7.1/1073 votes#1 - Shoot-Out at the O.K. Arcade
Season 5 Episode 1 - Aired 10/2/1982
Arnold is determined to defeat brother Willis at his own game and dethrone him as local video game champ, but in doing so Arnold's passion becomes a destructive ""addiction"" that could have serious consequences.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
7.2/1076 votes#2 - In the Swim
Season 5 Episode 2 - Aired 10/9/1982
Willis is completely supportive of Kimberly's transfer into his public school, until his sister's ""innocent"" actions begin getting him into hot water.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: Blake Hunter
6.6/1071 votes#3 - Cyrano De Jackson
Season 5 Episode 3 - Aired 10/16/1982
Arnold's on the outs with his best friend Dudley after he innocently offers to help his bashful buddy win the heart of a young lady -- who falls for Arnold instead.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
6.9/1073 votes#4 - Big Brother
Season 5 Episode 4 - Aired 10/23/1982
Arnold's got a ""can't lose"" plan for curing a new classmate's loneliness -- sharing big brother Willis -- but his kind of intentions leave Arnold feeling like the lonely, only child.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
7.3/1070 votes#5 - The Peacemaker
Season 5 Episode 5 - Aired 10/30/1982
Willis' personal safety is in jeopardy when his noble attempt to mediate a feud between rival gangs backfires, forcing him to take a drastic step to insure his protection -- purchasing a handgun.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
7.5/1075 votes#6 - Substitute Teacher
Season 5 Episode 6 - Aired 11/6/1982
Arnold and his buddies fabricate a ""little white lie"" in an attempt to get rid of an overly-conscientious substitute teacher, but their tell tale could result in more than just removing the teacher from the classroom -- it could destroy his entire career.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
7.2/1069 votes#7 - The Older Woman
Season 5 Episode 7 - Aired 11/13/1982
A false I.D. and a false bravado create real problems for Willis and a beautiful ""older"" woman when an evening on the town doesn't go quite as he had planned.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: Debra Frank, Scott Rubenstein
6.8/1068 votes#8 - A Case of Overexposure (a.k.a.) Overexposure
Season 5 Episode 8 - Aired 11/20/1982
Arnold must face the bare facts -- his chances of winning a prestigious school election seem desperately slim, thanks to an ""overexposed"" candid campaign photo taken by sister Kimberly.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
7.6/1069 votes#9 - Memories
Season 5 Episode 9 - Aired 11/27/1982
A long lost trunk returned to the boys contains a tape recording of their deceased mother which brings to the surface a previously unrecognized problem that triggers uncharacteristic behavior from a usually happy-go-lucky Arnold.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: Howard Meyers, Paul Haggis
7.3/1067 votes#10 - Push Comes to Shove
Season 5 Episode 10 - Aired 12/4/1982
Arnold's unexpected confrontation with the new building manager's son leads to a chilling series of events that could get the entire Drummond family evicted.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
6.8/1065 votes#11 - The Executives
Season 5 Episode 11 - Aired 12/11/1982
Willis learns that even a little power in the wrong hands can be dangerous when he oversteps the bounds of his authority in his afterschool job at his father's office.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
6.9/1069 votes#12 - Santa's Helper
Season 5 Episode 12 - Aired 12/18/1982
Arnold falls innocent victim to a beguiling street-corner Santa who has an ulterior financial motive for hiring him as a holiday ""helper.""
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
7.6/1071 votes#13 - A Growing Problem
Season 5 Episode 13 - Aired 1/8/1983
At 16, Willis thinks he's man enough and old enough to ""top"" a few drinks with the guys, but Drummond's objections send Willis storming out of the house intent on proving his father wrong.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: Ed Jurist
7.3/1065 votes#14 - Parents Have Rights, Too
Season 5 Episode 14 - Aired 1/15/1983
Drummond's plans for a quiet and private weekend ""alone"" don't quite work out as he had intended, when a storm sends Arnold, Willis and Kimberly home from a camping trip early -- catching him off guard in a compromising situation.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
6.8/1064 votes#15 - Independent Woman
Season 5 Episode 15 - Aired 1/22/1983
A new job and a handsome new boss add up to trouble for an innocent Kimberly when her new employer starts displaying a more than casual interest in her -- hoping that his ""special attention"" will help land him a position within Drummond's prestigious company.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
7.6/10147 votes#16 - The Bicycle Man (1)
Season 5 Episode 16 - Aired 2/5/1983
Unaware that he's being lured into the carefully crafted trap of a child molester, Arnold eagerly agrees to perform a simple task in return for an overly generous reward from a ""friendly"" neighborhood merchant.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
7.7/10135 votes#17 - The Bicycle Man (2)
Season 5 Episode 17 - Aired 2/12/1983
Arnold and Dudley's ""friendship"" with a local merchant reaches a dangerous turning point when, unbeknownst to the boys, the man, who is actually a child molester, is about to make his move.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
7.7/1059 votes#18 - Family on Ice
Season 5 Episode 18 - Aired 2/19/1983
Kimberly is overjoyed when Olympic Gold Medalist Dorothy Hamill sees great promise in her as a competitive figure skater, but she's even more astounded when Drummond agrees to let her leave the New York ""nest"" to train full time with the award-winning skater -- in Los Angeles.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
7.3/1070 votes#19 - Hall Monitor
Season 5 Episode 19 - Aired 2/26/1983
Arnold's good intentions backfire when his efforts to help his handicapped friend Kathy adjust to life in public school cost him the esteem of his classmates and the friendship of pals Dudley and Robbie.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
6.9/1071 votes#20 - The Cricket
Season 5 Episode 20 - Aired 3/5/1983
To try to curb Arnold's run of bad luck, Drummond gives him a pet cricket, but the Japanese ""good luck charm"" brings nothing but sleepless nights and dreams of ""pesticide"" to the rest of the household.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: Howard Meyers, Paul Haggis
7.2/1065 votes#21 - Roommates
Season 5 Episode 21 - Aired 3/12/1983
The household's turned upside down when Drummond becomes Arnold's roommate for a week.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
7.5/1078 votes#22 - The Reporter
Season 5 Episode 22 - Aired 3/19/1983
Determined to prove he didn't fabricate a story about drug abuse in his grade school just to win a journalism contest, Arnold takes his article to the New York City newspaper sponsoring the competition, and when they run his story on the front page, Arnold receives some unexpected more support from First Lady Nancy Reagan.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
7.0/1065 votes#23 - Romeo and Juliet
Season 5 Episode 23 - Aired 4/30/1983
Arnold's Romeo is steeped in more turmoil than Shakespeare ever intended when he's tricked by his ""best friends"" into playing opposite arch-nemisis Lisa's Juliet.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.7/10149 votes#24 - My Fair Larry (a.k.a.) My Fair Lady
Season 5 Episode 24 - Aired 5/7/1983
School ""thug"" Larry coerces Willis into teaching him how to ""make it"" with girls, but things go from bad to worse when Larry's first target is Willis' sister Kimberly.
Director: Gerren Keith
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of Diff'rent Strokes Season 5
Every episode of Diff'rent Strokes Season 5 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Diff'rent Strokes Season 5!
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 5 Ratings Summary
"Shoot-Out at the O.K. Arcade" is the best rated episode of "Diff'rent Strokes" season 5. It scored 7.1/10 based on 73 votes. Directed by Gerren Keith and written by N/A, it aired on 10/2/1982. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "In the Swim".