8.5/1053 votes#1 - 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 votes#2 - 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
7.8/1056 votes#3 - Home Movie
Season 2 Episode 3 - Aired 10/26/1976
Willie drives everyone crazy by following them around and filming them; Buddy has difficulty with a school assignment -- writing a speech on the topic of ""How I intend to leave my mark on the world""; Kate runs into a former roommate, who has become a successful author.
Director: Glenn Jordan
Writer: N/A
8.4/1059 votes#4 - 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
7.9/1069 votes#5 - Jury Duty (1)
Season 2 Episode 5 - Aired 11/16/1976
Kate is subjected to widespread abuse for being the lone holdout; Buddy captures first prize, T.J.'s heart, and (for good measure) the real killer.
Director: Glenn Jordan
Writer: George Lefferts
7.9/1061 votes#6 - Jury Duty (2)
Season 2 Episode 6 - Aired 11/23/1976
Kate is subjected to widespread abuse for being the lone holdout; Buddy captures first prize, T.J.'s heart, and (for good measure) the real killer.
Director: Glenn Jordan
Writer: George Lefferts
8.0/1054 votes#7 - The Cradle Will Fall
Season 2 Episode 7 - Aired 11/30/1976
Buddy completes her orthodontal treatment; Salina returns to town once again, only to be plunged into a custody battle with her daughter's father; Kate finds out that Elaine's husband is cheating on her.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
8.4/1057 votes#8 - 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
8.2/1048 votes#9 - On The First Day Of Christmas (a.k.a. The Christmas Story)
Season 2 Episode 9 - Aired 12/21/1976
Doug is suspicious when his father introduces his new, and much younger, girlfriend; Nancy and Jeff have a fight over who gets Timmy over Christmas.
Director: Gerald S. O'Loughlin
Writer: N/A
8.5/1065 votes#10 - 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
8.2/1054 votes#11 - An Eye to the Future
Season 2 Episode 11 - Aired 1/4/1977
Buddy (as ""Diamond In the Rough"") gets heavily into the CB scene; Kate decides to go back to college; Doug does a stint as a judge.
Director: Glenn Jordan
Writer: N/A
7.6/1047 votes#12 - Lovers and Strangers
Season 2 Episode 12 - Aired 1/11/1977
Willie gets cradle-robbed by a visiting movie director, and takes it much too seriously; Doug gets a dog as a birthday present.
Director: Ralph Senensky
Writer: Leonora Thuna
8.2/1054 votes#13 - Return Engagement
Season 2 Episode 13 - Aired 1/18/1977
Maggie Calder, the woman who nearly destroyed Doug and Kate's marriage 20 years ago, is back for a second attempt. Buddy feels she's being treated like a baby.
Director: N/A
Writer: Anne Howard Bailey
8.2/1050 votes#14 - Mirror, Mirror on the Wall . . .
Season 2 Episode 14 - Aired 2/1/1977
A daughter whom Elaine gave up for adoption years ago finds her, through Kate; Willie is intrigued by a pretty client at the photo studio where he works.
Director: Robert Hartford-Davis
Writer: N/A
7.9/1057 votes#15 - Someone's Watching
Season 2 Episode 15 - Aired 2/8/1977
A series of anonymous gifts eventually makes Nancy feel threatened; Buddy's motor-mouth school-project partner uses the Lawrences as his surrogate family.
Director: N/A
Writer: David Jacobs
7.2/1050 votes#16 - A Safe House
Season 2 Episode 16 - Aired 2/15/1977
A former friend of Willie's, now an outlaw, gives him a call; Buddy thinks she has a great scoop for the school paper.
Director: N/A
Writer: Marshall Herskovitz
8.4/1044 votes#17 - 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
7.5/1042 votes#18 - Taking Chances (1)
Season 2 Episode 18 - Aired 3/1/1977
When Doug loses his sight after getting hit by a car, opinions are divided as to whether he should undergo an operation that could either restore it, or kill him; in the meantime, Willie has second thoughts about having quit his job.
Director: Glenn Jordan
Writer: N/A
7.4/1044 votes#19 - Taking Chances (2)
Season 2 Episode 19 - Aired 3/8/1977
After spending an eternity as a blind man whose youngest daughter despises him, Doug finally musters up the courage to have the operation -- and, of course, all's well.
Director: Glenn Jordan
Writer: N/A
7.5/1049 votes#20 - Comings and Goings
Season 2 Episode 20 - Aired 3/22/1977
Willie and Salina search for an apartment together. Jeff's mother Sylvia is confined to the Lawrence home following a back injury and a quarrel with Jeff's father.
Director: N/A
Writer: David Jacobs
7.5/1037 votes#21 - . . . More Things in Heaven and Earth
Season 2 Episode 21 - Aired 3/29/1977
Kate is shaken by what a supposed psychic says about her long-missing aunt; Nancy lands a prestigious legal assignment, and suspects her looks are the reason.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.7/1033 votes#22 - An Endangered Species
Season 2 Episode 22 - Aired 5/3/1977
A recently-divorced friend wants to hang out with Kate; Nancy gets upset when a classmate asks to use her place for an affair with a married man.
Director: Peter Werner
Writer: Oliver Hailey
The Best Episodes of Family Season 2
Every episode of Family Season 2 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Family Season 2!
The lives of the middle-class Lawrence family in Pasadena, California.
Genre:Drama
Network:ABC
Season 2 Ratings Summary
"Coming Apart" is the best rated episode of "Family" season 2. It scored 8.5/10 based on 53 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 10/6/1976. This episode is rated 0.0 points higher than the second-best, "Such Sweet Sorrow".