- 7.2/1043 votes
#1 - Acts of Love (1)
Season 3 Episode 1 - Aired 9/13/1977
While Nancy and Buddy prepare for their parents' 25th wedding-anniversary party, Willie meets, and falls in love with, a physics student named Lizzy -- who, as he soon finds out, has radiation sickness.
Director: N/A
Writer: David Jacobs
- 7.0/1039 votes
#2 - Acts of Love (2)
Season 3 Episode 2 - Aired 9/20/1977
Lizzy dies, but not before Willie convinces her to marry him first.
Director: N/A
Writer: David Jacobs
- 8.1/1034 votes
#3 - The First Time
Season 3 Episode 3 - Aired 9/27/1977
Kate unhappily contemplates her 49th birthday; T.J. asks Buddy to go steady with him, but she's not sure.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.0/1038 votes
#4 - Change of Heart
Season 3 Episode 4 - Aired 10/4/1977
Nancy is jealous of Jeff's new fiancée.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.2/1043 votes
#5 - Annie Laurie
Season 3 Episode 5 - Aired 10/25/1977
Doug gets propositioned by a female lawyer.
Director: Alf Kjellin
Writer: David Jacobs
- 8.6/1053 votes
#6 - 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
- 7.2/1046 votes
#7 - The Little Brother
Season 3 Episode 7 - Aired 11/8/1977
Willie fails to understand a black thing; Buddy develops an interest in genealogy.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.8/1054 votes
#8 - Childhood's End
Season 3 Episode 8 - Aired 11/15/1977
Buddy's friend Laura returns for a visit, and -- guess what? -- she, too, is now an alkie; a friend of Doug's, a divorced father, is apprehensive about seeing his kids again.
Director: Alf Kjellin
Writer: N/A
- 7.4/1040 votes
#9 - A Tale Out of Season
Season 3 Episode 9 - Aired 11/22/1977
Doug's colleague and protégé turns out to be a child-beater; Nancy finds a puppy; Buddy finally gets into the Thanksgiving spirit.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.1/1038 votes
#10 - Labors of Love
Season 3 Episode 10 - Aired 11/29/1977
Buddy, upset by a lack of attention from T.J., tries to make him jealous by hanging out with a geek; Willie catches the eye of his cute über-boss.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.7/1035 votes
#11 - A Child is Given
Season 3 Episode 11 - Aired 12/13/1977
No description available
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.8/1036 votes
#12 - More Than Friends
Season 3 Episode 12 - Aired 1/3/1978
Nancy hits it off with Willie's former writing teacher, but things get awkward when he pans Willie's script.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.9/1039 votes
#13 - Princess in the Tower
Season 3 Episode 13 - Aired 1/10/1978
Kate, slightly sick of family life, checks out a model apartment in a brand-new high-rise condo -- and gets trapped overnight, along with a very pregnant younger woman; Buddy has the bright idea of dyeing her hair blonde.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 6.5/1030 votes
#14 - Echoes of Love
Season 3 Episode 14 - Aired 1/17/1978
Willie can't stop reminiscing about Lizzy, so he hooks up with her former roommate; Audrey is depressed because her parents are splitting up, and angry that Doug is representing her mother in the divorce.
Director: James Sheldon
Writer: David Jacobs
- 7.6/1027 votes
#15 - See Saw
Season 3 Episode 15 - Aired 1/24/1978
Kate volunteers to help a moody (and arithmetic-obsessed) young patient at the Braille institute; Willie works on installing Timmy's new bed; Buddy leaves for a week-end of skiing with T.J. and his parents.
Director: Philip Leacock
Writer: N/A
- 6.3/1036 votes
#16 - Lifeline
Season 3 Episode 16 - Aired 1/31/1978
Nancy plays hot-line operator when her classmate attempts suicide, to get back at her married boyfriend for breaking up her; Buddy baby-sits a whiny kid.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.3/1042 votes
#17 - . . . And Baby Makes Three
Season 3 Episode 17 - Aired 2/7/1978
Nancy and Jeff aren't sure whether to get back together; Buddy is disgusted that Audrey has fallen for the cheap ploys of the school Casanova.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.4/1033 votes
#18 - Crossing Over
Season 3 Episode 18 - Aired 2/14/1978
Willie has an appointment with a big-shot film producer, on the eve of his 21st birthday; then, he and Doug make friends with a stripper.
Director: N/A
Writer: David Jacobs
- 7.5/1037 votes
#19 - The Covenant
Season 3 Episode 19 - Aired 2/21/1978
Medical crises abound in the family when James reveals to Doug that he must soon undergo exploratory surgery, and Nancy begins to miscarry Jeff's baby.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.9/1040 votes
#20 - A Friend of the Family's
Season 3 Episode 20 - Aired 2/28/1978
A somewhat unscrupulous former friend of Willie's drops by; Buddy needs driving lessons; Kate and Doug consider taking separate vacations.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.7/1049 votes
#21 - Fear of Shadows
Season 3 Episode 21 - Aired 5/2/1978
Kate has a recurring nightmare about running over a little boy; Buddy gets a pet raccoon.
Director: Georg Stanford Brown
Writer: N/A
- 8.2/1096 votes
#22 - Sleeping Gypsy
Season 3 Episode 22 - Aired 5/9/1978
Everyone at school dislikes Buddy's bohemian friend; Kate gives Doug a plaid jacket he doesn't much care for.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.9/1042 votes
#23 - Counterpoint
Season 3 Episode 23 - Aired 5/16/1978
Kate has to go back and repeat a class she flunked the previous semester, and gets picked on by a snobby professor; Doug contemplates early retirement after his tennis partner has a heart attack.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of Family Season 3
Every episode of Family Season 3 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Family Season 3!
The lives of the middle-class Lawrence family in Pasadena, California.
Genre:Drama
Network:ABC
Season 3 Ratings Summary
"Acts of Love (1)" is the best rated episode of "Family" season 3. It scored 7.2/10 based on 43 votes. Directed by N/A and written by David Jacobs, it aired on 9/13/1977. This episode is rated 0.2 points higher than the second-best, "Acts of Love (2)".