The WORST episodes of Step by Step
Every episode of Step by Step ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Step by Step!
Set in Port Washington, Wisconsin, Frank Lambert, a divorced contractor with 3 children, sons J.T. and Brendan and daughter Al, impulsively marries Carol Foster, a widowed beautician who also has 3 children, daughters Dana and Karen and son Mark. Both were residents of Port Washington, but met while vacationing separately in Jamaica. Their children are surprised and angered when they learn of the marriage. Stories depicted typical situations of a new blended family, their differences causing arguments and resentments between them, but the family eventually growing to tolerate and develop loyalty to one another
#1 - Make Room for Daddy
Season 4 - Episode 11 - Aired 12/9/1994
Carol and Frank go on a romantic getaway, but Carol can think of nothing but the baby. Mark meets a girl, but is surprised by her appearance.
#2 - Karate Kid
Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/23/1994
Mark feels his friends don't respect him, and his mother babies him. In order to earn respect he joins a Karate class. His teacher kicks him out for being too wimpy. Cody agrees to help Mark prepare for the big karate tournament (Cody is a black belt) in a month and Mark becomes a totally new man. He faces the best person in the first match and falls behind quickly. Cody, however, notices his weakness and Mark uses it to catch up and force the guy to the final point. Mark loses the match, but wins respect from everybody except the coach of the other guy who mocks him and Cody and then challenges Cody to a karate match. Cody beats him badly. Frank is tired of all the yelling in the house so he installs an intercom that has a radio in it, but he is forced to destroy it when it wakes everyone up in the middle of the night.
#3 - College Bound
Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/30/1994
Carol adds to her vast collection of ""first"" pictures by taking one of Dana's first day at East Wisconsin University. Dana feels she is being shafted when she receives a ""D"" on her English paper. That evoked varying responses including an ""Another first-- get a picture Carol"" from Al and an ""I'm the smartest now"" from Mark. Carol tells Dana her ego is too big and although she is smart she only had to look to her driveway to find someone smarter (remember SATs). Dana later apologizes and promises to correct her attitude. Immediately after this she finds out Cody was accepted at ""Cheese Wis U"" and enrolled in all her classes. Meanwhile, JT receives a credit card and despite a warning from Frank, he charges $20,000 worth of stuff, including a mink coat which Carol adores. When everything is returned Carol has a hard time parting with the coat. Frank puts the next credit card JT gets in the blender.
#4 - Animal House
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/7/1994
Cody joins a college fraternity (Delta Delta Beta),to be cool.But finds the way they treat woman disgusting after Karen attends a party with him. Meanwhile joins the schoolband.
#5 - Spoiled Sport
Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 10/14/1994
When a part time Sportscaster job becomes available, Frank's old visions of being a great announcer come back. He chokes and Carol gets the job which bums him out seeing himself stuck in an endless life of average. He snaps out of it when Carol tells him that to her he is a superstar. Ironically, when Carol denies the job, Cody ends up with it. Carol's health food kick has the kids buying their own junk food. This causes JT and Al to patrol the kitchen and endless fights over stealing each other's junk food. Finally, a food fight breaks out and when Cody tries to break it up, he is attacked from all sides. As a funny side note, in the middle of all this JT put glue in Dana's conditioner.
#6 - Revenge of the Nerd
Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/21/1994
Karen tries to become Homecoming Queen, and discovers it's not worth the effort.Cody suffers an identity crisis.
#7 - Something Wild
Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 10/28/1994
Cody makes the world's largest Jack-o-Lantern and Mark discovers an alien life. Meanwhile, Carol and Frank decide to dress as Tarzan and Jane for the special Halloween Ball.
#8 - Beyond Therapy
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/11/1994
Cody puts the entire family into counseling over the baby.
#9 - The Ice Cream Man Cometh
Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/18/1994
The kids kick up a fuss about the baby's room and Cody comforts an old friend.
