Punky and the gang want to know why Brandon is acting so strange lately, then Brandon is accused of biting a new neighbor, Ms. Jenner, and as a result, Ms. Jenner wants Brandon to be put to sleep (euthanize), so Brandon is taken to an animal shelter for examination.

Punky is terrified when she has to have her appendix removed, and angry when it delays the vacation that Punky, Cherie, Brandon, Betty, and Henry were getting ready for when she collapsed from the pain of appendicitis.

A nosy Punky sneaks a peak at Cherie's diary, and Punky is shocked to see that Cherie has written unkind things about Punky in it.

While Henry is in Detroit buying supplies for the restaurant, Punky and Cherie decide to run the restaurant, and they panic when a customer named Ralph falls asleep because of narcolepsy. Punky and Cherie don't realize that Ralph is just asleep. They think Ralph is dead because of the secret ingredient Cherie uses when she makes hamburgers.

After discovering that Henry has become addicted to the sleeping pills that were prescribed for him six months ago when back pain kept him awake at night, Punky helps Henry realize that he has an addiction, and she helps him make the decision to stop taking the pills, because he doesn't need the pills anymore, and Punky wants him to be around for a long time.

A blizzard traps Punky, Henry, Betty, Cherie, Margaux, and Brandon in Henry and Punky's apartment, where the gang passes the time by remembering past situations that they've been in, with flashbacks to past episodes.

When Henry's most valuable employee, Stanley, quits his job, Henry tries to find a replacement for Stanley, but to no avail. Punky tells Henry that she needs money to pay her own way into summer camp, so Henry hires Punky, then promptly fires Punky for wrecking havoc in the restaurant, starting a feud between Punky and Henry. Henry believes Punky should have taken the time to learn how to do some of the things that she made mistakes doing, while Punky just wanted to do a good job for Henry.

When it's time for Punky to get her first bra, Henry is the one who has the growing pains, because he finds it hard to accept that Punky is growing up.

Mike tries to help his class understand the Challenger space shuttle tragedy -- especially Punky, whose dream is to become an astronaut, and her classmates think she's crazy, then Mike introduces Punky to famous astronaut Buzz Aldrin. Henry is embarrassed when Buzz sees Henry wearing a dress. Henry is wearing the dress because Betty needed a dummy to put the dress on, so she could work on the dress.

Henry is rushed into emergency surgery after his collapse. At Fenster Hall, Mike brings Cherie, Margaux, and Allen to visit Punky, and they have a plan to help Punky sneak out so she can visit Henry at the hospital, and they get help from Punky's roommates Anna, Liz, Millie, and Weezie. They disguise Punky as Margaux and disguise Margaux as Punky. To make the plan work, they make sure Chillings can't wear his glasses. Mike goes along with the plan and takes Punky to visit Henry, who is unconscious. While Punky is in Henry's room, Punky overhears Mike telling Betty that Punky may not be coming back home to Henry because Chillings wants to put her with new foster parents. Sometime after Punky's visit, when Henry wakes up, there is a note from Punky, and the note tells Henry what Punky overheard Mike say to Betty, and Punky thinks it's her fault that Henry collapsed, because Henry was worried about how to regain custody of Punky. After reading Punky's note, Henry looks like he's about to

Punky is devastated when Henry tells her that she'll be going to Fenster Hall because Chillings removed her from Henry's custody. Chillings takes Punky to Fenster Hall, where Punky traps Chillings in a closet and escapes. Punky goes to the school to tell Mike what's going on. Mike agrees to help Punky, but he needs to know which DCFS case worker has been handling Punky's case. Punky tells Mike that it's Chillings, who took over Fenster Hall after Mike left Fenster Hall to become a teacher. Mike has a talk with Chillings, and doesn't make any progress with Chillings, who cruelly won't let Punky temporarily stay with Cherie and Betty while Henry is in the hospital, just because Punky wouldn't have her own bedroom in Betty's apartment. Betty rightfully doesn't understand this rule, which means that Punky is not allowed to temporarily share a room with her best friend Cherie at Betty's apartment, but Punky has to share a room at Fenster Hall with four girls that she doesn't even know. Mike

