Just Shoot Me! Episode Rating Graph

As a prank, Finch switches the cards on two of Elliott's birthday gifts: those from Maya and Persky. As a result, Elliott believes that Persky has given him a really cool video game system, and Maya has given him a box of kinky sex toys. When Maya invites him over that night to have some fun, he naturally gets the wrong impression, and is forced to give his relationship with her some deep thought. Meanwhile, when the racehorse Jack bought with Robert Goulet acts up before the big race, he enlists Nina's aid to calm it down.

Nina is throwing a Halloween party! At the party, Finch and Elliot compete for Blush's newest cover model, Kelly. In the end Finch gets her, only to find she is a lesbian who thinks he is a woman. Meanwhile, the jealous Elliot tries to keep Vicki from going home with a guy she met at the party.

Jack and Finch discover a pneumonic-message system in the wall. Meanwhile, Elliott invites Maya to his house for his ""slow"" brother's birthday party. At the party, Donnie reveals to Maya that he's not really ""slow."" Maya tries to tell Elliott that Donnie's not stupid, but just ends up looking silly herself. Jack's inanity causes Donnie to reveal his act. And a gift of a parakeet explodes into a living nightmare for Nina.

Nina and Finch don't know about Jack's divorce yet. Jack moves into the Plaza Hotel for privacy. Maya wants Elliott to read an article about relationships but he doesn't, which causes problems. Everybody gathers in Jack's room. Finch and his singing group, 2 Fine, perform.

The gang gathers for Thanksgiving at Jack's mansion in the Hamptons. Nina is convinced that Jack will fire her for being unhip. Jack sleeps with Elliott's mom, but Finch is convinced that Jack did the dirty deed with his date instead. And Maya just wants to put the perfect dinner together.

Jack hires Betsy Frayne as the new security officer for the office, and Finch freaks out. Betsy went to college with him, and Dennis says she stole his personality. The Blush staff has Betsy thrown out of the building and fired, and are about to call the police when Dennis admits that he was the one who stole her personality back in college. Betsy is rehired, and now Dennis has to find another personality or settle with his dull (but true) personality, Denny, while Betsy confesses her true intentions of seducing Dennis. Meanwhile, Elliot forbids Jack from eating his cannolis after Maya and Nina accuse him of being Jack's bitch and Jack decides to get back at Elliot using his social influences, until Elliot can't take it anymore and gives Jack his last cannoli.

Maya's attempt to host a murder mystery party is plagued with problems. Elliott wants to ditch the party for an Armani gala being held on the same night, Nina shows up with Maya's old boyfriend Derek, Jack wants to wear Elliott's costume, Finch is trying to make time with the caterer (who is dressed as a large-bosomed French chambermaid), and gamemaster Larry is a down-on-his-luck actor who spends most of the party on the phone with his agent. Everything is thrown into chaos when Maya's next door neighbor suffers a heart attack and drops dead -- and everyone but her thinks it's part of the game.

Jack has two tickets to a London performance of King Lear, but when he is forced to cancel his plans, he is forced to decide who to give the tickets to- the suck-ups Nina and Elliott, who just want the vacation on his private jet, or true Shakespeare die-hard Maya. The adventure that follows parallels the play. Nina and Elliott get the tickets, but their endless conniving against each other proves to be their undoing, while only Maya stays true to her father.

Finch and Elliot are fighting over Amy. Jack warns Amy that the fight is interfering with the office work environment, and so Finch and Elliot come to terms about Amy: they decide that since they both like her so much, they should share her, meaning she would spend half her time with one and then the other half with the other. Of course Amy is not ok with that and decides to quit the magazine altogether since she got a six figure book deal. Meanwhile, Jack and Nina try hard to show Kevin the good of being rich and end up corrupting him. Now Kevin, who was once happy and simple, is miserable and full of debts.

