Mon, Oct 17, 1988
Tony finally saves up for a solid car for Sam and lovingly equips it with more than ample safety features. She dares not tell him the 'ancient tank' is more of an embarrassment than a dream come true. When it gets stolen, she's 'secretly' delighted but pretends to miss it. When it's returned, Tony finds out the truth as is was parked out of campus sight. Yet he draws a more pragmatic conclusion than the girls expected.
Mon, Oct 24, 1988
Tony gets a breakfast treat on his first college day, but is too eager for learning to risk being late. Professor Darnell's course public speaking proves quite a challenge, as Tony's Brooklyn accent, vocabulary and grammar constitute the perfect example how never to speak. Despite the merciless humiliation and doubts about whether posh speech might harm his relationships or even undermine his personality, Tony toughs it out. His progress and zeal in class impress Darnell enough to be invited to a speech night on Churchill.
Mon, Nov 21, 1988
Tony is surprisingly upset about the loss of trinket keepsakes of his grandfather, who practically raised him. Tony still feels guilty for his rebellious behavior which prevents the old man from attending his lifelong desired naturalization. Mona suggests and Angela tries a radical solution: a posthumous ceremony with Tony as proxy, if they can convince a young judge to be so 'creative'.
Mon, Nov 28, 1988
The home front feels Angela works too hard and should delegate more. Mona is delighted when some workload is transferred by the recruiting of Jack, a talented and charming creative director. Tony, however, jealously and suspiciously changes his attitude as Jack tends to spend nearly all day with Angela and becomes a regular home guest, even late into the night. When they book a hotel together, Tony decides to put an end to their presumed affair, but could have saved himself the trouble.
Mon, Dec 5, 1988
Jesse Nash is warmly welcomed back by Tony after an ecology boat trip. However, he met a fellow idealist girl and politely dumps selfish Sam, who acts aloof. When Mona gets stood up also, a week of men-bashing follows. Finally, the 'celibacy converts' go out for a girls-only night together, and regain perspective.
Mon, Dec 12, 1988
Tony wisely forbids Sam to drive to Bonnie's parents' cabin for a weekend in Vermont with an immature sister as chaperone. They go anyway, leaving him worried sick especially as the weather report is stormy. Meanwhile, Bonnie gets tired of guilty Sam's recollections of over-protective Tony and bites back that it's better than her absent, uninterested dad, which ends up making Sam reconsider.
Mon, Jan 2, 1989
Tony is very proud to hear his prodigy former protégé Mason will be teaching one of his college courses. He and Angela give pointers how to overcome his timidity. Being the gratefully doting teacher's pet becomes so embarrassing and Tony hands in a terrible paper. The dean volunteers to mark the stack it's in, so Tony begs to get it back, in vain, boding truth time for professor Mason.
Mon, Jan 9, 1989
During a visit from old Brooklyn friends, Tony decides to take Mrs. Rossini's cocky adolescent cousin Al under his wing. He is proud when the knave starts making something of his life in a beautician school. Still, Tony turns defensive once Samantha responds to this bad boy's irresistible charm, which Tony knows all too well, having grown up pretty much the same way.
Mon, Jan 23, 1989
Jonathan is running for student council treasurer. Tony cleverly advises to lure some popular boys and hosts a brownies evening with Sam as 'accidental' star attraction. However, Mona's 'loose' reputation proves a problem, which exhausts Jonathan's patience with his utterly abnormal grandma.
Mon, Jan 30, 1989
Tony has had enough of Sam's wasteful wardrobe acquisitions. Jonathan demands payment on her $223 credit line. Tony's and Angela's bragging how they raised money as youths is exploited to make the dare: each other selling the T-shirts Tony designs and Sam hand-produces at the local flea-market.
Top-rated
Mon, Feb 6, 1989
Tony attends a St. Louis Cardinals reunion weekend, to play in a benefit old-timers match and catch up with former teammates. Angela came along to cheer him. When super-fan Betty starts seducing the boys as she used to, Tony pretends to be recently married to Angela, who grudgingly plays along. His friends lure him to the bar, where Betty gets him to hug and dance. Angela reacts very jealously when she sees Betty steal an 'adulterous' kiss.
