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The Best Episodes of Family Ties Season 1

Every episode of Family Ties Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Family Ties Season 1!

Binge this in 9h 6m•Peaking at 7.8/10

Former 1960s flower children Steven and Elyse Keaton raise their conservative son Alex, daughters Mallory and Jennifer, and later, youngest child Andrew.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Family Ties Season 1 Episode 1 - Pilot
    7.1/10(350 votes)

    #1 - Pilot

    S1:E1

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

    Director:Asaad Kelada
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Family Ties Season 1 Episode 2 - Not With My Sister You Don't
    7.2/10(268 votes)

    #2 - Not With My Sister You Don't

    S1:E2

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

    Director:Tony Mordente
    Writer:Lloyd Garver

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  3. Family Ties Season 1 Episode 3 - I Know Jennifer's Boyfriend
    6.7/10(233 votes)

    #3 - I Know Jennifer's Boyfriend

    S1:E3

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

    Director:Michael Zinberg
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Family Ties Season 1 Episode 4 - Summer of '82
    7.6/10(255 votes)

    #4 - Summer of '82

    S1:E4

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

    Director:Tony Mordente
    Writer:Michael J. Weithorn

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  5. Family Ties Season 1 Episode 5 - I Never Killed for My Father
    7.4/10(224 votes)

    #5 - I Never Killed for My Father

    S1:E5

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

    Director:Dick Martin
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Family Ties Season 1 Episode 6 - Give Your Uncle A Kiss
    7.6/10(245 votes)

    #6 - Give Your Uncle A Kiss

    S1:E6

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

    Director:Will Mackenzie
    Writer:Lloyd Garver

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  7. Family Ties Season 1 Episode 7 - Big Brother Is Watching
    7.2/10(208 votes)

    #7 - Big Brother Is Watching

    S1:E7

    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.

    Director:Alan Bergmann
    Writer:Ruth Bennett

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  8. Family Ties Season 1 Episode 8 - No Nukes Is Good Nukes
    7.1/10(218 votes)

    #8 - No Nukes Is Good Nukes

    S1:E8

    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.

    Director:Frank Bonner
    Writer:Ruth Bennett

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  9. Family Ties Season 1 Episode 9 - Death Of A Grocer
    7.4/10(219 votes)

    #9 - Death Of A Grocer

    S1:E9

    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.

    Director:Will Mackenzie
    Writer:Michael J. Weithorn

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  10. Family Ties Season 1 Episode 10 - Have Gun, Will Unravel
    6.8/10(201 votes)

    #10 - Have Gun, Will Unravel

    S1:E10

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

    Director:Alan Bergmann
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Family Ties Season 1 Episode 11 - A Christmas Story
    6.9/10(217 votes)

    #11 - A Christmas Story

    S1:E11

    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.

    Director:Will Mackenzie
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Family Ties Season 1 Episode 12 - Oops
    7.1/10(192 votes)

    #12 - Oops

    S1:E12

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

    Director:Tony Mordente
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Family Ties Season 1 Episode 13 - Sherry Baby
    7.2/10(196 votes)

    #13 - Sherry Baby

    S1:E13

    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.

    Director:Dick Martin
    Writer:Barbara Hall

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  14. Family Ties Season 1 Episode 14 - The Fugitive (1)
    7.8/10(262 votes)

    #14 - The Fugitive (1)

    S1:E14

    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.

    Director:Will Mackenzie
    Writer:Michael J. Weithorn

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  15. Family Ties Season 1 Episode 15 - The Fugitive (2)
    7.8/10(251 votes)

    #15 - The Fugitive (2)

    S1:E15

    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.

    Director:Will Mackenzie
    Writer:Michael J. Weithorn

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  16. Family Ties Season 1 Episode 16 - Margin Of Error
    7.4/10(193 votes)

    #16 - Margin Of Error

    S1:E16

    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.

    Director:Tony Mordente
    Writer:Michael Russnow

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  17. Family Ties Season 1 Episode 17 - French Lessons
    7.0/10(191 votes)

    #17 - French Lessons

    S1:E17

    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.

    Director:Tony Mordente
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Family Ties Season 1 Episode 18 - I Gotta Be Ming
    6.7/10(195 votes)

    #18 - I Gotta Be Ming

    S1:E18

    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.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Family Ties Season 1 Episode 19 - Suzanne Takes You Down
    6.2/10(178 votes)

    #19 - Suzanne Takes You Down

    S1:E19

    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.

    Director:Will Mackenzie
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Family Ties Season 1 Episode 20 - The Fifth Wheel
    7.2/10(186 votes)

    #20 - The Fifth Wheel

    S1:E20

    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.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Michael J. Weithorn

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  21. Family Ties Season 1 Episode 21 - Stage Fright (a.k.a. Video Jitters)
    7.6/10(208 votes)

    #21 - Stage Fright (a.k.a. Video Jitters)

    S1:E21

    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.

    Director:Sam Weisman
    Writer:Michael J. Weithorn

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  22. Family Ties Season 1 Episode 22 - Elyse D'Arc
    6.5/10(164 votes)

    #22 - Elyse D'Arc

    S1:E22

    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.

    Director:Michael Zinberg
    Writer:Michael J. Weithorn

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Season 1 Ratings Summary

"Pilot" is the best rated episode of "Family Ties" season 1. It scored 7.1/10 based on 350 votes. Directed by Asaad Kelada and written by Unknown, it aired on 9/22/1982. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "Not With My Sister You Don't".