Halloween is no treat for Maya when Finch gets her to wear an embarrassing costume to the office. Luckily, she meets her Prince Charming in an elevator. Meanwhile, Jack confesses to a dirty trick he played on a young impressionable Maya; and Elliott and Finch hatch a plan to find out if Nina's friend Binnie really exists. Finally, Finch claims he wasn't the least bit scared by Alfred Hitchcock's horror masterpiece Psycho, so Elliott sets out to prove he's lying.

At first, Elliott's attempts to warn Finch about dating his ex-girlfriend, supermodel Nikki Elston, seem like just jealousy. However, there's more than a grain of truth in his warnings- Nikki is a true nutcase who delights in putting men through hell. One of her favorite stunts is locking them on a perch in a giant birdcage. Meanwhile, Nina's attempts to get a raise from Jack are subverted by the discovery of the truth about her use of the company's expense accounts.

Jack's ex-wife Allie demands a job at Blush as part of their divorce settlement. However, she reveals to Finch that it's merely a plan to win Jack back. Plans backfire when Finch sleeps with Allie as Jack prepares to walk in on them. Meanwhile, Nina ruins Elliott's relationship with a therapist.

Nina's long time friend Binnie unexpectedly dies, and Nina has a hard time dealing with it until Elliot confronts her. From ignoring her death, Nina takes a weird turn to worshiping and hanging out with her urn, until she loses her friend's ashes. Meanwhile, Jack has a new pet: a mini-computerized egg that will do almost everything Finch does, causing him a great deal of jealousy. Finch then decides it's time for him to do something that will take him to the higher steps of life and go to college – through the Gallo Foundation Scholarship, that is. Unfortunately, Maya is there to bring the good sense down to her father, and he ends up giving the scholarship to someone who really deserved it: the eastern European cleaning lady's grandson.

When Maya develops a crush on a writer she works with, she isn't quite sure how to handle the situation. Believing he likes her, but is too shy to ask her out, Maya takes some tips from Nina on how to lead him on. The strategy backfires when Maya finds herself slapped with a sexual harassment suit the next day. Meanwhile, Elliott tries to live down his humiliation when he discovers his girlfriend is a spokesperson for a brand of hemorrhoid cream.

Finch is in denial about his divorce and Nina's reporter friend wants to turn it into a major news story. Elliott introduces his visiting lumberjack friend to Maya and becomes jealous when they hit it off. Maya and Elliott kiss. Part one of two.

Elliott's brother Donnie returns as a successful insurance salesman in need of a loan. Maya, however, remains convinced that Donnie is up to his old tricks, even when he is beaten up. Jack and the rest of the staff discover that silence is not always a good thing.

Elliot encourages Dennis to give Betsy a chance, since he thinks she's perfect for him. Although reluctant at first, Finch finally gives in and discovers the wonders of being in a healthy relationship. That is, until Betsy makes an inadvertent move on Elliot and proposes a threesome, which freaks Finch (and Elliot) out. Meanwhile, Maya struggles with the possibility of her father giving her special treatment when she asked for a raise and pretends she is leaving the magazine.

After the staff embarasses themselves in front of designer Kate Spade, Jack hires a corporate therapist.

Finch is banished to the mailroom after insulting Jack. Elliott tries to prove that Maya's hunky gynecologist is a frequent visitor to strip clubs.

Maya's noisy neighbor moving out clears the way for Finch and Kevin to move in. But when Finch is given a space in the dorms on campus, he may leave Kevin out in the cold. Meanwhile, Elliott has trouble parting with his vintage car when he sells it to Jack.

Nina is tired of Kevin's obsession with her and his sick, weird gifts, so she asks Maya to tell him to back off. Maya agrees, but assures Nina that Kevin is just a sweet guy and not the weirdo she thinks he is. Later that night, Maya is surprised at her building by Kevin and gets a little freaked out. Her suspicions come true the next morning when Kevin tries to return a quarter she dropped while entering the lobby. Maya yells at Kevin, who runs away shocked to discover everyone thinks he's a pervert. Maya sends Nina to talk to him, and Kevin confesses his feelings for her and asks for a kiss, which she reluctantly agrees. Surprisingly, he kisses her forehead. Meanwhile, Jack has to suck up on an arrogant millionaire so he can launch a Blush channel on cable, and tries to bribe Elliot so he can be laughed at and made fun of by the millionaire. But Jack is forced to interfere when the guy crosses a line with his friend.

