Robert and Kelly resort to using a ringer to save themselves from almost certain defeat in an upcoming basketball match. Meanwhile, Jerri faces unintended consequences after telling Cece and Nicholas never to lie.

Jerri's now beautiful fashion-photographer sister Celeste develops a plan to get back at Wendell, who incessantly taunted her when she was a homely high-schooler. Meanwhile, T.K. promises to help the kids with a science project but gets sidetracked by Jesse's comely sister Vivica.

When Nicholas' best friend Drew is abducted from school, Nicholas refuses to leave the house for fear he will be next. Meanwhile, Zaria conducts a study of men for her psychology class using T.K. and Wendell as subjects.

Zaria's lovestruck friend Jasmine is making beautiful music with her new rap-star boyfriend, but his act hits a sour note with Zaria when he hits on her. Also, Robert and Jerri go on a game show to try and win a trip to Europe for the entire family, including ""Uncle"" Wendell.

With Robert and Jerri bedridden with the flu, Wendell volunteers to baby-sit. But during his watch, Nicholas gets stuck in the chimney while trying to free a trapped bird. Hip-hop group Immature has a cameo.

Wendell needs a positive role model to speak to his class of troubled youths, so he asks Robert, who has trouble gaining the class's respect. Meanwhile, Michael and Zaria believe that their mother may be pregnant.

Robert lends a helping hand to reformed gang member Ricky, but when Zaria takes a romantic interest in the young man, her father gets up in arms.

As film critic of the local cable show ""Brothers in the Balcony,"" Robert becomes unpopular when he gives a thumbs down to a prominent black filmmaker's new movie because of his consistently negative portrayal of African-Americans. Meanwhile, Zaria dates her opinionated classmate Shakim.

Robert is concerned when Zaria goes on a date with Michael's shallow friend Troy, and resorts to hiring a woman from Derek's acting class to lure Troy away. When Jerri catches Robert in the closet with this woman, he's got a lot of explaining to do. Meanwhile, Nicholas's beloved pet snake gets loose in the house, and when he replaces it with a dummy snake, Jerri thinks it died due to her neglect.

Nicholas thinks Halloween is going to be anything but a treat after he hears a local legend about a cab-driving ghost. Meanwhile, Michael tries come up with a brilliant way to scare Zaria.

In observance of Black History Month, Nicholas must choose a famous African-American to portray at a school assembly. Nicholas shocks his family when he tells them he wants to be Buckwheat. Robert suggests to Nicholas that he choose an African-American figure with a more positive image. However, Nicholas is adamant about his choice so Robert decides to lend his son support. At the assembly, Nicholas comes out dressed in Buckwheat garb and speaks in the almost unintelligible style, which was Buckwheat's trademark. However, midway through his speech, Nicholas takes off his Buckwheat wig to explain that during Buckwheat's era, black actors had to portray stereotypical characters if they wanted to be in movies at all, and that we should honor these black film pioneers for making it easier for future generations of African-American actors. Meanwhile, Cece wants to be more like her big sister Zaria by emulating her.

To avoid a sex chat, Robert puts Michael on-line with a health program, which the teen uses to access a computer sex line catering to swingers. Before Robert catches on, Michael makes a date with a female correspondent -- and is shocked when his date, LaWanda, turns out to be an elderly woman with a moustache.

Robert charges Michael and Zaria with being too irresponsible to have a party---so the family holds a mock trial, with Jerri serving as the defense attorney.

A series of burglaries, followed by Nicholas's bike being stolen, prompt Robert and Jerri to buy an alarm system. Robert doesn't want to pay for the high cost of installation so he hires Derek and Wendell to do the job. Derek and Wendell are complete amateurs and fail to install the system properly. That evening the alarm goes off several times waking the family and bringing police to the door. When the alarm is finally disabled, Robert and Jerri talk about what happened and decide they can feel safe without a security device.

Robert is accused of being out of touch when he voices objection to the lyrics of a rap song written by Michael and his posse, so he takes Michael to the ""hood"" to show him he hasn't forgotten his roots. Meanwhile, Zaria wants her own phone line after discovering Nicholas and Cece are listening in on her phone conversations, and Jerri insists she do chores in exchange; and Wendell fails miserably on his first day of substitute teaching.

It's a case of kiss and tell for Nicholas when he kisses a classmate and his teacher tells his parents that he is sexually harassing the girl. Meanwhile, after seeing Zaria kiss the son of a record company executive, Michael tries to get the executive to listen to his demo tape.

Jerri's new study partner is funny, smart, handsome -- and a male dancer. Robert becomes even more jealous after Jerri, due to time constraints, agrees to meet her study partner at the dance club where he works, and follows Jerri only to find himself thrust on stage as the MC, with Wendell as a supposed erotic dancer. Jerri, busy backstage studying, has no interest in seeing the show until she hears Robert's voice. Meanwhile, Michael and Nicholas scheme to sell the family collection of baby teeth to the neighborhood kids, who in turn use them to get money from their parents/the tooth fairy.

Zaria runs into trouble when her parents discover she's received preferential treatment from her track coach -- and her grades start to slip. Meanwhile, Wendell tries to earn extra money selling cosmetics to Jerri and her friends.

Robert and Jerri finds themselves stuck in the middle when Wendell proposes to a woman he met at Cece's fourth birthday party after a 24-hour whirlwind courtship - and then proposes that the Peterson hold the reception at their house.

Robert is overwhelmed when the kids throw him a surprise party. Unable to cope with the surprise, Robert leaves the party. Jerri explains that Robert's father left him and his family on his eighth birthday and never returned. The kids put an ad in the newspaper trying to track down their missing grandfather. Their grandfather eventually responds to the ad. Jerri encourages Robert to confront his father to mend their relationship so that the kids can know their grandfather. Robert attempts reconciliation, but they end up butting heads. Robert contemplates the negative cycle of fathers leaving their families and decides to break the cycle. He returns to his father's house with his kids to celebrate his birthday and their reunion.

Robert overhears Michael and his girlfriend planning to take the next big step in their relationship, so he cautions his son about sexual responsibility. But the boy mistakenly interprets it as a parental OK. Meanwhile, Nicholas becomes obsessed with superstition when Wendell gives him a good luck charm.

Zaria runs for class president against Bradley, a popular senior who stoops to use dirty politics by spreading false rumors about her. Furious, Zaria discovers that Bradley has a drug problem and was about to enter the school's counseling program before it was cancelled. Her moral dilemma is whether to sling the mud back at Bradley.

Robert begins to appreciate life more when an old acquaintance of his passes away. He plans a picnic for the family, and when the bad weather keeps them from going outdoors, they wind up delivering the baby of Wendell's pregnant passenger.

Wendell has romantic designs on Karen, an interior decorator working at the Peterson house, so Robert decides to play Cupid. Meanwhile, Cece calls on big brother Nicholas to champion her against school bully Daniel.

Michael thinks he might be able to clear up his songwriter's block by smoking some marijuana that he received from a jazz trumpeter. Meanwhile, Nicholas gets upset when Arnie and his other friends taunt Nicholas because he's not good at sports.