberg said that Keaton, as a "true Conservative Republican", would probably no longer feel comfortable in the Republican Party of the late 2000s, "a party whose legacy will include Terri Schiavo and Hurricane Katrina, (and) waging war against science." Goldberg said that Keaton would have supported McCain in 2000, but no obvious candidate in the 2008 race. He also said that he and Creator/MichaelJFox have different ideas about Keaton's current career; Goldberg thinks Keaton is a pro bono lawyer for the Children's Defense Fund, while Fox believes Keaton is finishing a prison sentence.

** Between filming of Seasons 2 and 3, when actress Meredith Baxter Birney became pregnant in real life, it was decided the Keatons would have a fourth child.

* RomanceOnTheSet: Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan, who played Alex and Ellen respectively, got married in real life. However according to Fox's autobiography ''Lucky Man'', the two actors did not start dating until sometime after ''Family Ties'' concluded its run, as Pollan was already dating Creator/KevinBacon, while Fox was dating [[Series/TheFactsOfLife Nancy [=McKeon=]]]. Fox did have a crush on her, though.

** If the radical politics of Millennials (fueled by the Great Recession) are anything to go by, Alex would certainly not fit in with the Alt-Right and the 'liberal' parents would not fit in with the SJW (Social Justice Warrior) Left crowd of today, either.

* RomanceOnTheSet: Michael J. Fox and Tracy Pollan, who played Alex and Ellen respectively, got married in real life.
** Subverted, however; according to Fox's autobiography ''Lucky Man'', the two actors did not start dating until sometime after ''Family Ties'' concluded its run, as Pollan was already dating Creator/KevinBacon, while Fox was dating [[Series/TheFactsOfLife Nancy [=McKeon=]]]. Fox did have a crush on her, though.

* BigNameFan: UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan's declaration of this being his favorite television show led to rumors of talks for him to make a cameo, or perhaps guest starring role, on the series.

* HeAlsoDid:
** Tony Mordente directed six episodes. Mordente is best known for playing A-rab in ''Theatre/WestSideStory''.
** Debbie Allen directed two episodes. Allen is a choreographer, dancer and actress who's most known for playing Lydia Grant in ''Film/{{Fame}}'' - both the film and the series.
** Frank Bonner directed an episode. Bonner is best known for playing Herb Tarlek on ''Series/WKRPInCincinnati''.
** Dick Martin, of ''Series/RowanAndMartinsLaughIn'' fame, also directed an episode.

* ThrowItIn: Creator/MichaelJFox added the P. in Alex P. Keaton as an ad-lib in his audition, and the writers loved it and kept it.

* OutOfOrder: The two-part episode "It's My Party" (where Jennifer turns 13) was made for the fourth season, but delayed and not shown until the end of the fifth season. This was quite noticeable since Andrew, who was now being played by a much-older Brian Bonsall, was back to being a newborn baby and Alex's girlfriend Ellen is back even though she had already broken up with Alex when she moved to Paris. The producers had originally wanted to show it for season 4, but NBC Entertainment president Brandon Tartikoff initially [[ExecutiveVeto vetoed]] it, claiming that the episode's main plot, in which Jennifer joins a clique to better fit in at school and starts acting defiant both at school and at home, made Jennifer seem too nasty.

** Originally, the actor who played Nick, Scott Valentine, was supposed to have been spun off into his own series, ''The Art of Being Nick''. However, NBC did not pick it up because they were reportedly afraid that Nick's absence would hurt ''Family Ties''.

* BigNameFan: UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan's declaration of this being his favorite television show lead to rumors of talks for him to make a cameo, or perhaps guest starring role, on the series.

* OutOfOrder: The two part episode "It's My Party" (where Jennifer turns 13) was made for the fourth season but delayed and not shown until the end of the fifth season. This was quite noticeable since Andrew, who was now being played by a much older Brian Bonsall, was back to being a newborn baby and Alex's girlfriend Ellen is back even though she had already broken up with Alex when she moved to Paris. The producers had originally wanted to show it for season 4, but NBC Entertainment president Brandon Tartikoff initially [[ExecutiveVeto vetoed]] it, claiming that the episode's main plot, in which Jennifer joins a clique to better fit in at school and starts acting defiant both at school and at home, made Jennifer seem too nasty.

* TheRedStapler: The name "Mallory" was almost nonexistent prior to the show's premiere. As a given name that is. As with many non-classic given names, it is also a surname.

** However, according to Fox's autobiography ''Lucky Man'', the two actors did not start dating until sometime after ''Family Ties'' concluded its run, as Pollan was already dating Creator/KevinBacon, while Fox was dating [[Series/TheFactsOfLife Nancy [=McKeon=]]]. Fox did have a crush on her, though.
* ScrewedByTheNetwork: After the show's fifth season, NBC Entertainment president Brandon Tartikoff moved the show out of its comfortable post ''Series/TheCosbyShow'' time slot on Thursday nights to Sunday nights for its final two seasons, where the ratings declined and never recovered. In an aversion of the trope, however, Tartikoff did not actually want to move ''Family Ties'' out of its Thursday night slot and only did so at the insistence of Creator/BillCosby, who wanted the slot freed up for spin off show ''Series/ADifferentWorld''.

