Episode guide
Family Ties
176 episodes · 7 seasons · 1982–1989 · NBC
Season
Season 1
22 episodes
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S01E01 Pilot Alex escorts a pretty socialite to a dance at her country club.
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S01E02 Not With My Sister You Don't With Steven and Elyse away for the weekend, Alex hosts a wild party and worries over Mallory going off with one of his womanizing friends.
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S01E03 I Know Jennifer's Boyfriend Jennifer gets picked on when she befriends a boy at school.
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S01E04 Summer of '82 Seduced by an "older woman" of twenty-one, the hitherto inexperienced Alex is devastated to learn that she thinks of their relationship as casual.
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S01E05 I Never Killed for My Father A visit from Steven's father evokes confrontation between the two.
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S01E06 Give Your Uncle Arthur a Kiss Mallory is horrified and confused when a close family friend and older business associate of her father's makes a pass at her.
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S01E07 Big Brother is Watching As the new editor of his school paper, Alex uncovers a cheating scandal and to everyone's chagrin, prints a list of students who were caught including Mallory.
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S01E08 No Nukes is Good Nukes To the dismay of the Keaton children and their equally conservative grandparents, Steven and Elyse take time out Thanksgiving Day to attend an anti-nuke rally-and end up spending the holiday in jail.
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S01E09 Death of a Grocer Though Alex loves working at Mr. Adler's "Mom and Pop" grocery store, to the old man's dismay, he quits to "climb the corporate ladder" at an ultramodern supermarket.
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S01E10 Have Gun, Will Unravel The Keatons consider buying a gun for protection after getting burglarized.
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S01E11 A Christmas Story When a blizzard forces the Keatons to spend Christmas at home, Elyse's gift to Steven an album filled with fascinating old photos sparks flashbacks to the births of their three children.
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S01E12 Oops Mallory resents Elyse for the advice she gives her pregnant friend.
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S01E13 Sherry Baby When popular sorority girl Sherry Marshall befriends Mallory to get close to Alex, Mallory brings them together in hopes of joining Pi Nu but her plan backfires.
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S01E14 The Fugitive (1) Elyse's younger brother and Alex's idol, Ned, makes a surprise visit. However, everyone is puzzled by the go-getter corporate executive's suspicious behavior.
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S01E15 The Fugitive (2) With the FBI hot on Ned's heels for embezzling 4.5 million dollars in corporate funds, Elyse's ethical brother and Alex's idol tells the family why and where he hid the money.
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S01E16 Margin of Error Alex amasses a bundle by playing the stock market on paper for his economics class, and courts disaster by secretly investing his father's money.
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S01E17 French Lessons Mallory's handsome but shy French tutor, Jeff, finally musters up the nerve to ask her out and then courts disaster by enlisting Alex's advice on how to behave on the date.
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S01E18 I Gotta Be Ming As Big Brother to a 10-year-old Vietnamese boy, Alex tries to mold Ming into his own image, and he learns an unforgettable lesson when he breaks a promise to the adoring child.
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S01E19 Suzanne Takes You Down Soon after freelance architect Elyse Keaton hires her friend Suzanne Davis to handle clerical chores, she wants to fire the under-qualified, overly aggressive secretary.
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S01E20 The Fifth Wheel Alex gets stuck babysitting for his little sister Jennifer, who is fed up with feeling in the way at his poker game and decides to disappear.
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S01E21 Stage Fright (a.k.a. Video Jitters) While gearing up to face the television cameras as captain of his high school's team on "Quiz-Em", Alex panics at first when a teammate drops out and then launches a tutoring program a la Eliza Doolittle for his sister Mallory.
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S01E22 Elyse D'Arc Elyse gets so wrapped up in work that she neglects her family.
Season
Season 2
22 episodes
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S02E01 Tender is the Knight When pretty Carrie Newman and her mother Julia come to visit the Keatons, Carrie's forward behavior sends Alex into a panic.
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S02E02 The Homecoming When Mallory's boyfriend Jeff arrives home from college and wants to go steady, she's elated, but it's soon apparent that he's a little awed by school and merely grasping at the familiar.
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S02E03 The Harder They Fall Alex anxiously awaits a crucial college recommendation from his English teacher.
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S02E04 This Year's Model Mallory secretly submits a picture of Elyse and herself to an ad agency for a mother-daughter-modeling contest.
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S02E05 Not an Affair to Remember Steven's assistant at the station is bright, talented, funny, and witty...and in love with him.
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S02E06 Speed Trap When Alex takes diet pills for a lift during midterms, his dependency level increases daily.
