episode of diff'rent strokes
the girls school mrs. garrett is thinking about becoming a housemother at kimberly's school.


rough housing blair gets competition from cindy to be queen of the harvest dance.
like mother, like daughter blair watches her mother flirt with a now-married former high-school beau.
the return of mr. garrett mrs. garrett's gambler ex-husband proposes again, and teaches tootie to play poker. (tw: gambling)
i.q. tootie makes all of her friends' i.q. scores public, and mrs. garrett learns to fly.
emily dickinson blair feels guilty about getting a high grade for a plagiarized poem. *
the facts of love blair decides to put mrs. garrett's sex education lesson to use. *
flash flood blair and tootie have to be rescued from rising flood waters.
dope blair and sue ann's new friends are using marijuana. *
running mr. bradley pushes former winner sue ann to run against cindy at a track meet.
adoption adopted natalie decides to search for her biological mother. *
dieting sue ann goes on a dangerous crash diet for an important date. (tw: eating disorder)
molly's holiday the girls plan to reconcile molly's divorcing folks, until her dad arives with his new girlfriend. *
overachieving tootie's visiting father disapporoves of some of her activities.

the new girl (1) blair clashes with tough new girl jo, and the girls take the school van on a joy ride. (guest star: gary coleman as arnold jackson)
the new girl (2) mrs. garrett tries to keep the girls from being expelled after wrecking the van.
double standard blair is miffed when her childhood boyfriend asks jo to a cotillion.
who am i? tootie has an identity crisis when a black boyfriend makes her question her white friends. *
cousin geri blair is both embarrassed by her disabled cousin geri and envious of her popularity. *
shoplifting when mrs. garrett attempts to exchange jo's birthday gift, she is arrested for shoplifting. *
teenage marriage (1) jo decides to elope with her bronx boyfriend eddie, who is awol from the navy.
teenage marriage (2) everyone tries to talk jo out of running away with her navy boyfriend.
breaking point tragedy overshadows blair's loss of a tough election for class president. (tw: suicide)
sex symbol natalie's first date has unanticipated consequences. *
the secret awardee jo is ashamed to have her ex-con father come to the school. *
pretty babies tootie's break into high-fashion modeling isn't what she expected.
bought and sold new cosmetics salesperson blair gives natalie a make-over. (tw: weight issues) (guest star: todd bridges as willis jackson)
free spirit natalie wants to emulate mrs. garrett's song-writer son.
brian and sylvia tootie and natalie visit tootie's aunt sylvia. (no tw, just an interesting one! backdoor pilot.)
gossip upset that she can't go on a field trip, tootie spreads rumors that jeopardize mrs. garrett's job. *

growing pains tootie, tired of being treated like a little girl, turns to alcohol. (tw: underage drinking)
fear strikes back natalie withdraws after being attacked while returning from a party. (tw: sexual assault)
a baby in the house blair's married friend brings her baby for a visit and then disappears. (tw: parental abandonment)
a friend in deed blair learns her mother has been hiding her breast cancer from the family. (tw: cancer)
front page jo's hot news story has serious repercussions for her journalism teacher. *
give and take the girls help mrs. garrett when she suffers a financial crisis. *
sweet sorrow jo begins to fall for her class-project husband as her boyfriend eddie comes to visit.
from russia with love natalie has romantic plans for the weekend when her adoring grandmother comes to visit. *
dear me worried about camping with boys from bates, tootie invents an imaginary boyfriend. ♡
cousin geri returns the girls question geri's date when he asks her out again.*
legacy receiving a bequest from her grandfather, blair learns a surprising secret about her family. (tw: kkk mention) *
green-eyed monster natalie becomes jealous when tootie gets the lead in the school play. *
the americanization of miko a japanese student's eagerness to learn american ways upsets her traditional father. * (guest star: lauren tom, friends, andi mack)
the marriage brokers blair is surprised by what she learns about mrs. garrett's new beau.
starstruck tootie's friends are concerned about her obsession with singer jermaine jackson. *
the four musketeers released from custody, the girls must decide whether to go on being roommates.
the affair natalie has a painful confrontation with her father after seeing him with another woman. (tw: parent cheating)
runaway tootie decides to go to new york unchaperoned and encounters teenage sex workers. (tw: underage sex work)
new york, new york vacation trips home seem to make blair and jo's feud worse.
kids can be cruel natalie's revenge on blair hurts an innocent bystander. (this episode was featured in jimmy kimmel's live in front of a studio audience) (tw: bullying) *
mind your own business secrecy becomes all-consuming after natalie learns that blair peeked into her diary. *
the academy blair's blind date for a military school dance is actually a delinquent.
jo's cousin jo's 14-year-old lovesick tomboy cousin back home needs her help. (backdoor pilot)
read no evil jo takes up the battle when mrs. garrett and natalie get nowhere on the issue of banned books. *

goes to paris (1982)


mrs. garrett and the girls visit paris. the girls all go off in search of adventure. the girls find friendship and love.jo considers staying in france with her new boyfriend.

