Ed represents a woman who embezzled money from her insurance company employer to pay for a claimant's liver transplant, and breaches his own ethics to keep her out of jail.

Nancy tries and fails at a new career as a substitute teacher, and realizes that she'd like to become a guidance counselor.

For once, Phil gets it right when he turns a child's birthday party at the Stuckeybowl into a celebrity roast, which ends up being a bigger hit than Ed anticipated.

Ends and Means

Tom Cavanagh

Julie Bowen

Michael Ian Black

Lesley Boone

Jana Marie Hupp

Rachel Cronin

Mike Starr

Justin Long

Josh Randall

Tom Spezialy

Kevin Dowling

Youth Bandits

Two Days of Freedom

Ed and Carol's close encounter is interrupted by Bonnie Hane; Ed defends Warren on a charge of criminal negligence after Warren brings a keg of beer to a party and an underage drinker has an bicycle accident on his way home; Nancy quits her job to be a full-time mother.

The Stars Align

When a client changes his name and his image, Ed decides to follow his lead; Molly tries to catch the eye of a bowling alley equipment salesman; Mike takes drastic measures to find ""the last straw"" which will end the impasse with Dr. Jerome.

Changes

Carol and the new principal face off on ""The Great Gatsby""; Mike and Nancy debate over whether to try for Baby #2; Phil goes all out to find a missing bowling ball, ""The Devastator"", which  magically reappears; Warren reveals to Carol the secret of the class ""Bingo"" game; Molly objects to Ed defending a sleazebag salesman, but Ed maintains that said sleaze has done nothing illegal.

A Job Well Done

Ed's on the case after a bitter kid's show host talks a young boy into running away; Molly gives up on wooing Jim; Warren comes up with the worst idea ever on how to impress his classmates.

Crazy Time

Carol asks Ed to help her friend Sonja, whose husband Andy wants a divorce after discovering that Sonja had advertised herself in a mail-order-bride catalog before they met. Sonja is about to be deported to her native Brazil, since they live in a no-contest divorce state and Andy can get a divorce immediately. As Ed gets more involved in the case, he re-evaluates his own failed marriage and invites Liz to visit him so that they can mend fences.

Mike continues to be beleaguered by Dr. Jerome, who refuses to relinquish his practice until Mike reads all the volumes of medical knowledge Dr. Jerome has amassed in his career. He also has a friend pose as a patient who needs an emergency appendectomy but refuses to listen to Mike and walks out of his office. When Dr. Jerome takes Mike along to see a terminally ill patient, Mike realizes that Dr. Jerome isn't such a bad guy after all.

Molly and Jim continue to wend their way through the trials and tribulations of dating. After Jim cancels a da

Closure

Carol is infuriated when Dennis cancels the annual budget meeting for all faculty. The entire faculty bands together to get rid of Dennis, including writing his end of the first semester review. Carol convinces the faculty to give Dennis a chance to prove himself. When he later takes Carol to task for her actions, she investigates further, discovering he was fired. Carol writes him a positive evaluation, which Dennis tears up and returns. Frustrated by his continued rebuffs, she kisses him.

A young lawyer, Joe Baxter, fresh out of the corporate world and full of energy, requests to join Ed's ""firm"". He observes Ed for a while, and launches his own ""bowling alley practice"" complete with Kenny, Shirley, and Phil-esque characters in his employ, and going so far as to steal Ed's clients. He advertises himself as the world's first bowling alley lawyer. When push comes to shove, Joe cannot deliver in the court room, and Ed happily regains his status.

Ed gets involved in the Carol-Dennis tiff

Replacements

Ed represents Dennis in a minor fender-bender case, but when the other party's lawyer asks for an exorbiant amount of money, Dennis insists they settle in order to close the case; Ed tries to resurrect the annual Thanksgiving Day parade; Nancy declares war on her fellow ""cookie moms"" when she is sabotaged while launching her own cookie line.

The New World

Ed represents a teacher who admits to refusing to cast a talented African American in a play--as Abraham Lincoln; Warren gets an image makeover; Molly resists her boyfriend's efforts to get her a new car.

Goodbye Sadie

Ed becomes the anti-Claus after a wealthy client gives Stuckeyville a Christmas gift he really can't afford, forcing the bowling-alley bunch to host a frenzied fund-raiser. Meanwhile, Mike fears that he and Nancy are a bad influence on their own daughter; and Carol gets a peek at the other woman in Dennis's life.

