tina yothers

In case any of us '80s kids were not glued to 'The Joy Behar Show' (weeknights, 10PM ET on HLN), here's a clip from her interview with our beloved 'Family Ties' stars (minus Mallory's Justine Bateman and Alex P. Keaton's Michael J. Fox). Michael Gross (father Steven) and Tina Yothers (Jennifer) joined her in the studio, Meredith Baxter (Elyse) and Brian Bonsall (Andy) by satellite.

Joy Behar chose the opportunity to ask a ridiculous hypothetical question to Baxter, who came out in 2009. "What do you think Alex P. Keaton would have thought about you being gay?"

I hate it when a celebrity gets into trouble and various writers trot out the old "_____ is cursed!" stories. As if various people, even if they were on the same show, can't have bad things happen to them. I mean, I worked at a place once where my coworkers later had arrests, miscarriages, divorces, illnesses, and money problems, but I don't go around saying "my God, that office was cursed!"

But that doesn't stop the San Diego Reader saying that the cast of Family Ties is cursed, because Michael J. Fox has Parkinson's, Brian Bonsall keeps getting arrested, Meredith Baxter battled cancer, and Justine Bateman...well, what, made a bad movie in the '80s? I love how the writer glosses over the fact that Courteney Cox went on to star in a rather popular NBC sitcom in the'90s.

When a bunch of people from one TV show get into trouble or have some sort of misfortune, it's not a "curse." It's called "life."

From The Today Show, for the first time in 18 years, the entire cast of Family Ties got together to reminisce and talk about the show. Actually they got together to help series creator Gary David Goldberg plug his new book Sit, Ubu, Sit, a memoir of his life and times. I grew up in the '80s and this show was a huge part of my growing up. My parents were liberal hippies, just like the Keaton parents. And while I had nothing in common with really any of the kids, I found myself drawn into their familial world anyway.

The entire group still looks great, and I wondered if it would be possible to do a Family Ties reunion. The most obvious hurdle would be Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's disease. Even in this interview, it was difficult to see him struggling with it, so I would imagine it would be nearly impossible for him to hide it.