Sun, Sep 21, 2003
Judy is upset because Lauren is taking all easy classes like basic math instead of algebra in high school and she's afraid she will not get into college. When Linda is joining the family for dinner, Judy is venting her frustrations regarding Lauren to her. Linda says that in her psychology class she's learned the best way to deal with a teen is to negotiate with her. Judy scoffs at Linda's suggestion, and she made Lauren take algebra, but the problem is, Lauren is not even trying and Judy is tired of fighting with her. Bill decides to go to her room and be "Big Angry Guy" to scare her into straightening up, but Lauren ends up laughing at him. Judy thinks she should try and negotiate with Lauren and Bill suggests that they should trick Lauren, where they say if she sticks with algebra, in return, they will give her something vague where they don't have to keep it it like respecting her privacy. Judy is all for it, so they negotiate with Lauren, using that. Lauren agrees to the verbal agreement. Linda asks if the agreement is in writing and when the answer is no, she tries to get a contract written. Brian finds out about it and says the agreement is too vague, so a real negotiation is established. Some of the terms includes, besides sticking with algebra and the privacy issue as originally agreed upon, if Lauren washes the dishes, she gets phone privileges sand she can study in her room with her friends and the door can be closed. Judy is happy because the Lauren does the dishes and doesn't have to be asked to do it and they're not fighting. Problems arise when Lauren brings Jason home to help her with algebra and they will be in her room. Judy is okay with it but Bill is totally against it. Lauren and Bill get into a fight, resulting in Bill removing Laren's door from it's hinges. They talk about terminating the contract, until Judy puts a stop to it. Lauren's door is put back into place and Judy finds out that Lauren has Jason doing her homework for her and in the end, Bill finds a way to get Lauren to continue taking algebra and putting effort into it.
Sun, Oct 19, 2003
As Brian is happily decked out in his new cheerleader sweater, Lauren is bummed. She used to be popular, but now in high school she's no longer getting accepted in anything she auditions for, lately the Fall dance show. Rather than have Lauren resort to taking up the clarinet again, Judy drags Bill to visit the school dance teacher. While there, Bill meets up with Madelyne the new drama teacher, a former classmate with whom Bill had a passionate summer fling 20 years ago. Following this happy reunion, Lauren gets a small part in the school play. Coincidence? Bill doesn't think so, not with a note from Madelyne asking for help back stage, a comment about a lot of catching up to do, and an offer of chili and beer at her house at night. Bill wearily avoids going to Madelyne's, and Lauren's monologue is thereafter cut from the show. Still a coincidence? Being told something of their past relationship, Judy immediately sends Bill back to flirt with Madelyne for the sake of their daughter, and Lauren winds up with a bigger role in the show. All a coincidence? Maybe, but will several revelations of that "Free Pass" summer, as Judy proclaims it, bring down the curtain on Lauren's stage career?
Sun, Oct 26, 2003
Lauren is starting to hang around some new friends; Caitlin, Amber and Jenna. In addition, she's quit choir and Becca is no longer her best friend. While at the mall with her new friends, Lauren is accused of shoplifting a bracelet. Lauren denies it and she says she was trying it on and forgot about it. Bill is willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, but Judy is convinced she did it, because she did the same thing when she was Lauren's age. When Bill and Judy are going out, Judy goes to Lauren's room to borrow some lipstick; She finds an MP3 player under her bed; The one Lauren asked her parents if she could get some money for and they couldn't do it. When they confront Lauren about it, she says she has no idea how it got there and Bill is now convinced that she lied about the bracelet and she stole the MP3 player. For punishment, Lauren is grounded for one month; She has to return and apologize for stealing the MP3 player. In the end we find out that Lauren did not steal the MP3 player. Meanwhile, Linda wants to use Tina in an experiment for her psychology class.
Sun, Dec 14, 2003
It would be the year to have Christmas dinner at Judy's parents' house except they go away on a cruise vacation, leaving Judy to think she can finally start some traditional Miller Family dinners at her own home for change, but she doesn't count on Bill's mom using emotional blackmail on him to get the dinner moved to her apartment instead. Meanwhile, Linda decides to help the downtrodden over the holidays by putting an ugly duckling from work through a makeover, and several unfortunate incidents keep Tina traumatized about Santa Claus.
