The Best Episodes Directed by Lee Shallat Chemel
#1 - A Kiss is Just a Kiss
Happily Divorced Season 1 - Episode 8
When Fran suspects her best friends man of hitting on her, shes left with a decision that may tarnish their friendship.
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#2 - Torn Between Two Lovetts
Happily Divorced Season 1 - Episode 10
Fran sets Peter up with her hairdresser; Fran invites herself out on a date.
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#3 - Vegas Baby
Happily Divorced Season 1 - Episode 9
After a chance meeting, Fran gives Elliot an ultimatum: Rendezvous with her in Vegas or lose her for good. But when Fran and Peter's wild night leads to unexpected consequences, Fran's chance at love may be jeopardized forever.
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#4 - A Date With Destiny
Happily Divorced Season 1 - Episode 4
Fran comes across some old love letters from her high school boyfriend and decides to contact him. The guy is perfect and Fran believes it was meant to be, until he reveals a secret of his own.
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#5 - Someone Wants Me
Happily Divorced Season 1 - Episode 7
Fran runs into Elliot and realizes she still isn't over him which prompts her to try online dating. She can't stop thinking about Elliot so she decides to pursue him again but it leads to an awkward situation at his house.
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#6 - Adventure Man
Happily Divorced Season 2 - Episode 7
Fran's romance with an outdoorsman is met with skepticism by Peter and her family, but a weekend camping trip should prove whether he's Mr. Right—or Mr. Wrong.
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#7 - Lust in Translation
Better Off Ted Season 2 - Episode 10
Ted romances a beautiful German executive who can't speak a word of English. It doesn't matter Veridian is developing a translation device for her company, enabling the two to communicate. The problem is, the voice of the device is Phil's, which ruins the mood for Ted.
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#8 - Anniversary
Happily Divorced Season 1 - Episode 3
Peter tells Fran that they need to sell her engagement ring to pay taxes; Fran's plans.
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#9 - The Shershow Redemption
Happy Endings Season 1 - Episode 12
An old friend gets married, and the bride thinks Alex is a jinx; Penny and Derrick pretend to be engaged.
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#10 - I Wanna Be Alone
Happily Divorced Season 1 - Episode 6
When Fran wins a cruise for two and decides to go alone, much to Peter and Judy's dismay, she soon realizes being alone isnt all its cracked up to be. Meanwhile, Dori sets out to be the next Doris Roberts when she performs in a local community show.
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#11 - Last Whiff of Summer (2)
The Middle Season 4 - Episode 2
Mike accidentally reveals that Axl is his favorite child; Brick tries to grow a giant tomato; Sue encourages her father to participate in a variety of activities with her.
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#12 - The Wonderful World of Hecks
The Middle Season 5 - Episode 24
A series of unfortunate events threaten to spoil the trip to Walt Disney World.
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#13 - The Walk
The Middle Season 5 - Episode 17
Frankie and Mike run into old acquaintances; Sue gets several dates to the prom; Brick gets Axl's help for a book report.
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#14 - Tarot Cards
Raising Hope Season 2 - Episode 13
Burt hires Barney to help him with his receipts during corporate tax season, and while caught up in the stress Burt accidentally makes a mean comment about Virginia's job, so she decides to change careers and become a tarot card reader. Meanwhile, Sabrina contemplates moving to Africa with Wyatt, upsetting Jimmy.
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#15 - Fools Rush In
Greek Season 4 - Episode 2
The KT’s decide since they lost several members of their frat last year, it’s time to actually try to recruit pledges. The KTs set up a booth during rush on campus to help with recruiting. Tegan (Charisma Carpenter) shows up to help the ZBZs maintain their newly regained best house on campus title. Tegan and Rebecca argue on how rushing should go and Casey comes to Rebecca’s rescue with a plan to have Dana (Martha MacIsaac) keep Tegan distracted. The ZBZs entertain a potential new pledge Heather, who is Heath’s sister. Dale also entertains the idea of rushing this semester
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#16 - Why Can't You Read Me?
Happy Endings Season 1 - Episode 13
Alex and Jane's sibling rivalry heats up; Dave dates an attractive woman (Bre Blair) with an unusual quirk; Penny gets an assistant
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#17 - The Christmas Tree
The Middle Season 5 - Episode 9
Axl wants to spend time with his friends when he comes home for Christmas; Sue's allergies threaten to ruin her holiday; Brick's lie is uncovered.
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#18 - Squeak Means Squeak
Raising Hope Season 3 - Episode 9
When Jimmy leaves Hope with Sabrina for the day, Sabrina tries to prove her parenting skills. Virginia and Burt try to catch a squirrel bully.
