8.6/10246 votes#1 - The Real Thing (1)
Season 4 Episode 1 - Aired 9/25/1985
Alex implements a fail-proof, and extremely unromantic, method of meeting the girl of his dreams: He picks her from pictures in the freshman directory. His selection, Tricia, seems to fit his requirements perfectly, but his plan goes off-track when he is strongly attracted to her roommate, Ellen. Ellen and Alex dislike each other instantly, and though he can't figure out why, he finds himself thinking about her constantly.
Director: Will Mackenzie
Writer: Michael J. Weithorn
8.7/10198 votes#2 - The Real Thing (2)
Season 4 Episode 2 - Aired 10/2/1985
Alex realizes he must make Ellen aware of his feelings, but she is on a train on her way to marry another man, so he takes drastic measures to stop the wedding. The usually cool Alex decides he must let down his defenses or lose the girl he loves.
Director: Will Mackenzie
Writer: Michael J. Weithorn
8.5/10168 votes#3 - Mr. Wrong
Season 4 Episode 3 - Aired 10/16/1985
Mallory brings home her new boyfriend, Nick, a Rambo-type environmental artist, to meet her family, but Steven and Elyse are shocked by his crude appearance and gruff manner.
Director: Will Mackenzie
Writer: N/A
7.3/10136 votes#4 - Designated Hitter
Season 4 Episode 4 - Aired 10/23/1985
Jennifer takes on the class bully to defend her boyfriend and unwittingly humiliates him by undermining his masculinity and Alex is devastated when Mallory scores higher than him on an IQ test. Jennifer tries to apologize to Adam, but discovers that all the boys are making fun of him and he won't speak to her.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: N/A
7.8/10139 votes#5 - Don't Go Changin'
Season 4 Episode 5 - Aired 10/30/1985
Alex does some fancy footwork on the dance floor to impress Ellen when he thinks he is losing her because of their divergent interests. Alex feels he has to compete with Ellen's artsy friends for her attention and attempts to change himself to fit into her world.
Director: Asaad Kelada
Writer: N/A
7.5/10130 votes#6 - The Old College Try
Season 4 Episode 6 - Aired 11/6/1985
When Mallory informs her parents that she has no intention of going to college after graduation, they are sure she is being influenced by her boyfriend, Nick, a high school dropout. Elyse is crushed by Mallory's decision to forego a college education, and Mallory turns to Nick for support.
Director: Barbara Schultz
Writer: N/A
7.8/10178 votes#7 - My Tutor
Season 4 Episode 7 - Aired 11/13/1985
Alex hires a tutor to help him with math, but his ""teacher"" turns out to be a 13-year-old genius who suddenly becomes more interested in Jennifer than in helping Alex. When Eugene, Alex's tutor, meets Jennifer he loses his concentration and Alex comes up with a scheme that will benefit both him and Eugene.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.0/10136 votes#8 - Mr. Right
Season 4 Episode 8 - Aired 11/20/1985
Mallory's boyfriend, environmental artist Nick Moore, swaps his T-shirt, camouflage pants, combat boots and earrings for a three-piece suit and a haircut to impress Mallory's parents, but while Steven and Elyse love the new Nick, Mallory is ready to leave him.
Director: James Burrows
Writer: N/A
7.2/10127 votes#9 - Just One Look
Season 4 Episode 9 - Aired 12/4/1985
Steven's old college buddy Richard Schofield is in town for and Steven looks forward to reminiscing about old times until he learns that Richard and Elyse share some memories he wasn't aware of. Steven loses his normally cool composure and becomes insanely jealous, imagining that Elyse and Richard are secretly attracted to one another.
Director: Michael J. Weithorn
Writer: N/A
7.5/10136 votes#10 - How Do You Sleep?
Season 4 Episode 10 - Aired 12/11/1985
Alex, who prides himself on being in control of his life, is embarrassed to admit that he is having a problem with insomnia, which is creating stress in his personal life as well as in school. Although Alex refuses to discuss his sleeping problems with anyone, his restlessness is disrupting the whole family.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.3/10126 votes#11 - You've Got a Friend
Season 4 Episode 11 - Aired 12/18/1985
Mallory begins to feel severe guilt after reporting a young girl to the police for shoplifting, especially when he learns that the girl is from a home for abused children. Mallory visits Jessie at the home but is suspicious of the girl's intentions. Nick warns Mallory that she can't change Jessie overnight, but Mallory is sure that she can at least be a good influence.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: N/A
7.6/10120 votes#12 - Nothing But a Man
Season 4 Episode 12 - Aired 1/1/1986
Steven gets the promotion he has been waiting years for, but as the new regional manager of the station, he is required to put in long hours at the office, and soon realizes he has no time for his family. Although Elyse and the kids are happy about Steven's new position, they begin to miss the days where he would come home for dinner every nite and have time to take part in day-to-day activities.
Director: Will Mackenzie
Writer: Jurgen Wolff
7.5/10118 votes#13 - The Disciple
Season 4 Episode 13 - Aired 1/8/1986
Alex offers to help Jennifer with a speech project and winds up creating a monster, the speech is such a success that she is asked to repeat the performance for an awards panel. Jennifer does her class project perfectly, but doesn't understand what she said because Alex coached her on most of the material. So when asked to present it to the panel of judges, her nerves get the best of her.