ain't miss beholden although jo's scholarship is ending, she won't accept aid from blair's family foundation.
the source natalie won't reveal her source for an article on a schoolmate's secret abortion. *
the sound of silence tootie refuses to get help for a hearing problem that's affecting her behavior and grades. *
the oldest living graduate after jo interviews the oldest alumni, she changes her mind about donating money to the school.
different drummer blair's motives are questioned when she tutors a handsome, intellectually disabled, young man. *
dearest mommie natalie continues the search for her biological mother. *
a woman's place jo's workplace boyfriend is upset when she is promoted over him. *
daddy girl blair faces an embarassing tax audit when she signs a return prepared by her dad.
the big fight a cadet asks natalie to watch him in a boxing match. *
for the asking natalie's feminist principles compel her to boycott the sadie hawkins day dance. *
september song mrs. garrett's jogging partner proposes, but the girls protest that he's too old for her.
a royal pain a new, royal student is a chronic runaway who is already planning her next escape.
magnificent obsession blair alienates everyone when she tries everything to please a new boyfriend. *
under pressure the girls try to ease mrs. garrett's blood pressure by lying about anything that might upset her. *
teacher's pet jo becomes angry when she learns that a favorite teacher is leaving. (tw: terminal illness, death) * ♡
let's party a night out at tootie's brother's party teaches the girls a lesson about drunk driving. *
best sister (1) blair's sister declares she is becoming a nun. (guest star: eve plumb, the brady bunch, grease live)
best sister (2) jo comes back from the retreat saying she too wants to be a nun. (guest star: eve plumb, the brady bunch, grease live)
guess what's coming to dinner? mrs. garrett tries to entertain french visitors who speak no english. *
who's on first natalie's preoccupation with her new boyfriend excludes tootie. *
help from home jo decides to forgo college after a visit home reveals what a financial hardship it would be.
take my finals, please the girls and mrs. garrett study all night for final exams.
graduation (1) jo and blair prepare to leave eastland for college.
graduation (2) natalie and tootie try to adjust to jo and blair's leaving, even though they won't be far away.

brave new world (1) jo and blair make the difficult transition to college. *
brave new world (2) mrs. garrett decides to open "edna's edibles". (new set: edna's edibles)
gamma gamma or bust after arranging a sorority party catering job for mrs. garrett, blair gets her fired.
just my bill jo is resentful when her new boyfriend turns out to be from a wealthy upper-class family.
what price glory? tootie learns that her athlete beau is illiterate and wants her help to cheat on his exams. *
the halloween show on halloween, the girls think mrs. garrett is possessed and trying to kill them. (halloween special)
advanced placement high-school junior natalie is excited about taking a college-level course, until her grades slip. *
i'm dancing as fast as i can blair and jo plan a wild night out at a male strip club for mrs. garrett's birthday.
small but dangerous after mrs. garrett and the girls befriend a tough girl, there is suspicious vandalism at the shop. *
store games when a competitor copies mrs. garrett's recipes, the girls decide to become counterspies.
the second time around jo's plan to reunite her divorced parents runs into trouble. *
the christmas show jo can't get home and spends christmas with mrs. garrett. (christmas special)
chain letter the girls' work habits endanger the shop when there is to be a board of health inspection. *
next door the small boy next door, home alone, refuses to leave during an emergency. *
crossing the line natalie is conflicted about accepting an invitation to a dance from tootie's cousin. *
all or nothing jo protests when academic scholarships are cut in order to build a sports scoreboard. *
a death in the family everyone is shaken when natalie's father dies unexpectedly. (tw: death)
big fish/little fish blair has trouble dealing with jo's increasing popularity.
star at langley a movie actress attending langley pursues blair's boyfriend cliff.
dream marriage a marriage proposal starts blair dreaming of the future for herself and her friends.
mother and daughter tootie and her visiting lawyer mother seem unable to communicate. *
all by herself geri is supposed to be in charge of charity-auction preparations, but blair takes over. *
seems like old times jo's old bronx boyfriend returns unexpectedly while on leave from the navy.
joint custody mrs. garrett's son raymond's impending divorce means this may end edna's edibles.
the way we were (1) flashbacks are shown as the girls get ready for summer vacation. (clip show)
the way we were (2) more flashbacks as the girls reminisce. (clip show)

