James is all excited because he's sure he's going to get a high paying job. However, at the interview, he learns that he's too old to join the compan...
J.J.'s painting of a Black Jesus, becomes the family's good luck charm after a string of success hits each family member. However, Florida refuses to...
With an eviction notice over their heads, the Evans family scrambles to come up with $74 dollars needed for their rent. Despite Florida's opinion, Ja...
An old friend of James, who is now a shady televangilist, stops by the Evans apartment and offers James a job that would pay $100 a day. James is set...
Michael comes home from school early one day with the announcement that he has been suspended. This, after telling his teacher that George Washington...
Florida finds what she believes to be a dirty story called, ""Sexual Behavior in the Ghetto"". Assuming it to be J.J.'s, Florida confronts him, but s...
J.J. is sure he's bound to make it big when he gets a patron in Leroy Jackson, who begins providing him with all the supplies he needs. However, when...
Florida and James are worried that J.J. won't pass into the 12th grade but when he gets his report card he did indeed pass but the grades seem to be a...
Michael submits a angry letter about the conditions in the Evans' apartment to a newspaper and gets an immediate response from a housing commission of...
Florida is running in a cleanest apartment competition and is sure she will win. However, her chances are dashed when Michael tries to help someone i...
Florida comes home from the supermarket with great news, she's been offered a role in a TV commercial. What's even better is the pay she will get, $5...
Florida and the kids become concerned about James's health after reading an article in a magazine about hypertension. When he learns about their conc...
A popular girl wants J.J. to paint her portrait and J.J. mistakenly assumes that they will become more serious when he makes plans to ask her to go st...
Florida's strange behavior has the family and Willona wondering what's wrong with her. Michael thinks she's beginning menopause while Willona believe...
J.J.'s 18th birthday has James and Florida in a fit when they find out they won't be able to give J.J. the art supplies he wanted because James' credi...
J.J. is taken down to the police station for questioning in the liquor store robbery. The family gathers there and tries to think up ways to raise en...
Michael has the chance to be bused to a better school in a white neighborhood but he is determined to get out of it. Florida and James first hear abo...
Michael must write an essay on the person whom he most admires. He first picks Florida for her strength and effort in keeping the family together. H...
Thelma's been seeing the same man for two months and hasn't introduced him to the family yet. However, when she comes home with an engagement ring, F...
Michael, one of the brightest boys in his class, comes home with the news that he scored the lowest out of his whole class on an I.Q. test.
An encyclopedia salesman is the last person James wants to see when he comes home from work. However, he softens when he learns the man is blind. Th...
J.J. secretly has become a member of the Satan's Knights, a gang who are in the midst of a gang war with the Warlords. Two members and the leader of ...
J.J. is recovering after being shot by Mad Dog, which only turned out to be a flesh wound. Meanwhile, a vengeful James presses charges against Mad Do...
A wedding has Florida realizing that Willona is the only friend of hers left that isn't married. So this leads Florida to try her hand at matchmaking...
James finds a bag of robbery loot adding up to $27,000. After some coaxing from Florida, James decides to turn it in. However, what Florida doesn't ...
Cousin Naomi is visiting the Evans' for the Christmas season. However, her visit is not a happy one for Thelma, who discovers that Naomi is hiding a ...
James is sure he's going to get a sales position at a department store but when he brings Florida along on the interview he is in for a big surprise, ...
Florida is going to night school hoping to achieve a High School Equivalency diploma, but her working in the daytime and going to school at night puts...
A woman aks J.J. to paint a nude portrait of her as a birthday gift for her husband. However, Florida has a hard time understanding why a woman would...
Realizing his mechanical skills, Florida suggests that James open a fix-it shop but when they go to the bank, they're turned down for a loan. This le...
J.J. is enchanted with his new girlfriend, Clarissa, and is all set to take her to a ritzy debutante ball. However, Clarissa has come to the Evans' a...
An elderly resident of the projects appears to be living on pet food after Michael takes out her garbage. The Evans family's attempt to do something f...
A childhood friend of James' arrives for a visit and quickly his gambling problem becomes an Evans family problem when two hoods show up looking for h...