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#19 - Change We Can't Believe In
Better Off Ted Season 2 - Episode 7
Ted struggles with an overly talkative security guard who worships him and wants to be his best friend. Meanwhile, a terrified Phil and Lem face the prospect of working alone with Veronica for the first time.
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#20 - The Bachelor
The Middle Season 4 - Episode 19
Disappointed with the finale of "The Bachelor," Frankie mopes for days; when Sue joins the school's tennis team, Mike tries to toughen her up by complimenting her opponents during matches; Cassidy and Axl consider the future of their relationship.
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#21 - Here Comes My Girl
Cougar Town Season 1 - Episode 9
Jules plan for a romanctic dinner for two backfires for Thanksgiving. Travis shows off his girlfriend Kylie to everyone. Jules gives Travis and Kylie advice on birth control. Bobby and Grayson bond over a common interest.
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#22 - Life Skills
The Middle Season 4 - Episode 11
Axl feels embarrassed when he and Sue are asked to work on a school project together; Brick's school therapist (Dave Foley) tries to help him make friends.
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#23 - War of the Hecks
The Middle Season 5 - Episode 11
Sue makes a discovery that leads to an ultimate prank battle with Axl; Brick tries to read a recommended biography on Debbie Reynolds.
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#24 - Thanksgiving VI
The Middle Season 6 - Episode 7
With the Heck house in disarray due to the kitchen sink hole and miniature dining room table, Frankie suggests that the family enjoy a Thanksgiving feast at the local King's Feast buffet. But all does not run so smoothly when Sue invites her boyfriend Darrin to dine with the family and gets the feeling that Mike doesn't like him very much, Brick invites his quirky girlfriend Cindy, and Axl is forced by Frankie to invite a girl he doesn't even know to the holiday meal.
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#25 - Bad Choices
The Middle Season 3 - Episode 6
As the Heck home begins to literally fall apart, Frankie and Mike consider leaving homeownership behind and moving the family to an apartment. Meanwhile, Axl tries to fake Frankie out by pretending that he's sick in order to get out of taking a school test - and must later convince her that he's well enough to attend a party that evening; Sue and her ex-sort-of-boyfriend, Brad, volunteer to prepare a school skit about showing the dangers of texting and drinking while driving; and Brick tries to offer a little bit of levity by spouting off Shakespearian quotes.
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#26 - TV or Not TV
The Middle Season 1 - Episode 20
After failing to pay the electric bill on time, the electric company shuts off the Heck's power. This leads Frankie and Mike to cut down on their unnecessary expenses, including their cable TV. The kids take up other activities to fill the void, but Frankie and Mike have a hard time figuring out what to do. Meanwhile, Brick and his other socially-challenged friends have to go outside for recess when the school library shuts down.
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#27 - Last Whiff of Summer (1)
The Middle Season 4 - Episode 1
Mike accidentally reveals that Axl is his favorite child; Brick tries to grow a giant tomato; Sue encourages her father to participate in a variety of activities with her.
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#28 - The Hose
The Middle Season 4 - Episode 5
A neighbor accuses Frankie of stealing her hose; Sue cancels a road trip to Cincinnati after seeing Mike's paycheck; Brick learns about the birds and the bees.
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#29 - The Christmas Wall
The Middle Season 6 - Episode 9
Frankie loses her Christmas spirit, Mike unsuccessfully tries to exchange the new family Christmas tree, and a fight over Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer threatens to break up BossCo.
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#30 - The Potato
The Middle Season 5 - Episode 3
After Frankie and Mike are forced to return the church van when it's discovered that their car has been repaired, Sue - who has been driving the other car - begins to freak out because she'll have to start taking the bus again. But when her parents tell her that she could get her own car if she got a job, Sue ends up working as a potato girl at a local mall eatery. Meanwhile, Frankie and Mike are called into Brick's principal's office and are informed that he has not attended any of his classes - and much to the family's dismay, Axl begins to spend his nights back home when he becomes fed up with having to deal with his horrible college roommate.
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#31 - Halloween V
The Middle Season 6 - Episode 5
Frankie and Mike are surprised when Brick invites a girl over to the house to hang out; Sue tries to organize a screening of a holiday classic in a pumpkin patch; Axl is locked inside the library.
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#32 - Halloween IV: The Ghost Story
The Middle Season 5 - Episode 5
Sue holds a seance with her friends; the football team stops Axl from attending the Halloween party in his room; the family tries to give Brick advice about girls.
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#33 - Yo Zappa Do (2)
Raising Hope Season 3 - Episode 16
When Hope and Jimmy start working on "Yo Zappa Do," the show's star makes Jimmy's life miserable.