the summer of '84 mrs. garrett and the girls talk about their summer vacation experiences. (guest star: john astin, the addams family, who would also appear in the parent show, diff'rent strokes that same year as a different character. he is also the father mackenzie astin, who plays andy.)
slices of life demand exceeds supply as jo's homemade pizza business does better than she expected.
love at first byte for a psychology project, natalie secretly enrolls blair and jo in a computer dating service.
my boyfriend's back tootie's is worried about being accepted by jeff's new college pals.
cruisin' the girls borrow a car and go cruising to look for "mr. right."
taking a chance on love (1) jo becomes romantically involved with her photography teacher. *
taking a chance on love (2) jo must work out her feelings for her teacher. *
e.g.o.c (edna garrett on campus) mrs. garrett enrolls in a shakespeare class with blair and jo. ♡
dear apple jo uses a computer to seek advice on dealing with blair.
talk, talk, talk jo must go on the air at the college radio station for five hours, with no records to play.
smile natalie's big journalism break at the local newspaper causes trouble with her new boyfriend. *
the rich aren't different jo breaks blair's watch but refuses to pay for it because blair is wealthy.
christmas in the big house the girls put on a show intended for a boys' school, but when there is a mix up, they perform it for prison inmates. (christmas special)
me and eleanor tootie wants to get natalie's opinion on her writing.
working it out everyone becomes worried about blair's bizarre dating behavior. *
jazzbeau natalie and tootie recall meeting a famous jazz singer when he was just a waiter. (first appearance: mackenzie astin as andy moffett)
two guys from appleton mrs. garrett's high-school beau reappears and sweeps her off her feet once again.
with a little help from my friends jo suspects that blair's boyfriend is using cocaine. * (tw: drug addiction) (new cast member: mackenzie astin as andy moffett)
gone with the wind (1) for spring break, the girls head to natalie's grandmother's condo in florida.
gone with the wind (2) jo falls for a singer, whereas blair surprises herself by being attracted to the building manager.
man in the attic after losing his apartment, kevin moves into mrs. garrett's attic.
the last drive-in the girls spend a last night at a soon-to-be-defunct drive-in theater.
sisters blair's mother and jo's father become romantically involved. *
it's lonely at the top in mrs. garrett's absence, blair manages the shop in her own unique way. (guest star: peter deluise, 21 jump street)
bus stop natalie shocks the girls by announcing she's not going to college. *
the interview show mrs. garrett and the girls are interviewed by a former eastland student who is writing a book.

out of the fire ... (1) the girls return from summer vacation to find the shop burned to the ground.
and into the frying pan (2) a young contractor of questionable competence agrees to rebuild the shop with a new look. (new cast member: george clooney as george burnett)
grand opening (3) mrs. garrett and the girls prepare for the opening day of their new malt shop "over our heads". (new set: over our heads) (guest star: joyce bulifant, mary tyler moore)
teacher, teacher jo is torn between the challenge of teaching and a better-paid career in business. *
men for all seasons the college regents object to natalie's beefcake calendar of the men's swim team. *
a new life seeking advice on love from her mother, blair finds out that her mom is pregnant. *
doo wah young andy enters the girls in a contest to win a singing spot with el debarge. ♡
come back to the truck stop, natalie green, natalie green while at a truck stop gathering background material, natalie imagines a mystery story involving friends. (guest star: charo) (halloween special; coincedentally, mindy cohn would later voice velma dinkley from 2005-2015)
born too late while tutoring andy, tootie becomes the object of his affections. ♡
3, 2, 1 jo and blair fight over a tv journalism assignment involving a live newscast from the store. ♡ 
we get letters mrs. garrett is accused of having had a 15-year affair with a married man.
ballroom dance jo tries to keep her ballroom dancing lessons a secret from her friends. *
christmas baby blair's mother unexpectedly goes into labor and has her baby on christmas day. (christmas special)
tootie drives tootie drives... everyone else crazy. she worries about passing her driving test.
stake-out blues the girls don't tell mrs. garrett that the shop is the scene of a police stakeout.
the agent tootie helps launch the career of an aspiring comedian on campus.
the reunion jo poses as george's royal date for his high-school reunion.
concentration an elevator operator shares his wisdom with a trapped blair and her sister.
atlantic city the girls find love and adventure while visiting atlantic city.
the lady who came to dinner the entertainment at blair's surprise birthday party refuses to leave.
the candidate an angry natalie decides to run for mayor of peekskill. *♡ 
big time charlie jo's suddenly rich father goes on an extravagant shopping spree.
the graduate (1) tootie faces a difficult decision about joining a road show after graduation.
the apartment (2) tootie and natalie discover the drawbacks of living together in a one-room apartment. *