The Evans family's joy at finally getting to meet J.J.'s girl Henrietta is shrouded by J.J.'s declaration that his immediate future could include Henr...
The Evans' family is hit with a double dose of unemployment blues after both James and J.J. lose their jobs. Wanting to support his family, J.J. deci...
Thelma has a chance at winning a scholarship to an exclusive boarding school in Michigan. However, even before she knows she won, a snobby girl from ...
A bully has been stealing Michael's lunches which prompts James to give him some tips on how to handle the situation. However, Michael surprises ever...
After taking some courses at a trade school, James has a chance of getting a good paying job. However, when he is finally offered one, there is one c...
Florida has had a pain in her side for the last two weeks but doesn't want to see a doctor out of fear of the cost. However, when James learns of her...
Thelma has great news, she's engaged. However, her opinion of great news differs greatly with her parents who hit the roof after learning this.
Florida plans on borrowing money from her cousin to help pay some unexpected bills. James's pride stands in the way causing him to storm out to a bar...
A friend of James' gives him permission to use his cabin to celebrate his and Florida's 20th wedding anniversary. However, the trick is trying to get...
Florida and the kids throw a baby shower for a friend, Loretta. However, the joyous occasion is dampened when Loretta announces her plans of giving t...
When James is out of town, Florida and her brother Wilbert are left to deal with a troubled Michael. His cutting classes, getting into fights at scho...
A feud erupts in the Evans' household when James and J.J. take the side of Alderman Fred Davis during his attempt at a re-election while Florida, Thel...
When J.J. brings home Walter, a man from his art class, he hits it off with Willona. Despite the fact that he's deaf, him and Willona begin a relatio...
Florida and James become outraged when the kids get a touch of food poisoning after eating meat from the local supermarket. She organizes a group of c...
J.J. is commissioned by a bank to paint a mural and in return will receive $250 needed for Thelma's college education whom recently won a scholarship ...
Thelma brings home a friend of hers and instantly J.J. is smitten. However, when she rejects him he quickly loses all of his confidence and slips int...
A bank robbery in Atlanta has the FBI showing up at the Evans' apartment to question Florida since her nephew, Cleatus is the prime suspect. Things g...
Thelma researches her family tree for a school project and discovers James's father is very much alive and living in the Chicago area. However, when ...
An elderly man that Michael befriended stops by the Evans' apartment just prior to the New Years celebration and knowing that he only has a little tim...
J.J. and his girlfriend, Diana, are getting serious and the topic of marriage comes up, something which both J.J. and Diana both want. However, both ...
On the night of her senior prom, Diana decides to run off to Indiana and elope with J.J. Meanwhile, back in Chicago, switched purses leads the Evans ...
J.J. has been commissioned by a number's runner, Sweet Daddy Williams, to paint the portrait of his girlfriend, Savannah. In return, J.J. will get hi...
The family is being investigated by the FBI because they are suspected to be security risks due to Michael doing research about and communicating with...
When the children are left at home for the weekend, J.J. receives bad news that he has given VD to an ex-girlfriend. This leads an embarrassed J.J. t...
After a morning of being take granted for by her children and her husband, Florida decides to take her boss up on a lunch invitation. This eventually...
Thelma's fiancee's idea of romance is taking her to a basketball game but that is the least of her worries after he gets a big break in California lea...
The Evans family decides to hold a rent party to help out a neighbor in the building whose electricity has just been turned off. However, the party m...
The family is getting ready to move to Mississippi which is where James has gotten a promising new job. However, the family is waiting for the right ...
The death of James has J.J., Thelma and Michael overcome with grief and also leaves them wondering what is wrong with Florida, who hasn't cried once s...
Thelma invites her favorite teacher to the apartment and while she is there she is fascinated with JJ's artwork. She and JJ soon develop an instant at...
Widespread violence has been running rampant in the neighborhood and a large part of it is due to the street gang, the Warlords. While Florida and so...
Michael is in love with Yvonne but every time he's around her he freezes. When Yvonne meets J.J. she instantly falls for him thus creating a sibling ...
Alderman Davis makes a visit to the Evans' household wanting J.J. to speak at his re-election campaign. However, when J.J. refuses, an eviction notic...