Henry's old refrigerator breaks down and can't be used anymore. Later, Mike teaches CPR to his class after sending Allen to the principal's office for repeatedly misbehaving and interrupting the lesson, as Henry is putting the refrigerator outside for the Salvation Army to pick up. Later, at home, Punky and her friends play a game of hide-and-seek. When it starts snowing as Henry is preparing to remove the door from the old refrigerator after buying a new one, Henry tells Punky, Allen, and Margaux to help him and Betty look for Cherie, who still hasn't been found in the game. Henry and Allen are shocked to find Cherie trapped inside of the old refrigerator, and this makes Punky and Margaux thankful that they learned CPR, and makes Allen feel bad that he was sent to the principal's office during the lesson. Henry and Allen decide to learn CPR together after watching Punky and Margeaux save Cherie's life with it.

On Halloween, Punky tries to play a trick on Isabelle Peavy, because Punky wants to get even with Isabelle for the way Isabelle treated Punky, Cherie, and Allen. Isabelle is a mean old lady, and Punky's friends think Isabelle is actually a witch. When Isabelle sees Punky trying to play the "flying foamie" trick on her, Isabelle takes Punky inside her apartment, and a terrified Punky runs back out, unintentionally leaving Brandon behind in Isabelle's apartment, and Isabelle may not want to give Brandon back. Punky gets Mike to go to Isabelle's apartment to get Brandon, and Isabelle explains to Mike the reason why she is so mean...she absolutely loved dancing. 12 years ago, in 1973, Isabelle was on her way to the Starland Ballroom to do some dancing, but before she got to the ballroom, a kid on a bicycle collided with her and didn't even stop, and ever since then, Isabelle hasn't been able to dance, and she has hated kids ever since that day. Isabelle becomes angry at Mike's attempts to

Cherie thinks she's a wimp after failing to prevent Punky from falling out of the treehouse, and Punky suffers a broken leg as a result. Cherie later regains her courage in a stalled elevator at the hospital with a pregnant woman named Nancy, who goes into labor.

Henry spends much of the day trying to call Chillings. When Henry finally does get Chillings on the phone, Chillings tells Henry that Punky has been placed with new foster parents -- Tiffany Buckworth and her husband Jules Buckworth , who live in a mansion with a butler named Cuthbert, and Punky doesn't like this at all, because she wants to be with Henry, and while Jules is a kindly man who is always nice to Punky, Tiffany is snobby and mean. Two weeks later, after Henry is released from the hospital, Punky goes to the apartment building to visit Henry. When Punky tells Henry that she wants to return to Henry, Henry vows to regain custody of her.

Punky is absolutely terrified that Henry is going to become the next victim of the "Northside Stalker" -- a killer who has been terrorizing the city. Henry assures Punky that it's okay to be afraid, but it's not healthy to let her fear completely take over everything she ever does.

When it comes to tap dancing, Punky dances like she has two left feet, so she decides to quit tap dancing so she can keep from being embarrassed, especially after Jersey Janet, the instructor, calls her a klutz. Henry, who looks like he's falling for Jersey Janet, helps Jersey Janet find a role for Punky in a recital that Jersey Janet's class has been preparing for -- wearing a bee disguise and swinging over the other students, who are disguised as flowers in the recital.

Misled by schoolmate Richmond Matzie, Punky shoplifts a winter scarf for Henry as a Christmas present, and unknowingly switches bags with Mike -- and an innocent Mike is put in jail, but Punky and Henry get Mike out when Punky explains everything.

When Punky is grounded, she has a dream that she is an indulgent parent who lets her kids do whatever they want to do.

Punky and Cherie send Henry on a blind date with Ms. Maytag, the school librarian, then they talk Betty into appearing on the TV show "Dream Date", where out of the three women on the show, overweight contestant Chuck McKinley chooses Betty.

Punky decides that she would rather go on a yacht on Lake Michigan with Cherie and Margaux rather than stay home and take care of Brandon, until she has a dream that shows her how it feels to be Brandon.

