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The Best Episodes of thirtysomething

Every episode of thirtysomething ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of thirtysomething!

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thirtysomething is an American television drama about a group of baby boomers in their late thirties.

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  1. #1 Fan Favorite
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    thirtysomething Season 4 Episode 2 - Life Class
    9.3/10(48 votes)

    S4:E2

    CAPSULE: Nancy feels that the hysterectomy has adversely affected her sex drive. Shots of Nancy teaching a class at the art center are intercut with her being examined by Dr. Eilertson. She asks about diminished sex drive after a hysterectomy and he tells her it should be no problem. Later at a gallery she sees a younger male student who she'd noticed before in class (and who seemed to notice her.) At DAA, Miles chews out Angel and Hollis, upsetting them. Angel comes to Elliot's office to hide out. Elliot arrives home to find Nancy tired and testy. The always-perceptive Ethan notices the changes in his mother, too. Nancy sees the student again and has a fantasy about him. But back at home with Elliot, she tells him she has no desire to make love. At DAA, Angel begins to work on an important account with Elliot, and they both are enjoying it. Later Elliot stops by Nancy's class and she argues with him, accusing him of gawking at the nude young female model. Nancy talks with Dr. Silverma

    Director:Scott Winant
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. thirtysomething Season 4 Episode 12 - Advanced Beginners
    9.3/10(47 votes)

    S4:E12

    While Ellyn and Billy are living together temporarily, an old girlfriend of Billy's arrives upon the scene, causing some problems.

    Director:Deborah Reinisch
    Writers:Liberty Godshall, Winnie Holzman

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  3. thirtysomething Season 2 Episode 15 - Be a Good Girl
    9.2/10(48 votes)

    S2:E15

    CAPSULE: Melissa must deal with her aging grandmother who wants her to take over her business. Melissa is preparing to go to her parents for a birthday dinner for herself, her mother Elaine and her beloved grandmother Rose, or Nana, who has runs a dress store for fifty-five years. Elaine thinks her mom needs to move in with her and her husband Murray, but Melissa thinks her mom treats Nana ""like Grandma Moses"", even though she has congestive heart failure! Ellyn, who is therapy now, comes to Melissa with a job offer from City Hall and Melissa takes it, even though she's quite busy. At her parents house, Melissa is taking a family portrait with a couple of other aunts included when Nana has a vivid flashback of a young girl skating. Her behavior worries the others, and they call a doctor. Soon, though, Nana is back at work, critiquing customers, when she has a pain attack. She asks Melissa not to call Elaine, but she does call her, along with a doctor. Nana also has another flashback of

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. thirtysomething Season 3 Episode 5 - Legacy
    9.2/10(51 votes)

    S3:E5

    Elliot and Michael have a close encounter with disaster on an airplane. Hope's employer, the magazine Synergy, is being taken over and will curtain its environmental watchdog activities. At a dinner party, Hope gets irritated with Michael and Miles' date. Nancy is ready to take Elliot back.

    Director:Scott Winant
    Writer:Joseph Dougherty

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  5. thirtysomething Season 3 Episode 23 - Towers of Zenith Part 1: The Go-Between
    9.2/10(50 votes)

    S3:E23

    CAPSULE: As Elliot grows more dissatisfied with DAA, Michael finds out something that could change everything about the company. Miles plans to take Michael to New York with him to meet with Bob Spano, head of Minnesota Brands, their largest client. In a meeting, Miles informs Elliot and Michael that a spokesman for another big account has been lost to another agency and he puts the blame squarely on Eliot. Later Michael ask Miles why he was so tough on Elliot. Miles picks up the phone and calls Elliot, giving him a perfunctory apology. In New York, Miles and Michael dine with Spano and Gus Hennesey from Minnesota Brands. The down-to-earth Spano finds Miles a little weird, but seems to like Michael. Later Gus calls Michael and sets up a private meeting. He tells Mike that Minnesota Brands is looking to expand into media. Elliot tells Nancy that his job has become a burden and that he's thinking of quitting after her ""second look"" surgery. Miles tells Michael that he thinks Elliot is di

