8.1/10104 votes#1 - Popular, Round One
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 9/29/1999
In the series pilot, social opposites Sam and Brooke are paired as lab partners, to the delight of Carmen, who sees it as a chance for Sam to help her get on the cheerleading squad. Meanwhile, Brooke and Nicole plan the first party of the school year and star quarterback Josh tries out for the school play.
Director: Brian Robbins
Writer: Ryan Murphy
- 8.2/1094 votes
#2 - Mo' Menace, Mo' Problems
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 9/30/1999
Carmen ditches school the day after the cheerleading roster is posted, and Lily refuses to dissect a frog in science class. Meanwhile, Josh's father embarrasses him at rehearsal; and Mary Cherry stalks Nicole.
Director: Michael M. Robin
Writer: Ryan Murphy
- 8.0/1092 votes
#3 - Under Siege
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 10/7/1999
Sam writes an exposé about the cheerleaders' school budget, leading to the squad's termination and its remaining funds being redistributed to the drama department. The exposé also heightens the tension between Brooke and Sam as they prepare for their first dinner together with their parents. Meanwhile, Josh must decide between starring in the school musical or playing in the homecoming game.
Director: Perry Lang
Writer: Ryan Murphy
- 8.0/1085 votes
#4 - Windstruck
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 10/14/1999
Sam and Josh have an embarrassing encounter during a play rehearsal, starting rumors that they are interested in each other. Meanwhile, Brooke confesses to Nicole that she and Josh are still virgins, and Harrison's hope for a relationship with Brooke gets a boost when she turns to him for comfort.
Director: Jamie Babbit
Writer: Oliver Goldstick
- 8.1/1093 votes
#5 - Slumber Party Massacre
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 10/21/1999
Members of the cheerleading squad agree to attend Carmen's slumber party, causing Sam to question their motives. At the party, Nicole tries to impress Carmen's older brother, Leo, and a party game takes a disturbing turn.
Director: Michael M. Robin
Writer: Wendy MacLeod
- 8.2/1086 votes
#6 - Truth or Consequences
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 11/4/1999
Sam discovers that Nicole, Poppy and Mary Cherry stole the answers to the biology midterm, and she sets out to gather the evidence she needs to turn them in. Meanwhile, Mike and Jane's sneaking around angers Brooke and Sam.
Director: Marc Buckland
Writer: Eric Preven, Ari Posner
- 8.3/1085 votes
#7 - Queen B.
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 11/11/1999
Brooke, Poppy, Mary Cherry and Carmen are nominated for the Junior Court Homecoming Queen and Nicole pressures two of Brooke's opponents to halt their campaigns. Meanwhile, Sam and Jane move into the McQueens' house, causing an instant turf war between Brooke and Sam.
Director: Matthew Harrison
Writer: Ryan Murphy
- 8.3/1085 votes
#8 - Tonight's the Night
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 11/18/1999
Sam and Brooke wager on whether or not Sam can land a boyfriend by the end of the week and whether Brooke can prove that her relationship with Josh is more than just physical, with the loser publicly joining an embarrassing club. Meanwhile, Lily hands out condoms to her classmates in response to the popularity of a new singer whose sexual image is mimicked by some students at Kennedy High.
Director: Jamie Babbit
Writer: Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz, Ryan Murphy
- 8.1/1083 votes
#9 - Wild Wild Mess
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 12/2/1999
The students embark on finding nominees for "Principal for the Day," while a custodial strike leaves the school a mess. Meanwhile, Brooke fears she may be pregnant; and Sam, Carmen and Lily discover something personal about Harrison's mother.
Director: Lev L. Spiro
Writer: Oliver Goldstick
- 8.6/10111 votes
#10 - Fall on Your Knees
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 12/9/1999
Brooke and Sam are forced to hold their annual Christmas parties together, and Carmen is injured just weeks before the next round of cheerleader tryouts. Meanwhile, Nicole's brooding over the yuletide season leads to visits from the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future.
Director: Elodie Keene
Writer: Ryan Murphy
- 8.4/1083 votes
#11 - Ex, Lies and Videotape
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 1/13/2000
Sam gets a chance to produce a segment on a syndicated TV show--with one catch--Brooke is the on-air talent. Meanwhile, Josh must tell his father that he can't make a dinner with college scouts, which is scheduled for the opening night of the musical; and April Tuna becomes obsessed with Carmen.
Director: Arvin Brown
Writer: Eric Preven, Ari Posner
- 8.2/1085 votes
#12 - The Trial of Emory Dick
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 1/20/2000
Emory puts the popular kids, Bobbi Glass and the lunch lady on trial for harassing him. Sam and Lily volunteer to represent him at the school's mock proceeding, which leads Principal Hall to ask Brooke to lead the defense. Meanwhile, Josh and Sugar look forward to the start of the wrestling season.