Punky's friendship with Cherie is put to the test when Cherie falls for Donald Sotta, a new boy in the neighborhood, and Cherie begins to spend more time with Donald than she does with Punky, making a jealous Punky think Cherie likes Donald more than she likes Punky, until Cherie proves Punky wrong by telling Punky that Cherie loves Punky as her best friend, and Cherie doesn't like Donald so much anymore because all Donald cares about is baseball, basketball, and wrestling.

Punky runs away when he learns that when Henry and Maggie are to be married, she'll be sent to boarding school in Europe.

The apartment building's new owner -- Margeaux's father Benjamin J. Kramer -- wants to increase Betty's rent by 60%. Betty is afraid that a 60% rent increase would force her and Cherie to move out of the building.

Cherie's cousins Paula and Bobby arrive for a visit, and Paula, who doesn't know how to read, can't read the warnings and help messages on a bottle of fabric softener that Bobby drank out of.

Punky wants to give Henry a pocket watch for Christmas. When rich businessman Horatio Lake is robbed of a briefcase just before Christmas, Punky solves the robbery and figures out that Mr. Lake's son Jerry Lake is the thief. Punky tells Mr. Lake what went on -- Jerry had a plan. Jerry figured he would take the briefcase and lay low with it for a few days, then when the police gave up, Jerry would say that he found the briefcase. That way, Jerry would be the hero, and maybe, just maybe, Mr. Lake would pay more attention to Jerry, who wanted attention from Mr. Lake after years of being ignored by Mr. Lake. Mr. Lake wonders how he could've let things get to a point where Jerry thought he had to do what he did. Mr. Lake realizes his mistake of ignoring Jerry all these years, and he vows to not let that mistake happen again. As a reward to Punky for solving the robbery and helping Jerry and Mr. Lake become closer than ever, Mr. Lake gives Punky a pocket watch, and Punky gives it to Henry as

Punky is invited to the birthday party of rich kid Robert Whitney when Henry is hired to be the party's photographer. In order to keep from embarrassing Henry, Punky takes lessons from Margaux on how to act like a rich stiff. The lessons don't work -- Punky ends up wreaking havoc and has Robert wishing that his social secretary Charles hadn't invited any stiffs to the party, because Robert didn't want the party to be as boring and stiff as Charles wanted it to be.

In the series opener, in Chicago, 8-year-old Penelope ""Punky"" Brewster and her dog Brandon are found living in an empty apartment by the building's grouchy manager, photography studio owner Henry Warnimont. Punky tells Henry that it all started when her father walked out on her and her mother Susan Brewster, then a couple of weeks ago, Susan said they were going on a trip, so Susan, Punky, and Brandon piled up in their car and drove to a shopping center in Chicago, where Susan abandoned Punky and Brandon, who have been homeless ever since. In the vacant apartment, Punky always had food, because 8-year-old Cherie Johnson, who lives upstairs from Henry with her grandmother Betty Johnson, always brought food to Punky. Henry takes some memorable pictures of Punky, Cherie, Betty, Brandon, and himself at his photography studio. Later, Punky decides to clean Henry's apartment but when Henry gets home, he is furious because he liked everything the way it was before Punky cleaned the place. Hen

Henry calls the Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS), but Punky panics, saying that she doesn't want to go to an orphanage, so Henry promises Punky that she won't have to go to an orphanage. The DCFS sends Miranda ""Randi"" Mitchell, who takes Punky away from Henry. Randi takes Punky to Fenster Hall, a home for kids up for adoption. Randi later returns to Henry's apartment and tells Henry that there hasn't been much progress in finding Punky's mother Susan, who may not want to be found. Randi also says that in 72 hours, the DCFS will have a hearing to decide who gets custody of Punky, and Punky wants it to be Henry. Henry has shed a lot of his grouchiness, and he now loves Punky and would like to have custody of her, but Randi thinks Punky would be better off with someone else. At Fenster Hall, Punky is introduced to her two room mates -- Lisa is a girl who acts tough, and Mary is a girl who never talks. Punky wants to escape from Fenster Hall and go back to Henry's apartment,

After learning that Punky did not do her book report, Henry cancels Punky's plans to see her favorite singing group DeBarge in concert, a move that Punky vows to never forgive Henry for -- until Henry gets DeBarge to come to the apartment and tell Punky how important reading is.