After loosing his job, J.J. tries his best to find a job. However, when Bookman serves the Evans' family with an eviction notice due to late rent, J....
J.J. is in the money, now that he has a new job working with two friends in a gambling operation. However, little does he know, the gambling business...
Florida and the children are excitedly anticipating the arrival of Grandpa Evans. However, he arrives with a loud companion in tow.
Some good luck strikes the family when J.J. wins a lottery. However, the luck doesn't last long, that is until, Thelma's friend Edna shows up with he...
The kids feel Florida has been spending too much time alone and they decide to cancel their plans and spend an evening with her. But Florida surprises...
J.J. is managing Michael's singing group and gets them a gig at a local tavern. While there, J.J. comes across Judith Cohen, an act whom he knows wil...
J.J. borrows money from a loan shark to back his talented new comedian. However, within days, two thugs come to collect their money, money that J.J. ...
Florida's bad mood prompts the kids to go into the underwear selling business in order to raise enough money to send Florida on a vacation to Lake Gen...
The cafeteria at Thelma's college is in disrepair. Thelma and her friends picket the college. She meets Ibe, an African exchange student. They date, a...
Florida hits the roof when Thelma announces her plans of moving in with Ibe. However, things begin moving a little bit too fast when Ibe asks her to ...
Willona gets a surprise for her birthday, a visit from her womanizing ex-husband, Ray. Ray does his best at convincing Willona that he's changed and ...
When Florida's away for the weekend, J.J., Thelma and Michael throw a wild party. However, it gets even wilder than they had dreamed of when one of th...
Florida is horrified to learn that Michael is harboring atheist attitudes planted by his boss. This leads Florida to confront Michael's boss and get ...
A reluctant Florida agrees to go on a date with Carl. However, once at the restaurant, she gets into an argument with him ending with him walking out...
J.J. is all excited about taking Michael to a father-son dinner but when Michael breaks the news that he invited Carl to take him, J.J. storms out.
JJ has another money-making idea. He starts a greeting card business and has the whole family involved in making up messages. He has the business plan...
Florida and Carl's relationship has gotten quite serious and Carl breaks the news to J.J., Thelma and Michael that he's planning on proposing marriage...
A furious J.J. confronts Carl, who makes up an excuse that a war injury in the groin is the reason why he's breaking up with Florida. However, later ...
When a young girl, Penny Gordon follows J.J. home, she quickly insinuates herself into the Evans household and makes up stories about her life, includ...
Willona and the Evans children are convinced that Penny is being abused, but when Willona takes Penny to see a doctor about a broken arm, he refuses t...
Willona and the Evans kids are stunned to discover that Penny and her mother have moved. They are equally stunned when they discover Penny hiding the...
Willona worries over whether or not she will be able to adopt Penny. Meanwhile, a well meaning, Bookman, tries to help out by telling the social work...
Fed up with having no privacy and being burdened by two brothers, Thelma decides to move out and into an apartment that is shared by three other roomm...
Willona is offered a new job but her morals force her to refuse it. However, when Penny has her heart set on figure skating lessons, Willona decides ...
J.J. and his friends become partners in the ownership of car, a car that they foolishly bought from Bookman. However, the quality of the car is minor...
Michael passes himself off as J.J. while using a CB radio and quickly discovers he's not the only one who's putting on an act. A girl he contacts who ...
The conditions in the building become to much for Willona, Penny and the Evans kids to bare so they decide to circulate a petition that would terminat...
Thelma begins dating a man named Lloyd Williams, however, suspicions run rampant between J.J., Willona and Michael who become convinced he's married. ...
Fishbone, a wino, complains that he has no friends and quickly discovers he has many when a vagrant steals his wallet and is later killed in a car acc...
After getting her wallet stolen, Penny steals a necklace from a department store in a desperate attempt to try to get Willona a Christmas gift. Howev...
Michael's apathetic behavior towards household chores and homework leads J.J. to put his foot down and to step in as a father figure. He really comes...
Willona's old boyfriend arrives back in town and asks Willona her hand in marraige. However, Willona turns him down since his job would have her and ...
J.J. is given a sexy assistant, one whom he makes a play for immediately. However, later when he learns that she's the boss's daughter, he continues ...
