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The Best Episodes of Diff'rent Strokes

Every episode of Diff'rent Strokes ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Diff'rent Strokes!

The Best Episodes of Diff'rent Strokes

The series stars Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson, two African American boys from Harlem who are taken in by a...

Seasons8

  1. Background image for Mr. T and mr. t
    7.8/10(86 votes)

    #1 - Mr. T and mr. t

    S6:E1

    Arnold's ecstasy over meeting his hero Mr. T goes from elation to emulation when the young girl he's trying to impress snubs him in favor of his idol. Former bouncer and bodyguard Mr. T, who came to national prominence as Sylvester Stallone's opponent in ""Rocky III"" and was the star of the hit television series ""The A-Team,"" makes a special guest appearance as ""The A-Team's"" B.A.

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    Director:Gerren Keith
    Writer:Unknown
  2. Background image for The Hitchhikers (1) (a.k.a.) Hitchhiking (1)
    7.8/10(83 votes)

    #2 - The Hitchhikers (1) (a.k.a.) Hitchhiking (1)

    S6:E14

    Kimberly and Arnold break a long-standing family rule and face death when, on their return from a shopping trip, they find themselves short of cash and decide to hitch a ride home rather than call home for assistance.

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    Director:Gerren Keith
    Writer:Unknown
  3. Background image for The Hitchhikers (2) (a.k.a.) Hitchhiking (2)
    7.8/10(81 votes)

    #3 - The Hitchhikers (2) (a.k.a.) Hitchhiking (2)

    S6:E15

    Hitchhiking leads to kidnapping for Arnold and Kimberly, but Arnold escapes and he is so disoriented he is unable to remember the location of the kidnapper's apartment so that the police can rescue Kimberly who's till being held captive.

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    Director:Gerren Keith
    Writer:Unknown
  4. Background image for Health Club
    7.7/10(80 votes)

    #4 - Health Club

    S4:E8

    Arnold and Willis face a puzzling dilemma -- how to tell Drummond that the award he worked so hard for comes from a health club with a ""restricted membership.""

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    Director:Gerren Keith
    Writer:Unknown
  5. Background image for Mrs. Z
    7.7/10(73 votes)

    #5 - Mrs. Z

    S6:E10

    Drummond's provided with police protection of a most unusual kind after his charitable philanthrophy leads to a $1,000,000 extortion threat against him.

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    Director:Gerren Keith
    Writer:Unknown
  6. Background image for The Wedding (1)
    7.7/10(75 votes)

    #6 - The Wedding (1)

    S6:E18

    Maggie's reaction to a proposed pre-nuptial agreement threatens to hamper Phillip's happiness -- but could eliminate Arnold's fear about ""inheriting"" a strict new mother and a pesky little brother.

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Diff'rent Strokes

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  8. Background image for Street Smarts
    7.7/10(69 votes)

    #7 - Street Smarts

    S7:E23

    Although Arnold boasts he held his own in a mugging, Drummond fears the incident goes deeper than Arnold will admit and becomes concerned when he finds Arnold has sought a dangerous method of protection.

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    Director:Gerren Keith
    Writer:Unknown
  9. Background image for The Ski Weekend
    7.6/10(85 votes)

    #8 - The Ski Weekend

    S4:E7

    Kimberly must face the biggest decision of her life -- whether to spend a ski weekend with a popular boy or turn down the opportunity to get away on her own and remain, in her mind, daddy's ""little girl.""

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    Director:Gerren Keith
    Writer:Unknown
  10. Background image for Hello, Daddy
    7.6/10(80 votes)

    #9 - Hello, Daddy

    S4:E10

    Does Drummond have a third son, there's a young man at the door who claims he does and that he is.

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    Director:Gerren Keith
  11. Background image for A Special Friend
    7.6/10(85 votes)

    #10 - A Special Friend

    S7:E24

    Arnold and Sam's new friendship with a street performer gets mired in fear and confusion when they discover she has epilepsy.

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    Director:Gerren Keith
    Writer:Unknown
  12. Background image for The Trial
    7.5/10(115 votes)

    #11 - The Trial

    S1:E7

    When Arnold is in trouble for putting his goldfish in Mr. Drummond's hot tub, Willis insists that it is wrong to convict him without a trial. The whole family, with Mrs. Garrett as judge, comes up with an important verdict.

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    Writer:Unknown
  13. Background image for The Woman
    7.5/10(108 votes)

    #12 - The Woman

    S1:E12

    Mr. Drummond's intention to marry an attractive widow doesn't meet with his children's approval, and Arnold, Willis and Kimberly devise a scheme they hope will turn his ""romantic"" proposal into a disaster.

