The WORST episodes of Growing Pains
Every episode of Growing Pains ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Growing Pains!
It's hard enough to raise a kid nowadays but when you have to cope with THESE kids, things tend to get out of hand! Dr Seaver, a psychologist, and his wife Maggie Seaver, a journalist, try to do their best raising their family, and although their kids, Mike, Ben, Carol and Chrissy, cause them endless problems, they manage to keep the family close together. As long as they got each other, nothing else matters...
#1 - This is Your Life
Season 3 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/17/1987
During a tonsillectomy, Ben has an out-of-body experience, dreaming that he escapes with a friendly cabbie, only to find a new Ben has replaced him at home.
#2 - Paper Route
Season 5 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/22/1989
Ben assumes Mike's paper route for half the money.
#3 - Jason's Rib
Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/9/1986
A proposed school dress code puts Maggie and Jason at odds.
#4 - The Obscure Objects of Our Desire (2)
Season 3 - Episode 23 - Aired 3/30/1988
Household objects continue to recall occasions in the Seaver home.
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#5 - The Mom Who Knew Too Much
Season 3 - Episode 17 - Aired 1/26/1988
Maggie and Carol share confidences at the beauty salon, but later Carol learns to her chagrin that a secret isn't safe with Maggie.
#6 - The Obscure Objects of Our Desire (1)
Season 3 - Episode 22 - Aired 3/30/1988
Spring-cleaning breathes new life into the family's household objects, and each has a story to tell (via flashbacks from past episodes).
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#7 - The World According to Chrissy
Season 6 - Episode 13 - Aired 12/19/1990
Chrissy starts spending much time with her imaginary friend, a six-foot-tall mouse named Ike.
#8 - The Kid's Still Got It
Season 7 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/26/1991
Carol accompanies Maggie to a resort, which turns out to be hosting a singles convention; meanwhile, the all-male weekend planned at home is ruined when Chrissy is sent home with head lice.
#9 - Mike and Julie's Wedding
Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/27/1989
Julie and Mike suffer prenuptial jitters.
#10 - Double Standard
Season 4 - Episode 17 - Aired 3/1/1989
Jason punishes Carol and Ben unequally for the same offense when they are both caught after sneaking out for dates without permission.
#11 - Born Free
Season 2 - Episode 20 - Aired 3/31/1987
Airlines passengers Jason and Mike must deliver a baby.
#12 - Michaelgate
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/6/1987
Mike is unaware that he's been nominated for student-body president because he's "a sure loser."
#13 - Great Expectations
Season 3 - Episode 18 - Aired 2/9/1988
A letter from the girl he met in Hawaii has Mike scheming to fly to Los Angeles to see her without his parents' knowing.
#14 - The Nanny
Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 1/4/1989
The Seavers hire a nanny for Chrissy.
#15 - Carol's Papers
Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/25/1989
An angry Jason confronts Ben and Mike, who gives conflicting versions of how Ben came to sell Carol's old term papers to students at Dewey High -- and to date a seductive 18-year-old.
#16 - Higher Education
Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/20/1987
A girl raises a grade for Mike, then demands payment.
#17 - The New Deal (2)
Season 5 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/15/1989
Jason can't tell Maggie about the job offer.
#18 - Be a Man
Season 1 - Episode 20 - Aired 3/11/1986
Custodian Mike watches a wild party explode in his home.
#19 - Reputation
Season 1 - Episode 18 - Aired 2/25/1986
Mike writes test answers on his shoe soles.
#20 - Mom of the Year
Season 4 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/25/1989
Maggie prepares her "Working Mother of the Year" acceptance speech.
#21 - The Awful Truth
Season 2 - Episode 19 - Aired 3/17/1987
A genealogy assignment unearths a dark family secret.
#22 - Scarlet Letter
Season 3 - Episode 12 - Aired 12/1/1987
An unearned "A" makes Carol doubt her academic record.
#23 - Dance Fever (2)
Season 3 - Episode 20 - Aired 3/2/1988
Great expectations turn sour at the Dewey High dance after Mike hears Lydia's voice; and Ben and Stinky find themselves in a seedy diner eyeing a pinball machine that pays real money.
#24 - The Anniversary That Never Was
Season 1 - Episode 19 - Aired 3/4/1986
Maggie's assignment interferes with anniversary plans.
#25 - Bringing Up Baby
Season 3 - Episode 21 - Aired 3/9/1988
The Seavers begin to make room for baby, relegating Ben to the guest quarters and making the others lament the changes bound to come. Meanwhile, Maggie grasps for a way to tell her boss she is pregnant.
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