Mallory's enthusiasm for her job at a prestigious fashion firm quickly fades when she discovers that her design ideas are being stolen by another employee. Mallory is thrilled when she earns an apprenticeship at David Campbell Fashions, a top-notch fashion design house in Ohio. Before starting her new job, Mallory discusses what her duties will be with the firm's star designer, Jamie Carter. When Mallory timidly asks whether the designs she's done for school will ever be made into David Campbell fashions, Jamie reacts somewhat coolly. Although Jamie seems pleased by Mallory's designs, she explains that the apprentice still has a lot to learn. Eager to succeed, Mallory throws herself into her work. Before long, however, Mallory is stunned when she discovers that Jamie has stolen her design ideas and pitched them to David Campbell as her own. What's more, Campbell likes ""Jamie's"" designs so much, he plans to feature them in his upcoming fashion show. Feeling completely disillusioned, Ma

As Elyse wraps up a major project for her firm, she realizes that her busy architectural career is causing her to neglect her family, especially Andy. Although Elyse feels terrible about not devoting more time with Steven and the kids, she doesn't want to give up her rewarding position at the firm. Just when she expects a breather, Elyse's boss dumps a prestigious project into her lap. Inspired by the challenge, she accepts the enormous job, despite initial misgivings. Later that afternoon, when a teacher calls to tell Elyse that no one has come to pick Andy up from school, ""Super Mom"" begins to feel like a failure, unable to juggle her private and professional demands.

Alex realizes he must make Ellen aware of his feelings, but she is on a train on her way to marry another man, so he takes drastic measures to stop the wedding. The usually cool Alex decides he must let down his defenses or lose the girl he loves.

When Mallory decides to run for student body president of Grant College, her family is surprised at her uncharacteristic interest in politics. She explains that ""it just sounded like a good idea"", and introduces Skippy as the manager of this rather unfocused campaign. Still her most ardent admirer, Skippy encourages the whole family to work on Mallory's behalf.

Alex becomes a deejay of his own college radio show with a program he calls "Syncopated Money", designed to "combine classic American music with an indepth analysis of the business scene". While on the air one day, Alex introduces a tune by "the late blues great, Eddie Dupre", only to discover that Dupre is alive when the legendary blues artist himself calls the station.

Brother and sister go head-to-head when Steven announces a scholarship competition sponsored by his station, WKS. A confident Alex scoffs as the family encourages a reluctant Mallory to enter the competition. In spite of Alex's arrogant comments, Mallory prepares her fashion presentation for the competition and realizes that no matter what he says, she really wants to try. Alex discovers that he may have grossly misjudged his sister's business acumen as well as her sense of fashion. When the winner is announced, Alex and Mallory react to the news in a way that surprises even themselves. Andy loses his favorite toy, Mr. Pig, causing Nick and Skippy to begin a topsy-turvy search of the household to comfort the devastated three-year-old. After their attempt to pass off a newly-bought imposter, Mr. Pig re-surfaces in a most unusual spot.

When Mallory brings her new friend, Allison King, home with her to study, little does she expect that Allison will find a kindred spirit in Elyse. Bound together by their love of architecture, Allison and Elyse soon become fast friends, with Elyse even becoming the subject of Allison's architecture research project. They study together, shop together, go to exhibits together, always inviting Mallory to join them, but unconsciously making her feel like a fifth wheel. Matters come to a head when Allison is invited to dinner at the Keatons "" after getting an ""A"" on her college architecture project. Mall unexpectedly vents her resentment and jealousy, and storms out, leaving her mother upset and confused. When Mallory finally does return home, she and Elyse have to deal wtih the conflict that Allison's friendship has stirred. And together, they reaffirm that blood is, indeed, thicker than common interests.

Mallory brings home her new boyfriend, Nick, a Rambo-type environmental artist, to meet her family, but Steven and Elyse are shocked by his crude appearance and gruff manner.

Mallory is crushed when her favorite aunt dies suddenly, but her feelings of sadness turns to anger when family and friends at the funeral seem to be taking Aunt Trudy's death too lightly. Mallory feels that she has lost her best friend, and is shocked that no one else seems to share her grief.