Director: Perry Lang
Writer: Oliver Goldstick
- 8.2/1090 votes
#13 - Hope in a Jar
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 1/27/2000
A Sadie Hawkins dance has most of the students obsessing over their appearances, while Brooke considers inviting a young man of substance. Meanwhile, Nicole, Poppy and Mary Cherry follow a dangerous crash diet: the one who loses the most weight gets to ask out the gorgeous guy they all pine for.
Director: David Petrarca
Writer: Wendy MacLeod
- 8.8/10108 votes
#14 - Caged!
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 2/3/2000
Mounting tensions between Sam's friends and Brooke's clique lead to a proposed rumble, but the guys intervene and lock the ladies in a school bathroom in an attempt to make them reconcile. Meanwhile, Josh, Harrison and Sugar Daddy get an education on ovulation from a nature film provided by Bobbi Glass.
Director: Jamie Babbit
Writer: Ryan Murphy
- 8.2/1090 votes
#15 - Booty Camp
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 2/10/2000
Principal Hall forces Josh, Harrison and Sugar Daddy to attend a weekend sensitivity camp after they harass a scantily clad Lily. Sam and Brooke work on the school's crisis hot line and inadvertently heighten one of the caller's problems.
Director: Michael M. Robin
Writer: Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz
- 8.4/1094 votes
#16 - All About Adam
Season 1 Episode 16 - Aired 2/17/2000
A new male student sets out to join the cheerleading squad--by any means necessary. Meanwhile, Sam bests Brooke in a modeling contest and nets an opportunity to appear in a commercial with U.S. Women's World Cup soccer stars Tiffeny Milbrett and Tisha Venturini.
Director: Michael M. Robin, Perry Lang
Writer: Wendy MacLeod
- 7.8/1077 votes
#17 - Lord of the Files
Season 1 Episode 17 - Aired 2/24/2000
A new vice-principal joins Kennedy High and his good looks draw the attention of the female students. Meanwhile, Brooke lies to Carmen about a tattoo she claims was inspired by Josh, so Carmen suspects that Brooke may want her old beau back; and Emory tells Harrison that a grade-school music teacher was once impressed with Harrison's music skills.
Director: Lev L. Spiro
Writer: Oliver Goldstick
- 8.1/10102 votes
#18 - Ch-Ch-Changes
Season 1 Episode 18 - Aired 4/20/2000
Harrison campaigns to save the job of the school's shop teacher when the instructor's career is jeopardized by his announcement of plans for a sex-change operation. Meanwhile, Cherry Cherry teaches a home-economics course at Kennedy High as part of her community service sentence for punching a police officer.
Director: Craig Zisk
Writer: Eric Preven, Ari Posner
- 8.1/1086 votes
#19 - Hard on the Outside, Soft in the Middle
Season 1 Episode 19 - Aired 4/27/2000
When Sam, Lily and Carmen dye their hair blonde to prove that the popular girls' power is based on their hair color, Brooke and her friends set out to prove them wrong by darkening their own tresses. Meanwhile, a beautiful, new exchange student is attracted to Sugar Daddy.
Director: Jamie Babbit
Writer: Ryan Murphy
- 7.7/1078 votes
#20 - We Are Family
Season 1 Episode 20 - Aired 5/4/2000
Brooke and Sam try to derail their parents' wedding plans by planting false evidence of Mike's infidelity, which leads to a startling announcement from Mike and Jane. Meanwhile, Mary Cherry discovers that her mother is engaged to actor Erik Estrada.
Director: Elodie Keene
Writer: Ryan Murphy, Deidre Strohm
- 7.9/1080 votes
#21 - What Makes Sammy Run
Season 1 Episode 21 - Aired 5/11/2000
Sam runs away from home and hunts for Brooke's mother, with the hope that the woman will help her put an end to Mike and Jane's wedding plans. Meanwhile, Josh, Sugar Daddy, Harrison and Emory Dick go to a strip club with fake IDs.
Director: Jamie Babbit
Writer: Edward Kitsis, Adam Horowitz
- 7.7/1091 votes
#22 - Two Weddings and a Funeral
Season 1 Episode 22 - Aired 5/18/2000
Bobbi Glass ruins the annual "skip day" ritual for the popular and alternative kids by faxing their photos to their favorite hangouts so they'll be caught cutting classes. The kids plot their revenge during an extended musical number. Meanwhile, Sam and Brooke agree to work together to make their parents' rehearsal dinner a success.
Director: Lev L. Spiro
Writer: Ryan Murphy
The Best Episodes of Popular Season 1
Every episode of Popular Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Popular Season 1!
Brooke McQueen, a popular cheerleader at Jacqueline Kennedy High School, and Sam McPherson, the editor of the school paper, are polar opposites. When their single...
Genres:ComedyDrama
Network:The WB
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"Popular, Round One" is the best rated episode of "Popular" season 1. It scored 8.1/10 based on 104 votes. Directed by Brian Robbins and written by Ryan Murphy, it aired on 9/29/1999. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "Mo' Menace, Mo' Problems".