Family Ties Season 1, Episode 20: The Fifth Wheel

1

Pilot

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

24 min

2

Not With My Sister You Don't

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

25 min

3

I Know Jennifer's Boyfriend

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

24 min

4

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.

25 min

5

I Never Killed for My Father

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

25 min

6

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.

25 min

7

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.

25 min

8

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.

24 min

9

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.

25 min

10

Have Gun, Will Unravel

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

25 min

11

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.

25 min

12

Oops

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

25 min

13

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.

25 min

14

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.

25 min

15

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.

24 min

16

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.

25 min

17

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.

25 min

18

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.

25 min

19

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.

25 min

20

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.

25 min

21

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.

25 min

22

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.

25 min