* ThrowItIn: Creator/MichaelJFox added the P. in Alex P. Keaton as an ad-lib in his audition, the writers loved it and kept it.
* TroubledProduction: Minor for this show, but demonstrating how this trope can bleed over to different productions. Fox was the original choice to play Marty [=McFly=] in ''Film/BackToTheFuture'', but scheduling conflicts lead to casting Eric Stoltz instead. Stoltz was famously fired several weeks into production and they begged to find some way for Fox to take on the role. The solution was essentially Fox doing ''Family Ties'' during the day while filming ''Back to the Future'' at night. For several months he operated on 3 hours of sleep, and he recalled running around the ''Family Ties'' set trying to find his camcorder prop, which was for ''Back to the Future''.
* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: If there was ever a show that reflected America under the Reagan administration, ''Family Ties'' is it. Republicans at the time saw Alex P. Keaton as cool and hip, no doubt due to Michael J. Fox's performance. Cut to 2016: With America still living under the shadow of 9/11 and the Great Recession, race relations becoming more problematic, and the Republican Party's continued controversial attempts to pander to fundamentalist Christians, it's quite possible that most conservatives now view Alex as a liberal, and the Democratic parents would probably be viewed as Communists. [[WordofGod Word of God]] seems to defend this: in one of his [[http://garydavidgoldberg.com/blog/2008/02/wwakd_what_would_alex_keaton_d_1.html last blogs]], written during the 2008 Presidential Election, creator Gary David Goldberg believed that Alex would not fit in with modern-day Republicans, would become a registered Independent, and would consider voting for UsefulNotes/BarackObama because of his Recession-related fiscal reforms.

** The same can be applied to generational conflict since Baby Boomers like Steven and Elyse would become known for being "conservatives" demographics while Gen-Xers like Alex would be known for "liberals" stance, especially during and after [[UsefulNotes/BillClinton Clinton Presidency]].

* WordOfDante: In March 2008, Gary David Goldberg wrote an essay for The New York Times speculating about what Alex Keaton's political beliefs would be now. Goldberg said that Keaton, as a "true Conservative Republican", would probably no longer feel comfortable in the Republican Party of the late 2000s, "a party whose legacy will include Terri Schiavo and Hurricane Katrina, (and) waging war against science." Goldberg said that Keaton would have supported McCain in 2000, but no obvious candidate in the 2008 race. He also said that he and Creator/MichaelJFox have different ideas about Keaton's current career; Goldberg thinks Keaton is a pro bono lawyer for the Children's Defense Fund, while Fox believes Keaton is finishing a prison sentence.
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* RealLifeRelative: Justine Bateman's father, Kent Bateman, directed an episode.

* BigNameFan: President UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan's declaration of this being his favorite television show lead to rumors of talks for him to make a cameo, or perhaps guest starring role, on the series.

** The same can be applied to generational conflict since Baby Boomers like Steven and Elyse would become known for being a "conservatives" demographics while Gen-Xers like Alex would be known for "liberals" stance.

** The same can be applied to generational conflict since Baby Boomers like Steven and Elyse would become part of "conservatives" demographics while Gen-Xers like Alex would be known for "liberals" stance.

** The same can be applied to generational conflict since Baby Boomers like Steven and Elyse would be viewed as "conservatives" while Gen-Xers like Alex would be seen as "liberals".

* OutOfOrder: The two part episode "It's My Party" (where Jennifer turns 13) was made for the fourth season but delayed and not shown until the end of the fifth season. This was quite noticeable since Andrew, who was now being played by a much older Brian Bonsall, was back to being a newborn baby and Alex's girlfriend Ellen is back even though she had already broken up with Alex when she moved to Paris. The producers had originally wanted to show it for season 4, but NBC Entertainment president Brandon Tartikoff initially [[ExecutiveVeto vetoed]] it, claiming that it made Jennifer seem too nasty.

* DawsonCasting: Michael J. Fox was 21 when he was cast as 16-year-old Alex.

* IronyAsSheIsCast: Despite playing a staunch Republican, Michael J Fox has endorsed Democratic politicians due to his advocacy for stem cell research.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Originally, the actor who played Nick, Scott Valentine, was supposed to have been spun off into his own series, ''The Art of Being Nick''. However, NBC did not pick it up because they were reportedly afraid that Nick's absence would hurt ''Family Ties''.

* ActorAllusion /ShoutOut : The episode where Jennifer forms a GirlGroup and Alex decides to manage them. Their song: [[MisterSandmanSequence Mr. Sandman]].