Top-rated
Sun, Feb 1, 2004
Brian is the high-school basketball team's statistician and looks like he's friends with them. While picking up the team who are quite drunk, Bill finds out that they call Brian "Jeeves", short for "Jeeves Our Helper Monkey" and made him their errand boy and chauffeur. Bill angrily lets all the players' parents know that they're drunk. While talking to Brian, Bill and Judy learn that being named "Jeeves" is no big deal and that being an errand boy has its perks. But now they've changed the nickname to "Narc" and he's no longer the statistician but demoted to the team mascot, "Coogie." Bill talks to the team and takes responsibility for getting them into trouble with their parents and says that Brian wants to be statistician again. He also suggests that Brian and the family van can help the team prank their rival, Hancock Magnet School. Then Bill tells the coach about the prank and gets the team into more trouble and they nickname Bill "Suck" and keep calling Brian "Narc." The next day, Bill and Judy get a call from the coach, accusing Brian of pulling the prank against Hancock. Meanwhile, Linda dumps "needy" boyfriend Pete and pawns him off on one of her co-workers, then gets jealous when things go well between the new couple.
Sun, Feb 22, 2004
Much to Bill's delight, his mother Louise has a new man in her life - Johnny. Bill's happy since he doesn't have to drive Louise on errands or take her shopping anymore and can be at home relaxing on "Couchy" (the family's couch: his words). After Bill and Judy meet him at a Chinese restaurant and later for dessert at their place, Judy isn't sure about him, thinking Johnny may have grabbed her butt. Unsure if she should tell Bill and Louise, she confides in Linda. Bill eventually finds about this. Judy decides that, since everyone will be at her and Bill's house for Louise's birthday, she will make herself very tempting for Johnny to want to do it again by wearing her best pants that will show her butt off, with Linda ready to witness it. Meanwhile, Brian and Tina are wrapping their grandmother's gift, leaving Lauren in a bind. She didn't get her "Nanna" a gift, so she declares she'll come up with a poem "from her heart" (she says) by that evening.
Sun, Feb 29, 2004
It's St Patrick's Day and the Miller family will be participating in the parade. Brian,along with Donald and Hakim, are designing and building a float. While working on the float to Bill's dismay, since Bill wishes Brian was more like Fitz's son Scotty, who's the captain of the high school baseball team. When Hakim has to go home and Donald has to take him, Judy suggests to Bill that he should help Brian out and be more involved in his life and interests. Bill decides to get out of it by having Scotty help instead. While helping out, Brian discovers that Scotty is gay, after he asked him out on a boy on boy date. He tells it to Bill and Judy: Bill is trying to figure out how to tell Fitz and Judy objects, since she feels that Scotty needs to tell his Father. Judy, thinking Bill told Fitz about Scotty when he paid an impromptu visit, actually blurts it out instead. It turns out Fitz already knew and he's accepted the fact his son is gay. Bill sees this a "wake up call" to be part of Brian's life, decides to help him out, but he ends up making matters worse when he makes some changes to the float and it's damaged. In the end, Bill and Brian together find a way to fix the problem, doing it Brian's way. Meanwhile Lauren and Judy are participating in the parade doing Irish step dancing. Judy is dancing horribly and Lauren has to break the bad news to her Mom. Lauren tries to have someone else tell her, but they refuse. Lauren finally blurts it out to Judy that she's a horrible dancer and Judy is puzzled, when in the past she's been one of the best out on the dance floor. Eventually, Linda and Judy find out why. In addition, Tina has a cold and she loves the cold medicine she's given.
