The Entire Cast of Family Ties to Reunite for the 9th Annual TV Land Awards

[SFK]

Ohhh, okay, I got a little mixed up with my networks. Yeah, wasn't Hallmark a "regular" channel in the beginning? I seem to remember that PAX or ION showed Golden Girls a few years ago even before the big move from Lifetime. I will continue to get those two channels mixed up, but at any rate I definitely remember an ever-changing parade of old sitcoms, like they'd switch to another one before one had even aired for two weeks it seemed. Now they've got THIS and Retro TV, it's cool that there's at least something nostalgic and cool to watch for the folks who don't have cable.

"Unfortunately, at one point, my parents decided that MK&A weren't appropriately role models for a little black boy in south Louisiana."

Boy, I don't know whether to laugh or cry! Wow, I remember when Full House debuted. Everyone used to talk about "that ugly little baby" and her long ass name. Most of us didn't know they were twins. I don't think I knew until the ep when the look-alike cousin in the black wig showed up and even then I thought it was Patty Duke-style camera tricks for a hot second. I always thought Stephanie was the cutest before she you know, got older and all. Dave Coulier has always got on my nerves. He used to have this Canadian show that they'd rerun on Nickelodeon called "Out of This World". I think he's like Ben Stiller, the classic comedian who takes himself too seriously and is kind of a dick.

My mother LOVED Designing Women, I dunno, I guess it's the southern thing but I always felt like the humor really appealed to black folk. At least it did to my mother. A character like Suzanne and the wig jokes, the way Julia was always laying people out, Anthony who was written as kinda "sweet"... good times. Remember the episode with Dolly Parton and Beah Richards? "But... at LEAS-s-s-s-s-s-t-t... we NOT... WHAT... we WAS-z-z-z-z-z..."

[EricMontreal22]

Haha yeah by the time TGIF really got going, I was already old enough and cynical about such shows (plus they just weren't as good as early Cosby or FT -- or Facts of Life ). I do remember when i moved to Victoria first day of Grade three I made friends with the guy in front of me because we both said our fave shows were Full House--it must have just started as pretty early on I was over it. Family Matters I only watched early on cuz it was a spin off of Perfect Strangers (a very, very loose one), but was pretty much done by the time Urkle got big.

I did love Growing Pains as a kid (and Who's the Boss). And I remember being confused that Valerie, or Valerie's Family (was it ever called that?) suddenly became The Hogan Family and my older brother explaining that the actress left the show... But there was an episode of Hogan Family where one of the kids had a nightmare where his brothers all became zombies or something (and sang "If I only had a brain" trying to eat him--I think) that so terrified me, I stopped watching in case they ever reran it. I scared very easily--I almost had to give up on my beloved Facts of Life when they did a Twilight Zone themed Halloween episode where Blair was killing people with hairspray.

[EricMontreal22]

I really really didn't "get" Designing WOmen as a kid. Or some other gay faves like Golden Girls.

And *ahem* Do not claim the craptastic Out of this World was Canadian. Awful syndicated sitcom that I used to love (but her dad never came to earth that I saw--could only talk through that plastic prism ), starring daytime's first lesbian, Donna Pescow! (Or do you mean a different show...)

I did love the mentioned Sister Kate (but remember nothing about it) and Kate and Allie (which was a huge fave of my mom). And watched and loved Hea of the Class with my dad (particularly loved their near annual "we're putting on a musical" shows with Grease, Little Shop and Hair)

[JackPeyton]

i LOVED MK&A! Did any of you watch So Little Time? I loved that show.

[EricMontreal22]

I really really don't know how anyone could even STAND MK&A unless they were someone with a Lolita complex. The kind of "personalities" (I can't use the term actresses here) who make you wanna break the TV, or at least its speakers.

[JackPeyton]

I am right there with you.

Between my WB, UPN, and local sttaions plus cable i grew up with everything. Brady Bunch, Growing Pains, Family Ties, Hogan Family, Facts of Life, Family Matters, Step by Step, Full House, Home Improvement, All In The Family, Mary Tyler Moore, Laverne & Shirley, Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, Green Acers, Bewitched, Charles in Charge, Cosby Show, Whos the Boss, Cheers, Mister Ed, Mork and Mindy, Happy Days, The Odd Couple, Gilligan's Island, I Dream of Jeannie, Taxi, Wlecome Back Kotter, The Jeffersons, Room 222, Love, American Style, 227, and of course my favorite of all time The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.

