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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!

Binge this in Unknown•Peaking at 7.7/10

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 rich white Park Avenue businessman named Phillip Drummond and his

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Diff'rent Strokes Season 5 Episode 1 - Shoot-Out at the O.K. Arcade
    7.1/10(79 votes)

    #1 - Shoot-Out at the O.K. Arcade

    S5:E1

    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:Unknown

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  2. Diff'rent Strokes Season 5 Episode 2 - In the Swim
    7.2/10(84 votes)

    #2 - In the Swim

    S5:E2

    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

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  3. Diff'rent Strokes Season 5 Episode 3 - Cyrano De Jackson
    6.7/10(78 votes)

    #3 - Cyrano De Jackson

    S5:E3

    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:Unknown

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  4. Diff'rent Strokes Season 5 Episode 4 - Big Brother
    6.9/10(81 votes)

    #4 - Big Brother

    S5:E4

    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:Unknown

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  5. Diff'rent Strokes Season 5 Episode 5 - The Peacemaker
    7.2/10(78 votes)

    #5 - The Peacemaker

    S5:E5

    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:Unknown

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  6. Diff'rent Strokes Season 5 Episode 6 - Substitute Teacher
    7.5/10(81 votes)

    #6 - Substitute Teacher

    S5:E6

    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:Unknown

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  7. Diff'rent Strokes Season 5 Episode 7 - The Older Woman
    7.1/10(75 votes)

    #7 - The Older Woman

    S5:E7

    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
    Writers:Debra Frank, Scott Rubenstein

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  8. Diff'rent Strokes Season 5 Episode 8 - A Case of Overexposure (a.k.a.) Overexposure
    6.7/10(74 votes)

    #8 - A Case of Overexposure (a.k.a.) Overexposure

    S5:E8

    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:Unknown

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  9. Diff'rent Strokes Season 5 Episode 9 - Memories
    7.5/10(75 votes)

    #9 - Memories

    S5:E9

    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
    Writers:Howard Meyers, Paul Haggis

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  10. Diff'rent Strokes Season 5 Episode 10 - Push Comes to Shove
    7.2/10(74 votes)

    #10 - Push Comes to Shove

    S5:E10

    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:Unknown

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  11. Diff'rent Strokes Season 5 Episode 11 - The Executives
    6.6/10(73 votes)

    #11 - The Executives

    S5:E11

    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:Unknown

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  12. Diff'rent Strokes Season 5 Episode 12 - Santa's Helper
    7.0/10(77 votes)

    #12 - Santa's Helper

    S5:E12

    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:Unknown

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  13. Diff'rent Strokes Season 5 Episode 13 - A Growing Problem
    7.7/10(80 votes)

    #13 - A Growing Problem

    S5:E13

    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

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  14. Diff'rent Strokes Season 5 Episode 14 - Parents Have Rights, Too
    7.3/10(73 votes)

    #14 - Parents Have Rights, Too

    S5:E14

    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:Unknown

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  15. Diff'rent Strokes Season 5 Episode 15 - Independent Woman
    6.8/10(71 votes)

    #15 - Independent Woman

    S5:E15

    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:Unknown

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  16. Diff'rent Strokes Season 5 Episode 16 - The Bicycle Man (1)
    7.6/10(165 votes)

    #16 - The Bicycle Man (1)

    S5:E16

    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:Blake Hunter

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  17. Diff'rent Strokes Season 5 Episode 17 - The Bicycle Man (2)
    7.7/10(150 votes)

    #17 - The Bicycle Man (2)

    S5:E17

    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:Blake Hunter

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  18. Diff'rent Strokes Season 5 Episode 18 - Family on Ice
    7.6/10(66 votes)

    #18 - Family on Ice

    S5:E18

    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:Unknown

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  19. Diff'rent Strokes Season 5 Episode 19 - Hall Monitor
    7.2/10(79 votes)

    #19 - Hall Monitor

    S5:E19

    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:Unknown

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  20. Diff'rent Strokes Season 5 Episode 20 - The Cricket
    6.8/10(78 votes)

    #20 - The Cricket

    S5:E20

    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
    Writers:Howard Meyers, Paul Haggis

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  21. Diff'rent Strokes Season 5 Episode 21 - Roommates
    7.2/10(72 votes)

    #21 - Roommates

    S5:E21

    The household's turned upside down when Drummond becomes Arnold's roommate for a week.

    Director:Gerren Keith
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Diff'rent Strokes Season 5 Episode 22 - The Reporter
    7.5/10(85 votes)

    #22 - The Reporter

    S5:E22

    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:Unknown

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  23. Diff'rent Strokes Season 5 Episode 23 - Romeo and Juliet
    7.0/10(71 votes)

    #23 - Romeo and Juliet

    S5:E23

    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:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. Diff'rent Strokes Season 5 Episode 24 - My Fair Larry (a.k.a.) My Fair Lady
    7.6/10(156 votes)

    #24 - My Fair Larry (a.k.a.) My Fair Lady

    S5:E24

    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:Unknown

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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 79 votes. Directed by Gerren Keith and written by Unknown, it aired on 10/2/1982. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "In the Swim".