Alex (Micheal J. Fox) is under a lot of stress with exams and scholarship applications and turns to amphetamines in Speed Trap. Written by Micheal J. Weithorn, this episode was first broadcast on 9 November, 1983.

Alex approaches Mallory (Justine Bateman) about reaching out to one of her friends who has a prescription for them as diet pills. And despite the fact that Mallory says he won’t use them, he starts popping them right away despite some initial reticence.

Alex is placed in a conundrum, he knows he shouldn’t be doing it, but he needs to get the the best grades he can. Under the influence, he’s heightened, and wired, and while there are moments played for laughs we can definitely see an effect on him.

Mallory takes him to task immediately, but Alex reminds her she’s complicit in the whole thing. He becomes increasingly wired and irritable, and he’s going to come down soon. In the end, when he comes crashing down it’s Steven (Micheal Gross) and Elyse (Meredith Baxter) who are really going to have to deal with the growing problem before he becomes an addict.

Steven reveals that he took them in high school as well, and he is the one who really understands the danger that faces his son. A final confrontation brings it all into shocking clarity for the entire family.

It’s a solid episode, well written and doesn’t get preachy with its subject matter, it simply shares Alex’s experience.

Sweet Lorraine was written by Alan Uger and first debuted on 16 November, 1983.

Steven and Elyse are concerned when they discover that Alex has gone on a blind date with a woman who called into his campus radio show. After the initial shock over the age difference, Alex and Lorraine (Carolyn Seymour) have a wonderful growing friendship.

Lorraine has kept things completely platonic despite Alex’s interest, and Steven and Elyse are worried that there may be more going on between them than he’s told them. But they are just friends, close friends, and share common interests and no matter Alex’s intentions Lorraine is very careful about how the relationship progresses.

Elyse and Lorraine have a heart-to-heart as the Keatons attempt to understand what is going on in their friendship. But Steven and Elyse are concerned that this friendship is causing Alex’s schoolwork to slide, and he shuns his old friends.

But is it the right thing to do?

The episode raises some pretty big questions and doesn’t offer all the answers, but Lorraine makes her goodbyes to Alex and reminds him to be who he is, and right now, he’s just a seventeen-year-old boy.

Batter Up is Jennifer’s (Tina Yothers) first big story. First airing on 30 November, 1983, it was written by Lisa A. Bannick.

Alex has been coaching Jennifer’s baseball team, and when a number of the team fall sick or are moving away, the team is left one player short, and it seems the only option may be to recruit Skippy’s (Marc Price) clumsy little sister, Arlene (Tanya Fenmore).

Jennifer isn’t thrilled by the idea, but Alex is determined to make sure the team has enough players to field, and he convinces Jennifer to be nice to her and recruit her to the team. But what happens when Jennifer beans Arlene with the ball during batting practice?

Jennifer is upset that she’s hurt Arlene, and regrets asking Arlene to join the team, something Arlene did because she wanted to be friends with Jennifer. But will they have enough players to play in the final championship game of the season?

It’s too bad that we won’t see how their relationship will play out as this is Arlene’s only appearance in the series. And it’s nice to see Jennifer have a chance to shine. She’s usually used as a foil for Alex or Mallory but this time she gets to stand on her own.