out of peekskill (1) mrs. garrett falls in love with a friend from the peace corps who wants her to move to africa with him. (cast member leaving: charlotte rae as mrs. garrett)
out of peekskill (2) when mrs. garrett chooses to leave with bruce, her sister beverly ann moves in. (new cast member: chloris leachman as beverly ann stickle)
ready or not beverly ann is worried that tootie and rudy are considering becoming sexually involved. *
another room when jo decides to move out to get more privacy, the girls suggest converting the attic to a loft.
off broadway baby tootie finds she has competition at an audition when she hears a rival practicing her song. ♡ (guest star: stacey q as cinnamon)
the little chill the girls reminisce at a reunion with other alumni from eastland. (guest stars: felice schachter as nancy, julie anne haddock as cindy, julie piekarski as sue ann)
the ratings game jo tries to prove that blair's computerized date rating system is useless. *
the wedding day jo innocently offers to marry an illegal immigrant who is facing deportation. *
fast food to pass a business course, blair works with natalie at a mexican restaurant.
where's poppa? blair is horrified when her father is indicted for tax evasion.
write & wrong natalie finds out that a short story of hers has been plagiarized by someone called "desiree".
seven little indians the girls are trapped in a surreal slasher movie with a killer on the prowl. (halloween special)
the greek connection natalie writes an article that angers sorority pledge tootie.
post-christmas card natalie gets into trouble after getting her first credit card as a christmas gift. (christmas special)
a star is torn tootie has little sympathy when cinnamon shows up after running away from a concert tour. (guest star: stacey q as cinnamon)
a winter's tale when snowed in at a ski cabin, an engaged man suddenly falls for blair.
cupid's revenge the girls' love lives go awry on valentine's day. (valentine's special, aired on feb. 14)
62 pick-up visits by former teen idols bobby rydell and fabian inspire fantasies about the 60's. ♡
boy about the house beverly ann becomes tired of andy being shuffled among foster homes. ♡
ex marks the spot beverly ann's ex-husband turns up unexpectedly, wanting to renew their romance.
younger than springtime matchmaker blair accidentally pairs jo's lonely dad with a 23-year-old.
this is only a test blair finds that only a good score on an exam will get her into law school.
rites of passage (1) blair and jo graduate from college.
rights of passage too (2) as the girls make plans for summer, jo gets a job offer in l.a.

down under (1987)

the girls and andy take a trip to sydney, australia. andy develops a crush on a student from eastland's sister school. blair and jo have difficulty telling the police from the crooks when they are asked to assist a handsome man in solving a crime, unknowingly becoming accomplices. the girls are pursued by a mysterious man at sydney's opera house. the jewel thief snatches natalie's knapsack.

down and out in malibu (1) marooned in malibu, a desperate jo takes a housesitting job for richard moll.
down and out in malibu (2) richard moll returns to the home he left in jo's care and finds out that it has been flooded. someone (natalie) had left the water running in the hot tub.
rumor has it rumors fly after blair has an after-hours study session with a womanizing teacher. *
before the fall reporter natalie goes under cover as an rotc cadet.
sweet charity jo needs to raise funds for the community center so that it will be able to pay her salary. * (guest star: elmarie wendel, 3rd rock from the sun) (new set: the center)
up from down under pippa arrives from australia. ♡
the more the marrier as the winter carnival takes place, jeff proposes to tootie. andy asks all the girls to the carnival and is rejected repeatedly.
a rose by any other age blair is astounded when her study partner falls for beverly ann. *
adventures in baileysitting blair learns about motherhood while taking care of her little sister. *
it's a wonderful christmas santa cures beverly ann's holiday blues by showing what peekskill would be like without her. (christmas special)
golden oldies the gang imagines their life 40 years in the future. (parody of the golden girls) ♡
a thousand frowns jo introduces andy to a friend from the shelter. (first appearance of scott bryce as jo's future husband, rick bonner)
something in common jo's father disapproves of her boyfriend, who plays piano at a club. *♡
peekskill law new law clerk blair gets involved in a scandalous murder trial.
a house divided natalie's and tootie's boyfriends have nothing in common. (guest star: robert romanus, fast times at ridgemont high)
the first time on their first anniversary as a couple, natalie and snake decide to become intimate. beverly ann talks to pippa about sex. (guest star: robert romanus, fast times at ridgemont high) 
let's face the music jo and blair are offered make-overs at a famous salon. ♡ 
less than perfect an auto accident leaves blair with an ugly gash in her forehead. *
till marriage do us part rick proposes to jo, but a concert tour could could get in the way of her wedding.
present imperfect tootie has to explain the destruction of an heirloom that was a present from jeff's grandmother.
(guest star: robert romanus, fast times at ridgemont high)
on the edge after a girl in their charge runs away, jo must talk a fellow social worker out of suicide. (tw: suicide attempt)
big apple blues after deciding to live in new york city, natalie has a weird night in a soho loft. (backdoor pilot, guest star: david spade)
the beginning of the end (1) when their old school eastland has financial difficulties, blair decides to buy it. (backdoor pilot, guest stars: mayim bialik, juliette lewis, seth green
the beginning of the beginning (2) blair becomes eastland school's new headmistress. (continuation of previous episode)