The WORST episodes of Empty Nest
Every episode of Empty Nest ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Empty Nest!
Widowed pediatrician Harry Weston is a miracle worker when it comes to dealing with his young patients, but he's more challenged by the other people surrounding him: daughters Barbara and Carol; his wisecracking office assistant, nurse LaVerne Todd; and obnoxious neighborhood mooch Charley Dietz. Thank goodness he always finds a friendly shoulder (and a warm, wet tongue) in Dreyfuss, his enormous dog.
#1 - My Mother, My Self
Season 5 - Episode 24 - Aired 5/8/1993
Charley's mother arrives to tell him that she and his father are divorced and ends up falling in love with Harry. Carol goes on a trip to meet Patrick's mother. Laverne battles her insurance company.
#2 - The Sting
Season 5 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/9/1993
The FBI wants Emily to help them nab her bookie boyfriend. Laverne teaches Charley CPR.
#3 - The Fracas in Vegas
Season 5 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/23/1993
Harry and Charley travel to Las Vegas to see a boxing match but the trip is plagued with problems. Meanwhile, Emily wonders when Carol stopped being her cool big sister when Carol won't let her visiting college friends crash on the living room floor. Emily later regrets her comments when Carol takes control and starts teaching the whole group to do 70's dances.
#4 - Pardon My Flashback
Season 5 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/30/1993
While gathered around the television for the Super Bowl, the Westons, Laverne, and Charley reflect on old times.
#5 - Dog Day Afternoon
Season 5 - Episode 17 - Aired 2/6/1993
A small investment in a mall makes Laverne especially bossy. Carol consults an animal psychologist for help when Dreyfuss ignores her after she yells at him.
#6 - More to Love
Season 5 - Episode 18 - Aired 2/13/1993
Emily is dating Carol's old school friend Danny, who compulsively jokes about his weight problem; Laverne is spending all her spare time on the phone gossiping with other nurses, but is aghast when another nurse accidentally hears her and Harry together in the supply closet and alerts the grapevine.
#7 - My Dad, My Doctor
Season 5 - Episode 19 - Aired 2/20/1993
Emily upsets Harry when she tears a ligament in her knee and needs surgery, but chooses instead to follow a therapy program recommended by another doctor. Meanwhile, Patrick goes camping and Charley tags along.
#8 - Love and Marriage
Season 5 - Episode 20 - Aired 2/27/1993
Carol is upset when cousin Little Carol visits and announces her wedding plans. Charley is sentenced to community service at the hospital and gets some helpful tips from Jack Trenton.
#9 - The All-American Boy -- Not!
Season 5 - Episode 21 - Aired 3/20/1993
Harry befriends a young shoplifter while volunteering at a free clinic and brings him home. The boy, an uncontrolled diabetic, later runs away, taking the Westons furniture with him.
#10 - Two for the Road
Season 5 - Episode 22 - Aired 4/10/1993
Patrick and Emily drive back from New York together in his van. Meanwhile, Harry, who is home sick with the flu, must bear the brunt of Carol's certainty that something will happen between the two while on the road.
#11 - Aunt Verne Knows Best
Season 5 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/1/1993
Laverne is too controlling on her nephew, who is in town to attend college. Carol is convinced her relationship with Patrick will be over before their nearing six month anniversary because no other relationship (except her doomed marriage) has lasted past six months.
#12 - Emily
Season 5 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/2/1993
When Emily returns from college, Carol decides to take her little sister under her wing, so to speak, and sets her up on a blind date with Patrick's friend. Meanwhile, Emily's rich boyfriend, whom she doesn't want to see anymore, doesn't want their relationship to be over.
#13 - Charley to the Rescue
Season 5 - Episode 25 - Aired 5/15/1993
Emily is harassed by an obnoxious comic while working as a waitress on Charley's cruise ship. Laverne fixes Harry up with what she thinks is his perfect match.
#14 - Surprise! Surprise!
Season 5 - Episode 26 - Aired 5/22/1993
It's Harry's birthday and he overhears Charley planning a surprise party, but soon finds out it isn't for him. Flashbacks from seasons past highlight this episode.
#15 - When the Rooster Dies
Season 6 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/25/1993
Harry sells his pediatrics practice to another doctor, who ends up firing Laverne. When the hospital sends Harry to check out an inner-city clinic, he ends up teaming up with the owner, Dr. Maxine Douglas, to keep the place open. Laverne joins them as nurse. Meanwhile, Sophia Petrillo moves back into nearby Shady Pines retirement home and drops by the Weston house.
#16 - Bye-Bye, Baby...Hello (1)
Season 6 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/2/1993
Carol throws Patrick out when she realizes that he'll never grow up, but later learns that she's pregnant. Laverne goes too far when trying to organize things at the clinic.
#17 - Bye-Bye, Baby...Hello (2)
Season 6 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/9/1993
Carol can't decide how to tell Patrick about her pregnancy. Laverne refuses to tell Maxine a secret.
#18 - Mom's the Word
Season 6 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/23/1993
Carol is afraid to tell a date that she is pregnant. Laverne and Maxine disagree when trying to plan a baby shower.
#19 - Mama Todd, the Sequel
Season 6 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/16/1993
Laverne's mother-in-law visits, unaware that Nick and Laverne are divorced. Charley tries to persuade Carol to make him godfather of the baby.
#20 - Diary of a Mad Housewife
Season 6 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/30/1993
Carol reads her mother's old diary and thinks she wasn't wanted. Maxine is annoyed by a mime and a hypochondriac at the clinic.
#21 - No Volunteers, Please
Season 6 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/13/1993
A shy woman volunteers at the clinic and starts sending Laverne flowers and cooking her dinner, which prompts Maxine to think the lady is a lesbian. Carol tries to get her unborn child enrolled in a posh preschool.
#22 - Das Boob
Season 6 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/20/1993
Harry and Charley get stranded at sea. Maxine tries to overcome her fear of public speaking.
#23 - R.N. on the Rebound
Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/3/1992
Barbara sets newly divorced Laverne up on a blind date with a coroner's assistant. Carol is jealous of the friendship between Patrick and Charley (who surprisingly understands the depth of Patrick's art).
#24 - The Return of Aunt Susan
Season 4 - Episode 17 - Aired 2/8/1992
Carol likes her jet-setting aunt's philanthropist lifestyle. Laverne refuses to miss work despite being in a wheelchair after falling off her roof.
#25 - The Unimportance of Being Charley
Season 4 - Episode 18 - Aired 2/15/1992
Charley poses as captain of his ship to impress his visiting parents. Worried that Harry favors Barbara over her, Carol decides to keep track of how many times he does so.