On March 12th, 1987, the iconic episode of "Family Ties" - "A, My Name is Alex" - premiered on NBC. Widely considered the most famous of the "very special episodes" in all of television history, the episode was written by series creator Gary David Goldberg and Alan Uger. The hour-long episode, which originally aired in two parts, follows the main character Alex P. Keaton as he suffers from survivors guilt after his friend, Greg, was killed in a car accident. The episode is famously celebrated for its daring departure from the standard sitcom format. The cinematography for the episode was widely praised for its effect on the emotional message. This "emotional tour de force" earned Michael J. Fox one of his three consecutive Emmy Awards and won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series.