A few weeks have passed since Elliott and Kaylene started dating, and the two are starting to get extremely close. A little too close, as far as Elliott is concerned. Things are moving very quickly between them, and Elliott just doesn't feel like he can commit that deeply to her. He and Maya start chatting about it in his studio one night, and instantly, the spark between them returns. Before they realize it, Maya and Elliott are finally sleeping together. Maya wastes no time in chastising herself for it the next day. She claims that Elliott sleeping with her was only the result of his fear of committing to Kaylene, and that she now occupies a position she had previously treated with scorn and ridicule -- that of the ""other woman"". Elliott doesn't see it that way. He tries to tell her so, but she won't listen. He finally breaks things off with Kaylene, explaining that he's in love with someone else, and that even though that someone won't have him, he can't go on seeing Kaylene feelin

Finch has been sleeping at the office. Elliott's new girlfriend is a cover girl AND student at Yale medical school. Nina starts sleeping at the office too after Binnie kicks her out. Maya is jealous of Kaylene but after she accidentally causes Kaylene to break up with Elliott, she must find a way to get them back together. Finch and Nina have fun together but he feels betrayed when Binnie invites her back.

An ordinary office blood drive turns into a storytelling session, as Finch, Elliott, and Nina relate to queasy donor Maya and nurse Tisha the tales of how Jack rescued them from rather desperate situations. Finch applied his shiftiness to a job as movie usher before the manager fired him for trying to sneak a customer into a sold-out show. Luckily, the customer, Jack Gallo, took notice of his methods. Elliott was a down-and-out amateur photographer reduced to selling his output on the street and faced with the prospect of taking a job at a grocery store in New Jersey, but in the nick of time, his talent was noticed by a patron named Jack Gallo. Finally, Nina had come a long way from her successful modeling career--she wore a mermaid suit at a boat show before someone stopped by who remembered her keen fashion sense--none other than Jack Gallo.

Maya's attempts to get her coworkers involved in her favorite charity are met with overwhelming indifference. Only after the PR-minded Jack goads them to help to Finch, Elliott, and Nina contribute. And only after Maya pleads with him does Jack finally contribute. Rather than giving his time or effort to the charity, he helps in the usual Jack Gallo fashion- by giving a giant check for $50,000. When he consequently wins an award for Humanitarian of the Year, Maya's jealousy gets the better of her. Meanwhile, Elliott tries to figure out why the office's nickname-happy gopher keeps snubbing him.

Maya's new assistant Cindy is certainly eager, but also incompetent, and Maya's work suffers because of it. Jack wants to fire her, but Maya is determined to give her a chance. However, the more time that passes, the more Cindy screws up, and the more Maya's resolve is tested. Meanwhile, Finch and Elliott sabotage Nina's radio appearance by giving her a phony Word-a-Day calendar.

A planned Blush article on lost loves leads everyone to reminisce about their own lost loves. The saddest story belongs to Elliott, who saw his dream girl sail out of his life when a hit and run driver knocked him down on his way to propose to her. The story has an extra meaning for another person, however. When Elliott describes the incident, Nina realizes that she was the driver in question. Meanwhile, Finch wants desperately to convince the world that he is actually married to Adrienne, so to help him out, Jack takes out a big wedding announcement in the New York Post. Unfortunately, the attention it draws is of the unwelcome variety: an INS agent arrives at the office charging that the marriage is a sham. And why does it matter what the INS thinks? Because it turns out that Adrienne is actually a Canadian citizen whose work visa has just expired.

