The eccentric owner of a hardware store throws a monkey wrench into Dave's plans to fix a broken door when he tells Dave that the Barry house is haunted.

Beth's plan to surprise Dave in the shower backfires.

Construction of the new neighbour's house disturbs the peace; a commitment-shy Eric turns to Dave and the guys when his relationship with Mia hits a snag -- prompting Kenny to consider ""enhancement"" surgery.

A convention-bound Shel reluctantly entrusts his beloved luxury car to Dave -- who is then held responsible for the good doctor's unpaid parking tickets.

Mia enrolls in the writing class Dave teaches at community college.

A neighbor's boasting about how much school candy his son has sold leaves a bitter taste in Beth's mouth, so she determines that Willie's sales will be just as sweet.

Is truth stranger than fiction? Dave's about to find out when Tommy takes issue with his father's first major work, a serio-comic memoir about Dave's wild and crazy youth.

Eric flounders when his father returns from a fishing trip with a different sort of catch -- a new girlfriend.

An enigmatic answering machine message from a lovelorn sailor sends Beth scurrying to find the man and reunite him with his girl; Dave hunts his stolen laptop, which contains several of his columns.

A fire forces Mia and Eric to temporarily move in with the Barrys, but the blaze that wrecked their house is nothing compared to the sparks that fly betwee Julie and Eric.

The IRS informs Dave and Beth that their marriage isn't legally valid, an occasion that calls for a visit to the hippie ""minister"" who married them -- but who never filed their marriage license.

Stressed-out Dave sees an alligator in the backyard.

Teacher Beth regrets lecturing to her loved ones when her advice sends Duke weightlifting, Shel and Mia skydiving, and promps Kenny to turn down a great job opportunity.

Dave enjoys, then soon tires of, his 15 minutes of fame after a new publicity campaign for his column finds his face plastered on billboards all over Miami.

Eric and Mia's domestic squabbles spark a fight in the Barry house when Dave reluctantly -- and foolishly -- reveals things about Beth that annoy him.

Shel frets when his girlfriend bonds with Beth.

Mia's new obsession with astrology has Eric wishing she'd be more down-to-earth; Kenny turns snoop to discover wh at plastic surgery Shel performed on his new girlfriend; and Tommy confesses a minor crime to Willie.

To earn the favor of a socialite and secure a sizable donation to the hospital, Shel serves up famous writer Dave Bary at a celebrity tennis benefit, despite the fact that Dave himself refuses to pay.

Dave gives Eric a three-day deadline to build a sun deck.

Teacher Beth regrets lecturing to her loved ones when her advice sends Dave weightlifting, Shel and Mia sky diving, and promps Kenny to turn down a great job opportunity.

When Dave's column about Shel's childhood is picked by the head of Paragon Pictures to be a feature film, Beth urges Dave to take Shel on as a writing partner for the screenplay. Dave has never been able to ""work or play well with others"" since kindergarten and he's never had a writing partner. Beth gently reminds him of his speech to Tommy and Willie about brothers sharing and that he's always said he and Shel are like brothers. Meanwhile, Mia wants Eric to learn to swim so they can honeymoon in Hawaii and Kenny volunteers to be Eric's swimming coach. However, Mia discovers that the pool pep squad is a bevy of beautiful girl bent on ogling Eric. Guest Brandon Tartikoff formerly served as President of NBC Entertainment, Chairman of NBC Entertainment Group and Chairman of Paramount Pictures.

With Beth and the boys away for the weekend, Dave savors the time alone to do as he pleases -- if only he can get his friends to stop trying to keep him company. Dave's weekend is filled with all the things dearest to his heart: naps, television, beer, pretzels and not bathing. However, Mia and Eric want his expertise on where they should honeymoon, while Shel and Kenny are certain that all this time alone isn't good for Dave. Meanwhile, Beth learns that she is the last to know that Tommy has discovered girls in the form of the beautiful Angela when she chaperones his class on a field trip to see a space shuttle launch.

""Is it me, or did people used to be nicer to each other?"" Dave wonders, after Beth's insulted on the road and Shel has several run-ins with an obnoxious waiter who's out to get him.

Dave grounds Tommy for a prank the child insists he didn't commit. Then Eric's father, Eric Jr., invites the gang to the Coconut Strip Club for Eric's bachelor party, where they wind up in a brawl and get a taste of injustice themselves before a judge who hates celebrities, especially colunists. Meanwhile, Eric begs the guys to convince Mia he was forced to accompany them to the club.

When Dave, Shel and Kenny are sentenced to do community service at the beach as a result of the fight at Eric's bachelor party, a Cuban refugee drags himself out of the water and the boys must decide what to do with him. Dave takes the refugee, Juan, home with him and tries to introduce him to the Dave Barry version of what it means to be an American: lots of naps, snacks and television. Juan's desire to work hard and become a citizen gets Dave thinking about his grandparents and what life was like for them when they came to the United States from Ireland. Meanwhile, Eric isn't sure he wants to give Juan a job, especially in light of Mia's enthusiastic reaction to the refugee's good looks.