Henry takes Punky shopping and she wanders off.

Punky has a dream that inspires her to plan to build a treehouse in the tree behind the apartment building. When Henry and Betty and the gang pull out of Punky's plan to build the treehouse, Punky and Mike use psychology to motivate the gang into helping, and the treehouse is built with a lot of different colors of paint being used.

On a camping trip with Henry and Betty, Punky and her friends get lost in the woods while they're finding wood for a campfire.

Punky and her friends convert Henry's study room into her bedroom without asking him first.

During a firefly girl troop meeting, Punky befriends a deaf girl named Maria Aragon, and Maria begins to think that because of her disability, she'll never be accepted by the other girls, so Punky helps Maria make friends in the troop.

As the school's parent-teacher night approaches, Punky is upset by Margaux's insensitive comments about foster parents and foster children.

As the Chicago Cubs play in their first post-season championship since 1945, proud Cubs fan Henry tries to get tickets for Punky and himself.

Punky can't sleep, so Henry agrees to let her stay up and watch the opera with him on TV.

Mrs. Johnson finds the task of walking the children to school to be too exasperating, so she turns it over to Henry, who attempts to instill a sense of discipline into them.

One of Betty's favorite patients dies and leaves her a Texan car with big bull horns on its hood, but Betty doesn't know how to drive. Henry's attempts to teach Betty how to drive result in Betty crashing the car into a tree, and because of this, Henry and Betty decide to sue each other, and it's Punky and Cherie who help Henry and Betty put aside their differences and be friends again.

Punky, Cherie, and Margaux compete in a beauty pageant hosted by pop singer Andy Gibb.

Lost in the woods, Punky and her friends pass the time by sharing a ghost story in a cave while Betty and Henry are searching for them.

Brandon gets a shot at stardom when Churchill,the famous dog hired for a dog food commercial to be filmed at the restaurant, gets camera shy -- and so does Brandon, blowing a chance for $1000 and also messing up Punky's dream of Brandon becoming a star, and for this, Punky calls Brandon a bad dog. After Henry helps Punky realize that she was the one who wanted to be a star, Punky apologizes to Brandon.

Henry tries to introduce Punky and her friends to the joys of fishing.

Punky catches a boy breaking into her room and stealing from her. Henry takes the boy to Fenster Hall where Mike Fulton, one of the workers there, tries to bond with him.

Christmas is approaching, and the only thing Punky wants is to find her mother.

Cherie's aunt Larnese, who is Betty's sister, arrives for a visit on Cherie's 12th birthday, and asks Cherie if Cherie would like to live with Larnese in Paris, France.

Henry demands to know one reason why Randi doesn't think he should be Punky's foster father, but Randi gives him three reasons -- he's never raised a kid, he's not married, and he's too old.

Henry purchases a video camera for his photo studio and firmly warns Punky that she is not to touch it under any circumstances. However, while he's away, she and her friends make an exercise tape and think he won't know it - until the camera breaks.

Punky and Cherie enter a radio scriptwriting contest sponsored by a local radio station that has just changed its format from rock music to radio stories, and Punky, Cherie, and Margaux hope to win the grand prize trip to Disneyland, unless their opponents Garth Goobler and Grant Goobler, the self centered sons of a radio star, stand in their way. Punky, Cherie, and Margaux outdo the Goobler brothers and win the contest.

Henry gives Punky a lucky nickel to keep with her while she goes for a booster shot.

After getting in trouble for slugging a boy at school, Punky dreams of life 80 years into the future where everyone has found love except for her.

Punky and Cherie start a dog grooming business so that they can help make ends meet in their respective homes.

Christmas is approaching, and the only thing Punky wants is to find her mother.