Mon, Feb 13, 1989
As enthusiastic as Tony is about his quality-time ski-weekend with Sam and Angela about staying behind with Jonathan, as unwilling their kids really are to be shielded as children. Sam blows a shot at handsome skier Zach while Tony takes a kids skying course with little kids including abusive Amber, then turns possessively jealous when Tony still scores with foxy instructor Lisa. back home, Jonathan hopes to escape thanks to Anegla's cold, which also decks Mona, but decides against it to take care of ma and handle the heating repairman better then they ever could.
Mon, Feb 20, 1989
Mona feels both offended as dating-role model and a failure as mother finding out Angela took an escort to an awards event. After hearing the frustrating story of her disastrous prom date from both ladies, Tony reluctantly accepts to ask her on a 'real' date, as opposed to several 'accidental' ones.
Mon, Feb 27, 1989
Tony and Mona are dead-eager rivaling to be invited along as Angela's partner to an exclusive New york party where Frank Sinatra will sing. Angela bails out to try rescuing an account, so Mona steals her dress and the tickets. Only on-site Tony discovers the tickets aren't transferable. Angela returns early, just in time to join them, but adds to the confusion, so all three end up thrown out. Tony however is thus just in time to meet his idol and render him appreciated service.
Mon, Mar 6, 1989
When Tony finds out Samantha let airhead friends take her illegally drinking beer at a frat party, he gives her a sound lecture. For once firmly seconded by Angela, he refuses to cover up Dam's drunken state. However they commit the error of feeling guilty just for having innocent drinks at home, and Tony's sports fan-buddies are not much help in 'setting the good example'.
Mon, Mar 20, 1989
Tony and Angela try hard to be welcoming to their smug new neighbors, Mark and Pam, but soon get into a bitter garden row. Jonathan however sees a perfect mate at least in their daughter Heather, so being told the neighbors are off-limit is not acceptable. The smitten kids decide to lead their oldies by example.
Mon, Mar 27, 1989
For a school paper assignment, Tony lets Sam stay over at Trish Carlin's models boarding school. Trish's son Rick is sweetly innocent, but Sam's Brooklyn friend Caroline, who got in as favor, keeps attracting boys and trouble, while abusing ever-helpful country-girl Martha, who nevertheless makes the difference when Trish finally has enough of the sass.
Mon, Apr 3, 1989
Tony convinces Angela to hire for her roof repair his former coach Ralph. Mona can't resist seducing him just because he didn't flirt with her. Then dumps Ralph for the next conquest as soon as he's smitten, another suitor left heartbroken. Tony taking offense as fellow male and friend at last gets Mona to promise she'll mend her man-eater ways.
Mon, Apr 10, 1989
Tony has organized a PTA project offering each kid a week job experience with one of the parents. Sam and Bonnie are left out, so they 'get stuck with' Tony's domestic experience and Angela's advertising agency. Lazy Sam chooses what seems the least work, only to change her mind after hearing easy-going Bonnie enjoyed giving it a real go. The scenario is repeated after the mates switch jobs, but by now the mentors get on to them.
Mon, Apr 24, 1989
Tony has started playing golf but has to rise early to get access to the public links, so Angela surprises him with a country club membership she won in a raffle. Thus Tony sets out to network while playing, but is looked down upon by posh members. Only tycoon Lowell Michaels, risen from poverty himself, befriends Tony. When the ladies here about such a potential client, just what Angela's agency needs to recover, Mona emotionally blackmails Tony to abuse his new friend's confidence to arrange a business appointment.
Mon, May 1, 1989
The Bower home's surprise how excited Angelo gets at the mention of an announced visitor, former study mate flirt Brian Thomas, is topped spectacularly when he tells why he came. They actually had a drunk Vegas marriage he supposedly annulled in Tijuana after they came to their senses, but the Mexican procedure was invalid. Now he's engaged with Rhonda and comes to fix their divorce, but quickly falls back in love with Angela.
Mon, May 8, 1989
Unlike model-student Tony, Sam studies no more than necessary, and preferably with attractive male colleagues, like Scott. After she helps him pass the French exam, he gives her the answers for her chemistry exam. After it's all discovered, neither teacher Timmons nor Tony is likely to believe she didn't actually cheat.
Mon, May 15, 1989
Tony plans to treat himself, for his upcoming birthday, to a shiny successor for his utterly run-down van, but decides against the expense. Angela offers to make it a birthday gift, which is turned down as too extravagant, then to share the costs since it's useful for the whole household. Even then, Tony can't quite bring himself to chuck his first-ever vehicle and convinces Sam of its unique souvenir value, but already advertised to sell it.