    Director:Scott Winant
    Writer:Joseph Dougherty

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  6. thirtysomething Season 3 Episode 24 - Towers of Zenith Part 2: Samurai Adman
    9.2/10(44 votes)

    S3:E24

    CAPSULE: Michael's career is on the line as the hostile takeover attempt of DAA heats up. As Minnesota Brands plots its hostile takeover of DAA, Miles wants to take Michael with him to see Carol Arthur, the widow of former company partner Duncan Arthur who owns 27 1/2% of the stock. But Carol comes by the company, rather than have Miles set foot in her house. Michael decides to bring Mark in on the takeover secret. They realize that their failure in this matter could cost them both their careers. Hope worries that Michael may be crossing some ethical lines and turning into Miles. Michael is in Miles' office doing a bit of snooping when Miles and his secretary come in. He makes an excuse and then listens in as Miles places a phone call to Gabe Rivera, setting up an emergency appointment. Michael sends Elliot to spy on the Drentell/Rivera meeting. While on this mission, Elliot runs into Mark, who is doing the same thing. They find out Rivera's identity--he's Miles' dentist! Meanwhile Min

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Joseph Dougherty

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    The 20 WORST Episodes of thirtysomething

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  7. thirtysomething Season 4 Episode 19 - Out the Door
    9.2/10(43 votes)

    S4:E19

    Michael's fortunes seem to be rising at DAA, but Elliot is more dissatisfied than ever and is ready to quit the job, leading to conflict between the two.

    Director:Mel Harris
    Writer:Ann Lewis Hamilton

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  8. thirtysomething Season 4 Episode 20 - Hopeless
    9.2/10(47 votes)

    S4:E20

    Hopr volunteers at a shelter for the homeless and gets personally involved in the life of a woman and her daughter there. She accuses Michael of having lost his social conscience.

    Director:Mark Harris
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. thirtysomething Season 1 Episode 20 - Tenure
    9.1/10(51 votes)

    S1:E20

    Gary evaluates the fate of his academic career as he undergoes tenure review at the college. Ellyn learns her building is going co-op, leaving her to decide whether to buy her apartment.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Ann Lewis Hamilton

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  10. thirtysomething Season 2 Episode 2 - In Re: the Marriage of Weston
    9.1/10(49 votes)

    S2:E2

    Things get complicated between Elliot and Nancy as they moved toward finalizing their divorce. They both try to establish new relationships. Scenes of Elliot and Nancy's courtship are intercut with the present-day divorce preparations. Elliot has to get cash advances on his salary from an unhappy Michael. Nancy, using the last name Krieger, calls editor Jack Bronstein about her book. He's enthusiastic but says he can't recommend it yet--the story's a ""little weak."" Meanwhile Elliot's lawyer Adrian tries to talk business with him at a restaurant, but he's more interested in coming on to her. She declines to go out with him. Nancy is working at an office job, and a younger employee there, Terry O'Neil, seems to like her. Later when she and Jack are at her house working on the book, he kisses her. Nancy tells Melissa she's been carrying around her diaphragm! Later, Nancy has a physical encounter with Terry.

    Director:Peter Horton
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. thirtysomething Season 2 Episode 7 - Success
    9.1/10(46 votes)

    S2:E7

    Melissa gets a job working with Carly Simon. Michael and Elliot face losing their business. Melissa is excited--Russell has shown some of her work around and he might be able to get her the job of shooting Carly Simon's next album cover! When he calls to confirm the good news, Ellyn is with her. Russell also tells her they're going to be a party for Carly and she can invite all the friends she wants. Melissa hides that last bit of information from Ellyn. Meanwhile Michael and Elliot are worried about their biggest account, Motherland Dairies, which has been sold and may drop them. The Michael & Elliot company plays Miles Drentell's DAA ad agency in basketball and loses. Mike relives the game in his imagination, making the winning layup. Later Michael and Elliot meet with the new owners of Motherland, who let them go. Mike is sure this is the end of their company, but Elliot still thinks there is hope. Russell and Melissa are at the Steadman's house.