The Keatons are surprised, but delighted, when Elyse's Aunt Rosemary shows up for a visit. Although Rosemary claims to have sent a letter and spoken with Mallory about her arrival, the mix-up is quickly forgotten as the family warmly welcomes their loving and favorite aunt. Rosemary charms the Keatons with her wit, humor and wonderful family stories. But soon, she begins to act strangely to simple questions, and Elyse starts to worry when Rosemary begins repeating things that have just been discussed. Finally, Rosemary admits that she has been having trouble with her memory and has no idea how she even got to the Keaton home.

When Alex's friend Greg dies in a car accident, Alex is thrown into a state of shock and begins to seriously question the meaning and purpose of his own life. Having been asked to accompany his friend on the fatal trip and refusing because it wasn't convenient, he is overcome by guilt. He tries to fathom why he was spared in the face of such selfishness, and begins to have encounters with Greg's ghost. His family urges him to get help.

The Keaton family unites in crisis when Steven suffers a serious heart attack. While Alex and Andy discuss the upcoming Presidential race, Mallory and Jennifer prepare for another legendary shopping expedition. Moments later, Elyse returns home from jogging, but Steven lags behind, explaining that his run was slowed by a burning pain in his side. Steven dismisses the pain, assuming it was due to something he ate, while Alex kids him that the pain was caused by the guilt of being a Democrat.

A family camping trip turns into a comedy of errors. While the Keaton kids and Lauren argue about politics, Steven and Elyse decide it's time to get away from such serious concerns. They eagerly suggest that the whole family go on a camping trip, like they used to do. The kids don't share their parents' enthusiasm, however, and quickly come up with reasons why they can't go. As a result, little Andy is the only Keaton willing to go along with Steven and Elyse.

Elyse enrolls in an auto mechanics class to prove 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.

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. Although Alex refuses to discuss his sleeping problems with anyone, his restlessness is disrupting the whole family.

Steven's old college buddy Richard Schofield is in town for and Steven looks forward to reminiscing about old times until he learns that Richard and Elyse share some memories he wasn't aware of. Steven loses his normally cool composure and becomes insanely jealous, imagining that Elyse and Richard are secretly attracted to one another.

Mallory's boyfriend, environmental artist Nick Moore, swaps his T-shirt, camouflage pants, combat boots and earrings for a three-piece suit and a haircut to impress Mallory's parents, but while Steven and Elyse love the new Nick, Mallory is ready to leave him.

Alex implements a fail-proof, and extremely unromantic, method of meeting the girl of his dreams: He picks her from pictures in the freshman directory. His selection, Tricia, seems to fit his requirements perfectly, but his plan goes off-track when he is strongly attracted to her roommate, Ellen. Ellen and Alex dislike each other instantly, and though he can't figure out why, he finds himself thinking about her constantly.

When Alex lands his dream job in New York, everyone's delighted for him, except Elyse. As Steven helps Andy rehearse for his school play on dental hygiene, Alex bursts into the Keaton kitchen with a rousing chorus of ""New York, New York"", and the news that he's been hired by one of Wall Street's biggest investment firms. The family is thrilled, but Elyse is somewhat taken aback when she learns that Alex is expected to move immediately. While everyone pitches in to help Alex get ready, Elyse becomes miffed over a family photo that he packed without her permission and a palpable tension begins to develop between them. In the course of packing, Alex battles wits with Jennifer, accepts fashion tips from Mallory, receives fatherly advice from Steven and shares some final moments with Nick, Skippy and Lauren. All the while, Elyse continues to withdraw from him.

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 than in helping Alex. When Eugene, Alex's tutor, meets Jennifer he loses his concentration and Alex comes up with a scheme that will benefit both him and Eugene.

Alex offers to help Jennifer with a speech project and winds up creating a monster, the speech is such a success that she is asked to repeat the performance for an awards panel. Jennifer does her class project perfectly, but doesn't understand what she said because Alex coached her on most of the material. So when asked to present it to the panel of judges, her nerves get the best of her.

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.

Nick and Mallory make sudden plans to elope when Steven and Elyse vehemently oppose their marriage plans and threaten to ground their teenaged daughter. During a quiet evening together, Mallory pops the ""big question"" to Nick. They are ecstatic until they learn that the entire Keaton family is solidly against the idea.

Alex discovers that his idol, young Uncle Ned, has a serious drinking problem when the bright, but ill-fated corporate whiz kid returns for a visit after losing another job.

