"Family Ties Vacation" takes the Keatons to England where the entire family manages to split up and gets wrapped up in all sorts of madcap adventures. Most of the movie focuses on Michael J. Fox's character, Alex, who at this point in his career was one of the biggest movie stars in the county. While in England, Alex decides to take classes at Oxford and predictably has to cope with the idea of not being the smartest guy in the room. Even more predictably, Mallory falls for a European heartthrob and Jennifer... well, Season Four isn't as kind to her character since she kind of finds herself sucked into that middle-child area. She's still around, though as more of a sidekick. Then there's Elyse and Steven's adventures in espionage, which are beyond silly.
Once you get past the movie (or skip it entirely... which is my recommendation), Season Four isn't that bad. There are a few incredibly memorable episodes, most notably the introduction of Alex's girlfriend Ellen (Tracy Pollan), who would later become Michael J. Fox's real-life wife. Mallory's dim-witted, artist boyfriend Nick (Scott Valentine) shows up really early in the season and quickly becomes a regular, and one of my all-time favorite sitcom characters.
The most influential aspect of the entire season is Andy. Though you'll have to wait until next season to see him magically grow-up, he still has a major impact on the show's family dynamic. Andy's arrival changes all of the characters in some way, especially Alex who mellows out and becomes less self-centered and more of a brother to his siblings (of course, he's also trying to groom a smaller version of himself, but you'll have to wait until next season to see that plan come into effect).
Like Season Three, The Fourth Season dvd features little in the way of extras outside a gag reel and episode promos. Apparently, Michael Gross's beard rates higher on the scale than Andy, since he doesn't get any sort of dedicated feature while the facial hair was greeted as a major new addition. Even then, you shouldn't let this or the "Family Ties Vacation" keep you away.
