NaN/100 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
NaN/100 votesLoading...#2 - 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
NaN/100 votesLoading...#3 - 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
NaN/100 votesLoading...#4 - 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
NaN/100 votesLoading...#5 - 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
NaN/100 votesLoading...#6 - 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
NaN/100 votesLoading...#7 - 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
NaN/100 votesLoading...#8 - 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
NaN/100 votesLoading...#9 - 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
NaN/100 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
NaN/100 votesLoading...#11 - 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
NaN/100 votesLoading...#12 - 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
NaN/100 votesLoading...#13 - 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
NaN/100 votesLoading...#14 - 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
NaN/100 votesLoading...#15 - 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
NaN/100 votesLoading...#16 - 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
NaN/100 votesLoading...#17 - 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
NaN/100 votesLoading...#18 - 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
NaN/100 votesLoading...#19 - 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
NaN/100 votesLoading...#20 - 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
NaN/100 votesLoading...#21 - 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
NaN/100 votesLoading...#22 - 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
NaN/100 votesLoading...#23 - 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
NaN/100 votesLoading...#24 - 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
NaN/100 votesLoading...#25 - 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
The Worst Episodes of Family
Every episode of Family ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Family!
The lives of the middle-class Lawrence family in Pasadena, California.
Genre:Drama
Network:ABC
Worst Episodes Summary
"Pilot (a.k.a. The Best Years)" is the worst rated episode of "Family". It scored N/A/10 based on 0 votes. Directed by Mark Rydell and written by Jay Presson Allen, it aired on 3/9/1976. This episode scored NaN points lower than the second lowest rated, "Monday is Forever".