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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 110 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".

  • Pilot (a.k.a. The Best Years)
    8.7/10110 votes
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    #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

  • A Right and Proper Goodbye
    8.6/1067 votes
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    #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

  • Such Sweet Sorrow
    8.6/1047 votes
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    #3 - 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

  • We Love You, Miss Jessup
    8.6/1053 votes
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    #4 - 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

  • Coming Apart
    8.5/1054 votes
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    #5 - 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

  • Rites of Friendship
    8.5/1065 votes
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    #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

  • Best Friends
    8.5/1045 votes
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    #7 - 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

  • Expectations
    8.5/1040 votes
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    #8 - 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

  • Smarts
    8.5/1033 votes
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    #9 - 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

  • Letting Go
    8.5/1039 votes
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    #10 - 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

  • Monday is Forever
    8.4/1077 votes
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    #11 - 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

  • Coming of Age
    8.4/1059 votes
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    #12 - 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

  • Skeleton in the Closet
    8.4/1058 votes
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    #13 - 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

  • Gifts
    8.4/1033 votes
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    #14 - 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

  • Hard Times
    8.4/1036 votes
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    #15 - 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

  • A Special Kind of Loving
    8.3/1063 votes
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    #16 - 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

  • Thursday's Child
    8.3/1057 votes
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    #17 - 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

  • Point of Departure
    8.3/1048 votes
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    #18 - 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

  • Annie Laurie
    8.3/1044 votes
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    #19 - Annie Laurie

    Season 3 Episode 5 - Aired 10/25/1977

    Doug gets propositioned by a female lawyer.

    Director: Alf Kjellin

    Writer: David Jacobs

  • Generations
    8.3/1040 votes
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    #20 - 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

  • The Friend's Affair
    8.3/1045 votes
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    #21 - 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

  • Exits and Entrances
    8.3/1041 votes
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    #22 - 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

  • Moment of Truth
    8.3/1032 votes
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    #23 - 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

  • Sleeping Over
    8.3/1040 votes
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    #24 - 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

  • The Competition
    8.3/1037 votes
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    #25 - The Competition

    Season 4 Episode 16 - Aired 3/8/1979

    Buddy learns the price of competition when an overachieving classmate commits suicide after losing a history competition to her. Annie's cookie-selling strategy is a riot.

    Director: N/A

    Writer: Ron Cowen