Created by: Brian Cooke
Starring: Ted Knight, Nancy Dussault, Deborah Van Valkenburgh, Lydia Cornell, Jim J. Bullock, Deena Freeman, Audrey Meadows, Pat Carroll, Joshua Goodwin, Lisa Antille, Julie Adams, Antony Alda, Newell Alexander, Phillip R. Allen, Daryl Anderson, Luke Andreas, Maureen Arthur, Libby Aubrey, Leah Ayres, Jimmy Baio, Barbara Barnett, Eileen Barnett, Vanda Barra, Norman Bartold, Bob Basso, Kellie Bennett, Gregg Berger, Warren Berlinger, Bill Beyers, Earl Boen, Phil Boroff, Don Bovingloh, Wendy Brainard, Marty Brill, Carol Bruce, Ceil Cabot, Joseph Cali, James T. Callahan, Cisse Cameron, Dave Cameron, Hamilton Camp, Michael Philip Cannon, William Thomas Cannon, Tyke Caravelli, Cliff Carnell, Victoria Carroll, Randall Carver, Barbara Cason, Larry Cedar, Charlene, Beatrice Colen, Bill Collins, Carl Congelo, William Cort, Patrick Cranshaw, Patrick Cronin, Wally Dalton, Bill Dana, Cesare Danova, Johnny Dark, Jim Davis, Nathan Davis, Jack DeLeon, George DelHoyo, Dean Devlin, Selma Diamond, Dan Dolan, Gary Dontzig, Allan Drake, Jane Dulo, Paddi Edwards, Michael Ensign, Richard Erdman, Bill Erwin, Matthew Faison, Sheldon Feldner, Marta Fergusson, Fern Fitzgerald, Dennis Flood, Fredrick Franklin, Sandy Freeman, Loretta Fury, Hank Garrett, Joy Garrett, Dick Gautier, Ellen Geer, Howard George, Jay Gerber, Ruth Gillette, Dana Gladstone, Wayne Grace, Sarina C. Grant, Randy Hamilton, Peter Haskell, Sandy Helberg, Basil Hoffman, Rosanna Hoffman, Rebecca Holden, Michael Horbund, Dennis Howard, Ernie Hudson, Gary Hudson, Will Hunt, Margie Impert, Lou Jacobi, Peter Marc Jacobson, Jill Jaress, Graham Jarvis, Rick Jason, Georgann Johnson, Jackie Joseph, Elaine Joyce, Viola Kates Stimpson, Lainie Kazan, Neal Kaz, Kristin Kelly, M.G. Kelly, Alexa Kenin, Ronnie Kimble, Elyse Knight, Carl Kraines, Christopher Kriesa, Jack Kruschen, John Lamont, Charles Lampkin, Walter Lantz, Rene Le Vant, Chris Lemmon, Robert Mandan, Bob Maroff, Jerry Marshak, Jamie Masada, Brad Maule, Jeff Maxwell, Mark Maxwell-Smith, Christopher Mayer, Dawson Mays, Fred McCarren, Doug McClure, John McCook, Richard McKenzie, Alan McRae, Sylvia Meredith, Rose Michtom, Ray Middleton, Jed Mills, Di Ann Monaco, Peggy Mondo, Marcia Moran, Jaye P. Morgan, Jeffrey Paul Morgan, Christopher Morley, Karen Morrow, Warren Munson, Inga Neilsen, Ruth Nerken, Pamela Newman, Stuart Nisbet, Mike Nomad, Peter Noone, Cliff Norton, John O'Leary, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, Bibi Osterwald, Harrison Page, Janis Paige, Lew Palter, Pam Parson, Robert Pastorelli, Dick Patterson, Pat Paulsen, Ben Piazza, Patricia Pivaar, Priscilla Pointer, Peggy Pope, Jonathan Prince, William Prince, Howard Renensland, Kathryn Reynolds, Jennifer Richards, Lou Richards, Peter Mark Richman, Branscombe Richmond, Jack Riley, Chris Rinehart, Dennis Robertson, Marcia Rodd, Roger Rose, David Rupprecht, Beverly Sanders, Kat Sawyer-Young, Leigh Scarritt, Ronnie Schell, Mark Schiff, Tom Silardi, Joe Silver, Hillary B. Smith, Tom Spratley, Sandy Sprung, Shawn Stevens, Patricia Stich, Claude Stroud, Randy Stumpf, Jordan Suffin, Jonathan Terry, Patricia Ayame Thomson, Shere Thu Thuy, Le Tuan, Dick Van Patten, Paula Victor, Jenna Weiss, Frank Welker, Ashley Wells, Jim Weston, Margaret Wheeler, Ralph Wilcox, Mae Williams, Tom Williams, Eric Michael Wills, Jason Robert Wills, Lou Wills Jr, Paul Willson, Ernie Wise, Dan Woren, Ken Wright, Wendell Wright, Kate Zentall
129 episodes
(TV-PG - adult language, adult themes, adult situations)
PLOT:
In liberal San Francisco, a conservative cartoonist tries to keep his two daughters, who rent an apartment below him, safe.