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#34 - Unbraceable You
The Middle Season 6 - Episode 1
Frankie discovers school started a week earlier than she thought, forcing Sue and Brick to scramble to make up missed time; Sue gets her braces removed; Mike loses to Axl at basketball for the first time; Brick looks for the perfect book bag.
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#35 - Hungry Games
The Middle Season 5 - Episode 13
Reverend Deveaux interferes with the Hecks' plan to use their coupon for an all-you-can-eat buffet after church.
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#36 - Limits & Boundaries
Becker Season 1 - Episode 16
When a patient's mother desperately needs Becker to watch her two kids for the day, he reluctantly agrees and then makes Margaret and Linda keep an eye on them. But when the day turns into an unexpected sleepover at Becker's, his attempts to establish rules for the kids are about as effective as a blender during a power outage.
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#37 - Thanksgiving V
The Middle Season 5 - Episode 7
Axl looks for the right time to share news about his college classes; Frankie's dad reveals a gambling loss; Sue hides a secret; Brick determines to have lime-green Jell-O salad on Thanksgiving.
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#38 - The Sit Down
The Middle Season 3 - Episode 17
The kids have a meeting with Frankie and Mike about their parenting techniques, and they are thrown for a loop, when their parents attempt to change.
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#39 - The Table
The Middle Season 6 - Episode 4
When Frankie finds a dining room set online for $50, she gives the family's old table to Axl; Sue is angry when her boyfriend gives her a gift that he had also given to his ex-girlfriend.
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#40 - The Friend
The Middle Season 4 - Episode 13
Frankie tries to get Mike to spend time with a new neighbor who shares his interests; Sue demands a cheer-off between the Wrestlerettes and the cheerleaders.
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#41 - The Safe
The Middle Season 4 - Episode 7
Frankie does not make a good impression on the first day of dental assistant school; Mike and Frankie ask Axl to get a tutor and improve his grades; Sue and Brick try to pawn an item they found in an old safe.
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#42 - Worry Duty
The Middle Season 1 - Episode 21
Frankie is worried that Axl's going to get his heart crushed again when his on-again/off-again girlfriend, Morgan (Alexa Vega, "Spy Kids," "Ruby & the Rockits"), re-enters his life and tries to mold him into the man she wants him to be. Meanwhile Brick learns what it means to be a mother hen when he has to watch over a baby chick for a school science project.
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#43 - The Ditch
The Middle Season 4 - Episode 23
While dressed in a lab coat for her dental assisting job, Frankie is mistaken for a doctor and receives special treatment; Axl talks Sue into ditching school for the day; Mike and Axl's fishing trip goes awry.
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#44 - Wheel of Pain
The Middle Season 4 - Episode 17
When Axl, Sue and Brick accidentally break the family room window, they decide to blame the Glossner children -- the bad seeds of the neighborhood; Frankie tries to land a prime dental rotation spot.
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#45 - The Quarry
The Middle Season 2 - Episode 4
When Axl is suspended for skipping school, Mike decides it's time to teach his son a lesson about life and makes him go to work with him at the quarry. But Mike's master plan backfires when Axl likes the job so much that he wants to quit school and lead the life of a quarryman. Meanwhile, Frankie is devastated when she fears that she accidentally prayed away Sue's cross-country team after it's cut by the school; and while practicing a magic trick, Brick makes the main TV remote disappear - and can't figure out how to make it reappear.
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#46 - Physician, Heal Thyself
Becker Season 1 - Episode 8
The disagreeable doc gets even more irritable when he becomes the patient in this pungent episode of the surprise hit of the season. The arrogant Bronx doctor is once again complaining about the shortcomings of society, sparking another verbal sparring match with Reggie Becker is later compelled to swallow his pride and ask for her help when his back goes out, leaving him prone on the floor of his apartment. But he scoffs when she suggests he see an acupuncturist. Meanwhile, Margaret receives special deliveries from a smitten mailman.
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#47 - Office Hours
The Middle Season 5 - Episode 21
Frankie limits the hours during which the kids can voice their needs; Mike watches to make sure Darrin doesn't take advantage of Sue; Brick invites new friends over.
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#48 - The Wind Chimes
The Middle Season 5 - Episode 19
Frankie begs Rita Glossner to take down her noisy wind chimes; Axl and Hutch try to figure out a way to retrieve a couch they found on the side of the road; Brick tries to come up with a new pretzel snack idea; Sue announces she is back with Darrin.
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#49 - The Debt
Samantha Who? Season 2 - Episode 13
Sam loses big at the craps table in Vegas. But a chance meeting with her ex-boss, billionaire Winston Funk, could be the answer to her financial dilemma.
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#50 - Pilot
Happily Divorced Season 1 - Episode 1
Fran's pushed back into the dating pool after her husband of 18 years drops a bomb by coming out of the closet. Neither can afford to move out of the house so they're stuck living together which makes it difficult for Fran to be with her new man, Eliott.