Nina is trying so spend some quality time with her granddaughter Tess. Chloe asks Nina to keep Tess from bars, boys and clubs, but all Tess wants is to get wild. She throws herself at men at a bar and later at Finch, who pretends to be the magazine's editor. When Tess runs away, Chloe and Nina find her at Dennis's, and they all offer to sleep with him in order to keep Tess from doing so. Meanwhile, Jack insists on giving Maya a birthday present, but has no luck with his ideas or Elliot's. She gets mad not because of the meaningless gifts, but because it's really not her birthday and her father should know better. Still, they both feel like it's someone's birthday – and it is: Maya's mother!

The nominations for the annual Femmy awards are in and Maya, Nina and Elliott are nominated, while Finch isn't even invited to the ceremony. Jack switched Maya's nominated article and nominated a picture of Elliott's that was actually taken by a chimpanzee. At the dinner, Finch scores a seat at the models' table while Maya and Nina prepare speeches. Elliott is going crazy with guilt until he loses. Nina wins after 12 straight years of losing. Maya wins for the article, which Nina trashed in her acceptance speech.

A surprise visit from his fireman father leaves Finch puzzled, since the two had always been emotionally distant from one another. When Red Finch suggests that he and his son spend some quality time together, Finch can only surmise that his father is either dying or having an affair. The truth turns out to be even more shocking- Red has finally come to accept the fact that his son is gay. He isn't, of course, but Finch has a hard time convincing him of that. Meanwhile, Maya invites Jack to her apartment to dinner in order to convince him that the neighborhood she lives in is not as bad as he thinks, but a robbery there that afternoon complicates the task.

Finch tries to find a new model girlfriend. Maya and Elliott try to decide what to do about their kiss. Maya proposes a dinner ""meeting"" since neither of them can bear to call it a date. Meanwhile, Maya's former assistant Cindy visits; she's now a media buyer. Jack makes Maya take Cindy out to dinner and Elliott goes along so that it really is a meeting. Elliott and Maya drink too much and Elliott wakes up with Cindy and must find a way to tell Maya. Part two of two.

Maya's life becomes a nightmare when her co-workers discover that she's had a sex dream involving Elliott.

Maya is reunited with her best friend in high school, Alan, who is now a successful motivational speaker. However, Alan confesses to Maya that he is a recovering alcoholic, but another revelation causes the trouble: he was responsible for her school shunning her. When Maya is unable to forgive him for this, he begins drinking again, disrupting the motivational talk he is to give at the Blush office. Meanwhile, Jack is frightened because of a recurring dream he has about Kevin.

Finch schemes to hire a sexy au pair to care for his nonexistent son. Elliott and Jack have trust issues after Jack gives Elliott a loyalty test.

Jack discovers a young black man masquerading as his son in an attempt to gain important business contacts. Elliott and Nina serve as judges for the Rave TV Fashion Awards, but Elliott becomes dismayed after observing bribery. Maya wants to create a new literary magazine.

Finch is very frustrated when an old nemesis, Barry, shows up one day to gloat over his success. Not only does Barry own a successful business, but he is also engaged to their high school homecoming queen. Finch agrees to a double date with Barry and his fiancée, and he wants desperately to show Barry up by scoring a better looking date. He finds his answer in the form of Adrienne, a gorgeous supermodel. Adrienne would normally be way out of Finch's league, but by manipulating her many insecurities, he makes her fall for him. However, he still has one more obstacle to overcome-Adrienne's ex-boyfriend has decided he wants her back. Finch is forced to take desperate action if he wants to hold on to her, and does-he asks Adrienne to marry him, and surprisingly enough, she says yes. Meanwhile, Jack makes plans to have his photo taken in front of a new painting in his office, but unfortunately, he doesn't realize that the painting depicts an obscene act.

Jack returns from China with exotic and mysterious candy that has strange effects on the staff.

With Jack's autobiography out on shelves, a problem is discovered: he claims to have beat up Robert Conrad, only because he thought the actor was dead and couldn't say otherwise. Unfortunately, the actor stops by the office. Finch and Elliott deal with a good saleslady who uses compliments to sell clothes. Nina is upset that she's only mentioned 4 times in Jack's book.

