Bizarre Television Moments: Tom Hanks And Vanilla Extract

One could say that all of Family Ties is bizarre. A liberal father who runs a public television station with an uber-Republican son? Oh, the hijinks. That, and baby Andy has super abilities to grow four years in the space of one.

Despite the laughs, FT had its share of "very special episodes" and when they wanted to tackle alcoholism, they brought in a very young, very skinny, very tight-jeaned Tom Hanks to play the beloved Uncle Ned. This scene goes from funny to scary to uncomfortable to funny about eight times. Not to mention that Uncle Ned is so desperate for alcohol he downs a whole bottle of vanilla extract. Don't try this at home, kids!

Revisiting "It's My Party," The Best Episode Of Family Ties Ever

Rewatching Family Ties has not only been nostalgic, but hilarious. Alex P. Keaton's devotion to the Republican party in contrast to his parents' liberal views was lost on me during first watch, but his unabashed disdain for women's studies and big government influence are actually quite sublime.

No doubt Alex was the standout star of the show, and Justine Bateman's delightfully airheaded Mallory and her equally-stupid boyfriend Nick were also popular with fans. (I only recently learned that Nick (played by the aptly-named Scott Valentine) had a short-lived spinoff. Seriously!) But what of the youngest Keaton, Jennifer (yes, I know Andy existed, but he added nothing to the show)? She rarely had any solo storylines. Her contributions consisted of commenting on her elder siblings and being congratulated on a great baseball game. We get it, alright? Jennifer is a tomboy.

And let's face it, Tina Yothers went through some tough times as a young actress. By age twelve, she looked about thirty two, towered over her siblings (although we know Michael J Fox's stature didn't help things) and had hair like a straw factory exploded. I'm not one to be negative about a young woman's looks, but it IS hard to deal with puberty on national television.

Which is why in Season Five, one of the Jennifer-centric episodes is worth revisiting. "It's My Party" was a two-part story arc. As a youngster, I was fascinated with any episode show that included (1) a makeover (2) someone getting to be in the popular crowd and (3) awesome outfits. Let's face it, I was a shallow kid. And a very insecure one.

Let's get into this sordid tale. Have a seat: it's a two-parter!