[EricMontreal22]

Dobie Gillis is brilliant--it still holds up really well. I recently downloaded a couple of seasons...

[JackPeyton]

umm.. because we are the same age. actually, i think they are older than i am.

The MK&A Adventures and straight to video movies were great as a kid. I did not like that TGIF sitcom they had as preteens, but loved the one they did as teenagers. I still watch New York Minute and LOVE it. lol. Not everything needs to be agnes nixon in the 70's, ya know

[quartermainefan]

Some Family Ties episodes were great.. I don't know why I remember this but it summed up Mallory so perfectly:

she was doing a paper on the Revolutionary War and it entitled it "They wore Red Coats, we dressed Casual"

The TV Land Awards started out so great but with each year they went to lesser and lesser TV shows (a salute to "The Love Boat"? Really?) but those first two years the show was great with some great casts reunited. Rose Marie was scary though. I liked when they had the birthday for ancient TV character actor, Charles Lane.

[bellcurve]

Sha na na na?

[All My Shadows]

Yall got me pulling out the multiquotes now

I should preface this by saying that I only know so much about the cable nets and their various identities because when I was about 11 or 12, I joined a message board devoted to classic television, and one of the posters there has always (ALWAYS) been on top knowing when schedules were going to change, all of the special marathons, etc, for pretty much all of cable television. But anyway, I remember when Hallmark started (like...probably late '02 or something), they had Bewitched, Jeannie, I think My Three Sons was a hold-over from Odyssey as well as Happy Days. Over time, they aired all kinds of shows. There was a huge block of westerns on Saturdays, a huge block of 70s crime dramas on Sundays (which I LOVED!), and of course sitcoms on the weekdays. They did pick up Family Ties at one point and dumped it not long after...same with Facts of Life, Gilligan's Island, Mork & Mindy, and Laverne & Shirley.

But yeah, I love that all of these digital subchannels are popping up, and that cable companies are adding them, too. We have Retro TV, Antenna TV, and THIS, so whenever I feel like watching something old school, I can just put it on one of them, and I got something. Antenna has MAUDE, for goodness sake. It's been at least a decade since that was on anywhere regularly.

Oh yes indeed! I think it kinda freaked my parents out because I was so enamored and fascinated by those lovely sepia-toned headshots from the opening credits and spoke more than once about how I wanted a picture like that (with my name is elegant pink writing and lovely flower in the corner). I think back and just want to tell youngAMS to keep his head up and keep holding on!

I did!!

"So little time, so much to do. I'd rather spend a day with you. And if that day is not enough, then maybe we can stay in touch. I'm not making plans for tomorrow...because tomorrow...never comes!!"

Didn't they have like a gay Latino houseboy or something? I remember that it was pretty much the TV version of all of their movies from that era (Billboard Dad, Passport to Paris, Winning London, etc). Two twins with stylish names and (a) divorced/widowed/whatever parent(s) and hot guy love interests. Mary Kate's character is a tomboy. Ashley's character is a girly girl. I, of course, had a furious crush on Ashley's characters every time while also taking a shine to Mary Kate's character's boyfriends.

All of these were mine as well. Every last one of them, and lots more.

I watched a few episodes of Dobie online a couple of weeks ago, and he was fiiiine. I never understood why we were supposed to think of him as plain or even ugly. I woulda hit that.

Why not a salute to the Love Boat? It was on for nearly ten years, was a huge success, and is a beloved classic. That's what I like the most about The TV Land Awards. They honor shows that made a huge cultural impact and are still talked about and remembered well today, regardless of whether or not they were critical darlings.

[DRW50]

The best part of Family Ties for me was the Mad Magazine parody.

[Soapsuds]

Awwwwwwwwww

Ummm..you're not gay then.

[SFK]

I saw that one as a rerun during summer vacation when I was home alone! At the end, the guy jumps out in the pig mask, right? It freaked me out and I had to go outside and "be around people."

[Soapsuds]

Yup, it's on the Season 5 DVD release of the show.