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#51 - The Drop Off
The Middle Season 5 - Episode 1
Against Axl's wishes, Frankie insists on having the entire Heck family along for the ride as they drive to his college to move him into his dorm. But the short drive turns into an eternity when Sue freaks out after discovering that Frankie forgot to fax in her essay to be a candidate for Junior Peer Leadership Advisor, and Brick proves once again that he can't be trusted when he keeps losing his new cell phone.
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#52 - Role of a Lifetime
The Middle Season 9 - Episode 5
Axl tries to invent a new beverage; Mike asks Sue to put together a romantic evening for his and Frankie's 25th wedding anniversary; Sue declares she won't be the person who does everything expected of her without complaint.
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#53 - Not Your Brother's Drop Off
The Middle Season 7 - Episode 1
Sue's excitement about moving into the dorm to start college is tempered when she accidentally burns her hair and must cut it short. Axl isn't interested in helping with Sue's move. Frankie discovers she's not sad about Sue moving out of the house while Mike overwhelms Sue with financial and safety guidelines. Brick is clueless when Cindy tells him she wants to take their relationship to the next level.
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#54 - The Optimist
The Middle Season 5 - Episode 20
Sue frantically tries to earn a college scholarship for when she graduates high school in two years; Frankie hopes to correct a mistake at work without her boss finding out; Brick demands a formal apology from Mike after a misunderstanding.
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#55 - From Orson with Love
The Middle Season 4 - Episode 21
Frankie tries to make Sue appear more popular on Facebook; Frankie's dad (Jerry Van Dyke) makes Mike listen to long-winded life stories; Brick and Axl try to create a viral video.
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#56 - The Building
Samantha Who? Season 2 - Episode 4
After pointing out her serious cash-flow problem, Samantha's mother gets her to agree to get back into the real estate game, only this time with her mother. Andrea attempts to use Todd's friend to further her own gold-digging excursions.
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#57 - My Dinner With Becker
Becker Season 1 - Episode 5
Becker initially declines the offer of a blind date, but he eventually agrees to meet the woman. After hearing about her passion for line-dancing, karaoke and aroma therapy, Becker is kicking himself for not trusting his instincts. Meanwhile, Reggie's evening goes south when she realizes that the guy she's dating is just too... nice.
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#58 - Help!
Samantha Who? Season 2 - Episode 5
After being given community service for her altercation with a cop, Sam tries to help out Natalie, a wayward young woman, despite pleas from her friends not to. Howard tries to give Todd advice on how to win Sam back, even though he told Howard he wasn't interested anymore.
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#59 - Steaming Pile of Guilt
The Middle Season 6 - Episode 15
Frankie realizes that she and the family forgot to celebrate Brick's 13th birthday.
7.55 #60 - Land of the Lost
The Middle Season 7 - Episode 5
Frankie asks Reverend TimTom to find out why Mike is being distant; and Sue invites Brick to visit her at college, but she loses him after running into the handsome Abercrombie guy. Meanwhile, Axl and Hutch complain to the city about an ant infestation.
7.54 #61 - The Shirt
The Middle Season 7 - Episode 3
Frankie is shocked when Mike trades in his flannel for a Hawaiian shirt; and Sue accidentally tells Devin that Axl loves her, leading Devin to question their relationship. Meanwhile, Brick gets overambitious while cleaning the bathroom.
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#62 - Mother's Day Reservations
The Middle Season 6 - Episode 23
Mike's incompetence threatens to ruin Frankie's Mother's Day. Mike tells Axl, Sue, and Brick to put some effort into a gift for Frankie. Frankie asks the kids how they would differ from her as parents.
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#63 - The Farm
Samantha Who? Season 2 - Episode 7
Samantha invites Owen to dinner to meet her parents; Dena worries that Chase isn't spending enough time with her; Todd asks Samantha to stay at her parents' house while his mother is in town.
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#64 - Out of Africa
Samantha Who? Season 2 - Episode 2
The new Sam decides to take a trip to Africa in hopes of providing some help to people who desperately need it, but then chickens out when she finds out what it's going to take to get there.
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#65 - The Rock Star
Samantha Who? Season 2 - Episode 14
Sam dates a rock star to whom Dena and Andrea take a liking. Their unruly behavior toward Sam's new beau causes Sam to inch farther and farther away from her friends.
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#66 - Pillow Talk
Happily Divorced Season 1 - Episode 2
After Elliott tells Fran that shes too involved in Peters life, she fears that their new relationship is in jeopardy. When Fran tries to plan a special evening with Elliott, Peters drunken night leads to an embarrassing morning for the trio.
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