Honest Abe

Carol moves out of her unfriendly dorm, Mike has a tough first day teaching at the health clinic since the students know more than he does, and Chrissy gets into trouble on her first day of school when she follows Ben’s advice. Ben, struggling with new glasses, is aghast when he’s nominated to be president of the chess club.

Mike tries to help one of his students, Luke, who’s been living in the school basement, but just ends up getting the kid kicked out. His search for Luke makes him miss dinner with Kate and his parents. Maggie realizes too late that Kate’s on a strict diet.

Luke stays at the Seavers’ until he gets a new host family. Worried that they won’t like him, Luke lies about his past. He gets along well with everyone until Maggie and Jason realize a lot of their wine bottles are missing.

Maggie and Jason are in direct competition to write a column for the “Long Island Sentinel.”

Luke decides to leave, making Mike jeopardize his soap-opera role.

Jason acts odd at a psychiatric banquet, confusing the boys.

Chrissy gets lice, and Jason, Ben, Mike and Luke have to clean house while Maggie and Carol are away.

Chrissy believes that adults start partying every night after she goes to bed, so Jason lets her stay up one night, as long as she wants, so she can see that doesn’t happen. Unfortunately for his ploy, this is the night the neighbors are giving a fancy-dress ball.

Ben uses and hurts the vacuum cleaner Maggie’s supposed to test for her column. She doesn’t know what he did, so when it runs poorly, she prepares to blast the company for misleading advertising. Meanwhile, Luke lies about his life to a girl he wants to impress.

The Seavers go to Maggie’s mom’s house to get the place ready to be sold. Kate’s moving to Florida, and hasn’t seen the house, which is full of memories and her husband’s presence, since Ed died.

Mike’s skeptical when Luke’s dad reappears wanting his son back. Ben pretends to be Luke so Mike can check the man out.

Ben wants to take a college entrance exam, and gets mad when he hears his dad make a disparaging remark about his intelligence. Carol’s feelings for Dwight take a blow when she meets the young girl living at his place.

Jealous Mike follows Kate to a Jamaican shoot.

Kate wants to go skiing, and Mike doesn’t have the money. He finds a bargain – if twenty rooms are booked, the twenty-first is free. He gets Ben, Carol, Dwight, and Luke to go, and the others are supposed to be Ben’s chess club. But, Ben takes the school rowdies instead.

Luke runs into an old friend, Barney, the only honest three-card monte player. The Seavers invite him to Luke’s birthday party, where Luke realizes his old pal is only pretending to be honest.

The Seavers ground Luke when he keeps breaking his curfew at night, but Mike lets him out to go to a big party – on the condition he return early. Luke again breaks his curfew. Meanwhile, Ben tests Chrissy’s Psi abilities.

Cheryl has a crush on Ben, who’s only interested in Sasha. Sasha refuses Ben, who is furious to find that Cheryl’s transferred her affection to Luke.

Ben takes karate lessons to deal with a school bully.

Eddie drops by to visit Mike, and he hasn’t changed a bit. His irresponsible ways don’t exactly mesh with Mike’s ideals for raising Luke. Ben makes a home movie for Carol, who’s studying in London.

Luke’s dad’s back acts up, so Mike and Jason take over his tour.

Maggie tries to beat her fears by facing them – and ends up hanging off the side of a mountain.

A blackout traps Carol, Dwight, Kate, and Mike in Dwight’s loft amidst the ruins of their banquet. It also ruins Jason’s surprise for Maggie.

Maggie is offered a great new job in Washington, which would mean moving. Jason and Carol are enthusiastic, but Ben is against it, and Mike thinks they’re all kidding him.

Mike proposes to Kate, realizing he wants someone to cook and clean when his mom moves, but she furiously turns him down. Maggie wants to refuse the job since Ben is against moving, but Mike talks to his little brother and they strike a deal.