season 1 -
Henry's daughters want to live downstairs. Birth-control pills turn up in Sara's room. Jackie must keep $100,000 overnight. Muriel and Henry's anniversary plans change when Sara and her friend Monroe are arrested. Muriel moves out when she and Henry disagree over Sara's new job. After a disagreement with Henry, Jackie and Sara move to a tenement. Sara's promotion starts rumors at the bank. Henry and his boss set out to capture the crooks who stole Sara's purse. Henry and Muriel's table doesn't include a setting for a lion that wanders into their dinner party. Sara believes that Monroe needs a sex surrogate to overcome his problems. Muriel's divorced college friend arrives for a visit and propositions Henry. Muriel's former boyfriend stops by for dinner and directs his attention to Jackie. While on jury duty, Henry creates havoc when he unknowingly destroys a piece of evidence. Henry's feisty father arrives unexpectedly. Muriel takes a stand for independence when Henry objects to her photographing a male centerfold. Jackie continues her relationship with a married man despite opposition from the family. Henry and Muriel go on a skiing trip, which gives Sara the opportunity to offer her parents' apartment to Monroe to stay during Spring Break, as Monroe's parents do not want him to visit. Henry feels the pains of unemployment after he's fired for satirizing the president in a cartoon. The girls try to contact Rafkin's spirit.
season 2 -
It's Muriel's 42nd birthday, and she discovers she's pregnant. Henry finds it difficult to tolerate his free-spirited niece who is staying with the family. Muriel and Henry wonder if Sara is their real daughter. Sara decides to go out with one of Jackie's former boyfriends. Muriel and Henry must decide if they want to know their baby's sex before it's born. A bum shows up and says that he and their previous tenant were close. However, he appears not to know that their tenant was a transvestite and they don't tell him. When he leaves something behind, they bring it back to him and discover that he's also keeping a secret. The Rush family starts a round of bickering when Henry decides to make out his will. A self-effacing Monroe takes an assertiveness-training course that turns him into an egomaniac. Muriel's latest assignment interferes with Henry's 25th anniversary plans. Jackie falls in love with a policeman, much to Henry's disappointment. April's affair with a middle-aged music executive doesn't sit well with Henry. When a fanatical fan steals the Cosmic Cow puppet, Henry sets out to recover it. Henry is suspected of poisoning his brother. An old friend with a penchant for practical jokes sets Henry up with a woman in a restaurant. Henry meets a lovely woman at a ski resort. Muriel sides with Henry when her mother voices her disapproval of him. In her seventh month of pregnancy, Muriel is feeling unattractive. Sara and April's new business is fined for violating city regulations. Sara and Jackie exchange apartments with a British couple Henry suspects might be terrorists. Despite Henry's disapproval, Sara decides to pursue a TV talk show job instead of a college degree. Brad reconsiders marrying Jackie. Muriel's labor pains start off with a bad note when a stuck piano blocks their way to the hospital.
season 3 -
After several false alarms, Muriel finally goes into labor while Henry is at work. Henry makes it to the hospital in time for Muriel to give birth. Henry threatens to move out when Muriel's mother decides to move in. Not wanting more children. Henry discusses having a vasectomy. Sparks fly when Henry moves in with Iris to avoid getting the chicken pox from Andrew. Muriel wants to renew their vows for their anniversary in a small get-together that soon balloons out of control. While Muriel was taking portraits of babies, Andrew is accidentally taken by a confused grandmother, leaving her own grandson behind. Henry gives Monroe advice on how to land a woman (or so he thinks) who refuses to go out with him. Iris is feeling depressed. When she doesn't show up at the Rush household for Thanksgiving dinner, everyone is worried. Henry has to get a physical for a life insurance policy. Jackie invites a sweet old Santa home for Christmas, which prompts Henry to think the worst of him. Muriel's famous old singing partner comes for a visit prompting Muriel to wonder "what if" she never stopped performing. Iris falls in love with a man who she believes is highly successful. The Rushes are burglarized after Sara lets the burglars into the apartment. Henry decides to get a gun. Jackie has an argument with her fiance over her working after they're married which prompts Henry, Muriel and Iris to separately recount an incident that nearly broke up the Rush couple. Sara is upset that Henry only supports and celebrates Jackie's accomplishments so she poses for a men's magazine. An attractive messenger, after being out all night, passes out in the Rush's bedroom, leaving Henry and Monroe to think fast on how to get her out of the house before Muriel gets home. Muriel learns she was adopted. Andrew's hungry and his nursing mother is at work, so Henry takes the baby to the photo session. Henry is enraged by Monroe's ineptness at hanging a portrait. A groom's sons object to the young bride. Two hapless brothers are hired by the Rushes to convert their attic into an apartment for Iris.
