""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.

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.

Tom's chance at managing the newpapers runs into trouble when the printers go on stike. The whole family pitches in to help earn extra money. Nancy is disappointed by a modeling agent but Joan geta a job as a photographer to earn money during the strike. Tom and Joan argue about her continuing to work after the strike is settled.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Suffering from imsommia and thinking he's going nuts.Tom visits a psychiatrist to find the cause. Tommy develops two personalities, ""disco kid"" and ""mellow man"", to impress the two girls he is dating. Tom's sneaking around leads Abby to believe that he may be having an affair.

Nicholas convinces Tom to coach his little league football team. Tired of having no privacy, the Bradford children have their own phone line installed. Tom resigns as little league coach because of pushy parents but becomes a pushy parents himself when Abby takes over as coach.

Abby has her own problems when she thinks sha may be pregnant and is relucant to tell Tom. Tom panics when he finds out he is going to be audited by the I.R.S, and the family pitches in for help. Nicholas plays post office for the first time.

Joannie gets accepted into a theater company and her first role is that of gopher and understudy.When the lead actress quits the play, Joannie has 24 hour to learn her lines and is unaware that Tom will be reviewing the play for the vacationing drama clinic.The Bradford children try to make Abby feel guilty about not sharing her car with tjhe family.Nicholas can't get away from a girl who has a crush on him.

Nicholas has a crush on his teacher and buys her self-portrait at her garbage sale, but tries to hide it from the kids, who think there is a valuable painting underneath. The Bradfords because believe Nicholas's painting may be worth a fortune and dream about how they would spend their millions of it is. Tommy's chances with a popular girl are hurt when he contracts trench mouth.

Tom is chosen to teach a journalism class at the university and is impressed by one student who is working his way throu college. Nicholas and Irving, who are making prank calls,recieve their own from David and Tommy. Tom is disappointed when Nancy flunkes out of college and decides to find a job, but she doesn't appricate it when he pulls strings to get her back in. Tom finally helps her get a job interview.

Susan struggles to find the right career after she realizes she's not out to be a professional athlete. So she decides to try out to be a cop. Nancy opens a day care center at the Bradford house, but soon discovers that's not good with kids. While she fails the written test for the cop job, Susan helps Nancy control the kids, who are running amok, and finds that she likes it enought to go back to school as an education major. Joannie makes David's girlfriend jealous when she practices lines from her new play in David's apartment.

Many struggles with medical school and charaviristic professors. Susan, Elizabeth, and Nancy try to reach Tommy to drive is reluctant to do it. Tommu is embrassed top be seen with his teacher, Susan and Nancy. Finally, Tom traches Tommy a lesson in driving. Fed up with Mary's complaints about beeing unable ro study at home, Tom get her an apartment of her own for her to study for exams in medical school. She finally maves back home and the whole family coaches her.

David starts living gangerously after a close friend dies oif a heart attack at a young age. The kids try to help and eventually David cleans up his act. Nicholas tries to help by offering David a kitten from a litter of a stray cat he has taken kn. He soon discovers that the cat is pregnant.

The male Bradfords refuse to attend a speech that Abby was selected to give. War erupts between the Bradfords men and woman when the woman feel they are not respected by the men. Nancy gets a job pumping gas in a sexy uniform in a local filling station.

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.

The Bradford children plan a party for Tom and Abby's anniversary and Nicholas fell left out. Tom and Abby unknowingly bid against each other for ""A Christmas Line"" tickets for their anniversary. Nicholas accidents set fire to his room, destroying the anniversary present Tommy was making for Tomand Abby. Feeling like the family doesn't want him around anymore, Nicholas runs away to find Sam in San Diego.

In San Diego, Nicholas is taken in by Joe Simmons, an old con man and bum who was a friend of Sam's. He then performs his best scam trying to get Nicholas back to the Bradfords. Believing that Nicholas is at a friend's house, the Bradford's work on repairing Tommy and Nicholas room.

Tired of not having time to themselves, Tom and Abby conspire to get rid of the kids so they can spent the weekend alone.They send the kids camping for the weekend. Susan brings a nine year old girl home from the day care center. Tommy gets a date with a popular girl at school.

Both Elizabeth and Tommy learn that there is no easy way to success. Elizabeth wants to go to an expensive college in Vermont with a good dance program but Tom can't afford the tuition. Nancy takes a correspondence course in hair stying. Abby discovers a dance scholarship. Elizabeth can compete for Elizabeth starts studying dance with a professional dance compoany. Tommy tries to earn some sxtra money.

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.