Jack and Finch prepare for a meeting with Tate Gittling (guest star Alan Rachins, ""L.A. Law""), the publisher of Blush's biggest rival magazine, in an attempt to join together for a charity function. But when Finch becomes romantically involved with Gittling's assistant, Bridget (guest star Judy Greer), he drops his guard and she sets him up to make Jack look bad. Meanwhile, Nina becomes jealous of her rock star boyfriend's (guest star Simon Templeman) celebrity status.

Nina worries when her biological parents come to visit. A blood test proves that she is not their daughter but she lies and tells them that she is, until Maya discovers that the two are merely con artists. Meanwhile, Elliott and Jack become jealous when they discover that Finch is extremely well-endowed.

The outrageous behavior between Finch and his sexy partner (Gina Gershon) galls Maya, who sets out to rein in the stallion. Also: Jack and Maya compete for an office-cleaner's favor in a feud that gets way out of hand.

Finch's former figure skating partner visits and asks for him for help coaching her and her new partner. Maya bleaches her hair as a research project and convinces Elliott to enact some sexual fantasies. Nina worries that an ailing Ed McMahon may cause the preemption of an A&E biography about her.

Jack has a slight problem with Maya's new boyfriend- he's the same age as Jack. When he voices his disapproval to Maya, she accuses him of being hypocritical, since he married someone her age. Both parties are left with a personal dilemma. Jack wonders if he is in fact being hypocritical, and Maya wonders if she may be dating the man to get back at Jack. Meanwhile, Nina's flirtation with a window washer proves hazardous to his health.

Gina Gershon guest stars as Rhonda, the beautiful but foul-mouthed sister of Vicki who immediately falls for Elliott. But when Elliott feigns interest in Rhonda only to ultimately make himself seem more interesting to Vicki, he finds himself in an awkward situation and only Finch can save him. Meanwhile, Jack annoys the entire office when he sets up closed-circuit cameras everywhere in an attempt to keep his eye on everyone while is home recovering from foot surgery.

Rivalry over a charity event leads to tension between Jack and a fellow magnate (Alan Rachins), whose comely assistant gets hot and heavy with Finch.

Richard Kind ("Spin City") plays a boorish intern at Blush with a crush on Maya. Also: Elliott is drawn to the women at his Bible-study class that's crashed by lascivious Finch, passing himself off as a sinner anxious to be saved.

Mentoring seems to be going really well for Maya- her protege; Karey is doing fabulously in her first year of college. However, Karey is now at a crossroads wondering what to do with her life. Maya tries to push her to stay in school and make the most of her college years, but she hits an obstacle in the form of Nina, who wants Karey to put her natural talents to use as a model. Meanwhile, Jack and Finch have an illicit ""fling"" with each other- as bridge partners.

""Nina Van Horn: Trouble Be Thy Name"" features clips from her blaxploitation movie ""Foxy Trouble"" with Bernie Casey, her discovery as Claire Noodleman, interviews with her co-workers, her disastrous month-long marriage to Robert Evans, her fiery time with a cult, her involvement in the closing of Studio 54 and her mark on pop music, among other things.

Jon Lovitz portrays Nina's estranged, foppish husband, who still enthralls her. Elsewhere, Maya's swept away by an environmentalist (Stephen Dunham) her father dislikes.

Maya has a one night stand with a guy who says he's a doctor and moving to Spain. However, they're both surprised when he turns up as Blush's new creative consultant the next day. Meanwhile, Elliott becomes obsessed with getting Finch to do a good deed.

In a satire of ""Project Greenlight,"" Finch makes a ten-minute semi-autobiographical movie for his film class, and convinces actor David Hasselhoff to play the father in the film. But when filming starts, trouble ensues when Nina, playing the mother, falls in love with the actor playing her son. Meanwhile, Jack demands an onscreen apology from Hasselhoff after the actor scratches Jack's car in the parking lot.