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S02E07 Sweet Lorraine While working as a DJ at the school radio station, Alex strikes up a telephone friendship with caller Lorraine Ferrar.
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S02E08 Batter Up Steven and Elyse worry that the Jennifer's softball team coach is pushing the girls too hard.
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S02E09 A Keaton Christmas Carol A cynical Alex finds the spirit of Christmas in a dream.
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S02E10 To Snatch a Keith Steven and Elyse realize how lucky they are when their friends come over for a visit, but are unaware that it will be for the last time.
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S02E11 Birthday Boy On his 18th birthday, Alex defies his mother and goes off with some of his buddies to celebrate at an out-of-town nightclub.
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S02E12 Go Tigers Alex is both amazed and furious when a critical admissions interview at Princeton University is shattered by his hysterical sister Mallory.
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S02E13 "M" is for the Many Things Elyse is shocked by her soon-to-be-divorced mother's quick and free-spirited plunge into the singles world.
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S02E14 Say Uncle Alex discovers that his idol, young Uncle Ned, has a serious drinking problem.
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S02E15 Ladies' Man Alex pretends to support the Equal Rights Amendment to impress a pretty feminist.
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S02E16 Ready or Not Mallory turns to Alex for some advice when she begins to fear she'll lose her new boyfriend unless she agrees to his pleas for a more "adult" romance.
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S02E17 Double Date Alex courts disaster when he invites two dates to the senior prom. He devises an elaborate scheme for escorting each of the unknowing girls on a night to remember.
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S02E18 Lady Sings the Blues Elyse is excited at the prospect of reviving her folk-singing career at a local nightclub.
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S02E19 Baby Boy Doe When Alex's pal Skippy discovers he's adopted, Alex helps him cope with the shocking news.
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S02E20 The Graduate Alex is so sure that he will be named valedictorian of his class that he can't cope with the thought of being defeated by a girl-especially his girl.
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S02E21 Diary of a Young Girl In the hospital awaiting a tonsillectomy, Jennifer fears she may never see her family again.
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S02E22 Working at It Elyse feels the need to expand her horizons.
Season
Season 3
24 episodes
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S03E01 The Gambler Elyse is stricken with gambling fever on a business trip to Atlantic City. While on a roll with Alex's "foolproof" blackjack system, she's oblivious to her family and job.
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S03E02 Here We Go Again The news that their mother is pregnant sends the three Keaton kids into an angry outburst resulting in a family battle.
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S03E03 Little Man on Campus Alex is thrilled to be taking a college course taught by one of his personal heroes, Professor Ephraim Bronski. In his eagerness to impress the teacher he gets off to a bad start and is humiliated by his idol when he fails the first class assignment.
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S03E04 Love Thy Neighbor Little Jennifer is thrilled about getting a visit from her former neighborhood pal, Scott, whom she hasn't seen in five years.
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S03E05 Keaton 'N Son Alex reluctantly accepts a part-time job with his father at the non-profit station, and his dad is bursting with pride to have him following in his footsteps.
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S03E06 Fabric Smarts Mallory's enthusiasm for her part-time job at a boutique causes her grades to slip even lower than usual.
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S03E07 Hotline Fever As an economics student, Alex finds it demeaning to be forced into a public service position, but his experiences at the crisis center gives him a new outlook on life.
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S03E08 4 Rms Ocn Vu While Steven and Elyse are away on vacation, Mallory accidentally crashes her parents' car into a telephone pole. The kids need to raise money for auto repairs and decides to turn the Keaton house into a hotel.
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S03E09 Best Man Alex cannot accept the fact that he and everyone around him are growing up, and desperately clings to his old ways.
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S03E10 Lost Weekend Steven and Elyse plan a nostalgic weekend with the kids before the baby arrives, and are crushed to discover that the children are not at all interested in reminiscing about old times-they'd rather be with their friends.
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S03E11 Don't Kiss Me, I'm Only the Messenger Alex plays Cupid to help his shy pal Skippy get together with Jane, the girl of his dreams, but his good intentions go awry when the girl falls for him instead.
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S03E12 Help Wanted Alex hires a nanny and housekeeper who is inept at her duties.
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S03E13 Karen II, Alex 0 Alex's chances for acceptance into a smug college fraternity are dependent upon him having a knockout date for the pledge dance.
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S03E14 Oh Donna Alex befriends Donna, a young, unwed expectant mother from Elyse's natural-childbirth class.
