Originally ran for an hour when it premiered. The second half was run without any commercials for dramatic effect.
The season 5 two-part episode "A, My Name is Alex" was named one of the top 100 TV episodes of all time by TV Guide and is widely considered by fans the greatest episode of the series.
The episode won 2 Emmy Awards for Outstanding Technical Direction/Electronic Camerawork/Video Control for a Series and Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series.
Michael J. Fox won his second Emmy for Family Ties for this episode.