The outrageous behavior between Finch and his sexy partner (Gina Gershon) galls Maya, who sets out to rein in the stallion. Also: Jack and Maya compete for an office-cleaner's favor in a feud that gets way out of hand.

Elliott goes to traffic school where Finch is his teacher. Nina and Maya debate why they were invited to a coworker's bridal shower. Jack accidentally sets Kevin's pet tarantula loose in the office.

Jack fears that Maya's new boyfriend may be his illegitimate son from a one-night stand many years before. Meanwhile, Finch has been living with Elliott since Maya kicked him out of her old apartment. When Elliott decides that it's time for him to go, Finch goes to long lengths to be able to stay.

Finch takes the news of the engagement quite badly. Not only is he concerned for his father's well-being, the prospect of having Nina as his stepmother terrifies him. However, when a night of passion puts Red in the hospital, it causes him to seriously question his impending marriage. After a heart-to-heart with both Red and Nina, Finch finally convinces both of them to call it off. Meanwhile, Elliott miraculously gets another chance with Tyra Banks, but once again, Jack accidentally screws things up for him.

Vicki's back in the hairstyling biz and is now dyeing to give Blush the brush; Nina takes under her wing a female impersonator who's going to portray her in a cabaret show; and Dennis rides roughshod over Elliott, his new assistant.

Ray Liotta appears on ""The Tonight Show,"" pledging his love to Maya. She rejects him until he agrees to give up being in the public eye for her, although he finds it difficult to adjust to being a regular guy. Elliott and Finch play a joke on cocky Jack, who has bought a desk once owned by George Washington. And Nina creates a one-woman show based on her life.

Finch tries to fix his visiting mother up with Jack, in hopes that he can become a Gallo. Elliott tries to help a photographer find his passion.

Staff critiques vex Jack, who demands honesty and gets it, especially from servile Finch; a role reversal with Nina makes Maya a partygoer.

Maya's mother visits the magazine and promptly becomes embroiled in a battle for a painting with Jack. Meanwhile, a new efficiency expert ""hired"" by Jack turns out to merely be Jack's golf caddy.

Finch forgets to tell Jack about an important meeting with foreign clients, so he assumes Jack's identity and attempts to close a deal without Jack's knowledge. Meanwhile, Nina and her rock star boyfriend Simon (guest star Simon Templeman) force themselves to go clean in an attempt to get Nina's hard-partying granddaughter (guest star Sasha Barrese) to change her ways, and Elliott seizes an opportunity to confront his high school bully (guest star Jason Marsden).

Maya's coworkers find it strange when she begins dating Steven, the host of a children's puppet show. As far as she's concerned, though, their relationship is going very well--until she suspects Steven is using the characters on his show to criticize her. Meanwhile, Nina decides to enter the entrepreneurial world, but her choice of investments--a nightclub that doesn't even have a name--is questionable indeed. Also, a heartfelt confession of Elliott's (he sometimes wishes he was a woman) during the guys' emotional viewing of Brian's Song comes back to haunt him.

Finch dates a female boxer with a jealous ex-girlfriend. Elliott, Jack and Nina fool Maya into believing that they're smarter than she is.

Not impressed with Maya's lame attempt to play a prank on him, Finch claims that women just aren't as good at practical jokes as men are. To prove him wrong, Maya tries to convince Elliott he's being stalked, but it turns out the joke's on her-in a big way. Meanwhile, Jack fears that he's really beginning to look his age, so he decides to look into plastic surgery.

Finch's old friend Bert visits with surprising news--he is now a sexy woman named Brandi. This causes problems for Finch when he becomes attracted to Brandi. Meanwhile, Elliott tries to get Nina to be nicer to her assistant.

Nina starts dating a British rocker named Simon Leeds. Meanwhile, Maya convinces Vicki to give her the details of her divorce. And Jack is prancing around showing off his new pocket watch until Elliot gets one too.