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S03E15 Auntie Up Mallory is crushed when her favorite aunt dies suddenly, but her feelings of sadness turn to anger when family and friends at the funeral seem to be taking Aunt Trudy's death too lightly.
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S03E16 Philadelphia Story Alex falls asleep while working on a college term paper on Thomas Jefferson and dreams that his family and friends are living 200 years ago.
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S03E17 Birth of a Keaton (1) To help Steven during pledge week at the television station, the Keatons reluctantly agree to be part of the entertainment. The audience gets an unexpected show when Elyse goes into labor right on camera while in the middle of a song.
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S03E18 Birth of a Keaton (2) A snowstorm prevents Elyse from getting to the hospital in time to deliver her baby.
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S03E19 Cry Baby Jennifer is jealous over the attention paid to Andrew.
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S03E20 Don't Know Much About History... Alex and his good friend James go into business together as tutors for their fellow students at Leland.
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S03E21 Bringing Up Baby With Elyse back at work, Steven is frustrated when her schedule and the baby's schedule aren't allowing them any free time together.
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S03E22 Cold Storage With the rest of the Keaton family away for the weekend, Mallory is excited about having the house to herself-until she is accidentally locked in the basement with the person she'd least like to be with-her adoring neighbor, Skippy.
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S03E23 Remembrances of Things Past (1) Steven takes a nostalgic trip to his hometown following the death of his father. With the support of Elyse and the children, he tries to prepare his mother for her new life.
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S03E24 Remembrances of Things Past (2) Steven takes a nostalgic trip to his hometown following the death of his father. With the support of Elyse and the children, he tries to prepare his mother for her new life.
Season
Season 4
24 episodes
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S04E01 The Real Thing (1) Alex picks out his dream girl from the school directory and falls for her roommate.
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S04E02 The Real Thing (2) Alex takes drastic measures to stop Ellen from getting married.
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S04E03 Mr. Wrong Mallory brings home her new boyfriend, Nick, a Rambo-type environmental artist, to meet her family.
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S04E04 Designated Hitter Jennifer takes on a class bully to defend her boyfriend.
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S04E05 Don't Go Changin' Alex does some fancy footwork on the dance floor to impress Ellen when he thinks he is losing her because of their divergent interests.
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S04E06 The Old College Try When Mallory informs her parents that she has no intention of going to college after graduation, they are sure her boyfriend, Nick, a high school dropout, is influencing her.
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S04E07 My Tutor Alex hires a tutor to help him with math, but his "teacher" turns out to be a 13-year-old genius who suddenly becomes more interested in Jennifer that in helping Alex.
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S04E08 Mr. Right Nick seeks Alex's help and advice on how to fit in more comfortably with the Keaton family, and ends up taking a "normal" job and going to extremes to be accepted.
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S04E09 Just One Look Steven looks forward to reminiscing about the good old times when an old college buddy, Richard Schofield, comes to visit.
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S04E10 How Do You Sleep? Alex, who prides himself on being in control of his life, is embarrassed to admit that he is having a problem with insomnia, which is creating stress in his personal life as well as in school.
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S04E11 You've Got a Friend Mallory begins to feel severe guilt after reporting a young girl to the police for shoplifting, especially when she learns that the girl is from a home for abused children.
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S04E12 Nothing But a Man Steven gets the promotion he has been waiting years for, but as the new regional manager of the station, he is required to put in long hours at the office and soon realizes he has no time for his family.
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S04E13 The Disciple Jennifer seeks Alex's help on a speech for her class.
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S04E14 Where's Poppa? Alex creates conflict by inviting Ellen's father to Parent's Day Weekend.
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S04E15 Fool for Love Skippy refuses to accept that Mallory is in love with Nick.
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S04E16 Checkmate A chess tournament between Leland College students and a visiting Soviet team turns into a wrestling match when Alex and his opponent, Ivan Rozmirovich, match wits and "fight" for their countries.
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S04E17 Engine Trouble Elyse enrolls in an auto mechanics class to prove to Alex and Steven that women can be just as competent with cars as men, but to protect his own masculinity, Alex joins the class to prove her wrong
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S04E18 A Word to the Wise (1) The Keaton family fills Alex's girlfriend, Ellen, in on some of the more humorous events in Alex's life before they met.
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S04E19 A Word to the Wise (2) The Keaton family fills Alex's girlfriend, Ellen, in on some of the more humorous events in Alex's life before they met.
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S04E20 Art Lover Mallory suspects there's more involved than "art appreciation" when a wealthy and beautiful older woman takes a special interest in Nick's creations.
