Family Ties/YMMV


 * Anvilicious
 * Fridge Logic: If Skippy's adopted, how come his sister looks like him?
 * Ensemble Darkhorse: Alex. His popularity led to increased prominence.
 * Which is funny when you consider that the show's creator originally intended for Alex to be an unlikable Straw Republican. But Michael J. Fox proved to be just too likable for audiences to view him as a heel, and the show's writers eventually decided to give him a more positive portrayal.
 * Harsher in Hindsight: Watching the Keatons preach to Uncle Ned about his alcoholism is kind of hard to watch after Michael J. Fox and Meredith Baxter admitted they had a drinking problem.
 * Hollywood Homely: A bespectacled Daphne Zuniga as Alex's nerdy love interest Rachel in two episodes from the second season.
 * Misaimed Fandom: Arguably, Alex P. Keaton. While Michael J. Fox (who played Alex) has always been a liberal, many Republicans have been inspired by the character - and even many liberals have insisted that Republicans should be a little more like Alex. Somewhat justified, though, with the character being a Jerk With a Heart of Gold.
 * In a Real Life Crowning Moment of Heartwarming, Fox says many rich Wall Street financiers and hedge fund managers who were inspired by Alex P. Keaton have donated to Fox's Parkinson's foundation because of what his character meant to them.
 * Retroactive Recognition: Among the then-unknowns of the guest cast were Tom Hanks, River Phoenix, Geena Davis, Courtney Cox, Judith Light, Crispin Glover, Wil Wheaton, Deep Space Nine's Terry Farrell, Tracy Pollan, and Martha Plimpton.
 * You can add Daphne Zuniga, Jamie Gertz, Stephen and Daniel Baldwin (but not in the same episodes and not as brothers), Jeff Cohen (Chunk in The Goonies), Maurna Tierney, Kevin Dunn (Sparkplug Witwicky in the live-action Transformers films), Betsy Randle (Mrs. Matthews on Boy Meets World), Earl Boen (Dr. Silberman in the Terminator films), Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and a pre-Married...with Children David Faustino and Christina Applegate.
 * Funny you should include David Faustino and Christina Applegate, because their on-screen dad, Ed O'Neill, was considered to play the role of Steven Keaton.
 * Tear Jerker: Alex's breakdown after his friend is killed in a car accident.