Finch finds himself a kept man after romance novelist Allison Spencer begins to offer him gifts for sex. Meanwhile, while serving as fashion consultant for the American Film Awards pre-show on E!, Nina criticizes a handicapped actor's shoes, causing a national uproar.

Finch returns from Jamaica after a failed attempt at romance with Courtney, who played him, as it turns out. Elliott steps in to try to prove what a friend he is to Finch by giving her a dose of her own medicine--getting her hooked on him and then telling her to kiss off. Unfortunately, the plan goes awry when he ends up liking her and they start dating for real. Meanwhile, Jack makes another bet with Donald Trump--whoever loses less weight has to wear a dress during their golf game. However, he makes the mistake of asking Nina for help with his diet.

Jack wants the tenants on the floor above Blush to move. Maya is taken in by Finch's lie that he wants them to move so he can build a free daycare center. The real reason: a steam room. Meanwhile, Nina meets with her former model roommate, who is now fat.

Elliott's duplicitous brother (David Cross) returns, accompanied by his fiancée and now deeply sorry for conning his sibling in the past. The sudden turnaround doesn't convince Elliott, who's determined to prove this is another scam.

Jack fears for his reputation when he falls to #100 on the Power 100 list. Nina's idea to improve his standing by sending out a special collection of Blush covers to remind people how important the magazine has been backfires, as Elliott is made #100 because of his brilliant photography. Meanwhile, Finch meets idol Mark Hamill at Bartini's and annoys the hell out of him.

Maya becomes smitten with a United States Senator, but loses him to Nina through a series of deceptions on Nina's part. Nina convinces him that she is an old-fashioned Southern belle with no vices whatsoever, and that Maya is a drug addict. Also, when it is revealed that Elliott stole a Six Million Dollar Man doll as a kid, he becomes racked with guilt over it while Finch can only think of the potential collector's value of the item. Finally, Jack decides to see what life is like from his employees' point of view and moves his desk into the center of the office.

At Vicki's suggestion, Jack asks all the Blush staff regulars to anonymously evaluate his work. Finch, Nina, Maya, and Elliott submit signed appraisals that only include words of praise, while Vicki anonymously tells Jack the truth. By process of elimination, Jack knows who the criticism came from, and he is spurned. Vicki consoles him and finally convinces him that the truth is healthy. Jack then insists that everyone tell him something honest, which sends Finch into a tailspin of vitriolic criticism. Meanwhile, Nina sprains her ankle after Maya suggests she walk somewhere, and Maya has to take Nina's place at a fashion event. When Maya has a great time, Nina becomes jealous.

Jack desperately wants to get his daughter Hannah a spot in the prestigious Woodbridge School, but there's one slight problem. The Gallo name isn't exactly a hallowed one there since former student Maya once burned down a wing of it. When the headmaster blames Jack's failure to take an interest in Maya's life for the incident, he has his hands full trying to right two wrongs - one to the school and one to Maya. Meanwhile, Elliott and Nina bond when they discover both are fans of blues musician Cholera Joe Hopper.

Jack and Elliott think Nina's new boyfriend, magician ""The Amazing Zigmund,"" is gay. Zigmund hits on Elliott--or does he? Meanwhile, Maya decides to enact revenge on her new high school intern after discovering that he plans to dump his girlfriend in the same manner she was dumped many years ago.

When Maya scores an interview with legendary rocker Nick Hewitt, a flood of memories is triggered for Nina of the affair they had 25 years ago. Nina describes it as the most romantic weekend of her life, and she realized he felt the same way when the song ""Nina in the Cantina"" hit the charts a few months later. Unfortunately, Maya learns that the song was actually about Twiggy, and Hewitt only used the name Nina for the purpose of the rhyme. Worse, he doesn't remember Nina at all, leaving Maya to engineer a big charade to keep Nina from getting hurt. Meanwhile, Elliott's extreme jealousy of Annie Liebowitz is exploited everywhere he turns, while Finch tries desperately to get rid of an ugly handmade vase given to him by Jack.