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S04E21 Teacher's Pet Alex lands an assistant teaching position and runs into big trouble when he has to grade a student who also happens to be his girlfriend, Ellen.
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S04E22 My Buddy Steven has a very difficult time accepting that his youngest daughter, Jennifer, is growing up and no longer wants to "pal around" with him.
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S04E23 Once in Love with Elyse (a.k.a. Loan Arranger) Elyse must deal with Paul, a young architect associate who falls in love with her.
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S04E24 Paper Chase (a.k.a. Mallory's Graduation) Mallory's poor grades jeopardize her high school graduation.
Season
Season 5
30 episodes
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S05E01 Be True to Your Preschool Alex objects to the teaching style at Andrew's elite pre-school.
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S05E02 Starting Over Alex is on the rebound when Ellen leaves for Paris.
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S05E03 The Freshman and the Senior Mallory gets paired with a senior citizen for a class project.
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S05E04 My Back Pages Steven revives the left-wing political magazine he established in college.
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S05E05 Beauty and the Bank Alex jeopardizes his career at a bank when he falls for his boss.
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S05E06 Mrs. Wrong (1) Nick and Mallory plan to elope when the Keaton's oppose their marriage.
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S05E07 Mrs. Wrong (2) The Keatons try to stop Mallory and Nick from eloping.
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S05E08 The Big Fix Elyse tries to fix up her co-worker with one of her friends.
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S05E09 My Brother's Keeper Skippy is the victim of a cruel fraternity prank when Alex intervenes.
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S05E10 High School Confidential Alex tutors Nick to help him earn his high school diploma.
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S05E11 Paper Lion Alex faces a moral dilemma while assisting his professor on a research project.
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S05E12 My Mother, My Friend Mallory gets jealous when her friend forms a bond with Elyse.
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S05E13 O'Brother (1) The Keatons are devastated when Uncle Rob announces he's getting a divorce.
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S05E14 O'Brother (2) The Keatons hear the other side of the story about Uncle Rob's separation.
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S05E15 Higher Love Mallory joins a poetry club and falls for the leader of the group.
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S05E16 Architect's Apprentice Nick competes in a local art competition at Steven's station.
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S05E17 A Tale of Two Cities (1) Alex accompanies his boss on a business trip to Chicago.
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S05E18 A Tale of Two Cities (2) Alex's boss makes a pass at him while on a business trip in Chicago.
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S05E19 Battle of the Sexes (1) The Keatons have their own own battle of the sexes.
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S05E20 Battle of the Sexes (2) The Keatons reminisce about their relationships gone awry.
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S05E21 Band on the Run Alex is unsuccessful at managing Jennifer's all-girl band.
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S05E22 Keaton vs. Keaton Mallory goes head-to-head with Alex in a scholarship competition.
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S05E23 A, My Name is Alex (1) Alex questions the meaning of life when his friend dies in a car accident.
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S05E24 A, My Name is Alex (2) Alex questions the meaning of life when his friend dies in a car accident.
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S05E25 "D" is for Date Jennifer plays dumb to impress a star athlete at school.
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S05E26 Love Me Do Skippy makes a fool of himself over Mallory's new college friend.
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S05E27 The Visit Elyse's sister and her obnoxious family visit the Keatons.
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S05E28 Matchmaker When Mallory goes through a string of bad dates, Alex attempts to find her someone who seems perfect "on paper".
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S05E29 It's My Party (1) On Jen's birthday, she is unusually un-eager for the usual party ingredients, clearly only pretends to appreciate the hand-puppet show dad revels in, and actually gets completely obsessed with imitating the fashion-obsessed herd of 'cool kids' at school, even if that means abandoning all her rather tomcat habits. Stacie's gang and chasing boys seem to overtake her whole personality, she even takes lessons in 'cool' signals and talk from airhead Mallory.
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S05E30 It's My Party (2) Jennifer feels out of place at her own thirteenth birthday party.
Season
Season 6
28 episodes
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S06E01 The Last of the Red Hot Psychologists (1) Alex falls for a pretty psychology student.
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S06E02 The Last of the Red Hot Psychologists (2) Alex falls for a pretty psychology student
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S06E03 Dear Mallory Mallory writes an advice column for a local shopper's guide.
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S06E04 The Other Woman Andy feels ignored when Alex spends time with Lauren.
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S06E05 Dream Date Jennifer uses a nerdy admirer to make another boy jealous.
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S06E06 Super Mom Elyse's job starts to interfere with her family life.
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S06E07 Walking on Air Steven pushes Mallory to take a job at the station.
