Family

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The lives of the middle-class Lawrence family in Pasadena, California.

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Creators and Cast

Creators

Cast

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Episodes

Specials

2 episodes

S0 E1 · Home Movies

No summary.

S0 E2 · Laingholm

No summary.

Season 1

6 episodes

S1 E1 · Pilot (a.k.a. The Best Years)

Buddy hears Kate say something about her, and isn't happy. Also, Nancy walks in on Jeff with another woman.

S1 E2 · Monday is Forever

Kate has to wait until Monday to find out whether she has cancer; Buddy and her friend Laura Richardson have until Monday, when the latter's family is scheduled to move to Detroit.

S1 E3 · A Special Kind of Loving

Willie meets, and starts spending lots of time with, Salina -- leading to a tiff with Buddy, right when she needs him to help conquer her fear of diving.

S1 E4 · A Right and Proper Goodbye

Kate's mother comes for one last visit.

S1 E5 · Thursday's Child

As Timmy Jr.'s christening approaches, the whole family (especially Buddy, who stubbornly refuses to take part) relives the painful memories of Timmy Sr.'s death.

S1 E6 · Point of Departure

Doug resents Willie's attitude towards work, the universe, and everything; a string of burglaries sweeps through the neighborhood.

Season 2

22 episodes

S2 E1 · Coming Apart

Buddy gets a job at a bakery, and introduces Willie to her boss, ""Big Al""; Nancy gets involved with Peter, while she's finalizing her divorce from Jeff -- despite the latter's pleas for a reconciliation.

S2 E2 · Such Sweet Sorrow

Salina drops by, at a time when Willie is having problems with Alex; Doug is offered a great job in New York.

S2 E3 · Home Movie

Willie drives everyone crazy by following them around and filming them; Buddy has difficulty with a school assignment -- writing a speech on the topic of ""How I intend to leave my mark on the world""; Kate runs into a former roommate, who has become a successful author.

S2 E4 · Coming of Age

Buddy officially reaches puberty; Nancy is caught between Kate's resentment of her thoughtlessness, Peter's proposal of marriage, and a come-on from a complete stranger.

S2 E5 · Jury Duty (1)

Kate is subjected to widespread abuse for being the lone holdout; Buddy captures first prize, T.J.'s heart, and (for good measure) the real killer.

S2 E6 · Jury Duty (2)

Kate is subjected to widespread abuse for being the lone holdout; Buddy captures first prize, T.J.'s heart, and (for good measure) the real killer.

S2 E7 · The Cradle Will Fall

Buddy completes her orthodontal treatment; Salina returns to town once again, only to be plunged into a custody battle with her daughter's father; Kate finds out that Elaine's husband is cheating on her.

S2 E8 · Skeleton in the Closet

Doug must face his sister Emily's alcoholism. Buddy tries to help a senior citizen she spots shoplifting food from the supermarket.

S2 E9 · On The First Day Of Christmas (a.k.a. The Christmas Story)

Doug is suspicious when his father introduces his new, and much younger, girlfriend; Nancy and Jeff have a fight over who gets Timmy over Christmas.

S2 E10 · Rites of Friendship

A friend of Willie's comes out of the closet; Buddy, after getting invited to the ""Junior Jump"" by a popular boy, asks Nancy to teach her to dance.

S2 E11 · An Eye to the Future

Buddy (as ""Diamond In the Rough"") gets heavily into the CB scene; Kate decides to go back to college; Doug does a stint as a judge.

S2 E12 · Lovers and Strangers

Willie gets cradle-robbed by a visiting movie director, and takes it much too seriously; Doug gets a dog as a birthday present.

S2 E13 · Return Engagement

Maggie Calder, the woman who nearly destroyed Doug and Kate's marriage 20 years ago, is back for a second attempt. Buddy feels she's being treated like a baby.

S2 E14 · Mirror, Mirror on the Wall . . .

A daughter whom Elaine gave up for adoption years ago finds her, through Kate; Willie is intrigued by a pretty client at the photo studio where he works.

S2 E15 · Someone's Watching

A series of anonymous gifts eventually makes Nancy feel threatened; Buddy's motor-mouth school-project partner uses the Lawrences as his surrogate family.

S2 E16 · A Safe House

A former friend of Willie's, now an outlaw, gives him a call; Buddy thinks she has a great scoop for the school paper.

S2 E17 · Best Friends

Nancy attends her high-school reunion, meeting the guy she dumped to marry Jeff; T.J. asks Buddy to a formal dance, causing a rift with Audrey.

S2 E18 · Taking Chances (1)

When Doug loses his sight after getting hit by a car, opinions are divided as to whether he should undergo an operation that could either restore it, or kill him; in the meantime, Willie has second thoughts about having quit his job.

S2 E19 · Taking Chances (2)

After spending an eternity as a blind man whose youngest daughter despises him, Doug finally musters up the courage to have the operation -- and, of course, all's well.

S2 E20 · Comings and Goings

Willie and Salina search for an apartment together. Jeff's mother Sylvia is confined to the Lawrence home following a back injury and a quarrel with Jeff's father.

