TVSquad

The addition of Hogan Sheffer to the headwriting duties on The Young and the Restless is already making waves. In quick order, David and Sabrina have been killed off to make way for new characters. With new characters comes news of a major former prime time star joining the cast.

TV Guide's Michael Logan reports that Michael Gross will be playing River Baldwin, Michael's father, the one whom he thinks is a low-life, reprobate. A guy who refused to go to Vietnam and left Gloria to raise their son alone.

Best known as Steven Keaton on NBC's Emmy-winning sitcom Family Ties (1982-89), Michael is sure to bring instant credibility to the role. For one thing, we're going to find out that River is not at all what we've been told he is. In fact, I'm betting that River will be a politically charged character, a man who objected to the war and chose not to fight because he didn't believe it was a just cause.

Watch for Michael Baldwin to discover all kinds of things about himself and the kind of man he is because he shares the genes of a man he's never known.

Michael Gross will begin appearing on August 15.

It's Father's Day. Dad's day of the year. Earlier this week, I took the AOL TV Dad's Quiz, like Debra, and I was reminded of the variety of fathers on the tube. I think I have a unique take on TV dads. My own died when I was just eight, so I tend to admire those characters that remind me of him. For that reason, the pipe-smoking, cardigan sweater wearing Jim Anderson on Father Knows Best doesn't ring true; neither does the coarse Archie Bunker of All in the Family.

So, here's my five favorite sitcom dads, the ones I related to the most. That means I've excluded single dads and animated dads. That means Hank Hill, Homer Simpson, Peter Griffin and Fred Flintstone are ineligible for my list. Also, this is strictly sitcom pops.

From The Today Show, for the first time in 18 years, the entire cast of Family Ties got together to reminisce and talk about the show. Actually they got together to help series creator Gary David Goldberg plug his new book Sit, Ubu, Sit, a memoir of his life and times. I grew up in the '80s and this show was a huge part of my growing up. My parents were liberal hippies, just like the Keaton parents. And while I had nothing in common with really any of the kids, I found myself drawn into their familial world anyway.

The entire group still looks great, and I wondered if it would be possible to do a Family Ties reunion. The most obvious hurdle would be Michael J. Fox's Parkinson's disease. Even in this interview, it was difficult to see him struggling with it, so I would imagine it would be nearly impossible for him to hide it.

(S04E03) "That's so not fair." - Ariel Dubois

Paris, 10CC, white wine, the only thing that could make this scene more romantic is a corkscrew through the hand. Am I the only one who immediately thought of the scene in True Romance when Patricia Arquette drives a corkscrew through James Gandolfini's foot? Good times.

Michael Gross looks good, right? He looks a lot older than Steven Keaton but he wears it well. Personally, I would be thrilled to see him as a recurring character, but I'm not holding my breath.

The first season of Family Ties will be available on DVD on February 20 of next year. For those of you who didn't grow up watching this series like I did, it focused on two hippies (Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter-Birney) from the '60s raising a family in the Reagan era. Michael J. Fox starred as Alex, their Republican son, and their two daughters were played by Justine Bateman and Tina Yothers. The set will include all twenty-two episodes of the first season, including a two-parter featuring Tom Hanks as Elyse Keaton's secretive brother.

The series, which managed to be very smart and funny while also dealing with series subjects, aired on NBC for seven seasons. While it struggled during its first season, the show soon became part of NBC's sitcom domination when it was placed right next to The Cosby Show. I have to say, though, I always thought Family Ties was the better series. It would sometimes cross the line between funny and preachy, but never to the degree that The Cosby Show did. Both shows had lessons to teach, but Cosby sometimes felt more like a half-hour lecture on good behavior.

(S02E03) Everybody loves brunch, don't they? It's late in the morning... everyone's eating omelets and waffles, people have sex in the bathroom, and ugly family secrets get revealed.

Oh, that didn't happen the last time you visited your local bistro? Well, that's why sitcom life is a bit different than yours. Just be glad you're not Ted Mosby; we found out a little more about him tonight, stuff that's not going to bode well for him down the road.