Eventually the Fosters decide to participate, but even with predictable results, they keep the Lamberts close, and Karen ties things up in the pie-eating contest because her competition cannot eat around her.
While Frank and Carol struggle to salvage the documentary, Dana advises siblings and stepsiblings to put their hostilities aside until the crew finishes taping.
Dana learns a humbling lesson about being the boss and overseeing a group of employees when she is given a managerial job at a 1950s-style restaurant owned by Mr. Passarelli (Al Molinaro).
A modeling job in Chicago may be Karen's dream come true — and the worst possible news for overbearing mother Carol, who tags along and meddles at every turn.
Meanwhile, Cody wins a turkey in a supermarket raffle which is delivered alive (Ron Karabatsos appears as the deliveryman), and deals with his conscience when he is asked to have it butchered.
Frank and Carol wind up in jail on Christmas Eve when they are caught inside a toy store by a know-it-all deputy sheriff (Don Knotts).
Very upset, Cody wants to leave and even starts to pack up his van, but Dana begs him to stay, and finally discovers she's just allergic to his shampoo.
meets a pretty girl named Shelly (Rebecca Herbst) at her father's diner and decides to impress her by claiming the car is his.
Dana gets loopy on painkillers after the removal of her wisdom teeth and annoys Cody by eating his ice cream, singing blues with his guitar, and dancing the limbo.
The rule is put to the test when Brendan — wanting to go on a trip with his soccer team to watch a Green Bay Packers game — decides not to "bother" his parents to have them sign a permission slip for him.
Meanwhile, aspiring country singer Karen is approached by a man claiming to be a record producer, who promises to take her demo tape to a major studio in exchange for a $500 fee.
Al gets the job at a cookie store called Mr. Chips run by Mr. Sloan (Richard Kline) and named after a monkey she ends up having to bring home.
Convinced that the work will be abstract and she won't be recognizable, she proudly invites Frank, Carol, Karen, and Al to the charity auction where it will be unveiled.
Note: Beginning with this episode, Sasha Mitchell is no longer on the show, although his casting and footage in the opening credits continue for the remainder of the season.
Livid with these results, Dana demands a retest and discovers that the test center run by Mr. Newton (Rick Scarry) is a fraud.
Note: This episode marks the first of four appearances of Jeff Juday as Flash, a character who was intended to be a replacement for Sasha Mitchell as Cody Lambert.
Note: This is the last appearance of Jeff Juday as Flash, although Carol and Frank invited him to move into their house to avoid driving eight hours back and forth from Kansas City to Port Washington.
accepts a hasty marriage proposal from Michelle (Francoise Robertson), a sexy French woman 10 years his senior, but Jean-Luc discovers that serious hidden strings are attached.
Meanwhile, Carol's friend from high school, Patti (Karen Austin), develops a crush on Jean-Luc after her husband Dave (David Graf) ignores her.
Meanwhile, Carol and the kids must endure Frank's rite of passage of going through a mid-life crisis: After being called Grandpa by the ice-cream man, he hurts his back while getting a drink.
When Mark's date (Maggie Lawson) overhears him bragging to his friends about the so-called "special moment" they shared, she calls his bluff in front of his schoolmates, branding him a wimp.
and Rich take a job as sports agents for an up-and-coming college hockey player Eric Barnes (Scott Gurney), they find themselves becoming his personal servants—and dating service—with Karen as the main course.
Meanwhile, the battle between the hairdressers and the contractors begins when Carol and Jean-Luc challenge an overly-macho Frank and his pal Moose (Donald Gibb) to a game of bowling, with the losers having to do something the winning team picks.
Al is harassed at school by guys, who begin overtly suggesting they get romantic afterward, but when Karen refuses to stick up for her stepsister, she runs off in tears.
Dana, Karen, and Al explain to the guys the various virtues of getting a role in teen idol Jeremy Beck (Scott Foley)'s next movie.
Karen, the overconfident diva, is "too asthmatic" for the producer (Ray Abruzzo)'s liking; uber-feminist Dana naively picks apart the role and its backstory, getting herself dismissed without so much as a reading.
Although overnight success doesn't make a monster out of her in the usual sense, Al greatly enjoys the experience...enough that she plans to quit school and get a GED, in order to become a full-time actress.
Back home, Carol and Lily are determined to outdo an obnoxious and snooty classmate -- along with the other girl's mom, who's even worse -- for a school bake sale.
When Rich's old friend Cassie Evans (Linda Cardellini) moves back to town, they start hanging out which makes Dana jealous.
and Rich are broke but want to go on a skiing trip with Sam and Dana, so they take jobs as male strippers at a local nightclub.