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S06E08 Invasion of the Psychologist Snatchers Alex is intimidated by Lauren's old boyfriend.
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S06E09 The Way We Were Elyse's aunt faces a tragic illness.
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S06E10 Mister Sister Nick takes a job as a janitor at Mallory's sorority house.
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S06E11 Citizen Keaton Mallory decides to run for student body president.
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S06E12 Father Time (1) The Keatons get involved in Uncle Rob's divorce.
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S06E13 Father Time (2) Uncle Rob's daughter can't cope with his divorce.
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S06E14 The American Family (1) Lauren writes paper on the Keaton family for her class.
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S06E15 The American Family (2) Lauren writes paper on the Keaton family for her class.
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S06E16 Anniversary Waltz Elyse and Steven have a nasty fight on their 20th wedding anniversary.
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S06E17 Miracle in Columbus A breaded visitor turns Alex into a believer at Christmas.
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S06E18 The Play's the Thing Steven gets jealous of Elyse's leading man in a local play.
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S06E19 The Spirit of Columbus Alex turns Nick into an assembly line artist.
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S06E20 The Blues Brother Alex tries to help a struggling musician regain his fame.
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S06E21 Read It and Weep (1) Jennifer fights the school for banning a book.
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S06E22 Read It and Weep (2) Jennifer faces the music after reading a book that the school banned.
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S06E23 Quitting Time Lauren drops her college thesis to spend more time with Alex.
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S06E24 Spring Reminds Me (a.k.a. Rosalie's Legacy) Alex questions the meaning of life when his Mallory deals with a friend's tragic suicide.
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S06E25 The Boys Next Door Elyse's high school friends can't move on from the past.
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S06E26 Sign of the Times Andy takes drastic measures to help a deaf friend.
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S06E27 Return of the Native Cousin June returns to visit the Keatons after a three-year stay in London.
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S06E28 Father, Can You Spare a Dime? Nick asks his estranged father for a loan to open up his own art school.
Season
Season 7
26 episodes
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S07E01 It Happened One Night The Keatons camping trip turns into a comedy of errors.
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S07E02 Designing Woman Mallory discovers another employee is stealing her fashion designs.
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S07E03 Truckers Alex feels left out when Andy starts making new friends.
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S07E04 Beyond Therapy Lauren sends Alex to group therapy to get him to open up more.
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S07E05 Heartstrings (1) Steven suffers from a serious heart attack.
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S07E06 Heartstrings (2) The family anxiously awaits while Steven undergoes heart surgery.
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S07E07 Heartstrings (3) Steven struggles with fear after returning home after his heart surgery.
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S07E08 Basic Training Skippy decides to join the Army.
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S07E09 Deja Vu Jennifer dates Mallory's ex-boyfriend's brother.
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S07E10 Nick's Best Friend Nick's devastated when his childhood dog is hit by a car.
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S07E11 Get Me to the Living Room on Time Andy befriends two senior citizens from a retirement center.
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S07E12 The Job Not Taken Alex must choose between a friendship and his career.
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S07E13 The Wrecker's Ball Elyse races to save a building she designed from the wrecking ball.
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S07E14 My Best Friend's Girl Skippy falls for Alex's girlfriend Lauren when she begins counseling him.
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S07E15 'Til Her Daddy Takes the T-Bird Away Steven refuses to co-sign on a loan for Mallory's new car.
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S07E16 Simon Says Jennifer is caught in the middle when she beings working with her inept friend.
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S07E17 All in the Neighborhood (1) Steve and Elyse face bigotry in their neighborhood.
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S07E18 All in the Neighborhood (2) The Keatons fight against bigotry in their own neighborhood.
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S07E19 They Can't Take That Away From Me (1) Alex falls for someone else when Lauren leaves town.
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S07E20 They Can't Take That Away From Me (2) Alex is forced to choose between Lauren and his new love.
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S07E21 Rain Forests Keep Falling on My Head Jennifer becomes obsessed with protecting the environment.
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S07E22 Wrap Around the Clock (1) The Keatons share a laugh when they look back at their past.
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S07E23 Wrap Around the Clock (2) Andy's time capsule revives some funny family memories.
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S07E24 Mr. Keaton Takes a Vacation Steven must confront his feelings about Nick when he moves in for a week.
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S07E25 Alex Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1) Elyse gets upset when Alex gets a job in New York.
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S07E26 Alex Doesn't Live Here Anymore (2) As Alex packs his items for a move to New York, each family members has a chance to say their individual goodbyes. Nick & Skippy show up for their goodbyes, as well as his former girlfriend Lauren.