S2 E21 · . . . More Things in Heaven and Earth

Kate is shaken by what a supposed psychic says about her long-missing aunt; Nancy lands a prestigious legal assignment, and suspects her looks are the reason.

S2 E22 · An Endangered Species

A recently-divorced friend wants to hang out with Kate; Nancy gets upset when a classmate asks to use her place for an affair with a married man.

Season 3

23 episodes

S3 E1 · Acts of Love (1)

While Nancy and Buddy prepare for their parents' 25th wedding-anniversary party, Willie meets, and falls in love with, a physics student named Lizzy -- who, as he soon finds out, has radiation sickness.

S3 E2 · Acts of Love (2)

Lizzy dies, but not before Willie convinces her to marry him first.

S3 E3 · The First Time

Kate unhappily contemplates her 49th birthday; T.J. asks Buddy to go steady with him, but she's not sure.

S3 E4 · Change of Heart

Nancy is jealous of Jeff's new fiancée.

S3 E5 · Annie Laurie

Doug gets propositioned by a female lawyer.

S3 E6 · We Love You, Miss Jessup

Buddy's English teacher gets outed; Willie suspects Nancy of being a home-wrecker.

S3 E7 · The Little Brother

Willie fails to understand a black thing; Buddy develops an interest in genealogy.

S3 E8 · Childhood's End

Buddy's friend Laura returns for a visit, and -- guess what? -- she, too, is now an alkie; a friend of Doug's, a divorced father, is apprehensive about seeing his kids again.

S3 E9 · A Tale Out of Season

Doug's colleague and protégé turns out to be a child-beater; Nancy finds a puppy; Buddy finally gets into the Thanksgiving spirit.

S3 E10 · Labors of Love

Buddy, upset by a lack of attention from T.J., tries to make him jealous by hanging out with a geek; Willie catches the eye of his cute über-boss.

S3 E11 · A Child is Given

No summary.

S3 E12 · More Than Friends

Nancy hits it off with Willie's former writing teacher, but things get awkward when he pans Willie's script.

S3 E13 · Princess in the Tower

Kate, slightly sick of family life, checks out a model apartment in a brand-new high-rise condo -- and gets trapped overnight, along with a very pregnant younger woman; Buddy has the bright idea of dyeing her hair blonde.

S3 E14 · Echoes of Love

Willie can't stop reminiscing about Lizzy, so he hooks up with her former roommate; Audrey is depressed because her parents are splitting up, and angry that Doug is representing her mother in the divorce.

S3 E15 · See Saw

Kate volunteers to help a moody (and arithmetic-obsessed) young patient at the Braille institute; Willie works on installing Timmy's new bed; Buddy leaves for a week-end of skiing with T.J. and his parents.

S3 E16 · Lifeline

Nancy plays hot-line operator when her classmate attempts suicide, to get back at her married boyfriend for breaking up her; Buddy baby-sits a whiny kid.

S3 E17 · . . . And Baby Makes Three

Nancy and Jeff aren't sure whether to get back together; Buddy is disgusted that Audrey has fallen for the cheap ploys of the school Casanova.

S3 E18 · Crossing Over

Willie has an appointment with a big-shot film producer, on the eve of his 21st birthday; then, he and Doug make friends with a stripper.

S3 E19 · The Covenant

Medical crises abound in the family when James reveals to Doug that he must soon undergo exploratory surgery, and Nancy begins to miscarry Jeff's baby.

S3 E20 · A Friend of the Family's

A somewhat unscrupulous former friend of Willie's drops by; Buddy needs driving lessons; Kate and Doug consider taking separate vacations.

S3 E21 · Fear of Shadows

Kate has a recurring nightmare about running over a little boy; Buddy gets a pet raccoon.

S3 E22 · Sleeping Gypsy

Everyone at school dislikes Buddy's bohemian friend; Kate gives Doug a plaid jacket he doesn't much care for.

S3 E23 · Counterpoint

Kate has to go back and repeat a class she flunked the previous semester, and gets picked on by a snobby professor; Doug contemplates early retirement after his tennis partner has a heart attack.

Season 4

22 episodes

S4 E1 · Starting Over

Annie's sole surviving relative dumps her into the Lawrences' lap -- where she doesn't feel quite comfortable, at first.

S4 E2 · All For Love

Zack tells Buddy that unless she sleeps with him, he will have to satisfy his manly needs with another girl; Doug thinks of buying a flashy sports car.

S4 E3 · Changes

Nancy is all set to re-marry Jeff; Annie, heretofore known as ""Annie Cooper,"" decides to add ""Lawrence"" to her name; Buddy, ever the traditionalist, is bothered by it all.

S4 E4 · Magic

Kate, in the hospital for a physical, meets a burned-out former rock star; Annie needs Doug's help to impress her classmates with magic tricks.

S4 E5 · Just Friends

Willie considers an affair with a married woman he met in a writing class; Nancy, sick of living in a ""fishbowl,"" decides to move out of the guesthouse and into an apartment of her own.