    Director:Ron Lagomarsino
    Writers:Marshall Herskovitz, Edward Zwick

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  12. thirtysomething Season 3 Episode 1 - Nancy's Mom
    9.1/10(40 votes)

    S3:E1

    CAPSULE: Nancy's and Elliot move closer to a reconciliation, to the disapproval of her visiting mother Eleanor. Elliot and Nancy are spending an evening at Michael and Hope's talking about Nancy's upcoming book. Nancy says her mother Eleanor, who is coming for a visit, is OK with her but still can make her crazy. When Nancy and Elliot leave, they kiss goodbye like a dating couple. When Eleanor arrives, she asks about Matt, but Nancy mentions that Elliot has been ""around."" Later Elliot has dinner with Nancy, Eleanor and the kids. Eleanor makes it clear she doesn't approve of Elliot or his marketing idea for a ""monster doll"" book tie-in. Later that night Eleanor refuses to go to bed and leave Nancy and Elliot alone, so he leaves and sneaks back in Nancy's bedroom window. Still later, Elliot is downstairs raiding the refrigerator when he runs into Eleanor. Nancy admits to her mother that she's seeing Elliot again. Eleanor still isn't ready to forgive him. She surprises Nancy by telling he

    Director:Ron Lagomarsino
    Writer:Ann Lewis Hamilton

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  13. thirtysomething Season 3 Episode 8 - The Burning Bush
    9.1/10(47 votes)

    S3:E8

    CAPSULE: Ellyn takes steps toward starting an affair with Jeffrey Milgrom. Hope begins work on an environmental project. Ellyn and Hope's present-day relationship is compared to the one they had in high school. Flashback: At Lower Merion High School in 1970, Hope and Ellyn are sneaking a smoke. Ellyn tells Hope she's going off to New York with bad boy Mark McCreary. The two girls circulate a petition opposed to a dress code. Present Day: Hope talks with Ellyn, saying that she's quit the magazine Synergy and might be working on an anti-incinerator project. She doesn't tell her friend that she's pregnant. At the gym's pool, Ellyn is swimming and meets Jeffrey Milgrom, an acquaintance from the Steadmans' dinner party. He's Hope and Michael's lawyer and he works with his wife Valerie. Ellyn drops off a batch of material about the incinerator and tells Hope she's seen Jeffrey at the gym the past few days. They're meeting for lunch. Flashback: Ellyn and Hope protest the dress code and wal

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. thirtysomething Season 3 Episode 10 - Michael's Campaign
    9.1/10(51 votes)

    S3:E10

    CAPSULE: Michael crosses swords with the creative director at DAA. Hope gets more involved with her environmental project. At DAA, Michael and Elliot attend a ""war council"" on Minnesota Brands, a huge potential account who they've convinced to give their agency a try. DAA's creative director, Carl Draconis, doesn't even give them credit for this in a meeting about the account, however. Michael has a flashback to 1968. He tells his father he's running for vice-president at school. His father wonders why he isn't running for president instead. Back in the present, Michael comes up with a bold marketing strategy for Oh My Pies, a product of Minnesota Brands which has not been selling well. Draconis coldly shoots his idea down. But privately, Miles tells Michael to stay directly accessible to Minnesota Brands on this project. Meanwhile Hope is getting more involved in the anti-incinerator campaign, planning for a big meeting and finding office space for John Dunaway and his organization. M

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Joseph Dougherty

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  15. thirtysomething Season 3 Episode 13 - Post-Op
    9.1/10(54 votes)

