Alex (Micheal J, Fox) is troubled when an intelligence test suggests Mallory (Justine Bateman) is smarter than he is, but the real story in this episode, written by Stephen Curwick, is Jennifer’s (Tina Yothers).

Airing on 24 October, 1985, Jennifer has found a boy she likes, Adam (Noah Hathaway!), and the family is delighted when she has her first boyfriend but trouble comes up when Adam is bullied at school by Rick (Danny Nucci) and she stands up for him, and fights ‘his fight’ for him.

This causes a number of problems, including the breaking of their first real date, and Jennifer has to figure out not only dating but the fragile male ego. But when Adam stands up for himself, perhaps it will give the young couple a second chance.

It’s a cute episode, and Jennifer is handled wonderfully, a lot better than some of the writers have treated her in the past, Yothers is showing she’s got the chops to pull off tween/teen angst. And I was absolutely delighted to see Hathaway show up here, being a fan of his from Galactica and The NeverEnding Story,

it’s nice to see that the stories continue to give each of the family members a chance to shine because after the successful summer Fox had at the box office, the writers could have leaned more into his character and forgo the ensemble nature of the show.

Happily, they didn’t, and the Keaton family all get a chance to tell their stories.

Don’t Go Changin’ was written by Marc Lawrence and was first broadcast on 31 October, 1985.

While Steven (Micheal Gross) and Elsye (Meredith Baxter) fight over attending a literature class on Monday nights instead of watching football, Alex worries that he and Ellen (Tracy Pollan is back, YAY!) don’t have enough in common, and he’s insecure about not being involved in her world of art and dance.

His insecurity, and a little bit of jealousy about her dance partner, David (John Scott Clough) pushes him to even go so far as to audition for a part in Ellen’s dance class. He goes all out to try and culture himself, studying classical music, literature, and more. He’s eager to spend more time with Ellen, but he’s risking it all to be a part of it, and lets hope it doesn’t go badly.

Of course, he makes a fool of himself, and Ellen can only sit and watch the trainwreck of an audition.

Will the couple find their way back from this? Ellen is pretty understanding, but Alex did embarrass her in front of everyone, her friends and teachers. And the two find a way to be stronger for it, and you can’t help but love them as a couple in the series and in real life.

It does remind us that not every couple has to be completely involved in every part of their partner’s life. There are always going to be things that separate them, but that doesn’t mean they don’t love each other.

That’s a pretty important message.

The Old College Try was written by Ruth Bennett, and first debuted on 7 November, 1985.

Mallory gets a chance to shine as her graduation is approaching and Elyse is eager to talk about her academic future. Elyse is so eager in fact that she’s sending applications to colleges without Mallory’s permission.

When Mallory learns about the applications and flubs a college interview, it comes to a huge argument between the pair, because Mallory isn’t sure she wants to go to college. How will the two get past this?

Surprisingly, Mallory’s boyfriend Nick (Scott Valentine) has some pretty wise advice to share with her which gives her pause and forces her to rethink the whole situation. She still doesn’t believe she’ll ever go to college, but she also knows she has to make things right with her parents and be open and honest about what she wants for her life.

It’s a good episode, and it’s nice that all three of the children got a chance to shine in this trio of episodes. The show endures because it resonates. It can be goofy and silly, but its emotional heart is pure, and it tackles even some of the harder topics with grace.

Four seasons in and still an amazing show to watch. The writing has been consistent, the acting, which was strong to begin with, has gotten better as the characters grow, and the laughs are smart. This was exactly the right cast at exactly the right time.