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The Best Episodes of Eight Is Enough

Every episode of Eight Is Enough ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Eight Is Enough!

Binge this in Unknown•Peaking at 8.3/10

Eight Is Enough is an American television comedy-drama series that ran on ABC from March 15, 1977, until August 29, 1981. The show was modeled after syndicated newspaper columnist Thomas Braden, a real-life parent with

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    Eight Is Enough Season 3 Episode 16 - Moving Out
    8.3/10(39 votes)

    S3:E16

    Tired of Tom's strict rules, Nancy, Susan, and Joannie look for an apartment of their own because Tom has trouble accepting that his daughters are growing up. David buys a new truck and agrees to sell Tommy his van. Tom is upset when Abby loans the girls the money to get their own apartment.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Eight Is Enough Season 4 Episode 11 - Separate Ways
    8.2/10(36 votes)

    S4:E11

    The furnace is on the blink, causing a cold front in the Bradford house, but Tom dismisses Mary's offer to fix it; Susan's chance for an internship conflicts with Merle's offer to play winter ball in Puerto Rico; Nicholas goes on strike for a raise in his allowance.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Eight Is Enough Season 4 Episode 27 - (Finally) Grad Night
    8.2/10(37 votes)

    S4:E27

    Tom and Abby agree to let Tommy and a few friends have the house for a small party after graduation. Nicholas and Irving are working on a school project when Irving gets hurt and Tommy ends up spending grad night at the hospital. The party goes on without them as party crashers show up. Officers were called in to finally break up the party and Tom demands an explanation, thinking Tommy was being ignorant.

    Director:Irving J. Moore
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Eight Is Enough Season 3 Episode 11 - All The Vice President's Men
    8.0/10(64 votes)

    S3:E11

    Abby's parents are flying in from Pasadena for Thanksgiving.Nicholas is surprised when the Vice-President accepts his invitation to Thanksgiving dinner with the Bradfords. He picks the Bradfords as American's typical family. Tommy puts a deposit on a used car.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Eight Is Enough Season 1 Episode 1 - Never Try Eating Nectarines Since Juice May Dispense
    7.9/10(113 votes)

    S1:E1

    ""Never try eating nectarines since juice may dispense."" That's how Tom and Joan Bradford remember the names of their childrens: Nicholas, Tommy, Elizabeth, Nancy, Susan, Joannie, Mary, and David.Tired of fighting with his father,David move out of the Bradford house and the youngest Bradford children fight over his bedroom, prompting Tom to learn the importance of having a family relationship.Elizabeth is arrested for possession of narcotics and Tom and Joan have to find 1,500 to pay a lawyer. Nicholas had his tonsils removed.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  6. Eight Is Enough Season 1 Episode 4 - Women, Ducks and the Domino Theory
    7.9/10(62 votes)

    S1:E4

    Topsy-turvy at the Bradfords when Tommy has his ""dream girl"" stand him up. Neither David nor Tom wants to go on their annual hunt. Nancy wants to be a cheerleader. Elizabeth gets grounded over curfew.

    Director:Vincent McEveety
    Writer:Peter Lefcourt

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of Eight Is Enough

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  7. Eight Is Enough Season 1 Episode 5 - Turnabout
    7.9/10(65 votes)

    S1:E5

    David learns about his life at a party the family throws to celebrates doctor Maxwell's 25th anniversary, as his date and Maxwell don't get along. David helps an older woman stuck in a traffic jam, but his dates seems to cause more trouble with his family than he bargained for.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Eight Is Enough Season 1 Episode 6 - Quarantine
    7.9/10(68 votes)

    S1:E6

    Togetherness can be really funny when the whole Bradford household is quarantined, including Nancy's blind date,after Mary's boyfriend comes down with a mysterious ailment. David has to run errands for his quaranteened family. Nicolas hides some toys he brought into the house without buying them. Cabin fever eventually drives the family crazy.

    Director:Harry Harris
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Eight Is Enough Season 1 Episode 9 - The Gipper Caper
    7.9/10(54 votes)

    S1:E9

    Tom is challenged to a family touch football game by his dentist. He learns that winning is not the only thing that counts. Elizabeth worries about Maria in Columbia.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Eight Is Enough Season 3 Episode 20 - Just the Ten of Us
    7.9/10(34 votes)

    S3:E20

    Nicholas tries to avoid a young lady who has a crush on him. Tired of saying goodnight to each other every night, David and Janet decide to live together. Tom is nominated for ""Father of the Year"", but his chance grows slim after David and Janet decide to become roommates.

    Director:Stan Lathan
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Eight Is Enough Season 4 Episode 5 - The Night They Raided Bradfords
    7.9/10(37 votes)

    S4:E5

    Things are not as they seem at the Bradfords when Merle's sister, Linda Mae, comes from the farm and visits the Bradfords and is shocked at what she finds. Joannie talks Nancy into playing a stripper in her play. Susan panics when she hears that Merle was injured in a game. It's a comedy of errors when Linda Mae calls the police after misunderstanding the family's crazy life style.

    Director:Unknown
    Writers:Chris Manheim, Patricia Green

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  12. Eight Is Enough Season 4 Episode 10 - Letter to One Bradford
    7.9/10(39 votes)

    S4:E10

    When Tommy is rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery, Mary and Nicholas both feel culpable for different reasons; Merle and Susan adjust to the give and take of married life; Nancy plays travel guide for a visiting colleague from China who doesn't speak English.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Eight Is Enough Season 4 Episode 14 - Mary, He's Married
    7.9/10(34 votes)

    S4:E14

    Joannie tries to convince her boss that she is ready for more responsibility at work. Joannie wants to do a documentary on her family. Mary learns that being an adult can be painful when she falls for a resident at the hospital who is unavailable. Eager to earn extra money, Nicholas sells guaca dew, a wrinkle remover, door to door.