Steven battles the physical and psychological aftershocks of his heart surgery. As the hours drag on during Steven's quadruple bypass operation, the Keaton crew grows exhausted in the hospital waiting room. Awakened by Skippy's typically goofy entrance, they all snap to attention when Dr. Harrison appears. He assures them that the surgery has gone well, but Steven must still be observed closely for the next few hours.

While Steven fights for his life in surgery, the family fights to remain optimistic about his condition. When Steven's surgery extends beyond the expected five hours, tension in the waiting room increases. A nervous Alex, however, begins to express acute concern only for himself fearing that he has inherited a weak heart, he searches in vain for his pulse. Lauren soon makes Alex realize that he is fixated on his own health to block the anguish he really feels for his father. While the Keatons wait, they receive hope and encouragement from Mrs. Hobart and Mr. Meyers, whose spouses are also undergoing surgery.

In an attempt to get Alex to open up emotionally, Lauren persuades him to join a therapy group. Returning from a date, Alex and Lauren arrive at the Keaton home and finish a fight they began in the car. Lauren resents the fact that Alex has dragged her to a boring economics department function and accuses him of avoiding any conversation which becomes personal.

Steven and Elyse are forced to take a new closer look at Nick and his considerable artistic talents when they invite him to compete with other local artists to create a sculpture for the lobby of Steven's television station.

When Steven's recently divorced brother Rob arrives with his son and daughter for a visit, the Keaton's become a sounding board for their relatives' family problems. In the wake of his divorce, Uncle Rob has given up his job as a CPA and is enjoying ""working in the great outdoors"" as a telephone repairman, a considerably less lucrative career which his teenage daughter Marilyn feels is a great hardship on the family, and particularly on her.

While Steven and Elyse are away on vacation, the Keaton house becomes a hotel for the weekend after Mallory accidentally crashes her parents' car into a telephone pole and the kids need to raise money for auto repairs. A lot of people are in town for the Leland homecoming game, so Alex decides to take advantage of the situation and rent out rooms but suddenly he's swamped with renters and the house looks like a three-ring circus.

The Keatons rally behind their black friends when the issue of racial discrimination hits home. Surprised and disgusted with their neighbors' racist attitudes, Elyse and Steven apologize to Gus and Maya Thompson for ever having suggested that they buy the house across the street. The Keatons become even more disturbed when they learn that the Thompsons are considering moving out immediately.

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.

Alex sees Mallory and Nick leaving the Keaton residence in the predawn hours to elope, and unable to stop them, follows them to New Jersey where he finds the young couple taking a hard look at their decision. After Nick bumbles around the outside of the house with a 16-foot ladder, Alex makes a desperate attempt to keep his younger sister Mallory from marrying Nick. But they are too much in love to listen. It takes Erin and Mike, another couple, to give them perspective on their maturity.

While Nick entertains the Keatons with a demonstration of the ""salesmanship"" he's using in his new job selling lightbulbs over the phone, an impatient Andrew waits for Alex to come home so they can watch a special edition of ""Wall Street Week"" together. When Alex finally arrives, Andy is depressed to see that he has brought his new love, Lauren Miller. To make matters worse, Alex forgoes watching ""Wall Street Week"" in favor of spending time with Lauren, which only adds to Andy's frustration.

While Alex prepares little Andrew's resume for future kindergarten elections, Elyse proudly tells the family that Andy has been chosen as "Buddy for the Day" at school, which means he will be responsible for showing a new classmate around. The new student, Josh Richards, turns out to be deaf. Accompanied by his mother, Josh is introduced to Andy by Andy's teacher, who explains that although Josh can't hear, he can speak by signing with his hands. Tentative at first, Andy leads Josh off to "show him the ropes", telling his curious classmates about Josh's deafness and his ability to sign.

When Mallory comes home from her sixth disastrous date in a row, Alex tries to comfort and then help. He will find her a new and perfect boyfriend using a computer that the Keaton's have gotten for Jennifer's ""educational"" use. Yet, when Roger and Mallory don't hit it off, Alex refuses to give up on getting this ""perfect couple"" together.

Alex lands a teaching-assistant position and runs into big trouble when he has to grade a student who also happens to be his girlfriend, Ellen. When Ellen is assigned to Alex's economics class, he has trouble treating her as just another student, and ends up causing a strain on their relationship.

The Keaton kids are dismayed when the local playhouse agree to stage Steven's radical 60's college play, ""A Draft Card for the Burning"". Embarrassed by the script's laughably dated hippie lingo, they are not surprised when Elyse refuses to reprise her leading role as Sequola Free, the play's sexy activist/anthropology student.

Mallory begins to feel severe guilt after reporting a young girl to the police for shoplifting, especially when he learns that the girl is from a home for abused children. Mallory visits Jessie at the home but is suspicious of the girl's intentions. Nick warns Mallory that she can't change Jessie overnight, but Mallory is sure that she can at least be a good influence.

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. Alex considers it his patriotic duty to beat the Russian, but as the game progresses he realizes his opponent is not really the enemy he had envisioned him to be.

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.

Alex's relationship with Lauren is tested when he becomes infatuated with a young music student. While Lauren's out of town attending a psychology conference. Alex begins teaching a freshman seminar in economics at Leland College. As he begins his first lecture, he is interrupted by a late arrival, music major Marty Brodie, a rather scattered young woman.

Mallory discovers that her high school graduation is in jeopardy unless she can pass a very tough history exam. Never an avid student, Mallory faces the possibility of failing her senior year in high school because of her poor grades. As the school term rapidly draws to a close, her only hope is to score extremely well on a tough final exam.

Still trapped at the television station, Elyse realizes she cannot make it thru the snowstorm to the hospital and prepares to gibe birth in Steven's office. Meanwhile, stuck at home by the same storm, Steven enlists the help of Bud the plumber and his truck, and heads for the hospital, thinking Elyse will be there. Elyse makes a plea on camera to Steven, wherever he is, to come to the station, so Steven, the doctor, the plumber and Skippy all frantically head for WKS, hoping they arrive in time for the birth.

When Terry Bridgeman, a colleague of Elyse's, confides that he has broken up with his girlfriend, Elyse decides to fix him up with a family friend, the beautiful Liz Obeck. What Elyse doesn't realize, however, is that Liz has been seriously involved with someone else for two years.

When Mallory informs her parents that she has no intention of going to college after graduation, they are sure she is being influenced by her boyfriend, Nick, a high school dropout. Elyse is crushed by Mallory's decision to forego a college education, and Mallory turns to Nick for support.

The Keatons are shocked to realize that racism is alive and well when their black friends move into a house across the street. During dinner with Steven's colleague Gus Thompson and his wife Maya, the Keatons learn that the couple is having trouble finding a house to buy. When Elyse informs them that the house across the street is up for sale, Gus and Maya (who are black) gently raise the subject of race. Although Steven admits that there are no black families in the neighborhood, he believes race to be a non-issue.

Seduced by an "older woman" of twenty-one, the hitherto inexperienced Alex is devastated to learn that she thinks of their relationship as casual.

Alex feels left out when Andy begins spending less time with him and more time with Nick's streetwise nephew Rocco. While Steven rages about the household bills, Alex worries about something else: Andrew's budding friendship with Rocco, Nick's visiting eight-year-old nephew. Andy quickly becomes enchanted with the boy, who's a pint-sized version of Nick and thus not exactly Alex's idea of a positive role model for his little brother.

Alex finds himself on an emotional rollercoaster when he's forced to choose between Lauren and Marty. When Lauren returns from her psychology conference, she notices that Alex is acting distant and distracted. After an uncomfortable silence, Alex admits that he has become interested in another woman and needs time to sort out his feelings, a revelation that leaves Lauren angry and confused.

Cousin June returns to the Keaton household for a visit after a three year stay in London. All of the Keatons are eager to hear her tales of England, but they just can't seem to let her get a word in edgewise.

When Andy befriends two senior citizens, Steven decides to make them the focus of his new documentary. After Andy announces that he's invited a couple of friends over, the Keatons are surprised when two people in their seventies walk in! Andy introduces Joseph Simmons and Eva Martin to the family, explaining that they are from the retirement center which Andy's class visits each week as a school project.

Steven has a very difficult time accepting that his youngest daughter, Jennifer,is growing up and no longer wants to ""pal around"" with him. As Jennifer grows and finds new interests, Steven feels rejected because she no longer spends time with him. The situation comes to a head when Steven insists on accompanying Jennifer on her girls-club outing, and she is mortified when he is the only male there.

In her quest to become one of the popular kids, Jennifer invites her trendy classmates to her thirteenth birthday party. When they become bored and begin grumbling at her ""lame"" party (which includes a traditional puppet show by her father), Jennifer takes drastic action. With Mallory's guidance, she becomes a ""valley girl"", who then deserts her own party. Yet, it's only a matter of time before Jennifer realizes she isn't having any fun and she rebels against her new friends.

As chairman of the entertainment committee for the Leland College 10th reunion, Alex has big plans, which include hiring some great bands to impress attending alumni in the music business. Jennifer finally talks a very skeptical Alex into letting her new all-girl band, The Permanent Waves, audition for the affair. At the audition, Alex is thrilled with the unexciting Polka Boys, but his fellow committee members are left cold until they hear The Permanent Waves. They are so good, in fact, that even Alex is impressed and not only books the group but convinces them to sign with him as manager.

The Christmas spirit has come to the Keaton house, where the family is busy baking Christmas cookies when Skippy stops by to ask a favor. He wants Alex to pinch-hit for him as Santa at the mall, and Alex agrees after hearing about the excellent hourly wage. With Mallory and Jennifer along as his wall-paid elves, ""Santa"" Alex dispenses stock tips and financial advice to long lines of children. Besieged by kids with elaborate Christmas lists, Alex is surprised when he's approached by a sad-looking little girl who insists she doesn't want anything for Christmas and doesn't believe in Santa Claus. Her mother explains that seven-year-old Michelle is very depressed that her father, a traveling salesman who is struggling to make a living, won't be home for the holiday.

When Uncle Rob's daughter Marilyn stays out all nite with a Marine she meets while visiting the Keaton's, the family becomes painfully aware of her deep-seated anger with her father over her parents' divorce. Rob is left feeling stunned and hurt, as the Keatons begin to realize that communications between their beloved relatives have completely broken down. The following morning, when Marilyn comes home and flatly refuses to talk to her father, the Keatons jump in to try and help. While Elyse shepherds everyone out for ""a walk"", Steven stays behind with Rob to discuss Rob's feelings about his guilt over the divorce and his fears about confronting his daughter. Things don't improve when Marilyn tries to leave a day early for her mother's house and ends up in a screaming match with her father. Deeply troubled, Rob finally forces himself to corner Marilyn and press for an honest talk. And as he opens his heart to her, she finds herself unable to resist the power of his love.

When Lauren is required to write a paper on the typical American family, she chooses the Keatons. Focusing first on Steven and Elyse, she asks about their history together and the growth of the family, prompting Elyse to reminisce about her pregnancy with Andy. Steven recalls what a thrill Andy's arrival was to everyone, especially Alex, who was delighted to finally have a brother.

Jennifer is caught in the middle when she begins working with her friend Simon. As Alex recoils at declarations of love from Marla, an 11-year-old newspaper delivery girl who has a huge crush on him, Jennifer announces that she and her schoolmate Simon have landed jobs at a local fast food store.

As Elyse prepares for her high school reunion, she is contacted by her old buddy, Roger "Eggy" Erdman, a klutzy class nerd turned millionaire. Never a romantic couple, Elyse and "Eggy" made a bizarre team even as friends, since Elyse was the most popular girl in class. She explains to the family that Roger needed someone to keep the bullies away and to save him from his own clumsiness.

Alex shocks his parents when he visits his 3-year-old brother Andrew's very special preschool class, decides the wrong values are being stressed and withdraws him from the school. Steven and Elyse had pulled strings to get Andrew into the special preschool. They are shocked when Alex announces that the school teaches ""anti-competitive"" values, and argues that his brother should be taught in a more aggressive manner.

After Mallory secretly submits a picture of Elyse and herself to an ad agency for a mother-daughter modeling contest, she's ecstatic to have won but dismayed and jealous when the reluctant Elyse becomes the star model. Mallory is thrilled at the prospect of entering the glamorous world of modeling, but Elyse must be coaxed into participating. At the photo session, Elyse is showered with attention, while Mallory is shunted to the sidelines. To the chagrin of the teenager, her mother who is becoming seduced by the glamour, is offered a TV commercial for TV dinners to be filmed in the Keaton home. The filming ensues, but Mallory is determined to create a few stumbling blocks.

The Keaton family fills in his girlfriend, Ellen, on some of the more humorous events in Alex's life before they met in this special one-hour episode. Flashbacks to previous episodes include some highlights from the series' past shows. Alex and Ellen celebrate their six-month anniversary as boyfriend and girlfriend, and the family think it's time for Ellen to know the truth about Alex.

The Keaton family adjusts to life with the new baby but while everyone caters to the new arrival, Jennifer struggles with jealous feelings about not being the baby of the family anymore. When Steven and Elyse realize that Jennifer feels left out, they overcompensate by trying too hard to make her feel loved.

When Skippy falls head-over-heels in love with Mallory's new college friend, Amy Sussman, he's both startled and overjoyed to find himself in his first real romantic relationship. Just as Steven finishes an informal pep talk with the kids, unraveling his fool-proof plan to throw Elyse a surprise birthday party, Amy arrives to pick Mallory up for a study session. Skippy happens to drop by and is immediately taken with Mallory's shy and pretty friend. He's so smitten, in fact, he's rendered completely helpless, and Mallory ends up arranging their first date.

When Alex plays "gentleman" to his mother and two sisters and orders for them at a restaurant without even asking them what they want, the battle begins with Elyse, Mallory and Jennifer on one side, and Steven, Alex and Andrew on the other.

Steven and Elyse worry that Alex, who is the new coach of Jennifer's softball team, is pushing the girls too hard when Jennifer fails to jog all the way home he orders her to do 20 extra pushups. Alex takes his coaching duties seriously and his players are leaving the team in droves. Two days before the championship game they don't even have enough players to qualify as a team unless Alex can convince Jennifer to persuade Skippy's klutzy sister Arlene to join the team. Arlene is happier making dresses for her turtles, but desperately wants Jennifer's friendship and agrees to play ball with some disastrous consequences.

Nick again demonstrates his flair for teaching art by conducting a class at the "Y" for children, including Andrew. So popular is the class, in fact, that when the "Y" needs the classroom space back for another program, the kids and their enthusiastic parents are very disappointed. Mallory tells the family that Nick would really like to open up his own art school, and Alex escorts Nick to the bank to help him get a loan.

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. Divorced ""Sunday father"" Richard Bailey and his son, Keith, come over to the Keaton's before taking off on a secret flight of their own. It seems Keith's mother is moving to California with her new husband and plans on taking her son with them. When a satisfactory visiting arrangement can't be reached, Richard decides it's time to make a move and it's up to Steven to put a stop to their travel plans.

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.

Mallory suspects there's more involved than ""art appreciation"" when a wealthy and beautiful older woman takes a special interest in Nick's creations. Promising to help launch his career, art patron Victoria Hurstenberg takes Nick under her wing, occupying nearly all of his time and interfering with his relationship with Mallory, who insists that the older woman has her eye on more than Nick's art.

Soon after free lance architect Elyse Keaton hires her friend Suzanne Davis to handle clerical chores, she wants to fire the under-qualified, overly aggressive secretary, but Suzanne's marriage breaks up, making the new job her only salvation. After 20 years as a housewife, Suzanne feels she lacks an identity outside the home. Swamped with paperwork, Elyse decides to solve that problem while easing her friend's mid-life crisis. Unfortunately Suzanne's take-charge approach to business throws a wrench into Elyse's client dealings and threatens to ruin the women's friendship. On the brink of firing Suzanne, the frustrated Elyse faces a terrible dilemma when Ron Davis decides he ""needs space"" and leaves his wife.

In her zeal for good causes Elyse devotes so much energy to committee work that a neglected Steven feels shortchanged. Ecstatic to have won an award for his public television documentary, Steven arrives home eager to celebrate, but every effort is foiled by Elyse's obligations to her various projects. Finally, the over-extended wife-mother-architect-committee volunteer begins to realize she's neglecting her most important committee.