#10 - Letting Go
Season 4 - Episode 10 - Aired 11/25/1994
Al brings home her new boyfriend to meet Frank,but he has some major issues about the way the boy dresses.
#11 - Great Expectations
Season 3 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/6/1994
Cody's father comes to see him on his 21st birthday. He gives him a job as executive VP of his successful real estate business. Cody comes into the first meeting and disturbs everyone even coming up with an idea to build a mall on the beach that looks like a sandcastle. Upon advice from Frank, Cody decides to quit realizing,he will not be happy. Carol keeps setting up Dana and Karen with blind dates. They are all bad especially the latest one where the guys are dressed up like Beavis and Butthead and bring fake snot. They plot with Frank to pay Carol back. Afterward, they all agree to not have anymore blind dates. Carol reneges, though, and tries to get them to date a cute guy, but they refuse before seeing him and later try to get him.
#12 - Can't Buy Me Love
Season 4 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/6/1995
J.T. and Cody are out riding around in J.T. boss's car.When J.T. meets a pretty girl,at a cafe.She thinks he's rich and so J.T. lies and says he is, to impress her.He then finds some money on the street and decides to keep it.Not knowing it actually belongs to Shelly's Dad who owns the cafe she works at.Cody finally makes J.T. tell her the truth and J.T. fines out about the money and returns it and apologizes for lieing.They decide to try and start over.
#13 - Thirtysomething
Season 4 - Episode 14 - Aired 1/20/1995
Carol starting binging on odd combo's of foods at her pregnancy wears on.While Cody makes a film about a goldfish and Dana comes to terms with her older boyfriend.
#14 - The Honeymoon is Over
Season 4 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/3/1995
Mark's girlfriend Gabrielle comes to spend the weekend. JT gives Mark advice and the girls give Gabrielle advice, and they break up. Cody gets them back together. Frank gives Carol hints about what he wants for his birthday.
#15 - She Came in Through the Bedroom Window
Season 4 - Episode 19 - Aired 3/17/1995
Cody's speech teacher tells him he says the word ""dude"" too much. He creates a device whereby someone can press a button and give him an electrical shock every time he uses the word. Dana volunteers and takes her job seriously, ""zapping"" him as much as possible. Cody decides that the word ""dude"" is part of who he is and how he communicates and therefore, quits. Carol is 8 months pregnant and VERY large. Frank gets a job with a beautiful ex-girlfriend and neglects to tell Carol, feeling she is insecure. Carol finds out about the job, but more importantly finds out that she can trust Frank.
#16 - Indecent Proposal
Season 4 - Episode 20 - Aired 3/31/1995
JT and Dana are in the same Ethics class, and JT gets an ""A+,"" while Dana gets a lower grade. Dana goes to inquire about her grade and discovers that the only reason JT got his grade is the teacher is interested in him. Dana warns JT and tells him that his first time should be special. When JT goes over to the Professors, he abstains from any wrongdoing, and in Dana's words, ""deserves an 'A+' in Ethics. Frank buys the Meat Master 5000, but does not assemble it correctly, and it starts a fire. Cody is having trouble sleepwalking and talking like a 5-year-old, warning Carol to get to the hospital. He discovers it is related to seeing his sister be born in the back of a cab, when he was five.
#17 - Adventures in Babysitting
Season 4 - Episode 22 - Aired 5/5/1995
J.T. applies his greed to babysitting,with Al's help.But they agree to sit for too many kids and can't control the group.
#18 - Big Girl on Campus
Season 4 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/12/1995
Carol decides that they need to get rid of all of Frank's old junk. They have a yard sale where Frank tries to sell things for $15-$50, but a guy smoking a cigar will only offer a quarter in return. At the end of the day, they have only made a nickel when the guy with a cigar comes back and offers a quarter for everything left. Carol quickly accepts his CHECK. Dana is going to a college party. After a great deal of coaxing, Karen and Al convince Dana to take them with her. Karen surveys the room and picks a guy, Jeremy. Jeremy, however, chooses Al. Despite being asked to dance by 12 other guys and receiving a marriage proposal, Karen considers the whole party a waste. She and Dana then find out that Jeremy's intentions were less than pure. They rush to Al's rescue and help her get revenge.
