For me, it was "Anniversary Waltz".
Steven is ornery from the first scene and he and Elyse argue for 28 minutes, ending with Jennifer singing off-key to "How We Danced on Our Wedding Night". Plus, the kids are all out of character and snippy.
For some reason it debuted in December 1987 when clearly they state it's their 20 year anniversary (from the 1984 season). Don't know how that got mixed in. What a forgettable episode!
Forgettable !!? You remembered what sounds like all the details haha!
shareM is for the Many Things has the worst written dialogue. I feel like I'm watching some hackneyed 80s forgettable sitcom churned out by writers in 20 minutes based on the typical cheesy formula. You can tell what the characters are going to say before they speak.
The part where Elyse can't say the word "separated" is especially untrue to life, and just gets repeated over and over. You can tell the writer is phoning it in.
The plot isn't that bad, just the dialogue.
One bad episode I saw recently was Return of the Native (s6ep26). The family's cousin June visits after study abroad in London, but every time she starts to relate a story, one of the Keatons interrupts and makes it all about them, telling a story about when something similar happened to them, and it's something the audience has already seen. In other words, it's filler, aka a clip show. Plus, it was one of those shown out of order, and one could tell because Andy had aged from 6 years to infancy.
I think there's another clip show or two in the current season I'm watching (7), and I'm skipping over it this time.
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The sun is shining... but the ice is slippery.
It was from season 3 but NBC refused to accept it and wouldn't count it towards the show's episode order. Later, when the show was renewed, it had higher ratings and the producers were able to force NBC to accept the episode. That's why it airs as part of season 6.
shareI was so glad to see your post! I recently saw this ep on Antenna TV, and it just made me feel uncomfortable. All they do is yell at each other through the whole show--until the sappy ending. It all seemed out of character. If Steven was so against a large party--why did Elise go ahead with planning one?? It was his anniversary, TOO!
But what REALLY confused me was their statement that they had married in 1964. Steven and Elise were always portrayed as being political radicals in college, fighting against the war in Viet Nam and supporting McGovern. The war wasn't that controversial in '64 (altho' atomic weapons were)--and if they were Democrats in 1964, they would have been campaigning for JOHNSON!! They never mentioned that . . . .
But what REALLY confused me was their statement that they had married in 1964. Steven and Elise were always portrayed as being political radicals in college, fighting against the war in Viet Nam and supporting McGovern. The war wasn't that controversial in '64 (altho' atomic weapons were)--and if they were Democrats in 1964, they would have been campaigning for JOHNSON!!
Well, at least they were consistent! lol So they graduated in '63, married in '64, and had Alex in '65. That sounds right as it would make Alex about 17 when the show started. And Malory was a year or two younger? I don't think I knew Alex was born in Africa! I can't say I've seen all the episodes. I've watched it periodically over the years. Even tho' I watched it when it was first aired, I don't think I saw the whole series. So thanks for your post! I guess they wanted to forget supporting Johnson when they were demonstrating against the war--with little Alex in tow, I assume! No wonder he rebelled!
shareAlex can't run for president then lol
shareThe Family Vacation was so-so, and the episode where Alex monologues the whole time about his dead friend.
http://www.youtube.com/user/pumpkinman4ever?feature=mhum
HATE the dead friend episode, but the one that bothers me more is the one where Steven almost cheats with Judith Light. A lot of great jokers and lines and Michael Gross is stellar in it, but I strongly dislike Steven Keaton even being slightly tempted by another woman.
shareDoesn't being tempted but not acting on it reinforce the strength of the bond he had with his wife?
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Hated the dead friend one too. It was so forced.
shareFamily Ties was not a linear show. Many shows are not linear.
shareMy least favourite is one where Elyse's aunt comes to visit, and they discover that she has Altzheimer's disease.
Now, I know it is a serious subject, but this had very few laughs, and seemed more like a drama than a comedy.
The worst episode, by far, is the one where Jennifer suddenly becomes an ultra annoying, horseshit-spouting, environmentalist nutjob ("Rain Forests Keep Fallin' on My Head", season 7). I just checked it on IMDb and it is rated 4.6. No other episode is rated lower than 6.1, which means it's ranked significantly lower than even the lazy, recycled "flashback episodes".
sharesaw one last night where Alex is in high school and sleeps w college aged girl for his first time. Yes in the 1980's this is considered 'cool' in retrospect it's creepy though. Not appropriate because he's not legal.
Why is an adult wanting to sleep with a kid? Why is a whole episode done about this? I am in my 30's now and this actually made me ill.
I assume standards thought this was 'comedy' because they let it air. Doubt it would have been funny today.
At least Steven Keaton is not giving his son high fives re scoring with an 'older woman' and is concerned. He instead thinks there is something wrong even if he does not press it any further/does not know exactly what to say/how to say it and they do not call the cops on the older woman.
There notably is no special message from michael gross to families at the end that their sons can get raped too and they need to be aware and stop it.
If it were today however Alex would be suing for statutory rape, getting tested re diseases, undergoing counseling...etc. And they would have that special message to protect sons at the end of the episode.
Shows how the world changed.