Director: Will Mackenzie
Writer: N/A
7.6/10128 votes#14 - Where's Poppa?
Season 4 Episode 14 - Aired 1/15/1986
Alex secretly invites Ellen's dad to Parent's Day Weekend at Leland College, thinking that she will be pleasantly surprised to see him, but what he doesn't know is that Ellen has no desire to see her father. Ellen can't forgive her father for not spending time with her when she was growing up, and although he wants to make amends she refuses to forgive and forget.
Director: Will Mackenzie
Writer: N/A
7.2/10118 votes#15 - Fool for Love
Season 4 Episode 15 - Aired 1/22/1986
Skippy's lifetime obsession with Mallory builds to a climax when he refuses to accept that she is in love with Nick, and creates an embarrassing scene at the Homecoming dance. Alex tries to convince Skippy he should forget about Mallory and find someone else, and even enlists the help of a psychiatrist, but Skippy can't let go of his fantasy.
Director: Lee Shallat Chemel
Writer: N/A
7.4/10134 votes#16 - Checkmate
Season 4 Episode 16 - Aired 1/29/1986
A chess tournament between Leland College students and a visiting Soviet team turns into a wrestling match when Alex and his opponent, Ivan Rozmirovich, match wits and "fight" for their countries. Alex considers it his patriotic duty to beat the Russian, but as the game progresses he realizes his opponent is not really the enemy he had envisioned him to be.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.1/10118 votes#17 - Engine Trouble
Season 4 Episode 17 - Aired 2/5/1986
Elyse enrolls in an auto mechanics class to prove Alex and Steven that women can be just as competent with cars as men, but to protect his own masculinity, Alex joins the class to prove her wrong.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: N/A
6.8/10114 votes#18 - A Word to the Wise (1)
Season 4 Episode 18 - Aired 2/12/1986
The Keaton family fills in his girlfriend, Ellen, on some of the more humorous events in Alex's life before they met in this special one-hour episode. Flashbacks to previous episodes include some highlights from the series' past shows. Alex and Ellen celebrate their six-month anniversary as boyfriend and girlfriend, and the family think it's time for Ellen to know the truth about Alex.
Director: Will Mackenzie
Writer: N/A
7.0/10116 votes#19 - A Word to the Wise (2)
Season 4 Episode 19 - Aired 2/12/1986
The Keaton family fills in his girlfriend, Ellen, on some of the more humorous events in Alex's life before they met in this special one-hour episode. Flashbacks to previous episodes include some highlights from the series' past shows. Alex and Ellen celebrate their six-month anniversary as boyfriend and girlfriend, and the family think it's time for Ellen to know the truth about Alex.
Director: Will Mackenzie
Writer: N/A
7.2/10115 votes#20 - Art Lover
Season 4 Episode 20 - Aired 2/19/1986
Mallory suspects there's more involved than ""art appreciation"" when a wealthy and beautiful older woman takes a special interest in Nick's creations. Promising to help launch his career, art patron Victoria Hurstenberg takes Nick under her wing, occupying nearly all of his time and interfering with his relationship with Mallory, who insists that the older woman has her eye on more than Nick's art.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.7/10117 votes#21 - Teacher's Pet
Season 4 Episode 21 - Aired 3/2/1986
Alex lands a teaching-assistant position and runs into big trouble when he has to grade a student who also happens to be his girlfriend, Ellen. When Ellen is assigned to Alex's economics class, he has trouble treating her as just another student, and ends up causing a strain on their relationship.
Director: John Pasquin
Writer: N/A
7.4/10121 votes#22 - My Buddy
Season 4 Episode 22 - Aired 3/5/1986
Steven has a very difficult time accepting that his youngest daughter, Jennifer,is growing up and no longer wants to ""pal around"" with him. As Jennifer grows and finds new interests, Steven feels rejected because she no longer spends time with him. The situation comes to a head when Steven insists on accompanying Jennifer on her girls-club outing, and she is mortified when he is the only male there.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.4/10121 votes#23 - Once in Love with Elyse (a.k.a. Loan Arranger)
Season 4 Episode 23 - Aired 4/30/1986
Elyse must deal with Paul, a young architect associate who falls in love with her. After working for a year in the same office as Elyse, Paul, a very promising architect, can no longer ignore his feelings for her. He quits the job and confronts Elyse's husband, Steven, with his dilemma.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.6/10124 votes#24 - Paper Chase (a.k.a. Mallory's Graduation)
Season 4 Episode 24 - Aired 5/7/1986
Mallory discovers that her high school graduation is in jeopardy unless she can pass a very tough history exam. Never an avid student, Mallory faces the possibility of failing her senior year in high school because of her poor grades. As the school term rapidly draws to a close, her only hope is to score extremely well on a tough final exam.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of Family Ties Season 4
Every episode of Family Ties Season 4 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Family Ties Season 4!
Former 1960s flower children Steven and Elyse Keaton raise their conservative son Alex, daughters Mallory and Jennifer, and later, youngest child Andrew.
Genres:ComedyDramaFamily
Network:NBC
Season 4 Ratings Summary
"The Real Thing (1)" is the best rated episode of "Family Ties" season 4. It scored 8.6/10 based on 246 votes. Directed by Will Mackenzie and written by Michael J. Weithorn, it aired on 9/25/1985. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "The Real Thing (2)".