season 4 -
As Iris prepares to move in with the Rushes, she's offered a business partnership back in Chicago. Jackie decides to have a breast implant operation in order to make herself more attractive. Sara competes for an anchor position, confident that she'll get promoted. The Rushes' house is scheduled for demolition when the city plans to construct a new subway station. Monroe's father comes for a visit. Henry's father introduces him to his pregnant fiancee and asks him to be his best man. Henry witnesses a robbery and works with the police to identify the suspect. The suspect then threatens Henry not to testify. Henry suffers from a case of writer's block. Surprisingly, Mrs. Rafkin ends up being extremely helpful. Henry runs into an old Navy acquaintance, unaware that his friend is gay. Henry uses Cosmic Cow to seek a tax deduction and an honorary college degree. Henry matches Sara with a star baseball player who has a history of drug use. Monroe takes in a runaway girl, unbeknownst to Henry and Muriel. With college graduation approaching, Monroe applies for jobs without any success. Monroe, Jackie and Sara use a home computer to bet on horse races. Henry almost misses an important meeting with his boss because the guard dog Monroe agrees to watch overnight, traps him in the kitchen. Jackie and Sara return from a Hawaiian vacation with their grandmother Iris. Jackie fell in love with her surfing instructor and plans to marry him. Henry is opposed to the union until he finds out that he's not just a beach bum. After Henry breaks his arm, his boss sends a young artist to help keep up with his deadlines. The young artist is cocky, abrasive and very good which upsets Henry. After Muriel's camera is stolen at a gallery opening, her attempts at retrieving it lead Henry to think she's having an affair. Muriel's biological mother writes asking to meet. Despite being angry and bitter, Jackie and Sara convince Muriel to meet her. Iris visits in order to meet up with the Lothario who broke her heart. He lures her there with the premise to ask her "a very important question". Muriel's best friend, Sylvia, is recently divorced and enjoying every minute of her new life and loves. Muriel is envious of her freedom and decides to start working again to gain a little of her own. Her new male client is very complimentary and throws her for a loop. Jackie considers a move to Dallas to find a job in fashion. That is, until she meets Sara's date and they hit it off. Sara and Jackie's relationship is tested. Henry considers taking a job in New York City when a new, younger executive takes over at Wainwright Publishing.
season 5 -
Henry decides to work at a downtown office, due to life at home getting crazier, but it turns out there were more distractions downtown than he bargained for. After his father's death, Henry decides it's time to plan his own funeral. He soon starts to examine his life decisions. Andrew might be a genius and is recruited by a school for gifted children. Budgets are tight throughout the Rush household. Henry coaches Monroe to ask for a raise at work, but the coaching backfires and Monroe is fired. Henry works overtime to find Monroe a new job. The Rushes' friend Paul pretends to be a member of their family to impress his long-lost son. Jackie drops a bomb on Henry and Muriel when she announces that she wants to become a single mother. Henry and Muriel end up in counseling thanks to the strain of helping another couple settle a squabble. Muriel wonders whether she should undergo a face lift after a friend has one and looks much younger. The Rushes hire an illegal housekeeper with good looks, minimal English and an urge to become a naturalized citizen. Monroe is kidnapped and raped by two women in a van. When the police dismiss Monroe's story, Henry searches for the rapists himself. Henry and Monroe find a bag full of money and decide they want to keep it, but then hear their neighbors have been robbed. The Rushes recall how they met Monroe. Monroe's new love interest is not only mature but possibly married. Henry and Muriel butt in to make sure Monroe doesn't get his heart broken. Henry discovers that his war-time friend visiting from England is still a womanizer. Henry finds library books long overdue. Henry and Wainwright back opposing candidates. Monroe befriends a 15-year-old boy who was picked up for shoplifting. An Italian designer offers Jackie a job. Henry competes with 100 top artists in a contest to design a logo for Iris' company. Henry is distraught when he learns that Sara and her boyfriend plan to live together. Cosmic Cow may move on to greener pastures when a TV network wants to feature her in a show.
season 6 -
The Rush family moves to Marin County where Henry becomes an editor of a weekly newspaper. Monroe publishes a front page story about corporate pollution and gets sent to jail for not revealing his source. The Rush's friends visit and overstay their welcome. The Rushes and Mrs. Stinson help a Vietnamese family who opened a restaurant achieve the American dream. The Marin Bugler holds a beauty contest with unexpected repercussions for the winner. Henry strikes up a deal to run the Garfield comic strip in the Marin Bugler. All Henry wants to do is spend a relaxing day in bed, but is constantly interrupted. The Rush's housekeeper Lisa enrolls in classes to become a naturalized American citizen. A novelist's sobriety may determine whether his newspaper article is on deadline. Henry and Lisa learn a lesson in trust when he gives her advice on buying a car. Monroe and Henry discover a coverup in the death of Mrs. Stinson's friend. A famous oceanographer offers Muriel a job as a photographer on his next expedition. Mrs. Stinson's neice causes friction when she works as an intern at the newspaper. Monroe's life is threatened after he gives an entertainer a harsh review. Henry's help with Mr. Forrester's personal ad backfires. Muriel quits after Henry uses someone else's photo for the front page. Henry rallies behind two rock musicians banned from the county's music festival. Muriel and Henry get caught up in the Kennedy's marriage problems when Herb has an affair. Mrs. Stinson announces she is ready for retirement. Henry suspects Iris' Greek fiance is after her money. Monroe's debut as a stand-up comedian is a bust. A lottery binge puts Lisa in debt.
INTRO:
