Season 1
7.3/10228 votesLoading...Anything You Want
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 8/26/1996
Eric enlists the help of a neighbor to stop Matt from smoking, and makes a vain attempt to help Lucy deal with her flowering womanhood.
Director: Sam Weisman
Writer: Brenda Hampton
6.9/10171 votesLoading...Family Secrets
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 9/23/1996
Shhh! Don't tell anyone, but: Matt and Mary both have mysterious new friends; Simon and his new charge, Happy, could be in the doghouse; and Lucy keeps mum about the object of a crush.
Director: Mark Sobel
Writer: Brenda Hampton
7.1/10149 votesLoading...In the Blink of an Eye
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 9/30/1996
Mary offers to shield Lucy and her "date" from Eric; Matt gets into a scrape while out with a young woman; and Annie goes to Arizona to bring her parents home.
Director: Duwayne Dunham
Writer: N/A
6.8/10145 votesLoading...
6.8/10143 votesLoading...The Color of God
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 10/14/1996
The Camden kids learn hard lessons about race when Eric invites a black family to stay at the house after their church is destroyed in a racially motivated arson.
Director: Burt Brinckerhoff
Writer: Brenda Hampton
7.0/10184 votesLoading...Halloween
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 10/28/1996
Halloween is a fright, as Annie tries to scare up a costume for Ruthie; Lucy has a close encounter with the town "monster"; and a childhood memory haunts Eric.
Director: Nick Havinga
Writer: N/A
6.7/10132 votesLoading...Saturday
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 11/4/1996
Eric counsels a teen drug addict; Matt's fired from another job; Lucy blows it when she tries to impress the most popular girl in school; Simon and Lucy get lost playing detective.
Director: David Semel
Writer: Jack LoGiudice
7.0/10120 votesLoading...What Will People Say?
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 11/11/1996
Eric helps out a woman who is being abused by her husband. But when the good reverend is seen escorting the woman to a motel one afternoon, it's the talk of the town. Meanwhile, Matt warns Mary about an older guy she's seeing.
Director: Duwayne Dunham
Writer: Brenda Hampton
7.1/10134 votesLoading...See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 11/18/1996
Annie and Matt are robbed at gunpoint; Mary wants a tattoo; Eric is told to fire the church organist; Simon and Ruthie have the chicken pox; Lucy runs for student-body president (as does Jimmy Moon).
Director: Harry Harris
Writer: N/A
7.0/10136 votesLoading...Last Call for Aunt Julie
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 11/25/1996
Eric's sister visits the family for Thanksgiving but knocks the stuffing out of everyone when they discover that she has a drinking problem.
Director: Joel J. Feigenbaum
Writer: N/A
7.4/10114 votesLoading...Now You See Me
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 12/16/1996
Matt's new girlfriend seems more interested in hanging out with his family than with him; Simon thinks he can make himself invisible; Lucy wants to join the cheerleading squad.
Director: Harvey S. Laidman
Writer: N/A
6.7/10120 votesLoading...With a Little Help from My Friends
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 1/13/1997
Matt helps out an elderly neighbor, but winds up getting in hot water for it; Eric searches for a way to aid a proud but homeless family; Lucy's 13th birthday approaches and she wants a party.
Director: Burt Brinckerhoff
Writer: Brenda Hampton, Jack LoGiudice
6.9/10118 votesLoading...America's Most Wanted
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 1/27/1997
The kids receive some lessons about stealing: Matt and Mary carry on a high-school tradition by lifting a glass from a local diner and Lucy borrows liberally from a term paper Mary lent her.
Director: Mark Jean
Writer: Brenda Hampton
6.4/10116 votesLoading...Seven Is Enough
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 2/3/1997
A tug-of-war ensues between Eric and his cantankerous parents over who will adopt a young orphan found hiding in the church.
Director: Harry Harris
Writer: N/A
7.0/10121 votesLoading...Happy's Valentine
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 2/10/1997
Everyone's plans for a romantic Valentine's Day are interrupted when Happy, Simon's dog, gets out of the house and is hit by a car.
Director: David Semel
Writer: Brenda Hampton
6.8/10117 votesLoading...Brave New World
Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 2/17/1997
Mary deals with harassment from a boy she turned down for a date; Lucy's new best friend seems to be hiding something; Simon prepares Ruthie for pre-kindergarten.
Director: Harvey S. Laidman
Writer: N/A
7.1/10125 votesLoading...Choices
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 4/14/1997
Mary takes a walk on the wild side with a classmate she meets in detention; a former associate minister from Eric's church drops in unexpectedly; Simon and Ruthie ferret out a scheme to fund their college educations.
Director: Kevin Inch
Writer: N/A
6.6/10119 votesLoading...Faith, Hope and the Bottom Line
Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 4/21/1997
Annie volunteers as the church's treasurer pro tem but gets caught in the middle when Eric wants to hire an ex-con against the advice of the church vestry. Meanwhile, Mary agrees to tutor Jimmy Moon in science.
Director: Burt Brinckerhoff
Writer: N/A
6.7/10117 votesLoading...It's About George...
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 4/28/1997
Eric has to tell his parents that George may have to be given over to his birth father, who has resurfaced; Eric's alcoholic sister is released from rehab.
Director: Harry Harris
Writer: N/A
7.4/10115 votesLoading...Say Good-bye
Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 5/5/1997
Annie's "boy-crazy" best friend from school, Rachel, is in town, but the boy she has her eye on is Matt; Lucy may have to say goodbye to her friend Suzanne.
Director: Gabrielle Beaumont
Writer: Brenda Hampton
7.3/10120 votesLoading...Dangerous Liaisons (1)
Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 5/12/1997
Annie is livid when her father brings along his girlfriend on a weeklong visit; Mary and Matt pursue new romantic interests; Lucy wants to find out if blondes really have more fun.
Director: Harvey S. Laidman
Writer: Brenda Hampton
7.2/10124 votesLoading...Dangerous Liaisons (2)
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 5/19/1997
Mary undergoes knee surgery, while Matt learns that Michael Towner was the hit-and-run driver; Wilson reveals the truth about Billy to Eric.
Director: Harvey S. Laidman
Writer: Brenda Hampton