Alex P. Keaton is a fictional character on the United States television sitcom Family Ties, which aired on NBC for seven seasons, from 1982 to 1989. Family Ties reflected the move in the United States away from the cultural liberalism of the 1960s and 1970s to the conservatism of the 1980s. This was particularly expressed through the relationship between Young Republican Alex (Michael J. Fox) and his hippie parents, Steven and Elyse Keaton. (Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter). President of the United States Ronald Reagan once stated that Family Ties was his favorite television show.