    S3:E13

    CAPSULE: Nancy, family and friends deal with the aftermath of her cancer surgery. Nancy has come out of surgery and Elliot calls the Steadman house to tell Hope and Ethan the news--she's OK. Hope tells a stunned Melissa that Nancy had the operation. Nancy's mom Eleanor is there at the hospital, and soon her sister Deb arrives too. They're both glad to see Deb, who is a nurse, but a little of the familiar mother/daughter tension surfaces immediately. Ellyn comes by to see Nancy bearing a gift of banana bread (a running joke in this episode.) She appears to be extremely uncomfortable. Nancy comes home, to the delight of her children. Eleanor and Deb take up temporary residence at the Weston house and Ethan and Brittany go to stay with the Steadmans for a while. Nancy misses her kids, though, and wants to get back to a semblance of normality. Elliot is very solicitous, though, and wants her to take things very easily. Gary, Melissa, Hope and Michael discuss Nancy's condition. Nancy had a

    Director:Peter Horton
    Writer:Unknown

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  16. thirtysomething Season 3 Episode 14 - Once a Mermaid
    9.1/10(43 votes)

    S3:E14

    CAPSULE: Ellyn restarts her affair with Richard, this time in earnest. Ellyn seems to be putting her flirtation with Jeffrey behind her, as she talks with Melissa about men and has a blind date with Billy Sidel arranged by Hope and Michael. Bur while leaving the gym one day there's a knock on her car window--and it's Jeffrey, who is willing to start the whole affair over again. She leaves him there, but later at home is thinking about him. Jeffrey calls and leaves a message for her to meet him tomorrow at a park. The next day Ellyn is there waiting in a torrential rainstorm, but before Richard arrives who should appear on the scene but Gary. Barely having avoided being seen, Ellyn lets Richard kiss her. At the sauna Ellyn and Melissa talk about the blind date. Ellyn reveals she's about to start up with Richard again, though she knows it could be trouble. Melissa tells her to do what she thinks is good for her. Ellyn and Jeffrey meet for dinner and he tells her some of his marital histo

    Director:Ellen S. Pressman
    Writer:Ann Lewis Hamilton

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  17. thirtysomething Season 3 Episode 16 - Her Cup Runneth Over
    9.1/10(36 votes)

    S3:E16

    CAPSULE: Richard leaves his wife and takes his daughter and moves in with Ellyn. This new instant family experiences some rough times right away. Richard and Ellyn meet for a noontime rendezvous. It's been five weeks since he said he would leave his wife for her, but he promises today will be the day. At the Steadman house the talk is of their will. Melissa is supposed to be the new baby's godmother and is worried about what that entails. Valerie comes over with some paperwork concerning the will. She breaks down and cries, telling everyone that Richard has left her. She angrily blames Ellyn for selfishly ruining their family. Richard, Ellyn and his daughter Christy (Valerie's stepdaughter) check into a hotel room and awkwardly try to sort out living arrangements. Among the other women, the news about Ellyn is a hot topic. Ellyn's therapist asks her about her relationship with Christy--her presence has kept Ellyn and Richard from having sex for six and a half days. Ellyn gives Christy

    Director:Timothy Busfield
    Writer:Unknown

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  18. thirtysomething Season 3 Episode 21 - Arizona
    9.1/10(50 votes)

    S3:E21

    CAPSULE: Michael and Hope's relationship is deteriorating as they gather to attend her parents' anniversary celebration. Hope informs Michael they need to attend her parents' 40th wedding anniversary celebration in Arizona, but Michael says he needs to stay home for a while to attend to work. John Dunaway is in town and Hope invites him to stay at their house in her absence. Michael attends a dinner party at Melissa's where the guests joke about Hope having the hots for John. Michael returns home to find John looking very comfortable, seated in front of the fireplace with Grendel the dog at his feet. Michael immediately books the next flight to Phoenix. When Michael arrive earlier than expected in Arizona, it doesn't take long before festering tensions between him and Hope rise to the surface. She accuses him of working too much and ""checking out"" on his family. She tells him he's not proud of her for the things he should be, such as her work as a mother and with the ERC. Michael sneer

