Hey, look, the two-part clip show continues. Battle of the Sexes: Part 2 was written by Stephen Curwick and first aired on 19 February, 1987.

As the discussion about the differences between men and women continues, the narrative shifts to show how Mallory (Justine Bateman) and Jennifer (Tina Yothers) have gotten into trouble with the opposite sex. The problems aren’t just Alex’s (Micheal J. Fox) or Steven’s (Micheal Gross) they happen to everyone.

Andy (Brian Bonsall) is full of questions, but it’s just a platform to show a collection of silly moments throughout the run of the show. Yes, it allows the show to demonstrate that all of the actors had great comedic chops and that the show has some great writing.

It also shows how much the actors have grown and changed over the run of the show, but that there’s a real sense of chemistry and family in their performances. Even though it’s a clip show, it’s great to see how enduring the cast and their stories have been.

They come across as a real family, sure, they have great sit-com writing and things always seem to get wrapped up really quickly, but they deal with real issues, and they do it well. They also make it really funny.

Band on the Run was written by Marc Lawrence and Susan Borowtiz and debuted on 26 February, 1987.

Apparently, Jennifer has a band (?!) and she convinces Alex to let her audition for a Leland College dance. Imagine his surprise when he discovers she’s good, really good. Just as surprised as the viewing audience, where did this come from? Jennifer has never shown a musical inclination before, and now she’s in a band called the Permanent Waves? A band that also has Christina Applegate in it?! How have we not heard about this before?

Sit-com reality – I’m sure we’ll never hear about it again after this episode. Sure, there is some nice continuity in the series, but other things get glossed over and forgotten.

Anyway, Alex decides to take over as manager of the band because he sees a way to make some money, and that, of course, causes problems. He tries to change their look, their style, and their repertoire.

There’s a b-story involving Steven’s closet space, and Mallory taking it over for a school fashion project and she’s relocating Steven’s clothes all around the house.

It’s cute, but we’ll obviously never hear about Jennifer’s band ever again.

Keaton vs. Keaton was written by Stephen Curwick and first aired on 5 March, 1987.

Steven’s station is offering the chance of a scholarship to any child of an employee, Alex is absolutely sure he’s a shoo-in, but things change when he learns about Mallory’s dreams, and the way the scholarship would help her.

Initially, Mallory is reticent to not take the chance, but both Elyse (Meredith Baxter) and Jennifer believe she should take the chance, because she’s grown and changed over the past couple of years, and this could be a real boost for her.

Mallory and Alex go toe-to-toe for the scholarship and it’s brutal at first, but Alex comes to realize what winning it will mean to Mallory, and even he realizes how much she’s grown and come into herself, and she deserves it.

There’s a bit of a thing going on with Steven and Elyse talking about their favourite movies and how they disagree over their take on Out of Africa. There’s also some fun stuff with Andy and Nick (Scott Valentine).