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    Writer:Unknown
  14. Background image for Arnold's Girlfriend (1)
    7.5/10(103 votes)

    #13 - Arnold's Girlfriend (1)

    S2:E1

    Arnold has appendicitis and Drummond has to deal with the bigotry of Fred Tanner, a potential housing project investor whose daughter is the key to getting Arnold to sit still for the operation.

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    Director:Gerren Keith
    Writer:Unknown
  15. Background image for Where There's Smoke
    7.5/10(65 votes)

    #14 - Where There's Smoke

    S6:E12

    Arnold and Dudley succumb to peer pressure and ignore warnings against cigarette smoking, only to have the harsh realities brought to light by Dudley's father, a chronic smoker.

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    Director:Gerren Keith
    Writer:Unknown
  16. Background image for Drummond's Lady
    7.5/10(67 votes)

    #15 - Drummond's Lady

    S6:E13

    Arnold unwittingly solves his father's dilemma -- trying to make romance and finance go hand-in-hand -- when Drummond finds himself falling for an attractive local television aerobics instructor that his company is attempting to turn into an international success. Veteran Broadway and television actress Dixie Carter is introduced in the role of fitness instructor Maggie McKinney.

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  17. Background image for A Haunting We Will Go
    7.5/10(91 votes)

    #16 - A Haunting We Will Go

    S7:E1

    When Arnold and Sam creep through the crevices of the neighborhood's haunted house they find the ghost boasts a bounty of surprises--the biggest being a love for people and contempt for war.

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    Director:Gerren Keith
    Writer:Unknown
  18. Background image for Undercover Lover
    7.5/10(68 votes)

    #17 - Undercover Lover

    S7:E4

    Willis becomes the middleman in a police effort to halt use and trafficking of drugs at his high school.

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    Director:Gerren Keith
    Writer:Unknown
  19. Background image for Sam's New Pal
    7.5/10(66 votes)

    #18 - Sam's New Pal

    S7:E17

    Sam is taken aback when he realizes his new ""buddy"" is a girl, but Mr. Drummond is even more dumbfounded when the kids want to have a sleepover.

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    Director:Gerren Keith
    Writer:Unknown
  20. Background image for The Job (a.k.a.) Willis' Job
    7.4/10(114 votes)

    #19 - The Job (a.k.a.) Willis' Job

    S1:E19

    In order to earn the money to buy disco skates, and to prove a point to Mr. Drummond, Willis gets a job...but is fired on his first working day.

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    Writer:Unknown
  21. Background image for Mrs. Garrett's Romance
    7.4/10(85 votes)

    #20 - Mrs. Garrett's Romance

    S2:E5

    The Drummond household's curiosity over Mrs. Garrett's new beau turns first to surprise and then to alarm. Mrs. Garrett is in a dither over her first date with Leon, especially when it is followed by a very important question.

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    Director:Gerren Keith
    Writer:Unknown
  22. Background image for Birds and Bees
    7.4/10(99 votes)

    #21 - Birds and Bees

    S2:E6

    Willis' fishy version of the facts of life leaves Arnold with misconceptions and Mr. Drummond on tender hooks. Arnold repeats his ""knowledge"" to a neighbor's daughter, but the girl's mother is not amused.

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  23. Background image for First Day Blues
    7.4/10(79 votes)

    #22 - First Day Blues

    S4:E2

    Willis has the normal jitters on his first day of high school, and in his hurry to make friends, hooks up with a bad group, goes overboard to impress them, and, for his efforts could wind up in jail.

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    Director:Gerren Keith
    Writer:Unknown
  24. Background image for The Big Heist
    7.4/10(73 votes)

    #23 - The Big Heist

    S4:E5

    Arnold is elated when he's accepted into an ""elite"" club at school, but his membership could lead to consequences far beyond his wildest dreams when he learns he must commit a crime as part of his secret initiation.

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    Director:Gerren Keith
    Writer:Unknown
  25. Background image for Lifesavers
    7.4/10(68 votes)

    #24 - Lifesavers

    S4:E22

    A quick-thinking, fast-acting Willis saves Arnold from a near-fatal accident and in doing so unleashes an adoring monster who dedicates his life to repaying his ""hero.""

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    Director:Gerren Keith
    Writer:Ed Jurist
  26. Background image for The Senior Class Queen
    7.4/10(66 votes)

    #25 - The Senior Class Queen

    S6:E11

    When Kimberly starts a campaign to open the school's Lettermen's Club to female membership, an embarrassed Willis retaliates with chauvinistic aplomb by becoming the first male contestant in the Senior Class Beauty Pageant.

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    Director:Gerren Keith
    Writer:Unknown

Best Episodes Summary

"Mr. T and mr. t" is the best rated episode of "Diff'rent Strokes". It scored 7.8/10 based on 86 votes. Directed by Gerren Keith and written by Unknown, it aired on 10/1/1983. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "The Hitchhikers (1) (a.k.a.) Hitchhiking (1)".