Robert's fraternity brother Greg comes to New York to oversee an art auction. Robert, who hasn't seen Greg in ten years, spends all of his free time with his old buddy, alienating Wendell, who becomes particularly upset after Robert passes up going to the Knicks/Bulls game with him in favor of attending Greg's auction. Wendell has the last laugh when he shows up at the auction with proof that Greg's supposed masterpieces are really common, mass-produced works. Meanwhile, Zaria tries not to become jealous when an ex-boyfriend asks out one of her friends.

Nicholas is being bullied and shaken down by ""a bunch of baggy-pants, bandana wearin' hoodlums"" and figures the only way to beat them may be to join them. That is, until he learns about their gang initiation.

TK ponders violence after being assualted in front of Nicholas. He gets a gun and threatens to shoot Stone, but Robert talks him out of it. The two get ready to leave as Stone aims his gun at the both of them and fires. Meanwhile Cece fights with Skylar over the affections of Jesse.

Zaria becomes ""the voice of teenage America"" as host of a New York-based TV talk show aimed at fellow high-schoolers. But success may be going to Zaria's head when she decides to drop out. Also, almost everyone in the house is missing money at the same time that T.K. starts showing up with new threads and jewelry.

Zaria gets chosen to appear in a music video with her friends for her favorite performer, Sashay, but Robert forbids her, saying the videos are offensive. Zaria secretly goes to the taping anyway, and Michael accompanies her so he can promote his music. Meanwhile, Nicholas imitates his favorite sports hero and upsets Jerri by acting tough and disobeying her. Robert and Jerri punish him and teach him to distinguish a fantasy figure from reality. Also, Robert and Wendell fantasize about being in a 1970s action film defeating a criminal named Slick.

16 year old TK tries tosteal from the Petersons and Jerri decides to save him from the criminal justice system. She brings him into the Peterson home as Robert thinks Jerri is trying to replace Michael, who left for college.

Kelly spots Robert's neighbor hoisting strange bags out of the house and become convinced he is a murderer. Meanwhile, T.K. tries to shed his streetwise image for a more conservative one -- which the other kids hate.

Robert is so impressed with Zaria's new boyfriend, Daryl Cooper, that he actually envisions him as his future son-in-law. Zaria is not nearly as taken with Daryl and tells her father she intends to break up with him. Robert is crushed by the news. He believes that if Zaria spent more time with Daryl she would grow to like him. He lets Daryl use his Volvo to take Zaria to a concert. Zaria spends some quality time with Daryl and decides not to break up with him.

Robert decides to cancel the Christmas holiday because he is disgusted with his children's greedy behavior. On Christmas Eve, all of the children have the same strange dream where they are visited by elves, which look a lot like Wendell and Robert. The elves make each of the kids realize how terrible they've been acting. The next morning Robert has a change of heart and decides to celebrate Christmas as usual. However the kids decide to celebrate Christmas a different way by giving all of their presents to needy children.

Cece wins a kids regional beauty contest, turning her into an insufferable egotist and prompting Robert to launch ""Operation Shrink Cece's Head.""

Wendell subs in Nicholas' class and makes him the teacher's pet. Nicholas' classmates are jealous of the preferential treatment he is getting so they begin to taunt him relentlessly. In order to get back into his friends' good graces, Nicholas plays a practical joke on Wendell. His classmates stop harassing him but Nicholas feels very guilty about pulling the prank. The next day he goes to Wendell and admits he was the one who played the practical joke. He says he only did it so his classmates would stop teasing him. Wendell accepts Nicholas' apology and begins treating him like a normal student, including making him sit in the corner as punishment for his prank.

There's a slight hitch in Wendell's offer to take Robert and Jerri on a ""free"" Valentine's getaway to a romantic Pocono Mountains resort: the free weekend is a gimmick used to sell vacation time shares, and Robert and Jerri spend most of their time being hounded by a relentless salesman from the resort. Meanwhile, while the kids have the house to themselves for the first time, Ira runs away from home.

When Nicholas decides to show off his dance moves in a school talent show, Jerri, who was classically trained, steps in as his teacher; but he finds studying with her akin to attending boot camp. Also, Wendell and Robert stumble upon Zaria's diary.

Nicholas overhears a difference of opinion between his parents and mistakenly thinks they are getting a divorce because of him, and enlists Wendell's help in trying to keep them together. Meanwhile, an overworked Jerri asks Michael and Zaria to babysit Cece.

Michael auditions female singers for his band, and the front-runner is Zaria's annoying friend Theresa.

Shakim insists on driving old flame Alexis home from a party, and the resulting misunderstanding leads to a rift in his relationship with Zaria -- until she learns Alexis has a drinking problem. Meanwhile, Nicholas and Cece find money in the street but don't realize it is counterfeit.

The last time Robert saw Parris, the elder Peterson brother was doing time in prison. Now he's out and visiting the family, but Robert thinks Parris has some kind of scam cooking, especially after some appliances mysteriously disappear. Meanwhile, Michael is upset when Nicholas continually breaks his big brother's possessions.

T.K. and Kelly find themselves in the doghouse when an unexpected turn of events disrupts their plan to neutralize Queenie, visiting Aunt Josephine's mean pet. Meanwhile, Zaria fumes when Robert's editing of her valedictory speech leaves no trace of her personality.

Jerri's sister Celeste pays a visit and unintentionally strains Robert and Jerri's marriage with her extravagant suggestions for their 20th-anniversary party and Zaria and T.K. find themselves riding to the rescue.

Zaria's special 17th birthday outing turns into a real disaster - a natural one - after a blizzard hits, stranding her and her girlfriends at the Peterson house. The party is saved by a surprise visit from rap star Usher.

When a bully picks on Nicholas, it brings back memories of Robert's own childhood nemesis---and he decides to track the man down and settle the score.

When 15-year-old Michael asks if he can attend a basketball game, Robert says ""yes."" But Robert denies 14-year-old Zaria's request for permission to go to a ""gangsta"" rap concert. Later, Jerri reminds Robert that their parents objected to the music they used to listen to and convinces him that he is too protective of Zaria. Robert relents and allows Zaria to go to the concert -- but he and Derek secretly follow her in what they imagine to be hip-hop attire.

In an attempt to establish a strong work ethic in Michael, Robert makes a bet that he can work side by side with Michael at his pizza parlor job. Unbeknownst to Robert, the manager of the pizza parlor once flunked Robert's class. Meanwhile, worried about gaining weight, Zaria appoints Nicholas her ""health cop."" Every time she takes an unnecessary bite of food, Nicholas gets to punish her by looking at a page from her diary.

Robert pretends to forget his anniversary, while all the while he's made special plans for a surprise romantic evening with Jerri; but when the evening arrives, he must first attend a lecture with special guest Jeffrey Osbourne. When an unexpected blizzard ruins Robert's special anniversary plans, he convinces the singing star to come to his house and help save his marriage. Meanwhile, when Michael is unable to repay a loan to Zaria, she forces him to perform humiliating tasks around the house.

A dinner visit from Robert's classmate, now an arrogant Princeton professor who believes men are smarter than women, sparks a battle of the sexes when Jerri scores higher than Robert on an I.Q. test included in the professor's latest book.