Most of us grew up with Family Ties or we remember tuning in to watch a solid hour of hilarious comedy on Thursday night thanks for The Cosby Show and the antics of The Keating Family. Any memories you have from the 80s probably involve Family Ties.
While some shows went on to be cult classics, Family Ties never seemed to enjoy the long-running staying power of other sitcoms. Bill Cosby's show was still airing re-runs until recently, and Gilligan's Island is a show known even to people that haven't seen a single episode.
That said, Ties did launch the career of one of Hollywood's most likable movie stars: Michael J. Fox. He went on to do huge movies, and become a bona fide money machine thanks to the Back To The Future franchise. With his star power it's easy to forget that the show actually revolved around two of Television's greatest: Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter.
Gross and Baxter played Steven and Elyse Keaton, two ex-hippies trying to do right by their children. Their eldest son, played by Fox, was a staunch Republican, and it's almost surreal to remember a time where politics could be funny, and not so contentious.
Both went on to great acting careers, but have largely kept out of the public eye. They had undeniable chemistry together, and that's not strange considering how much they have in common. The two friends are even born on the exact same day, June 21, 1947.
Family Ties ran for 7 years, and while every cast-member got along there was never a call for a reunion, spin-off or reboot. Fans of the show might be happy to hear of a mini-reunion however. Gross and Baxter will be co-stars again, but this time on the stage.
The pair will be performing Love Letters at the Totem Playhouse in Fayetteville, PA. The show has received rave reviews and will rely heavily on the stars. The two-person performance consists entirely of the couple reading each other's love letters.
Something like that is going to need chemistry like Gross and Baxter displayed during their time on Family Ties.
"I trust him on the stage," Baxter said. "It makes me happy to be working with Michael because I trust his instincts. He's a kind man."
The show will start performing in late August and run for a week. With only 327 seats in the theater it's going to be hard to get tickets. Those looking to try can do so here.