The Best Episodes of According to Jim
Last Updated: Nov 14, 2018
Jim is an abrasive but lovable suburban father. Much like his real life counterpart, Jim's character is noted as a fan of Blues music, as well as the Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago Bulls, Chicago Bears, and the Chicago Cubs. He's married to a gorgeous woman, Cheryl, and raises his five children – Ruby, Gracie, Kyle, and twins, Gordan and Jonathan – in a big house. Everything is perfect for Jim, if it wasn't for the messy situations he gets himself into and his laziness, which often makes him search for alternative ways of doing things with less effort. Of course, having his wife's siblings hanging out at his house all the time is no help. While Andy might be one of his best friends, Dana often teams up with Cheryl against Jim.
#1 - The Hunters
Season 4 - Episode 8
To prove his worth as a man, Jim -- along with Andy -- hunt a turkey for Thanksgiving, but on the hunt Jim is pursued -- and shot -- by a legendary 40- lb. psychotic bird christened "Angry Pete." Thanksgiving-themed episode.
8.16
#2 - The Vast Difference (2)
Season 3 - Episode 29
Jim chickens out of having a vasectomy, but Cheryl is so effusive in her praise that he's unable to admit he didn't go through with it
8.13
#3 - A Hole in One
Season 4 - Episode 1
Cheryl wants Jim to give up his vices so he can get her pregnant.
8.09
#4 - The Gift Certificate
Season 7 - Episode 12
Realizing that Andy didn't use the gift certificate that Jim gave him for his birthday, Jim decides to use the certificate to treat himself with a nice meal, but soon Jim finds himself in an uncomfortable situation when Andy remembers the certificate and decides to invite Jim to join him for a meal.
8.08
#5 - Father-Daughter Dance
Season 4 - Episode 6
Ruby hurts Jim's feelings when she invites Andy to a father-daughter dance instead of him.
8.06
#6 - The Scrapbook
Season 4 - Episode 26
Jim actually remembers his and Cheryl's anniversary - but Cheryl didn't! Improvising, she gives him the photo album that covers years worth of memories. They start reminiscing.
8.05
#7 - The Meaningful Gift
Season 8 - Episode 10
Andy, desperate to impress Mandy with the perfect birthday gift, turns to Jim for advice. Jim counsels against givivng fancy jewelry, urging Andy instead to give a sentimental gift to win her over. But Andy's recollection of what has meaning to Mandy is way off base, and instead of being pleased with the gift, she thinks he's cheating on her.
8.00
#8 - No Surprises
Season 1 - Episode 22
Jim plans a surprise party for Cheryl's birthday, but gets angry and cancels it when Dana spills the beans. To make it up to him, Cheryl plans a party for him... but he's too busy bowling to show up.
8.00
#9 - Daddy Dearest
Season 5 - Episode 19
Jim believes that Bill (played by Joseph Bologna), the father of one of Rubys and Gracies classmates is actually his real father that abandoned Jim when he was a child.
7.98
#10 - House for Sale
Season 3 - Episode 14
The Devlins place a bid on the house across the street from Jim and Cheryl, to their dismay.
7.97
#11 - The Cooler One
Season 8 - Episode 13
Jim attempts to look cool in the eyes of Ruby and her friends, until he realizes that he may be undermining Cheryl's authority due to his behavior.
7.97
#12 - Under Pressure
Season 1 - Episode 16
After Jim is diagnosed with high blood pressure, Cheryl decides to do everything to help him. She makes him special food, give him backrubs, and keeps asking about his day in order to free him from stress. But Jim doesn't know how to share so much and tells her an old financial problem of the firm. Cheryl stays up all night doing math to figure out a way out of the problem. Jim says she has a disease and is always trying to help people, which Cheryl responds with stop caring about him. In the end, they finally settle their issues when Jim says he loves her and would be a total mess without her.
7.97
#13 - The Ring
Season 2 - Episode 17
When Jim and Cheryl run into his old girlfriend, Jim worries that Cheryl may find out the truth about his past when she invites the woman to dinner.