A hole has been burned into one of the couch cushions and J.J., Thelma and Michael each have their own versions of how it got there. However, Penny i...
J.J. wants a promotion at work but a co-worker convinces him that the promotion will only go to a white man. This leads J.J. to have a crazy dream wh...
To pick up extra money for the rent, J.J. decides to take in a boarder. However, little does he know the man he takes in, is placed their by the poli...
J.J.'s latest relationship with a woman, Barbara, who's currently married but plans on divorcing her husband, results with him coming down with an ulc...
Bookman's strange behavior leads his wife, Violet to become convinced that he's seeing another woman. However, appearances can be deceiving especiall...
Grandpa Evans visits and has plans of becoming rich thanks to his new invention. Meanwhile, Lena, Grandpa's fiancee gets tired of being ignored and d...
Willona's boyfriend, Frank, continues his efforts to try to get her to marry him. Meanwhile, down at the boutique, Willona gets a promotion but Frank...
Thelma has written a full length play and is ecstatic when it is chosen to be produced as the local theater's latest production. Thelma quickly reali...
A child-care center in the neighborhood is scheduled to close due to lack of funds. To keep it open, the Evan's plan a show to raise money from the ne...
The Evans children and Willona are pleasantly shocked to learn that Thelma has been dating the nationally renowned football player Keith Anderson, a H...
Florida arrives home after hearing the news of Thelma's engagement. However, Thelma's impending wedding may never take place, that is if she lets her...
After losing his job, J.J. takes out a $1,000 loan from Sweet Daddy Williams, to pay for Thelma's wedding. The wedding finally goes off without a hit...
After a joyous wedding ceremony, things are anything but happy. Thelma and Keith cannot go on a honeymoon because Keith's leg is broken and it may end...
Both Florida and J.J. are looking for work but neither are having any luck. One ad, in the newspaper, for part-time work as a school bus driver spark...
Willona adamently refuses to discuss the birds and the bees with Penny especially after Willona learns a 13-year old friend of Penny's is pregnant. T...
J.J.'s student has to deal with a violent father who ademently refuses to allow his son to take art lessons from J.J., even though J.J. offers to give...
The Evan's apartment feels crowded with Thelma and Keith still living there after their marriage. In addition, things continue to fall apart. Michael ...
JJ's former girlfriend Vanessa is back in town, and she still has expensive taste. JJ does not want to tell her that he is out of work and cannot affo...
A snowstorm hits Chicago and Florida gets stuck in it with her school bus. This leads her and the kids on the bus to take refuge in an abandoned buil...
When Keith's Scrooge-like boss at the taxi-cab company won't give him Christmas off, the Evans family brings their Christmas party to Keith and holds ...
The Evans family has found the perfect home to move into and plan on taking out a loan to pay for it. However, they quickly find, as usual, that that...
A student whom Florida drives to school on her bus, becomes the center of attention when Florida discovers he has a hearing problem and his mother ref...
After a near fatal accident, Larry's mother finally realizes that Larry has a hearing problem. Unable to take him to the doctor because she has to wo...
Sweet Daddy Williams sends his hoods to snatch J.J. from his home and bring him to the hospital. His reasons: J.J. is the only person they could find...
When Willona goes out of town, she leaves Penny in Florida's care. Shortly after, Penny comes down with a virus and Florida takes her down to the fre...
A tomboy who's been helping out Bookman, wants J.J. to ask her to a dance. However, J.J. thinks of her as just one of the guys, that is until he has ...
Florida discovers she must take and pass a physical examination to keep her bus driving job. However, the night before her physical is utter chaos en...
Willona's latest boyfriend, Jeffrey, has been showering her and Penny with extravagant gifts even though they've only been seeing one another for a co...
Keith's search for a job results in strange behavior that everyone plainly points out is not just frustration, but rather a bigger problem. Little do...
With the art contest approaching, J.J. believes that he is shoo-in to win. However things don't go as planned after he trusts a distracted Bookman to ...
Florida gets a surprise visit from her cousin, Raymond, who has hit it big and gives each member of the family an expensive gift. However, Florida is...
This final episode brings all too good news for the Evans family. J.J. gets an offer to a comic company, Keith's bad knee is miraculously healed and i...
