Growing Pains

September 18, 1987

The family is stranded in Maui. Ben videotapes Mike and Carol's Hawaiian romances.

September 22, 1987

Mike uses double talk to sell stereos.

September 29, 1987

The family scrambles to help find an out-of-work Maggie a job after she turns into Super Mom, preparing oversize meals and assigning new chores.

October 6, 1987

Mike is unaware that he's been nominated for student-body president because he's "a sure loser."

October 13, 1987

Ben asks Carol's advice on getting a new bike from their parents.

October 27, 1987

A star is born when Mike lands a leading role in the school play opposite the lovely Monica.

November 3, 1987

Burglars hit the Seaver home.

November 10, 1987

Bobby's annoying habits make Carol look elsewhere for the man of her dreams -- just in time for her to notice a new student.

November 17, 1987

During a tonsillectomy, Ben has an out-of-body experience, dreaming that he escapes with a friendly cabbie, only to find a new Ben has replaced him at home.

November 24, 1987

After their success in the school play, Mike and Monica set their sights on a Broadway audition for ""Our Town.""

December 1, 1987

An unearned "A" makes Carol doubt her academic record.

December 8, 1987

A troubled student named Jill volunteers to work on a school project with Mike and Boner. This, however, is a subterfuge: Jill has been contemplating suicide due to some very serious problems at home, and she hopes to get some free counseling from Mike's psychiatrist dad Jason. But as it turns out, Jason is presently weighed down with a few self-pity issues of his own.

December 15, 1987

Maggie and Jason try to keep Mike in his room to complete an English paper, but Mike's mind is of course elsewhere.

January 5, 1988

Reason flies out the window when Bobby and his parents arrive at the Seavers' for dinner and a special announcement -- that Bobby and Carol are engaged.

January 12, 1988

Maggie fumes over the many irritants that seem to be driving her and Jason apart -- until unexpected news sheds light on the situation.

January 26, 1988

Maggie and Carol share confidences at the beauty salon, but later Carol learns to her chagrin that a secret isn't safe with Maggie.

February 9, 1988

A letter from the girl he met in Hawaii has Mike scheming to fly to Los Angeles to see her without his parents' knowing.

March 1, 1988

At the school dance, Mike gets a girl and Carol gets raked over the coals. Meanwhile, Ben's adventure goes awry.

March 2, 1988

Great expectations turn sour at the Dewey High dance after Mike hears Lydia's voice; and Ben and Stinky find themselves in a seedy diner eyeing a pinball machine that pays real money.

March 9, 1988

The Seavers begin to make room for baby, relegating Ben to the guest quarters and making the others lament the changes bound to come. Meanwhile, Maggie grasps for a way to tell her boss she is pregnant.

March 30, 1988

Spring-cleaning breathes new life into the family's household objects, and each has a story to tell.

April 20, 1988

Mike and Boner learn that Coach Lubbock has been fired, prompting them to organize a protest.

April 26, 1988

Jason, Carol, Mike and Boner are arrested in the demonstration over the dismissal of Coach Lubbock.

May 4, 1988

At Mike's high-school graduation, family members recall moments when it seemed like his graduation would never take place.