Jennifer becomes obsessed with the environment after she begins studying the earth's ecological evils. As Alex presents Andrew with a pet parakeet, Jennifer arrives home with news that her science class has begun studying global ecology to explore how the earth is endangered by man's interference. Upset that the world is being destroyed for profit, Jennifer begins trying to make the family more ecologically aware as she laments the destruction of rain forests in Brazil and the ozone layer over the South Pole. While Mallory teaches the parakeet anti-Republican phrases, Jennifer becomes more and more obsessed. When she realizes how many toxic chemicals are in the Keaton home alone, she demands that the family throw out a bunch of household products and shop for safe alternatives. Not stopping there, however, she begins dwelling on the enormity of the world's environmental problems and becomes psychologically overwhelmed. Fixating on such evils as acid rain and radon gas, Jennifer sinks i

In the hospital awaiting a tonsillectomy, Jennifer fears she may never see her family again and, while writing in her diary, she flashes back to regrettable incidents with each family member. Jennifer conjures up memories of the time she deliberately ruined Mallory's date with a boy, and also recalls an incident when her stubborn refusal to rehearse a play with Alex caused him to lose out on the lead.

Alex courts disaster when he invites two dates to the senior prom and devises an elaborate scheme for escorting each of the unknowing girls on a night to remember. Prom chairman Alex is all set to attend the big evening with an ecstatic Rachel Miller, when he finds that his heartthrob, Jocelyn Clark, has just broken up with her boyfriend. While consoling her, Alex invites her to be his date and finds himself in a major jam. With Skippy's help he tries to juggle both dates, until the truth comes crashing down.

When the first building Elyse designed faces the wrecking ball, the entire family rallies behind her attempts to block the demolition. Elyse is heartbroken when she learns that her very first professional design project, the Cavanaugh Building, is about to be torn down to make way for a mini-mall. Disconcerted by the news, Elyse becomes more and more upset as she starts reminiscing about her early career and how much the Cavanaugh Building meant to her.

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. Sixteen-year-old Mallory and eighteen-year-old Rick seem to have a special romance, and she fears that she'll ruin it unless she gives in to his request to enter a new phase of the relationship. Mallory becomes burdened with the question of what is the ""right time"" for the ""first time"".

Elyse is chocked by her soon-to-be-divorced mother's quick and free-spirited plunge into the singles world, and sparks fly between the two women when Elyse can't help but interfere.

Jennifer gets picked on when she befriends a boy at school.

The Keatons consider buying a gun for protection after getting burglarized.

Excited at the prospect of reviving her folk-singing career at a local niteclub, Elyse faces the skepticism of Alex and Mallory and an audience unattuned to the songs of the sixties.

Alex and his good friend James go into business together as tutors for their fellow students at Leland. However, their competitiveness threatens to undermine their business let alone their friendship particularly when one of their students turns out to be a very attractive young lady.

While Andy is inspired by his parents' old love letters to try his hand at writing one to a kindergarten sweetheart, Lauren finds herself less and less able to spend time with Alex. She is struggling with her psychology thesis and is becoming increasingly depressed by her lack of significant progress. She confesses to the Keatons that she sometimes has the urge to quit, but Steven and Elyse encourage her to hang in there and keep working on it, much to Alex's chagrin. The day after she has broken yet another date with Alex to work on her thesis, Lauren complains to him that the project which once thrilled her has become incredibly boring. Having received a lukewarm response from her professor on what she has accomplished so far, Lauren finds the temptation to quit and spend more time with Alex too strong to resist. Alex happily assures her that she is making the right decision.

When Andy asks the family to contribute to his time capsule, the Keaton clan recalls some of their best-loved stories. As a homework assignment, Andy has been given the task of creating a time capsule which reflects his family's history. For his part, the littlest Keaton has placed his baby boots in the capsule, and asks his parents and siblings to contribute mementos from their past. Soon, the family is looking back and laughing at some of their funniest experiences together, like the time Steven and Elyse went to Woodstock, Alex went to jail with a group of feminists after feigning support for the Equal Rights Amendment and Mallory coached Nick in grammar to pass his high school equivalency exam. They also recall what happened when Mallory began dispensing advice to the lovelorn in her ""Dear Mallory"" column, Steven made a mess out of wallpapering the kitchen and Elyse became a blackjack fanatic in Atlantic City, where she was supposed to be lecturing at a conference.

