The BEST episodes of Diff'rent Strokes season 7
Every episode of Diff'rent Strokes season 7, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Diff'rent Strokes season 7!
Two orphaned brothers, Arnold & Willis Jackson, are adopted by wealthy Manhattan widower Phillip Drummond when their mother (Drummond's maid) passes away. Along with Drummond's daughter Kimberly & housekeeper Mrs. Garrett, this family sitcom covers topics such as wealth- & racial- inequality. This was Gary Coleman's breakout role as short but sassy Arnold, whose catchphrase "What'choo talkin' 'bout?" became a national trend.
#1 - A Camping We Will Go
Season 7 - Episode 20 - Aired 2/23/1985
A camping trip with Arnold and Sam intended to strengthen Drummond's relationship with Sam goes awry when Sam's real father shows up and invites himself along.
#2 - The Honorable Arnold J. Jackson
Season 7 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/24/1984
When Arnold is appointed judge of the school court, he is suddenly faced with jeopardizing a longtime friendship or losing a date with the school heartthrob--everyone has their day in court.
#3 - A Special Friend
Season 7 - Episode 24 - Aired 5/4/1985
Arnold and Sam's new friendship with a street performer gets mired in fear and confusion when they discover she has epilepsy.
#4 - Carmella Meets the Gooch
Season 7 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/10/1984
The Gooch returns to taunt Arnold and take on a new target--Sam, only to face his first challenge in the Drummond's new neighbor, an Italian foreign exchange student.
#5 - Happy Birthday Drummond
Season 7 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/26/1985
Kimberly returns home from school in Paris to surprise Drummond on his birthday prompting Arnold and Willis to try and match her special gift, they decide to change their name to Drummond, until Willis suddenly has second thoughts.
#6 - Street Smarts
Season 7 - Episode 23 - Aired 3/23/1985
Although Arnold boasts he held his own in a mugging, Drummond fears the incident goes deeper than Arnold will admit and becomes concerned when he finds Arnold has sought a dangerous method of protection.
#7 - Sam's Father
Season 7 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/3/1984
Sam must choose between a penthouse apartment and a honky-tonk club when his real father comes knocking on the Drummond's door, wanting to take Sam with him.
#8 - Arnold the Entrepreneur
Season 7 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/17/1984
Entrepreneur Arnold reluctantly allows Sam to be a part of his new scheme, when Sam realizes only Arnold will reap the profits, he breaks up the partnership and becomes the competition.
#9 - Cheers to Arnold
Season 7 - Episode 19 - Aired 2/16/1985
Arnold's attempt to stop a friend from drinking backfires as he's left standing in the boy's bathroom holding a bottle of booze when the teacher walks in.
#10 - Arnold's Strike
Season 7 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/27/1984
Arnold risks expulsion from school when he leads a strike against some new rules he feels are "unfair."
#11 - Sam's New Pal
Season 7 - Episode 17 - Aired 2/2/1985
Sam is taken aback when he realizes his new "buddy" is a girl, but Mr. Drummond is even more dumbfounded when the kids want to have a sleepover.
#12 - Bed-Wetting
Season 7 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/13/1984
The Drummond household is faced with Sam's bed-wetting problem trying everything from scolding to fawning, only to have Sam become more frustrated and hurt.
#13 - Arnold and Lisa's Mother
Season 7 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/6/1984
Arnold thinks the school science fair is the perfect opportunity to sabotage the project of his least favorite female classmate, but with a closer look he wonders if her aggravating behavior is really a cry for help.
#14 - Sam Adopts a Grandparent
Season 7 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/19/1985
The Drummonds are concerned when the normally lovable Sam battles with a cynical senior who rejects the Cub Scout's "Adopt A Grandparent" program, leaving Sam with a tainted view of older people.
#15 - Blue Collar Drummond
Season 7 - Episode 22 - Aired 3/9/1985
When Drummond is accused of being out of touch with his employees, he secretly takes a job in one of his own factories working on an assembly line. Much to his surprise, his job is threatened when he makes suggestions to boost morale and improve production.
#16 - Russian Embassy
Season 7 - Episode 18 - Aired 2/9/1985
When Arnold's rocket for his school project is accidentally set off and lands atop the Russian Embassy, the state department is led to suspect the Drummond's participation is foul play.
#17 - A Haunting We Will Go
Season 7 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/29/1984
When Arnold and Sam creep through the crevices of the neighborhood's haunted house they find the ghost boasts a bounty of surprises--the biggest being a love for people and contempt for war.
#18 - Arnold's Songbird
Season 7 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/15/1984
In order to be elected the entertainment chairman for a school charity fundraiser, Arnold promises to get a celebrity but when it's time to deliver, he's forced to look to his nemesis Carmella for help, hoping she can save the day.
#19 - Tonsils
Season 7 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/8/1984
Drummond is a tower of strength for Sam as he prepares to have his tonsils removed, but what will happen when Drummond finds out he is to be Sam's roommate while having some "minor" knee surgery.
#20 - Arnold Saves the Squirrel
Season 7 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/12/1985
When Sam visits a taping of "The Sandy Squirrel Show" he is overcome by the news his favorite television idol is about to be cancelled, but it's big brother Arnold to the rescue as he rallies the Boy Scouts of Manhattan to demand the Squirrel be given a reprieve.
#21 - Baseball Blues
Season 7 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/5/1985
Sam persuades a reluctant Mr. Drummond to become the coach of his bad news baseball team and then regrets it after he winds up on the bench.
#22 - The Gymnasts
Season 7 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/1/1984
Drummond's surprise meant to encourage an Olympic hopeful felled by a tragic accident backfires when the young man instead becomes embittered at meeting the 1984 Men's Olympic Gold Medal-winning Gymnastics Team until Willis and Sam take on the challenge of setting things right.
#23 - Beauty is in the Eye of Arnold
Season 7 - Episode 21 - Aired 3/2/1985
Arnold is faced with a dilemma when his friends insist he take a cute cheerleader to the dance instead of the girl Arnold really likes who they consider an "ugly duckling."
#24 - Undercover Lover
Season 7 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/20/1984
Willis becomes the middleman in a police effort to halt use and trafficking of drugs at his high school.