President of the United States Ronald Reagan once stated that Family Ties was his favorite television show. Fox) and his hippie parents, Steven ( Michael Gross) and Elyse Keaton ( Meredith Baxter). This was particularly expressed through the relationship between Young Republican Alex ( Michael J. Family Ties reflected the move in the United States away from the cultural liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s to the conservatism of the 1980s. Keaton is a fictional character on the United States television sitcom Family Ties, which aired on NBC for seven seasons, from 1982 to 1989. One in which, on occasion, the two worlds collide. While none of the actors portray the same character in both shows, their similar personas, along with the many references that tie the two shows together, provide ample evidence to conclude that Spin City and Family Ties are alternate realities in a shared universe. Fox purposely set out to create Keaton’s alter ego from the beginning, this is what Fox’s Flaherty has come to represent by his final appearance in Spin City. Keaton in Family Ties - it certainly seems likely given these clues. Flaherty in Spin City have been created as an alter-ego to Alex P. As a liberal, environmental activist, Mike Flaherty is essentially Keaton’s exact opposite. In the final moments of the tear-jerking, “Goodbye Part 2,” Heather Locklear’s Caitlin Moore receives an email from Flaherty where he recalls an unpleasant meeting with a Junior Republican Senator from Ohio named Alex P. Fox in a leading role, his character has moved from New York City to Washington D.C., where he is an environmental lobbyist. In Spin City's last episodes with Michael J. While she doesn't appear in the scene, the implication here is that he is referring to Mallory Keaton from Family Ties.īoth shows share a connection to politics, too. In Family Ties, the politically conservative Alex often clashes with his more liberal parents, who met while attending college in Berkeley. Peterson reminds Flaherty to "pay Mallory," for the session. Gross's Steven Keaton is a manager at the local PBS station, but his fatherly advice on Family Ties show often resembles a therapy session, causing Fox’s Alex to see his problems from a new perspective, and this is the same purpose Gross’s Dr. In Family Ties, Gross plays Steven Keaton, Elyse’s husband, and the father of Alex and his siblings, Mallory, Jennifer, and Andy. But the most notable connections came in Fox’s final episodes as a leading cast member on Spin City. In “Goodbye Part 1,” Michael Gross, of the Tremors franchise, guest stars in the show as Flaherty’s therapist Dr. And Pollan also played Alex's girlfriend Ellen in Family Ties. Since they both play very different characters in each of these series, the shared universe connection may not be as immediately obvious to viewers, but there are several allusions such as this that serve to show how the Family Ties and Spin City worlds do, indeed, overlap.Įarlier in the series, Tracy Pollan guest-starred in two episodes of Spin City as Renee Miller, an ex-girlfriend of Fox’s Mike Flaherty. And, in Family Ties, Baxter played the bohemian, liberal mother of Fox’s Alex P. Before his departure, several Spin City episodes featured former cast members from Family Ties. In Spin City’s “Family Affair Parts 1 and 2”, Meredith Baxter guest-starred as Flaherty’s mom, Macy Flaherty. Related: Designated Survivor: Michael J Fox Was A Perfect Season 2 Villainĭue to worsening Parkinson’s symptoms, Fox left Spin City in 2000 at the end of season 4.
EVIL ALEX P. KEATON SERIES
But the overlap goes beyond this, connecting the two series as part of one universe. Given that Goldberg served as the showrunner on both series, and the fact that both characters portrayed by Fox were involved in politics in different ways, there were already parallels between the two shows. Fox as the politically liberal deputy mayor Mike Flaherty. Over a decade later, Goldberg's ABC sitcom, Spin City, featured Michael J. The show aired on NBC for seven seasons from 1982 to 1989. Fox starred alongside an ensemble cast of characters, including Alex Keaton's ex-hippie parents and his two sisters. Keaton, a Young Republican who idolized William F. Fox also served as an Executive Producer alongside Goldberg for all six seasons of Spin City, which was canceled in May of 2002.įamily Ties was a politically-themed sitcom starring Michael J. Both series were created by Gary David Goldberg and starred Michael J. Fox appearing as Michael “Mike” Patrick Flaherty included references to characters and cameo appearances from members of the Family Ties cast, leading fans to conclude that the two shows are part of the same universe. The final episodes of Spin City with Michael J.
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