Sun, Mar 21, 2004
Brian is in a panic because the PSATs are coming soon and when he did a practice test, Hakim did better. He wants to get a tutor, but his parents can't afford one. Judy suggests that he should get a job to pay for it and work at Bill's job at Berensen's. While working there, Brian is assigned to clean the stockroom and he gets that done quickly and with efficiency. This upsets "Mack" and "Fitz", because what he did, might make them work harder. Brian is constantly worrying about doing a good job and about the PSATs, so Bill convinces and teaches Brian to relax and stop worrying about things. Brian starts to relax, but he problem is he's too relaxed now and is considering skipping the PSATs. Judy is upset with Bill because he has Brian becoming lazy and if he skips the PSATs, he will regret it. Bill tells Brian that if he has an opportunity to better himself, he should take it. Brian points out that there is an announcement on the bulletin board in the stockroom for a management test they used as a hockey puck and why isn't he trying out for it. We find out that Bill has no desire to take the test, because the promotion means more stress, work for just a little more money and the test will be next week. Judy says she will help Bill study for the test, plus he needs to take it to set a good example to Brian and of all the kids, he will be the successful one, which Lauren and Tina hear it and Lauren, more than Tina is insulted. When Bill and Judy are going through Bill's employee handbook to study, they find it boring and are easily distracted. Bill starts to study on his own and Brian decides what to do with the PSAT test. Meanwhile, Linda has a new boyfriend, Kevin, but he has his son Jordan with him, so she recruits Lauren to accompany them, so they can double date.
Sun, Apr 18, 2004
Boyfriend issues lead to man issues. Linda attends AA meetings just to be near Danny W, her latest interest, while Lauren plays basketball to be with Robbie, a boy who accuses her of cheating when she regularly bests him on the court. Judy, having just given the family car an oil change, explains that men don't like women who can do everything better - unlike Bill. At hearing this, Bill explains that he "gives" Judy some of the "lesser" man duties. Even so, Bill feels the need to prove his manliness for a change and answers Tina's call to kill a spider in her room. He goes after it demolishing Tina's doll house in the process. He says he'll fix it himself, but winds up having trouble and enlisting Brian's aid. Even so, he eventually gives up and heads to Tiny Town with Brian to shop for a new doll house, only to find that Judy'd been there and already purchased an exact replica from the store. Bill defiantly turns back to repairing the doll house. Seeing Lauren let Robbie beat her at basketball and Robbie become a swelled-headed jerk about it, Bill warmly tells her to be herself from now on and beat him. She agrees, since it's more work pretending to be less capable.
Tue, May 4, 2004
Ted and Kathy Halverson have turned their basement into what he refers to as "Teen Scene," where the kids can hang out and play games. To respect the kids' privacy, they have installed what they call a Parent Bell, where they ring it and shout "parent on deck" whenever they enter. Lauren likes it because Kathy makes great snacks, listens and offers great advice. Judy says she wants to do this as well, because she wants Lauren to come to her for advice. She and Bill set up the garage as a hangout house. Once the kids are hanging out at the Millers, Ted is jealous that they're not at his place, so he installs a foosball table, a bumper pool table, a cotton candy machine and a sundae bar. In no time the kids are back. This now becomes a case of one-upmanship, as Judy decides to get a trampoline, which turns out to be a mistake. The Millers to put an end to the hangout house and let Ted have his "Teen Scene" back.
Top-rated
Sun, May 23, 2004
Brian is selected to participate in the accelerated math program at Norhwestern University. In addition, he starts playing drums in a band at the student union with some others in his college class. Judy gets upset and worried when Brian starts coming home each night past his curfew and scolds him, using many of the parental clichés everyone has heard. When Judy grounds Brian, he becomes very defiant. Bill talks to Brian while Brian is in the garage unpacking his drums, telling Brian another parental cliché - "my house my rules." Consequently, Brian moves into the garage so he can live by his own rules. He proves himself very capable at independent living, but later, when fired by his fellow band members, he asks Bill if he can move back into the house. Elsewhere in the family, Tina is a Bluebell Girl but not much interested in it. Linda, however, wants to live the Bluebell experience through her because, when she was a girl, Judy got to be a Bluebell Girl but quit and their mom, thereafter, wouldn't allow Linda to join. Also, we hear Lauren singing. She sings well but no one in the family hears her talent - just her snoring when she's asleep.