Family Ties: Return of the Native

"The Boys Next Door" is the twenty-seventh episode of season six of the American comedy series Family Ties and the twenty-fourth episode of the series overall. It was directed by Sam Weisman and written by Douglas Wyman. It first aired on NBC on March 20th, 1988. In this episode, Mallory's boyfriend, Jeff Wakefield returns home to Columbus, Ohio, much to Mallory's excitement. He confesses to Alex however that he hates going to Princeton and wants to remain at home. He asks Mallory to go steady with him.