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The Best Episodes of Family Season 4

Every episode of Family Season 4 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Family Season 4!

Binge this in Unknown•Peaking at 8.5/10

The lives of the middle-class Lawrence family in Pasadena, California.

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Episode Rankings

  1. #1 Fan Favorite
    Family Season 4 Episode 1 - Starting Over
    8.2/10(40 votes)

    #1 - Starting Over

    S4:E1

    Annie's sole surviving relative dumps her into the Lawrences' lap -- where she doesn't feel quite comfortable, at first.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  2. Family Season 4 Episode 2 - All For Love
    8.3/10(44 votes)

    #2 - All For Love

    S4:E2

    Zack tells Buddy that unless she sleeps with him, he will have to satisfy his manly needs with another girl; Doug thinks of buying a flashy sports car.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  3. Family Season 4 Episode 3 - Changes
    7.6/10(39 votes)

    #3 - Changes

    S4:E3

    Nancy is all set to re-marry Jeff; Annie, heretofore known as ""Annie Cooper,"" decides to add ""Lawrence"" to her name; Buddy, ever the traditionalist, is bothered by it all.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  4. Family Season 4 Episode 4 - Magic
    6.3/10(57 votes)

    #4 - Magic

    S4:E4

    Kate, in the hospital for a physical, meets a burned-out former rock star; Annie needs Doug's help to impress her classmates with magic tricks.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  5. Family Season 4 Episode 5 - Just Friends
    6.7/10(46 votes)

    #5 - Just Friends

    S4:E5

    Willie considers an affair with a married woman he met in a writing class; Nancy, sick of living in a ""fishbowl,"" decides to move out of the guesthouse and into an apartment of her own.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Walter Koenig

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  6. Family Season 4 Episode 6 - Generations
    8.3/10(45 votes)

    #6 - Generations

    S4:E6

    The family decides to spend Thanksgiving at Hattie's farm where Kate faces ghosts from the past. Buddy is intrigued by a local boy.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  7. Family Season 4 Episode 7 - Expectations
    8.5/10(43 votes)

    #7 - Expectations

    S4:E7

    Nancy's new boss pressures her to sleep with him; Buddy tries out for the cheerleading squad.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  8. Family Season 4 Episode 8 - Gifts
    8.3/10(40 votes)

    #8 - Gifts

    S4:E8

    Annie, who still misses her parents, can't relate to the Lawrences' holiday cheer, and decides to run away until Christmas is over; Willie runs into his old barber, who is about to close up shop for good.

    Director:Philip Leacock
    Writer:Unknown

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  9. Family Season 4 Episode 9 - The Friend's Affair
    8.3/10(50 votes)

    #9 - The Friend's Affair

    S4:E9

    A colleague and friend of Doug's is cheating on his wife; Annie suspects a next-door neighbor of having murdered his.

    Director:Philip Leacock
    Writer:Unknown

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  10. Family Season 4 Episode 10 - Exits and Entrances
    8.3/10(47 votes)

    #10 - Exits and Entrances

    S4:E10

    After Buddy stars in a high-school play (Shaw's Saint Joan), her interest in acting is strongly encouraged by a friend of Kate's, a professional actress; Annie gets a telemarketing job to pay for a new bike.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  11. Family Season 4 Episode 11 - Moment of Truth
    8.2/10(37 votes)

    #11 - Moment of Truth

    S4:E11

    A man he once helped put in jail threatens Doug; Buddy and Audrey have a fight about who copied from whom on an algebra test.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  12. Family Season 4 Episode 12 - Malicious Mischief
    7.7/10(39 votes)

    #12 - Malicious Mischief

    S4:E12

    Nancy considers a marriage proposal from Timmy's daycare provider -- until he gets accused of child abuse; Willie falls in love with a cat.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  13. Family Season 4 Episode 13 - Sleeping Over
    8.4/10(45 votes)

    #13 - Sleeping Over

    S4:E13

    Buddy's invitation to a sorority becomes a sore point in her friendship with Audrey when Audrey isn't invited to join. Willie sleeps with Kate's musician friend, leading to a serious mother-son rift over casual sex.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  14. Family Season 4 Episode 14 - Disco Queen
    7.3/10(46 votes)

    #14 - Disco Queen

    S4:E14

    Buddy sneaks into a disco club, with the help of an older acquaintance, and finds it more than she bargained for; Annie has a date with a jock.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  15. Family Season 4 Episode 15 - The Athlete
    7.7/10(46 votes)

    #15 - The Athlete

    S4:E15

    Buddy, volunteering at a hospital, encounters a star high-school basketball player who is there for a broken leg -- or so he thinks; Annie runs for class president against her nemesis, Emmy Sheldon.

    Director:Kim Friedman
    Writer:Marshall Herskovitz

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  16. Family Season 4 Episode 16 - The Competition
    8.2/10(43 votes)

    #16 - The Competition

    S4:E16

    Buddy learns the price of competition when an overachieving classmate commits suicide after losing a history competition to her. Annie's cookie-selling strategy is a riot.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Ron Cowen

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  17. Family Season 4 Episode 17 - Ballerina
    7.0/10(44 votes)

    #17 - Ballerina

    S4:E17

    Willie has a fling with a ballet dancer; Doug purchases a workout set by mail order.

    Directors:Edward Zwick, Marshall Herskovitz
    Writer:Edward Zwick

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  18. Family Season 4 Episode 18 - Diversions
    6.5/10(39 votes)

    #18 - Diversions

    S4:E18

    While studying for the bar exam, Nancy's attention is diverted by a charming and seemingly accident-prone neighbor.

    Director:James Broderick
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Family Season 4 Episode 19 - An Apple For the Teacher
    8.1/10(40 votes)

    #19 - An Apple For the Teacher

    S4:E19

    Kate's teaching career gets off to a rough start, when a student decides to continuously annoy her; Annie borrows Buddy's ""lucky"" ring to help during a spelling bee, and promptly loses it.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  20. Family Season 4 Episode 20 - Prelude
    8.3/10(36 votes)

    #20 - Prelude

    S4:E20

    Buddy has a crush on her swimming instructor, much to Zack's displeasure; Kate is tempted to call an old boyfriend.

    Director:Philip Leacock
    Writer:Unknown

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  21. Family Season 4 Episode 21 - Going Straight
    7.1/10(34 votes)

    #21 - Going Straight

    S4:E21

    Willie hires Bambi Deering, the stripper he met on his 21st birthday. Doug attempts to save hefty plumber's fees by repairing the household pipes himself.

    Director:James Broderick
    Writer:Marshall Herskovitz

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  22. Family Season 4 Episode 22 - From Russia With Love
    6.8/10(27 votes)

    #22 - From Russia With Love

    S4:E22

    Kate acts as escort to, and highly impresses, a visiting Ukrainian composer; Buddy and Annie play Monopoly to determine who gets Willie's old room.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Edward Zwick

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Season 4 Ratings Summary

"Starting Over" is the best rated episode of "Family" season 4. It scored 8.2/10 based on 40 votes. Directed by Unknown and written by Unknown, it aired on 9/21/1978. This episode is rated 0.1 points higher than the second-best, "All For Love".