Nostalgia for family shows. "Family ties" - the best family-political series. Success, heroes and actors of "Family Ties"

This television project belongs to the generation of veterans-serials, unknown to the modern spectator. Broadcasting it for seven seasons shows that the themes raised by the writers not only reflected in social and social issues, but were adopted by this same society. Completed in 1989, "Family Ties" managed to collect the best television awards. What did "Family Ties" remember? The series, whose actors received recognition with its release, will become the topic of our article.

Political stuffing

To put it bluntly, the series is based in part on the political mood of the Americans of the early 1980s. This time is characterized by the transition from liberalism to conservatism. During the reign of Reagan, the narrative concentrates on an ordinary family, where parents, Alice and Stephen are ex-hippies who equip their home. They have three children, among whom the lead Republican Alex takes the lead behind the scenes. For this role, the young Michael J. Fox was awarded the Emmy Award, becoming a key character, although initially he was only for an episodic appearance. What other actors of "Family Ties" have been recognized, besides him?

Character Features

It was planned that the Keaton couple would become the central heroes. In the series there is their prehistory, as well as the background of their children, which the audience will gradually learn about. The only thing that unites the whole family of Keatons is participation in the political life of the country, which they somehow show in their actions. At the same time, the concept of "Family Ties" was designed to create a family movie with a warm home atmosphere, and political aspects were not taken into account in order not to put pressure on the viewer. As critics later acknowledged, and the actors themselves "Family Ties", the series constantly balancing between these two facets, turning the tinge of intra-family relations into a denial of the culture of the 60's and, as a consequence, the formation of a conservative trend.

Features of actors

Alice and Stephen, students at the University of California, were impressed by the program of then-current President Kennedy. They were members of the Peace Corps. Their firstborn Alex was born in Africa, and Jennifer's youngest daughter was born on the night of Nixon's election for a second term. So we can say that the family is imbued with the spirit of political life.

The creators were not faced with the task that the actors of "Family bonds" were famous stars. In 1982 Meredith Baxter-Byrne and Michael Gross already had shooting experience, but still remained little-known artists.

A native of California, Meredith was born in 1947. Her mother Whitney Blake is a famous cinematographer. While Meredith openly confessed her unconventional orientation (she is bisexual), she was married three times to men, including actors Michael Blodgett and David Byrne. From them, the actress gave birth to five children, including the twins Peter and Molly.

The beginning of acting Baxter is associated with her guest roles in many television series. Since 1976, she starred in a similar sitcom "Family." In the same year, the famous thriller "All Presidential Men" with Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford comes out, but Meredith has only a secondary image. Her first major role was given to the actress in 1985 in the drama "The Case of Richard Beck", already being known for the release of "Family Ties."

Actors of "Family Ties" - this is Michael Gross, the performer of the role of Stephen Keaton. According to the idea of the writers, he appears confident in the head of a large family, the father of three children, a caring husband and competently savvy in social issues. However, with the appearance in the series of his son Alex in the performance of Michael Jay Fox, the role of Stephen fell into the background.

Gross himself, born in 1947, began his career with the series "Young and Daring". In 1979, he starred in the comedy "Tell me what you need." The first serious recognition came, of course, with the release of "Family Ties." Michael Gross is married with two children.

"Family ties": actors of secondary images

Perhaps the only one of the entire star ensemble who has achieved the greatest glory is Michael J. Fox. For the first time he appeared on a television screen at the age of 9 years. His debut film work was the series "Magic lie", "Love Boat", "Leo and I", as well as "Family", in which Meredith Baxter was already filming.

The best film of 1985 was recognized as a fantastic film "Back to the Future", in which the hero of Fox goes to the past, where he meets his parents. The film brought a good profit, and the actor acquired a multi-million army of fans. In the same period, other pictures with his participation, mainly of a teenage orientation - "Poison Ivy", "Daylight", "Wolf" appear. For the last Michael received 750 thousand, and the fee for his next film, the comedy "The secret of my success," was already $ 2 million. To his 24 years, Fox turned into a young high-paid actor. Increase recognition and own purse allowed the continuation of the picture "Back to the Future", released in 1989 and 1990 respectively. On the set of "Family Ties," Fox met Tracy Pollan, who played his girlfriend. In real life they are spouses.

Malory Keaton, the eldest daughter in the family, is shown by a modern girl-woman. She lacks clear life positions, although most of her views are more realistic, compared with the opinion of mother-feminist Alice. Justine Bateman, who played the role of Malory in "Family ties", is known, first of all, to be related to the more famous brother Jason Bateman. And although they grew at one time and together they took the first steps in the conquest of Hollywood, the latter did it better. Together they starred in the comedy series "Slowed Development."

The main creative successes of Justine are connected with "Family ties". For the series, she received nominations for "Emmy" and "Golden Globe." With its completion, the actress chose to shoot in independent films that did not achieve audience appreciation. In 2000 she released her own clothes line, and a year later she married and gave birth to a baby. In the new millennium, Justine appeared in "Desperate Housewives", "Seer", "Private Practice", "California's Blurty."

Features of the series

According to the audience, the popularity of "Family Ties", which went on air for seven years, is laid in the title of the show. Friendly relations, mutual assistance and support - this is the main merit of the Keatons who retained their fans. Along with this, the show was pierced by subtle humor; The sitcom makes you smile if you do not laugh. A good atmosphere, reminiscent of no less warm "Alpha", is recreated and with the help of the main actors who created the second house from the set. No wonder their game was awarded the highest television awards, which rightly deserved the actors "Family bonds." Now they are popular stars, who celebrate the series as an integral part of their creative path. Obviously, this stage remained a pleasant memory not only for them, but also for those who were a dedicated fan of the show during all its seasons.