6.9/1071 votes#1 - Growing Up
Season 4 Episode 1 - Aired 10/29/1981
His friends' stories of their sexual exploits convince Willis it's time he ""became a man""--now he must convince his steady girl friend Charlene.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: Debra Frank, Scott Rubenstein
7.4/1077 votes#2 - First Day Blues
Season 4 Episode 2 - Aired 11/5/1981
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.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
7.0/1066 votes#3 - The Model
Season 4 Episode 3 - Aired 11/12/1981
Kimberly hopes a summer job will make her more independent, but when it becomes an undreamt chance at international modeling, it may be more independence than her father will agree to.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: Howard Meyers
7.0/1073 votes#4 - The Team
Season 4 Episode 4 - Aired 11/19/1981
A happy household is torn by the repercussions of meeting racial quotas -- Drummond faces a lawsuit when he hires a black man from outside his company for a prized executive position and Willis seeks justice when told his color is the only thing preventing him from making the school's predominantly black basketball team.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
7.4/1071 votes#5 - The Big Heist
Season 4 Episode 5 - Aired 11/26/1981
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.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
7.4/1072 votes#6 - Double Date (a.k.a.) Blind Date
Season 4 Episode 6 - Aired 12/3/1981
Arnold's big plans for his first real ""date"" are quickly deflated when parental-imposed restrictions threaten to ruin his encounter before it ever gets off the ground.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
7.7/1082 votes#7 - The Ski Weekend
Season 4 Episode 7 - Aired 12/10/1981
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.""
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
7.7/1077 votes#8 - Health Club
Season 4 Episode 8 - Aired 12/17/1981
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.""
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
7.0/1067 votes#9 - Burial Ground
Season 4 Episode 9 - Aired 1/7/1982
Arnold and Willis go on a hunger strike to save a historic landmark when they learn construction by Drummond's company may destroy what could be an ancient Indian burial ground.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: Howard Meyers
7.6/1077 votes#10 - Hello, Daddy
Season 4 Episode 10 - Aired 1/14/1982
Does Drummond have a third son, there's a young man at the door who claims he does and that he is.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: Donald Ross
7.4/1063 votes#11 - Jilted
Season 4 Episode 11 - Aired 1/21/1982
When Willis takes his steady girl friend for granted, his selfishness sends her out with another guy -- who won't ignore her, but there may be hope for happiness if a self-appointed Cupid succeeds in his plan.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: Ed Jurist
7.1/1063 votes#12 - Dreams
Season 4 Episode 12 - Aired 1/28/1982
A cancelled fishing trip leaves Arnold having a series of bad dreams that the entire family loses sleep over, until a psychiatrist's examination reveals what really is causing his nighttime terror.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: Booker Bradshaw
7.2/1073 votes#13 - Kathy
Season 4 Episode 13 - Aired 2/4/1982
Arnold and his friend Kathy face big challenges in their lives and each holds the key to overcoming the other's obstacles, but when Arnold takes the first step forward, their entire relationship takes a big step backwards.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
7.3/1066 votes#14 - Fire
Season 4 Episode 14 - Aired 2/11/1982
A fire traps Drummond and his family in their penthouse and has him ""working"" overtime trying to protect them without letting on that there's anything wrong.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
7.2/1072 votes#15 - The Squatter
Season 4 Episode 15 - Aired 2/18/1982
Drummond learns the hard way that converting apartments into condominiums can mean hurting lots of innocent people when he becomes the unsuspecting ""victim"" of an eccentric tenant he's displacing.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: Danny Simon
7.3/1067 votes#16 - The Car
Season 4 Episode 16 - Aired 2/25/1982
When his girl friend plans on taking a drive with someone else, a careless Willis -- refusing to be outdone -- gets an idea for a real joy ride neither of them will forget.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
7.0/1075 votes#17 - Crime Story (Part 1) (a.k.a.) Crime in the Schools
Season 4 Episode 17 - Aired 3/11/1982
Arnold and his friend Dudley are scared to death by two teenage bullies who pose the intimidating demand ""your lunch money or your life.""
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
6.7/1074 votes#18 - Crime Story (Part 2) (a.k.a.) Crime in the Schools
Season 4 Episode 18 - Aired 3/18/1982
Arnold doesn't know when to leave well enough alone after Willis comes to his rescue, he gets himself involved in an ""undercover"" scheme to capture the ""punks"" at school who have been harassing him.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
6.2/1064 votes#19 - B.M.O.C.
Season 4 Episode 19 - Aired 3/25/1982
Willis' obsession with joining an ""exclusive"" high school club rocks the Drummond household and leaves several victims in its wake, including a shaken Arnold who takes his brother's ""insensitive"" actions to heart.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
7.3/1073 votes#20 - Green Hair
Season 4 Episode 20 - Aired 4/1/1982
An adamant Drummond ignores sister Sophia's pleas to get involved in a group effort to combat air pollution, until Kimberly becomes victimized by the unnatural phenomenon.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
6.7/1070 votes#21 - Have I Got a Girl for You
Season 4 Episode 21 - Aired 4/8/1982
Aunt Sophia's matchmaking unites an unsuspecting Drummond with her ""working-class"" hairdresser, but a slip of Arnold's tongue ignites charges that Drummond is a snob, turning a ""budding romance"" into a roaring feud.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
7.4/1064 votes#22 - Lifesavers
Season 4 Episode 22 - Aired 4/15/1982
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.""
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: Ed Jurist
6.5/1067 votes#23 - Stress? What Stress?
Season 4 Episode 23 - Aired 4/22/1982
Stress is diagnosed as the cause of hard-working Drummond's frequent attacks of pain, but suddenly young, healthy and ""normal"" Willis learns that he, too, is a prime candidate for the same debilitating ""attacks.""
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
7.2/1075 votes#24 - The Music Man
Season 4 Episode 24 - Aired 5/6/1982
Willis sets what he's sure is a ""cinch"" audition for girl friend Charlene to sing with his musical group, but his ""big plane"" hit a sour not when Arnold's intervention threatens to destroy both Charlene's chances with the group and her relationship with Willis.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
7.2/1069 votes#25 - Short But Sweet
Season 4 Episode 25 - Aired 5/13/1982
Arnold feels shortchanged, he's growing older but he's not getting any taller and he's convinced that's the reason why he doesn't have a girl friend.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of Diff'rent Strokes Season 4
Every episode of Diff'rent Strokes Season 4 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Diff'rent Strokes Season 4!
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...
Genres:ComedyFamilyDrama
Season 4 Ratings Summary
"Growing Up" is the best rated episode of "Diff'rent Strokes" season 4. It scored 6.9/10 based on 71 votes. Directed by Gerren Keith and written by Debra Frank, Scott Rubenstein, it aired on 10/29/1981. This episode is rated 0.5 points higher than the second-best, "First Day Blues".