A cynical Alex finds the spirit of Christmas in a dream, when he's shown shocking visions of the past and future by ghosts of Mallory and Jennifer. While the family enjoys trimming the tree, singing carols and taking pictures, Alex would rather listen to stock reports and finds Christmas ""a silly sentimental farce"" except for the commercialism. That evening, when he drifts off to sleep, Jennifer, The Ghost of Christmas Past, takes him back ten years to a scene in the Keaton living room and a time when young Alex loved Christmas. Next, the Ghost of Christmas Future, Mallory, appears and transports Alex 15 years ahead in time. The impoverished Keaton household is a sorry sight, visited by a rich fat cat on his way to Las Vegas - the future Alex.

Alex heads the household when Elyse and Steven go away for the 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. Elyse's camping trip with Mallory and Jennifer is cut short when she realizes that the girls are bored to death, while Steven's plans to spend time with Alex at home are crushed when his son leaves on a date.

The Keaton family is transported back in time when Alex dreams he is at the Constitutional Convention at 1776, but history is off track. Steven Keaton is Thomas Jefferson and has just turned down John Adams' request to write the Declaration of Independence, so it's up to Alex to convince him to do it. 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.

When Elyse lands a job with a top architectural firm, the load begins to get to her at work and at home. Elyse feels the need to expand her horizons. She lands a job at one of the major architectural firms in the city. But twelve years of not working in an office have put her behind the times. When she becomes over-worked, she starts to neglect her family and the major presentation to the president of the company is jeopardized.

Alex anxiously awaits a crucial college recommendation from his English teacher and urges Steven and Elyse to butter Mr. Tedesco up on parents' nite at school - but the obnoxious Tedesco is so insulting that Elyse slugs him, and a horrified Alex entreats Steven to make amends. The usually calm and non-violent Elyse is amazed and ashamed at her uncharacteristic behavior, though Tedesco ""asked for it"". Steven visits him and after being subjected to disparaging remarks about his wife, winds up repeating her deed. Finally Tedesco, who does recognize Alex's intellect, accepts an invitation to the Keaton home where he alienates everyone again. Alex must decide whether a glowing recommendation from an influential but disgusting man is worth groveling for.

Mallory's plans to buy a car are stalled when Steven refuses to co-sign her loan. As Jennifer labors over a play she's writing on the final days of the Nixon presidency, Steven anxiously waits for Mallory to return home with his car. When she arrives late and is chided by her impatient dad, Mallory suggests that perhaps it's time she bought a car of her own.

Alex's chances or acceptance into a smug college fraternity are dependent upon his having a knockout date for the pledge dance and when the girl cancels he pleads with Karen, the housekeeper, to accompany him but his problems are far from resolved when they arrive at the dance. Karen reluctantly agrees to be Alex's date, but does not tell him why she is so hesitant to go.

Alex is more than a little sceptical when Nick enters his sculpture "Spirit of Columbus", priced at $200, in an art show at the mall. but when Nick returns with the money and the news that he had several buyers vying for the piece, Alex decides that Nick is completely unaware of the marketability of his work. Appalled that Nick let potential buyers go away empty-handed, he insists that Nick increase the supply to meet the demand and steps in as Nick's manager for a hefty commission.

Skippy's decision to join the Army soon becomes a losing battle. As the Keaton clan continues to nag Steven about taking it easy in the wake of his heart attack, a very morose Skippy stops by. Depressed by the results of his career aptitude tests, he confides that he's become hopeless about his future job prospects.

Lauren gets more than she bargained for when she begins counseling Skippy and he falls in love with her. When Jennifer arrives home with her learner's permit in hand and announces that she'd like Elyse to teach her how to drive, a somewhat miffed Steven begins to needle them both about ""women drivers"". With continuous prodding, however, Steven finally gets his way and takes over as Jennifer's driving instructor.

Alex becomes involved with Donna, a young, unwed expectant mother from Elyse's natural-childbirth class but his interest in her becomes an obsession when he starts planning for her child's future and acting as if they were a real family. Donna is flattered by Alex's concern for her and her unborn baby, but soon begins to realize that he is becoming a little bit too helpful.

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 and she must decide whether to ""let go"" and accept the change in their relationship. Mallory is nervous that Jeff may have met someone new, outgrown her or forgotten her. When the opposite appears true, and he announces plans to quit school, she refuses at first to see the obvious; that he's just a little overwhelmed by college. What's thrilling to her is self-destructive on Jeff's part.

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.

When Alex's pal Skippy discovers he's adopted, Alex helps him cope with the shocking news and accompanies the nervous teenager on a memorable meeting with his real mother.