Family Ties: “Summer of ‘82″
Ah, the summer of 1982…takes me back. I have absolutely no memory whatsoever of 1982, except the I do remember seeing this episode of Family Ties. I must have seen it when Family Ties went into syndication.
“Summer of ‘82” is a play on Summer of ‘42 — funny, the Simpsons also did a send up of Summer of ‘42, but it didn’t have anything to do with sex between an older woman and a younger male, which is the main point of the movie, but did have something to do with a beach house much like the setting of the film . Anyway, Alex P. Keaton gets laid for the first time in “Summer of ‘82″. Actually, he is used as a single-serving lover by a college girl that takes him to a Milton Friedman lecture…or something.
The episode really focuses on the burgeoning star of Michael J. Fox as the consummate symbol of the Reagan Era and 80’s sitcom dominance on prime time TV. Fox was quickly becoming the breakout star of the show and more episodes were being written to focus on his comic timing and likable capitalist character.
“Summer of ‘42″ also lets Jen (Tina Youthers) mug for the camera in that adorable way she did in the first season of the show, before she grew up into a borderline pudgy teenager with huge blond mall-rat hair.
Mallory and Elyse have practically nothing to do in this episode, the fourth aired in the first season (original airdate was 10/27/82 ). Steven gets to ask Alex the lamest question any dad ever has asked their son, “It was your first time, wasn’t it?” I mean, ew, creepy.
Of course, the laughtrack for Family Ties can get distracting if you allow it, too, which I usually do. But still, it is hard to deny the charisma of Fox and the rather odd time capsule that Family Ties has become, signaling an interesting time in the US when Liberal became a bad word.
Family Ties, Alex Keaton, Michael J Fox, 80’s sitcom, prime time, television, Reagan Era
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