The Keaton kids are dismayed when the local playhouse agree to stage Steven's radical 60's college play, ""A Draft Card for the Burning"". Embarrassed by the script's laughably dated hippie lingo, they are not surprised when Elyse refuses to reprise her leading role as Sequola Free, the play's sexy activist/anthropology student.
Al and Steve have to go out to the streets looking for Marcy's old Barbie doll, that they traded for two rare baseball cards, not knowing that Marcy wanted to keep the doll.
After Bubba comes home late and drunk, Mama is enraged and gives him an excessive punishment.
Blanche is thrilled by a visit from her daughter, Rebecca, an ex-model who has now gained quite a bit of weight. Also visiting with Rebecca is her oafish beau who constantly puts down her weight. The kicker: she's thinking of marrying him.
When Charles is named Student of the Year, local newspaper reporter Pat Walker (Barbara Rhoades) arrives at the house to interview him.
When members of two feuding families decide to settle their differences with an old-fashioned duel, Jim ends up with a murder to investigate.
When Mary and Lester's flight to Hawaii is cancelled due to the blizzard, they go home only to find Rose, Pearl, Sandra and Calvin in their apt, which is one of two apts in 227 with working heat. They all stay there, including the Jenkins' cab driver, whose cab was stuck in the snow, for at least two days before everyone starts to get on everyone else's nerves. When they realize how they were acting, and that Mary and Lester had to put up with their attitudes in addition to missing their flight, they decide to recreate Hawaii in the apt for Mary and Lester.
The baies are getting set to go to a costume party, so eac of them decide what to wear.
A colonel's comfortable life is disturbed when his wife writes a bestselling book of poetry. Is this evidence that she's having an affair?
Sir Humphrey faces a conflict of interest when Hacker devises a plan to improve educational standards by abolishing the Department of Education and Science.
J.R. wants Kimberly to prove herself to him if he's to leave Sue Ellen for her. Jenna might not be over Bobby. Clayton meets the model from the painting. Charlie is discovered fooling around with Randy again. Nicholas embezzles money from Sue Ellen. Cliff receives a buyout offer.
Attempting to aid an injured child (Eric) in the Maze, a cave-in traps Vincent and Father. Catherine, after facing Elliott Burch, who has agreed to be a witness against an extortionist, senses something is wrong and rushes to the tunnels.
After Vicky vanishes from Angela's party, Richard and Eric frantically search for her. After Dan is surprised by the arrival of a half-sister whom he didn't know he had, he puts her to work in the grape fields. Shannon tries to leave the valley after Lance questions her. Melissa is able to deflect Angela's scheme to get her committed so that Angela instead loses her hold on Dan. Angela succeeds in prying into Maggie's affairs.
Sibling rivalry takes to the screen when Stephanie gets the part in the TV commercial for which DJ was auditioning.
Tired of being hit on by men, a grad student decides to turn the tables and seduce Dwayne.
Woody tries to convince his friends that he got a small part on Spenser: For Hire and Cliff and Norm quarrel about a practical joke involving a chimpanzee.
Clair drags Cliff to her book club meeting, and he's the lone male there. Much to Clair's surprise, Cliff knows quite a bit about the book in question! Meanwhile, the kids attempt a sleepover at Sondra and Elvin's run-down studio apartment, but are overwhelmed by the noise and lack of utilities. Appearances by Angela Bassett and S. Epatha Merkerson.
One of a GI's big events is the arrival of his mail. When Zeke opens his mail to find that his ex-wife, it is to find that she is complaining that he is not writing letters home often enough to their 3-year-old daughter. Zeke already has enough responsibilities... this one isn't wanted. However he has little time to worry about it before he finds himself out on patrol. Goldman orders the squad forward when Anderson warns that they are walking into trouble, Anderson scouts out ahead and ends up in a near-lethal mortar barrage. Anderson is nearing his limit when he finds out that the squad's next destination is a valley where Zeke's last outfit was nearly wiped out. Anderson fights going tooth-and-nail and it is obvious to everyone that Zeke is falling apart. There is little time to help him, though, as the men have to consider their mission first. The squad ends up going after a downed flyer... and while Zeke continues to deteroriate.