7.96
#14 - All Dolled Up
Season 7 - Episode 10
Jim is forced organize a doll-themed party for Gracie while Cheryl is on bed rest, but when Gracie admits that the only reason she agreed to the party was because she wanted to please her mother, Jim decides to turn the party into something totally else.
7.95
#15 - Jami Mcfame
Season 8 - Episode 3
Jim and his band win a chance to play for a child pop sensation Jami McFame, but when the star gives them an attitude, Jim decides to set her straight.
7.94
#16 - The Cheater
Season 7 - Episode 16
Cheryl insists on playing a game that she somehow always wins, but Dana is aware of the fact that Cheryl is cheating.
7.94
#17 - Separate Ways
Season 6 - Episode 10
While Ryan is away, Dana and baby Tanner are staying at Jim and Cheryl's, until Jim starts complaining about the presence of the baby, so Cheryl wants him to stay at Andy's for a while. While Jim and Andy enjoy their male bonding, Cheryl and Dana are enjoying their time together too. At least, until Ryan returns.
7.92
#18 - The Lemonade Stand
Season 3 - Episode 5
Jim and Cheryl encourage the girls to make a lemonade stand and raise money for their scooters. What was supposed to be a lesson about the value of the dollar turns into a racy competition among neighbors when Bill and his next door neighbor Driscoll set up little amusement parks in their years. Dana and Andy pitch in, while Cheryl tries to stay out of it – until she gets into a catfight with the neighbor's wife. Once the police is called in, Jim realizes he's lost the purpose of the lemonade stand and decides to give the girls the rest of the money for the scooters.
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#19 - Sympathy From the Devlins
Season 4 - Episode 11
Jim befriends his obnoxious neighbors when he believes they bring good luck when he's watching the Chicago Bulls.
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#20 - Cheryl Goes to Florida
Season 7 - Episode 5
While Cheryl is out of town to take care of her mother, Jim has to take care of their kids, and he receives sympathy from a neighborhood mom. Soon, other moms start helping Jim, and he tells each one that she's the only help in the house.
7.91
#21 - The Devil Went Down to Oak Park
Season 7 - Episode 18
The Devil himself visits Jim to remind him of the deal they made years ago, when Jim promised to give away his fifth child if the Devil helped him win over Cheryl.
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#22 - The Effort
Season 4 - Episode 2
Cheryl surprises Jim with a romantic evening, but it cuts into his planned TV boxing match.
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#23 - The Daddy Way
Season 8 - Episode 11
Cheryl and her friends, eager to get an afternoon away from the kids, arrange a "Daddy and Me" group for Jim and other dads with young kids at their home. Jim makes the best of a potentially boring situation by turning babysitting into a sporting event--staging baby races where the dads bet on their kids and drink beer.
7.89
#24 - You Gotta Love Somebody (2)
Season 2 - Episode 14
Jim's old friend Danny visits him, and brings his partner in crime, Laraine, with him. Cheryl and Dana offer to help Laraine pick out a dress for the police ball, and after realizing she has feelings for Danny, Cheryl convinces Jim to talk to Danny about asking her to the ball. Cheryl reveals to Jim that if it wasn't for Danny, they might never have gotten together, as they remember the time they met at a bar back in the 80's. But when Danny finally has the guts to talk to Laraine, he finds out that Andy already asked her out. Dana asks why can't she be Danny's date, since she made out with Cheryl's boyfriend the night she met Jim just so he would get out of the way. They all try to convince Andy to step aside what could be true love, but Andy reminds them of how he pretended to have a heart attack just so Jim would get rid of his girlfriend the night he met Cheryl. Finally, Andy agrees to help Danny and Laraine, as Jim and Cheryl conclude that despite all the help they got they still would have met.
7.89
#25 - The Swimming Pool (1)
Season 3 - Episode 28
Cheryl protests when a heat wave sends the family sneaking into a vacationing neighbor's pool -- until she starts sneaking over on her own.
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