S4 E6 · Generations

The family decides to spend Thanksgiving at Hattie's farm where Kate faces ghosts from the past. Buddy is intrigued by a local boy.

S4 E7 · Expectations

Nancy's new boss pressures her to sleep with him; Buddy tries out for the cheerleading squad.

S4 E8 · Gifts

Annie, who still misses her parents, can't relate to the Lawrences' holiday cheer, and decides to run away until Christmas is over; Willie runs into his old barber, who is about to close up shop for good.

S4 E9 · The Friend's Affair

A colleague and friend of Doug's is cheating on his wife; Annie suspects a next-door neighbor of having murdered his.

S4 E10 · Exits and Entrances

After Buddy stars in a high-school play (Shaw's Saint Joan), her interest in acting is strongly encouraged by a friend of Kate's, a professional actress; Annie gets a telemarketing job to pay for a new bike.

S4 E11 · Moment of Truth

A man he once helped put in jail threatens Doug; Buddy and Audrey have a fight about who copied from whom on an algebra test.

S4 E12 · Malicious Mischief

Nancy considers a marriage proposal from Timmy's daycare provider -- until he gets accused of child abuse; Willie falls in love with a cat.

S4 E13 · Sleeping Over

Buddy's invitation to a sorority becomes a sore point in her friendship with Audrey when Audrey isn't invited to join. Willie sleeps with Kate's musician friend, leading to a serious mother-son rift over casual sex.

S4 E14 · Disco Queen

Buddy sneaks into a disco club, with the help of an older acquaintance, and finds it more than she bargained for; Annie has a date with a jock.

S4 E15 · The Athlete

Buddy, volunteering at a hospital, encounters a star high-school basketball player who is there for a broken leg -- or so he thinks; Annie runs for class president against her nemesis, Emmy Sheldon.

S4 E16 · The Competition

Buddy learns the price of competition when an overachieving classmate commits suicide after losing a history competition to her. Annie's cookie-selling strategy is a riot.

S4 E17 · Ballerina

Willie has a fling with a ballet dancer; Doug purchases a workout set by mail order.

S4 E18 · Diversions

While studying for the bar exam, Nancy's attention is diverted by a charming and seemingly accident-prone neighbor.

S4 E19 · An Apple For the Teacher

Kate's teaching career gets off to a rough start, when a student decides to continuously annoy her; Annie borrows Buddy's ""lucky"" ring to help during a spelling bee, and promptly loses it.

S4 E20 · Prelude

Buddy has a crush on her swimming instructor, much to Zack's displeasure; Kate is tempted to call an old boyfriend.

S4 E21 · Going Straight

Willie hires Bambi Deering, the stripper he met on his 21st birthday. Doug attempts to save hefty plumber's fees by repairing the household pipes himself.

S4 E22 · From Russia With Love

Kate acts as escort to, and highly impresses, a visiting Ukrainian composer; Buddy and Annie play Monopoly to determine who gets Willie's old room.

Season 5

13 episodes

S5 E1 · Thanksgiving

Doug's father starts showing his age.

S5 E2 · 'Tis the Season

A pre-Christmas argument with Willie nearly gives Doug a heart attack; Buddy invites her school's janitor to her house, where he quickly endears himself to everyone but Kate.

S5 E3 · Jack of Hearts

Buddy and Nancy find themselves in a love triangle; Annie dabbles in the occult.

S5 E4 · When the Bough Breaks

Kate finds out she's pregnant; a friend of Buddy's, on vacation from her all-girls school, picks Willie as a seduction target.

S5 E5 · Hard Times

Two friends of Buddy's who have been going steady for 3 years are having relationship problems -- and when she tries to help, the results aren't quite what she expected; Nancy is having trouble at work, which starts to affect even Timmy.

S5 E6 · Whispers

Buddy's friendship with a teacher gives rise to rumors; Annie uses questionable tactics to get Willie to let her interview him for her school paper.

S5 E7 · Play on Love

Willie finds the director of his play more interesting than Rachel; Buddy insists on buying an old sports car, over Doug's objections.

S5 E8 · Daylight Serenade

Buddy has an ambiguous relationship with a nerdy schoolmate whom Kate is training for a piano recital; Nancy begs Annie to teach her how to roller-skate, so she can go to a party with a handsome fellow lawyer.

S5 E9 · Such a Fine Line

A schoolboy has a crush on Kate; Jeff, now an in-over-his-head rock manager, blows into town with his band.

S5 E10 · The Ties That Bind

Elaine resurfaces in Kate's life after being dumped by Fred for a younger woman. Meanwhile, Annie experiences abandonment issues, too.

S5 E11 · Just Like Old Times

Buddy tries to make everyone think she didn't get into any of the schools she applied to; Doug wants Annie to share his obsession with baseball.

S5 E12 · Smarts

Annie gets picked on by her classmates, for being too smart; Buddy, studying for her SATs, worries that she's not smart enough.

S5 E13 · Letting Go

Doug is upset when Buddy starts dating a 21-year-old; Annie is jealous of an old friend who has matured much faster than she has.