    Director:Edward Zwick
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. thirtysomething Season 4 Episode 3 - Control
    9.1/10(35 votes)

    S4:E3

    CAPSULE: Melissa starts a fledgling relationship with Miles. Ellyn and Jeffrey look for a new apartment. Melissa gets a job photographing five notable Philadelphians for a magazine. She's a bit apprehensive, though, when she finds out that one of her subjects is Miles Drentell. As an interviewer from the magazine questions an expansive Miles, Melissa does her job. After the session, Miles and Melissa talk and there seems to be some surprising attraction. He asks to see her portfolio--over dinner. Elsewhere, Ellyn and Richard are rushing around, late for work. To Ellyn's surprise, Jeffrey agrees to her suggestion that they find a new place to live together. Ellyn tells Michael she's not going out with Miles, but she does. At the restaurant things are awkward at first, but soon Melissa relaxes. She begins to talk about Michael and herself when they were younger, then catches herself. She tells him he's not what she expected. Later at DAA, Michael thinks that Miles let him take the rap fo

    Director:Ellen S. Pressman
    Writer:Ann Lewis Hamilton

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  20. thirtysomething Season 4 Episode 10 - Happy New Year
    9.1/10(49 votes)

    S4:E10

    CAPSULE: Everyone gathers at the Steadman house for a New Year celebration. Gary and Melissa help Hope prepare for the night's New Year's Eve party. Ellyn is worried because she didn't invite Billy; Hope urges her to call him. Guest begin to arrive: Elliot with his kids (Nancy was too tired to come), Angel and Mark from DAA (plus Mark's wife Kate), Peter Montefiore with a woman friend Patsy and her daughter Melody, and Russell Weller. As the festivities start, Hope receives a phone call from her mother, informing her that an old friend from school died. Michael seeks her out, but Hope won't talk about it. Gary is frustrated that Susannah is snowbound in New York and leaves to ""get some air."" Elliot meanwhile is enjoying himself--and drinking quite a bit. Ethan and Melody, who is a couple of years older, are stuck together watching TV. Russell and Peter run into each other and the meeting is awkward, as neither has called the other after their previous involvement. Ellyn gives in and ca

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. thirtysomething Season 4 Episode 11 - Melissa and Men
    9.1/10(45 votes)

    S4:E11

    As she prepare for a gallery exhibit devoted to her work, Melissa examines her past relationships with the men in her life and wonders why they have been such failures.

    Director:Randall Miller
    Writer:Winnie Holzman

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  22. thirtysomething Season 4 Episode 13 - Sifting the Ashes
    9.1/10(46 votes)

    S4:E13

    On a business trip to Baltimore, Elliot confronts issues with his mother and with his religious faith. Ethan too is wondering if religious faith can help his own mother.

    Director:Unknown
    Writers:Joseph Dougherty, William H. Macy

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  23. thirtysomething Season 4 Episode 14 - A Second Look
    9.1/10(64 votes)

    S4:E14

    Amidst the celebration over the success of Nancy's cancer surgery, a terrible and unexpected tragedy strikes another member of the group.

    Director:Ken Olin
    Writer:Ann Lewis Hamilton

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  24. thirtysomething Season 4 Episode 15 - Fighting the Cold
    9.1/10(63 votes)

    S4:E15

    Susannah returns for Gary's funeral. Melissa is an emotional wreck in the aftermath. She and Susannah come to terms with each other.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Joseph Dougherty

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  25. thirtysomething Season 4 Episode 18 - Closing the Circle
    9.1/10(38 votes)

    S4:E18

    Michael tries to come to terms with Gary's passing. Among the living, he has problems with Susannah and with Miles and Peter at work.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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Best Episodes Summary

"Life Class" is the best rated episode of "thirtysomething". It scored 9.3/10 based on 48 votes. Directed by Scott Winant and written by Unknown, it aired on 10/2/1990. This episode scored 0.0 points higher than the second highest rated, "Advanced Beginners".