Spin City

Seven years after Family Ties wrapped and Michael J. Fox milked the rest out of a relatively brief film career, he was lured back to TV by former Family Ties creator Gary David Goldberg to play an offshoot of his previous persona, Alex P. Keaton — yet another know-it-all, Mike Flaherty.

Mike is the city’s deputy mayor whose job it is to protect the slightly moronic mayor, Randall Winston (Barry Bostwick), from those who want to ruin his political career, and from himself.  Helping Mike is an ensemble cast including Friday Night Lights‘ Connie Britton, Ferris Bueller‘s Alan Ruck, as well as sitcom veteran Richard Kind.

The creators tried to pair Keaton’s character romantically with Carla Gugino, however, the pairing proved tepid and, by season two, her character was cut.  Aside from Bostwick, Ruck, and Kind, the rest of the cast is mostly forgettable.  These three serve as more than enough comedic foil for Fox to showcase his talents and unfailing ability to deliver one-liners and mine laughs from merely a facial reaction.

The testament in watching Spin City is the seamlessness between marrying a promising concept, loosely based on the George Stephanopoulous and Bill Clinton relationship, and a version of the Michael J. Fox character America obviously loved, as evidenced by his work in Family Ties and the Back to the Future franchise.

Spin City never feels like a slapped-together star vehicle so often wasted by network executives looking to make an instant classic by pawning off cast members from previous hits — fates befallen in such forgettable shows like Joey or the string of disasters spawned by Seinfeld cast members.

Among the extras you can find with this set is a conversation with the cast and creators as they look back at how the show began and recall the first season — particularly bittersweet, as each of them speak of Fox’s early departure in 2000 due to his battle with Parkinson’s disease.

Spin City Season One is available now on DVD.