Charity Cases

Hoping to turn the case into a First Amendment issue to be heard by the Supreme Court, a celebrity lawyer offers to help Ed defend an ex-classmate being sued by a woman for embarrassing her on the Internet.

Mike resorts to extreme measures after Dr. Jerome decides to postpone his retirement.

Warren finds that the class clown who laughs first is the one who get the most laughs.

Small Town Guys

Carol breaks Ed's heart with a lie about her relationship with Dennis, who gives Miss Vessey cause to reconsider romance with him. Meanwhile, a Stuckeyville woman hires Ed to watch over her husband during his very unusual birthday celebration; Phil and Kenny set out to invent a new food; and Warren's first date with Jessica hits a snag.

Ed and Carol disagree about the propriety of reuniting Ed's high school garage band to play at the funeral of the band's songwriter;   Warren spends a blissfull week dating Jessica and immortalizes the event with an infinity tattoo; Molly tutors Phil in chemistry so that he can pass his G.E.D. exam.

A beautiful, off-beat woman blows into town and sweeps Ed off his feet, while encouraging him to face his fears and live life to the fullest; everyone gets more than they bargained for when Carol gives her students a journalism assignment to videotape and report a news-breaking story at Stuckeyville High; Ed discovers an unpleasant truth about Jim and forces him to tell Molly, who is devastated by the revelation.

Things To Do Today

Ed helps a wimpy lawyer negotiate with a trucking company that is disturbing Stuckeyville's peace by routing its rigs through town; Carol regrets asking Dennis to critique one of her short stories; Molly rebuffs Jim's attempts to explain his behavior.

Nice Guys Finish Last

Ed winds up behind bars and in over his head after his favorite judge displays some outlandish courtroom behavior; Phil runs a boot camp for clowns to find the perfect one for a Stuckeybowl celebration; Mike becomes the object of derision after a marketer takes over the ads for his new private practice.

Wheel of Justice

Ed's fast-talking big brother blows into town and ropes Ed into a risky plan to glam up Stuckeybowl; Nancy's Internet chat buddy turns out to be a little younger, but a lot older-acting than she expected; and Warren finally sees Diane in a new light after he fails to make headway with a college girl.

Lloyd

Mike is sued for sexual harassment by a nurse at his office, and he reluctantly agrees to let Ed represent him. The long-time friends have a short-term but serious falling-out when a deposition reveals that Mike has withheld evidence that could destroy his case, because he didn't trust Ed to trust in his innocence.

After her short story is rejected for publication, Carol takes Molly's advice to sharpen her writing skills by freelancing for Stuckeyville's newspaper, only to be dogged by frustration at every turn at the complete lack of anything in Stuckeyville that's even remotely newsworthy.

In another one of his harebrained schemes, Phil tries to start a union at Stuckeybowl after Ed refuses to allow him to raid the snack bar refrigerator for a party in his motel room.

Trust

On the 15th anniversary of his missing the foul shot that led to Stuckeyville High's losing the championship, Ed looks to rewrite history by reenacting the moment and making the shot this time around; Molly is torn when Jim offers to leave his wife for her; Phil teaches Shirley how to flirt with a shy delivery guy.

The Shot

Ed agrees to coach the Stuckeyville High ""Quiz Bowl"" team and clashes with Dennis over a team member who's scholastically challenged; Dennis falls off the wagon; Phil tries to promote a boxing match; Warren sets out on a religious search to find the courage to transform his life.

Power of the Person

The news that Dennis and Carol have moved in together has Ed scrambling to find the perfect way to revisit the past and win her back; Dennis decides to run for president of the senior class after disapproving of the frontrunner; Warren embarks on his first real date with Diane, only to find that the feelings they have aren't exactly romantic.

Memory Lane

Ed wrestles with his nervousness about taking what he believes to be  his last chance to tell Carol exactly how he feels after he discovers that she and Dennis are going away for the summer together and that Dennis plans to propose during the trip; Warren and Mark compete for Diane's affection; Stuckeyvillians vie for the title of ""The Most Talented Person in Stuckeyville"".

Last Chance

After his wife leaves him and he's fired from his job at a high-profile New York city law firm, Ed Stevens moves back to his small hometown of Stuckeyville where he buys the local bowling alley and attempts to win the heart of his high school crush.

Ends and Means

Seasons4

Season 2 Episodes22

Cast9

Crew2

Discussion

Episode Summary