#19 - Little Sister Don'tcha
Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/22/1995
J.T. is excited about his double date with his pal and two girls, until he finds out who his pal's date is.
#20 - Three Girls and a Baby
Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 9/29/1995
The girls care for the new baby while Frank and Carol go on a romantic date. But everyone's evening is filled with surprises.
#21 - Down and Out in Port Washington
Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/12/1993
Lucille is in the shop being repaired so Cody stays in the Lambert living room. After Cody does his wash in the kitchen and loses his ant farm on the couch, the family is ready for him to move back into his van. Lucille, however, dies on the greaserack. Frank and Carol are relieved, however, when Cody tells them he is ready to be out as well. He decides to move into a stationary Lucille reasoning that many people live perfectly normal lives in non-moving structures. At the same time, Karen is interested in a guy who volunteers at a homeless shelter so she goes there one Saturday. He takes his girlfriend out, though, and Karen ends up spending a whole day at the shelter for ""nothing."" After a heart-to-heart with Carol, Karen decides that she needs to adjust her priorities.
#22 - The Un-Natural
Season 2 - Episode 21 - Aired 4/2/1993
Al's baseball team (Port Washington Cubs), which is coached by Frank, makes it to the championship, but they lose a player and need a replacement. Carol talks Frank into letting Mark be that replacement, although ""He is not even good enough to be bad."" Frank tries to avoid playing Mark until they are so far ahead it won't matter. The game comes down to the final hit, however, and Frank is forced to put Mark in. After being jeered by the crowd, Mark wants to quit, but Al threatens him so he has tries to hit. He uses his knowledge of Physics to hit the winning Home Run. JT and Dana's competitiveness once again yields a battle of the sexes. Karen and Dana think women are able to stay awake just as long as men, while JT disagrees. Cody agrees to make it a 2-on-2 contest because his ""14 hours of sleep a night cuts into his leisure time."" JT, Dana, and Karen all end up zonked on the couch, while Cody's brain begins to tell him the secrets of the universe.
#23 - The Psychic
Season 2 - Episode 22 - Aired 4/30/1993
Karen is angry at JT for putting her baby picture in the school year book. While Frank and Carol get a new Snooze-O-Matic adjustable bed.
#24 - This Old House
Season 2 - Episode 23 - Aired 5/7/1993
Frank gets a job, which includes moving a house. Carol convinces Frank to hire Cody for the demolition work, though Cody has never done this precise demolition before. Cody finds out that a family lives in the house Frank is wrecking and has nowhere to go. Cody refuses to demolish the building and gets to know the Emersons. When Carol finds out that the family lives there, she sits beside Cody in an sort of demostration. Cody and Carol find a solution to the problem. Their answer is to move the house and make Frank hire the father. Al, Brendan and Mark get a job licking envelopes. JT says that he can be the manager of the envelope licking and really increase their productivity. JT's management style doesn't work, because he just bosses the others around. So Al, Brendan, and Mark quit, and JT has to lick envelopes all night. Afterward, Dana and Karen suggest a sponge.
#25 - Double Date
Season 2 - Episode 24 - Aired 5/21/1993
Carol sets up Karen with Freddy, who is a 153 on Karen's grading scale. Karen, however, prefers Jeffrey (a 195). Despite disappointing Carol, Karen accepts a date with Jeffrey and dumps Freddy by lying to him. She sneaks out of the house to go with Jeff and they win Perfect Couple right after Freddy confronts Karen. She refuses the award and finishes the evening with Freddy. Carol does not like the way Frank organizes his money. She tries to make him use a male purse, but he refuses. He concentrates his efforts on putting an alarm on Lucille because Cody had his stereo stolen out of it. The alarm was so good Frank got stuck in the van demonstrating it.