    Director:Irving J. Moore
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Eight Is Enough Season 4 Episode 18 - The Commitment
    7.9/10(36 votes)

    S4:E18

    Tommy is upset when Jill's idea of a commitment is not the same as his and then misinterprets signals from Mary's friend, Kerry, and gets deeper into trouble. Tommy presents Jill with a class ring. Abby and the girls plan a surprise baby shower for Susan. Nicholas plays go-between for Marvin but ends up with the girl instead.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Eight Is Enough Season 1 Episode 2 - Schussboomer
    7.8/10(77 votes)

    S1:E2

    Matilda, Mary's very pregnant, unmarriage, friend stays in the Bradford house while she is between apartment, but her attidude toward marriage upsets Tom. She learns the joys of parenthood and paternal Tom helps deliver her baby. Tom is upset that Susan wants to spend the weekend with her bofriend at Square Valley.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. Eight Is Enough Season 2 Episode 13 - Yes Nicholas, there is a Santa Claus (1)
    7.8/10(63 votes)

    S2:E13

    The Bradfords celebrate their first Christmas without their late mother,Joan. Nicholas mistakenly assumes the man he finds in the house on Christmas Eve is Santa Claus and lets him steal the Christmas presents, putting Christmas temporaily on hold.

    Director:Harry Harris
    Writer:Unknown

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  17. Eight Is Enough Season 2 Episode 14 - Yes Nicholas, there is a Santa Claus (2)
    7.8/10(63 votes)

    S2:E14

    The kids convince Tom to shoiw some Christmas spirit by bailing Sam out of jail and inviting him to the house for Christmas dinner as they celebrate the true meaning of Christmas. Tommy receives a special Christmas present from his mom.

    Director:Harry Harris
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. Eight Is Enough Season 2 Episode 17 - Much Ado about Garbage
    7.8/10(44 votes)

    S2:E17

    With Abby's encouragement, Tom takes a leave of absence to pursue the dream of writing a book about his family. He can't get it published the norman way, but has a special issue done for each member of the family. David goes on a double date with Nancy and they come home with different stories of the same night.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Peter Lefcourt

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  19. Eight Is Enough Season 2 Episode 18 - Dear Ms. Dinah
    7.8/10(44 votes)

    S2:E18

    Abby is upset about when David gives Nicholas a BB gun. Tom's column about garbage causes a controverty when he writes a tongue-in-cheek column. That's when his troubles start to pile up, along with his garbage. Tom is prepared to go to jail rather than reveal his source for his column.

    Director:Irving J. Moore
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Eight Is Enough Season 2 Episode 24 - The Lost Weekend
    7.8/10(40 votes)

    S2:E24

    Abby convinces Tom to spend the weekend with her parents in Pasadena, leaving the kids alone for the weekend. While they are away, despite a rule against having any non-Bradfords in the house, the kids throw a party, but then the house is overrun with chaos and the kids barely manage to get things back in order before Tom and Abby return. A distant cousins shows up on the Bradford doorstep for the flower children.

    Director:Harry Harris
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Eight Is Enough Season 4 Episode 13 - Brotherhood, Sisterhood
    7.8/10(34 votes)

    S4:E13

    Tom talks David into hiring Tommy as a construction worker but Tommy has to prove himself to his fellow workers by standing up to them on his own. Nicholas needs to write a speech about Tom and follows him around for a day at the office to get material. Elizabeth is looking for advice on how to meet men in college.

    Director:Harry Harris
    Writer:Unknown

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  22. Eight Is Enough Season 5 Episode 5 - Generations
    7.8/10(37 votes)

    S5:E5

    Susan brings the baby, Sandra Sue, home from the hospital. When Joan's parents visit the Bradford household to see the family and their great-grandchild, a conflict with Abby occurs as Joan's parents disapprove of the way Abby is raising Nicholas. Grandpa and Abby make up and finally accept Joan's death in a touching story. Tommy gets a job playing the guitar at a male strip joint

    Director:Harry Harris
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Eight Is Enough Season 1 Episode 7 - V is for Vivian
    7.7/10(59 votes)

    S1:E7

    Tony's sister shows up for a visit and turns the Bradford house upside-down when the encourages the kids to pursue their dreams and goals. David gets laid off and Vivian gets him a job as an architect. Mary gets ""C' in Introductory Philosophy. Joanie considers traveling in an acting company if she gets accepted by the director.

    Director:Harry Harris
    Writer:Unknown

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  24. Eight Is Enough Season 1 Episode 8 - Hit and Run
    7.7/10(57 votes)

    S1:E8

    Joannie has a fender-bender with a real developer who is upset with Bradford's column opposing his project. Meanwhile, Elizabeth goes from three prom dates to none when they all show up at the same time. Tommy breaks the window of a local church house.

    Director:Ralph Senensky
    Writer:Unknown

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  25. Eight Is Enough Season 2 Episode 2 - Trial Marriage
    7.7/10(56 votes)

    S2:E2

    This episode introduces Betty Buckley in the contract role of Sue "" Abby"" Abbott. At first she was a special guest star. Tommy breaks his ankles at a touch football game and will miss school for five weeks. Mary moves in with her boyfriend, a young psychiatry students [Doug] . Sandra Sue Abbott is sent to tutor Tommy while he is absent from school.

    Director:Philip Leacock
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"Moving Out" is the best rated episode of "Eight Is Enough". It scored 8.3/10 based on 39 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 1/3/1979. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "Separate Ways".