Family Ties — Season 1

All episodes in this season folder.

S1
E1
Pilot

Alex escorts a pretty socialite to a dance at her country club.

Watch episode
S1
E2
Not With My Sister You Don't

Alex heads the household when Elyse and Steven go away for the weekend.

Watch episode
S1
E3
I Know Jennifer's Boyfriend

Jennifer gets picked on when she befriends a boy at school.

Watch episode
S1
E4
Summer of '82

Seduced by an "older woman" of twenty-one, the hitherto inexperienced Alex is devastated to learn that she thinks of their relationship as casual.

Watch episode
S1
E5
I Never Killed for My Father

A visit from Steven's father evokes confrontation between the two.

Watch episode
S1
E6
Give Your Uncle A Kiss

Mallory is horrified and confused when a close family friend and older business associate of her father's makes a pass at her.

Watch episode
S1
E7
Big Brother Is Watching

As the new editor of his school paper, Alex uncovers a cheating scandal and to everyone's chagrin, prints a list of students who were caught including Mallory.

Watch episode
S1
E8
No Nukes Is Good Nukes

To the dismay of the Keaton children and their equally conservative grandparents, Steven and Elyse take time out Thanksgiving Day to attend an anti-nuke rally-and end up spending the holiday in jail.

Watch episode
S1
E9
Death Of A Grocer

Though Alex loves working at Mr. Adler's "Mom and Pop" grocery store, to the old man's dismay, he quits to "climb the corporate ladder" at an ultramodern supermarket.

Watch episode
S1
E10
Have Gun, Will Unravel

The Keatons consider buying a gun for protection after getting burglarized.

Watch episode
S1
E11
A Christmas Story

When a blizzard forces the Keatons to spend Christmas at home, Elyse's gift to Steven, an album filled with fascinating old photos, sparks flashbacks to the birth of their three children.

Watch episode
S1
E12
Oops

Mallory resents Elyse for the advice she gives her pregnant friend.

Watch episode
S1
E13
Sherry Baby

When popular sorority girl Sherry Marshall befriends Mallory to get close to Alex, Mallory brings them together in hopes of joining Pi Nu but her plan backfires.

Watch episode
S1
E14
The Fugitive (1)

Elyse's younger brother and Alex's idol, Ned, makes a surprise visit. However, everyone is puzzled by the go-getter corporate executive's suspicious behavior.

Watch episode
S1
E15
The Fugitive (2)

With the FBI hot on Ned's heels for embezzling 4.5 million dollars in corporate funds, Elyse's ethical brother and Alex's idol tells the family why and where he hid the money.

Watch episode
S1
E16
Margin Of Error

Alex amasses a bundle by playing the stock market on paper for his economics class, and courts disaster by secretly investing his father's money.

Watch episode
S1
E17
French Lessons

Mallory's handsome but shy French tutor, Jeff, finally musters up the nerve to ask her out and then courts disaster by enlistening Alex's advice on how to behave on the date.

Watch episode
S1
E18
I Gotta Be Ming

As ""Big Brother"" to a 10-year-old Vietnamese boy, Alex tries to mold Ming into his own image, and he learns an unforgettable lesson when he breaks a promise to the adoring child.

Watch episode
S1
E19
Suzanne Takes You Down

Soon after free lance architect Elyse Keaton hires her friend Suzanne Davis to handle clerical chores, she wants to fire the under-qualified, overly aggressive secretary, but Suzanne's marriage breaks up, making the new job her only salvation. After 20 years as a housewife, Suzanne feels she lacks an identity outside the home. Swamped with paperwork, Elyse decides to solve that problem while easing her friend's mid-life crisis. Unfortunately Suzanne's take-charge approach to business throws a wrench into Elyse's client dealings and threatens to ruin the women's friendship. On the brink of firing Suzanne, the frustrated Elyse faces a terrible dilemma when Ron Davis decides he ""needs space"" and leaves his wife.

Watch episode
S1
E20
The Fifth Wheel

Alex gets stuck babysitting for his little sister Jennifer, who is fed up with feeling in the way at his poker game and decides to disappear.

Watch episode
S1
E21
Stage Fright (a.k.a. Video Jitters)

While gearing up to face the TV cameras as captain of his high school's team on "Quiz Off," Alex panics at first when a teammate drops out. He then launches a major tutoring program for his sister Mallory.

Watch episode
S1
E22
Elyse D'Arc

In her zeal for good causes Elyse devotes so much energy to committee work that a neglected Steven feels shortchanged. Ecstatic to have won an award for his public television documentary, Steven arrives home eager to celebrate, but every effort is foiled by Elyse's obligations to her various projects. Finally, the over-extended wife-mother-architect-committee volunteer begins to realize she's neglecting her most important committee.

Watch episode