Nina is dating the lead guitar player of Finch and Kevin's new ""air band"" and convinces him to quit the group. Meanwhile, Jack's rivalry with Alan Thicke drives both of them to therapy with their daughters.

Jack hires a woman off the street to run the desk. The staff thinks its because Jack wants to seduce her. This causes her to quit. When the staff finds out that Jack didn't hire her for that reason, they convince her to come back to work. Meanwhile, Finch tries to get a distraught female co-worker to take comfort in his arms.

Nina talks Maya into dating a handsome but dumb exterminator. Maya is tested when she meets a smart man at an art gallery and sleeps with him. Meanwhile, Jack tries to teach Elliott and Finch a lesson when they begin paying Kevin to eat weird things.

Red Finch is visiting and Dennis is trying to avoid him because of his father's recent divorce. Elliott is excited about the possibility of working with his crush, Tyra Banks. Red and Nina go out for dinner...and more. Elliott meets Tyra but scares the hell out of her due to Jack's stun gun. Red and Nina announce their engagement. Part one of two.

Finch announces the engagement at the office, but it takes several minutes to make everyone believe it. When they finally do, though, it begins a heated argument between Maya and Elliott over whether Finch's and Adrienne's love is for real. It may not matter either way, though, because once the news of the engagement spreads, Adrienne's ex-boyfriend Brian shows up at Blush with plans to beat up Finch. Finch manages to avoid Brian temporarily, but the incident forces him to speed things up yet again-with a wedding that very day. Finch and Adrienne are married after Brian punches Finch. But...Elliott and Maya are also married while looking for Finch in a mass wedding.

While writing his memoirs, Jack suddenly contracts a horrible case of writer's block. He then realizes why- he has come to the place in his memoirs where he fired his old partner Herb just before Blush took off. Discovering that his old partner has been toiling in a toyshop in Connecticut for 30 years earning a meager living only worsens the guilt. In an attempt to make it up to him, Jack gives Herb a high position in the magazine only to rediscover the reason he let Herb go in the first place- Herb is terrible at the magazine business. Meanwhile, Nina's problems with an IRS audit seem to be over when the female auditor takes a liking to Elliott, but in fact, they're just beginning.

Jack challenges Elliott to a game of darts and hits him in the back when Elliott accuses him of being too competitive. Meanwhile, Nina reveals that she had a daughter 34 years ago that she gave up for adoption, and her daughter is trying to find her. Nina enlists Finch to pose as her ""son"" but when she tells her daughter the truth, she wants nothing to do with her. Trying to make amends, Nina discovers that she is a grandmother also.

Dennis experiences an identity crisis on Secretary's Day, while Nina tries to lift her spirits.

Finch's old buddy Brandy - a transsexual woman whom Finch knew as Bert - joins Finch at their high school reunion. Meanwhile, Maya and Elliott decide to become intimate, but without any strings attached.

A boycott of Blush is threatened by a feminist, whom Jack uncharacteristically finds "very interesting [and] attractive". Also: a male-bonding feud pits Finch vs. Elliott; and dreams of infidelity haunt Nina.

Finch is DJing a bar mitzvah. Nina is tricked into attending by the man of honor who has the hots for her. Even after Sid's plan is uncovered, Nina agrees to stay and deal with Sid's advances because Finch leads her to believe he's dying of a rare disease. Meanwhile, Jack and Elliott aggravate Maya when they flip-flop their desire to date a woman based on whether or not they think the other one wants her.

It all starts out innocently. In order to help Elliott get a great deal on an apartment, Maya agrees to pose with him as a married couple. To complete the charade, the two are forced to kiss. This development is harmless enough- until they find themselves kissing again voluntarily. Awkward could hardly begin to describe relations between them afterward. They work through the awkwardness, but by the end, both Maya and Elliott realize that the long, bumpy road, wherever it may lead, is just beginning for them. Meanwhile, when Jack discovers Finch has been renting out his parking space, it leads the two into a battle over trust.