8.7/10109 votesLoading...#1 - Pilot (a.k.a. The Best Years)
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 3/9/1976
Buddy hears Kate say something about her, and isn't happy. Also, Nancy walks in on Jeff with another woman.
Director: Mark Rydell
Writer: Jay Presson Allen
8.6/1067 votesLoading...#2 - A Right and Proper Goodbye
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 3/30/1976
Kate's mother comes for one last visit.
Director: Randal Kleiser
Writer: N/A
8.6/1053 votesLoading...#3 - We Love You, Miss Jessup
Season 3 Episode 6 - Aired 11/1/1977
Buddy's English teacher gets outed; Willie suspects Nancy of being a home-wrecker.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.5/1053 votesLoading...#4 - Coming Apart
Season 2 Episode 1 - Aired 10/6/1976
Buddy gets a job at a bakery, and introduces Willie to her boss, ""Big Al""; Nancy gets involved with Peter, while she's finalizing her divorce from Jeff -- despite the latter's pleas for a reconciliation.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.5/1046 votesLoading...#5 - Such Sweet Sorrow
Season 2 Episode 2 - Aired 10/19/1976
Salina drops by, at a time when Willie is having problems with Alex; Doug is offered a great job in New York.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.5/1065 votesLoading...#6 - Rites of Friendship
Season 2 Episode 10 - Aired 12/28/1976
A friend of Willie's comes out of the closet; Buddy, after getting invited to the ""Junior Jump"" by a popular boy, asks Nancy to teach her to dance.
Director: Glenn Jordan
Writer: Bethel Leslie
8.5/1040 votesLoading...#7 - Expectations
Season 4 Episode 7 - Aired 12/7/1978
Nancy's new boss pressures her to sleep with him; Buddy tries out for the cheerleading squad.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.5/1033 votesLoading...
#8 - Smarts
Season 5 Episode 12 - Aired 6/18/1980
Annie gets picked on by her classmates, for being too smart; Buddy, studying for her SATs, worries that she's not smart enough.
Director: James Broderick
Writer: N/A
8.4/1076 votesLoading...#9 - Monday is Forever
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 3/16/1976
Kate has to wait until Monday to find out whether she has cancer; Buddy and her friend Laura Richardson have until Monday, when the latter's family is scheduled to move to Detroit.
Director: Glenn Jordan
Writer: N/A
8.4/1059 votesLoading...#10 - Coming of Age
Season 2 Episode 4 - Aired 11/9/1976
Buddy officially reaches puberty; Nancy is caught between Kate's resentment of her thoughtlessness, Peter's proposal of marriage, and a come-on from a complete stranger.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.4/1057 votesLoading...#11 - Skeleton in the Closet
Season 2 Episode 8 - Aired 12/7/1976
Doug must face his sister Emily's alcoholism. Buddy tries to help a senior citizen she spots shoplifting food from the supermarket.
Director: John Erman
Writer: N/A
8.4/1044 votesLoading...#12 - Best Friends
Season 2 Episode 17 - Aired 2/22/1977
Nancy attends her high-school reunion, meeting the guy she dumped to marry Jeff; T.J. asks Buddy to a formal dance, causing a rift with Audrey.
Director: Robert Hartford-Davis
Writer: N/A
- 8.4/1038 votesLoading...
#13 - Letting Go
Season 5 Episode 13 - Aired 6/25/1980
Doug is upset when Buddy starts dating a 21-year-old; Annie is jealous of an old friend who has matured much faster than she has.
Director: James Broderick
Writer: Edward Zwick
8.3/1057 votesLoading...#14 - Thursday's Child
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 4/6/1976
As Timmy Jr.'s christening approaches, the whole family (especially Buddy, who stubbornly refuses to take part) relives the painful memories of Timmy Sr.'s death.
Director: Glenn Jordan
Writer: N/A
8.3/1048 votesLoading...#15 - Point of Departure
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 4/13/1976
Doug resents Willie's attitude towards work, the universe, and everything; a string of burglaries sweeps through the neighborhood.
Director: John Erman
Writer: N/A
- 8.3/1040 votesLoading...
#16 - Generations
Season 4 Episode 6 - Aired 11/23/1978
The family decides to spend Thanksgiving at Hattie's farm where Kate faces ghosts from the past. Buddy is intrigued by a local boy.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.3/1032 votesLoading...
#17 - Gifts
Season 4 Episode 8 - Aired 12/21/1978
Annie, who still misses her parents, can't relate to the Lawrences' holiday cheer, and decides to run away until Christmas is over; Willie runs into his old barber, who is about to close up shop for good.
Director: Philip Leacock
Writer: N/A
- 8.3/1044 votesLoading...
#18 - The Friend's Affair
Season 4 Episode 9 - Aired 1/4/1979
A colleague and friend of Doug's is cheating on his wife; Annie suspects a next-door neighbor of having murdered his.
Director: Philip Leacock
Writer: N/A
- 8.3/1040 votesLoading...
#19 - Exits and Entrances
Season 4 Episode 10 - Aired 1/11/1979
After Buddy stars in a high-school play (Shaw's Saint Joan), her interest in acting is strongly encouraged by a friend of Kate's, a professional actress; Annie gets a telemarketing job to pay for a new bike.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.3/1031 votesLoading...
#20 - Moment of Truth
Season 4 Episode 11 - Aired 1/18/1979
A man he once helped put in jail threatens Doug; Buddy and Audrey have a fight about who copied from whom on an algebra test.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.3/1039 votesLoading...
#21 - Sleeping Over
Season 4 Episode 13 - Aired 2/1/1979
Buddy's invitation to a sorority becomes a sore point in her friendship with Audrey when Audrey isn't invited to join. Willie sleeps with Kate's musician friend, leading to a serious mother-son rift over casual sex.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.3/1032 votesLoading...
#22 - Prelude
Season 4 Episode 20 - Aired 4/20/1979
Buddy has a crush on her swimming instructor, much to Zack's displeasure; Kate is tempted to call an old boyfriend.
Director: Philip Leacock
Writer: N/A
- 8.3/1050 votesLoading...
#23 - When the Bough Breaks
Season 5 Episode 4 - Aired 1/21/1980
Kate finds out she's pregnant; a friend of Buddy's, on vacation from her all-girls school, picks Willie as a seduction target.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.3/1035 votesLoading...
#24 - Hard Times
Season 5 Episode 5 - Aired 1/28/1980
Two friends of Buddy's who have been going steady for 3 years are having relationship problems -- and when she tries to help, the results aren't quite what she expected; Nancy is having trouble at work, which starts to affect even Timmy.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.2/1062 votesLoading...#25 - A Special Kind of Loving
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 3/23/1976
Willie meets, and starts spending lots of time with, Salina -- leading to a tiff with Buddy, right when she needs him to help conquer her fear of diving.
Director: Randal Kleiser
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of Family
Every episode of Family ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Family!
The lives of the middle-class Lawrence family in Pasadena, California.
Genre:Drama
Network:ABC
Best Episodes Summary
"Pilot (a.k.a. The Best Years)" is the best rated episode of "Family". It scored 8.7/10 based on 109 votes. Directed by Mark Rydell and written by Jay Presson Allen, it aired on 3/9/1976. This episode scored 0.1 points higher than the second highest rated, "A Right and Proper Goodbye".