The BEST episodes of Teachers
Every episode of Teachers ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Teachers!
Created by Tim Loane, the series follows a group of secondary school teachers in their daily lives. While the first series centres heavily around probationary teacher Simon Casey (Andrew Lincoln), later series have an ensemble approach. The cast changes dramatically over time, with few original characters remaining by the fourth series. While some of these disappearances are explained, others happen between series without explanation. The first three series are set in the fictional Summerdown Comprehensive, which merges with another school in the fourth series to form Wattkins School.
#1 - Episode Four
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/11/2001
The male teachers all become insecure about their respective relationships when Clare announces teaching sex education is to be taught in class. Simon makes his usual mess by advising a pupil to dump his girlfriend if she doesn’t sleep with him. Jenny sorts out Susan’s marital problems by having a stern word with Peter.
#2 - Episode One
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 3/13/2002
It’s the first day of term and there are two new teachers; J.P. and Penny. Kurt is hiding from Carol, Susan is falling in love with J.P. and Simon is bored. While contemplating ways to make J.P. notice her, Susan takes advice from Brian and dresses more feminine. However it is all for nothing as she finds out that he is gay. Kurt give Liz chocolate so that she will dump Carol for him. Brian hears that Penny is a lesbian and becomes obsessed with her breasts.
#3 - Episode Two
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/20/2002
Simon is becoming jealous of J.P., thinking that all the girls are after him. When J.P. suggests that they try another pub, Simon gets angry and regretfully asks Bob down the local pub, leaving everyone else to try a karaoke bar. Kurt can’t seem to get the message across to Carol in a nice way so he asks for Penny’s help. She agrees to pretend to be his girlfriend in order to repel Carol. Later at the karaoke bar, Carol arrives and performs ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’ for Kurt, just as Penny decides not to help him after she is informed of Carol’s psychotic tendencies. Carol approaches a terrified Kurt and Jenny decides to put an end to it all. She walks up to Kurt and passionately kisses him, finally breaking Carol’s heart. Kurt is free, but Jenny may not be.
#4 - Episode Three
Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 3/27/2002
When Clare bans student’s facial hair in school, Kurt attempts to grow a moustache. Susan, on the other hand, is desperate to lose hers as she becomes less confident. Simon realises that he has never fancied Susan and tries really hard to change that fact. After a ‘moment’ in the photocopying room, he becomes convinced that they can be more than just friends. He takes her out to a resturant where he reveals his feelings for her. She is disgusted and decides that even though she can forget what has taken place, she cannot move in with him anymore.
#5 - Episode Six
Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 4/17/2002
The gang begin to realize that Penny is failing as a teacher. Jenny sees it as a reflection on her mentoring but then Penny tries to get around her by flirting with Bob throwing him into full mid-life crises mode. A trip to the hospital and a word from Brian helps Bob’s put his mid-life crisis and Penny’s manipulative ways into perspective. Kurt is also forced to have a word with Penny when a student complains that her flirting with him in class is no substitute for teaching the material. Meanwhile Clare institutes an “Open Surgery” approach to counseling and Susan gets overwhelmed with walk-ins while Brian wonders why Kayla is avoiding seeking his council.
#6 - Episode Seven
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 4/24/2002
Susan decides she wants a baby, after a talk with the kids about unprotected sex. Simon tries putting her off, whilst Brian and Kurt compete to become the father.
#7 - Episode Eight
Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 5/1/2002
When a student in Kurt’s I.T. Class enters his name on a web search engine, Kurt realizes that another man with the same name has accomplished a lot more than he has. This causes Simon to also realise that his life is boring, so he books a ticket abroad and announces it to a less than pleased Susan. After dropping the bomb on Clare and Bob, he becomes very unpopular with the faculty for leaving so early before the end of term. On his last day he is surprised with a party and a nice send off from his friends.
#8 - Episode Nine
Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 5/8/2002
The English department is feeling a noticeable gap due to Simon’s absence, while Jenny has renewed energy to focus on work since splitting up with Alec. Penny is forced into full-time teaching to help cover Simon's classes, however she is not ready for the challenge and clashes head on with Liz, who is trying to make her teaching life difficult as payback for taking advantage of everyone when she first started. Kurt and Brian are trying to improve their communication skills so that they have the courage to refuse extra work from Clare, but they are annoyed at J.P. as he can already do this extremely well and always gets out of doing any extra work.
#9 - Episode Two
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/28/2001
Clare enjoys winding the teachers up about the upcoming Parent’s Evening. Susan also begins to fear that the job of Year Head will go to Jenny, who has been impressing Clare with her strict teaching skills. Simon must wriggle his way out of trouble after getting caught smoking a joint with a student.
#10 - Episode Five
Season 2 - Episode 5 - Aired 4/10/2002
Susan’s problem with Jenny and Alec’s none-too-private snogging and Alec’s frequent nudity comes to a peak. Initially the guys aren’t very supportive, but when J.P. brings a bloke home, Kurt and Brian begin to see her point. Susan seeks to escape the bedroom noises by going to Kurt and Brian’s flat only to find Kurt in Brian’s room as the sounds of J.P.’s tryst are hard to ignore as well. When word of Susan’s complaining gets back to Jenny, relations are further strained.
#11 - Episode Eight
Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 9/24/2003
An unwilling Matt takes over as head of English when Bob is taken into hospital, but his early intentions to remain one of the gang soon go right out of the window.
#12 - Episode Nine
Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/14/2004
A severe female Inspector arrives to the school - with the classrooms in a mess from the Christmas Party the day before. Clare's plan of action - involving dinner ladies and fake pupils - fails and Ewan must seduce the Inspector to save the day. Bob prepares for the marriage ceremony - taking place in the playground, and featuring an igloo a sleigh, and Ben as the best men, with a reluctant Ping as a bride.
#13 - Episode Nine
Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 10/1/2003
The gang grow depressed at their single lives, pondering their inability to sustain a relationship, until Liz points out that Brian and Kurt are as good as married and seem to have the perfect partnership. Simon receives a job at a new school and ponders what his future may be like.
#14 - Episode Ten
Season 3 - Episode 10 - Aired 10/8/2003
After receiving repeated complaints from parents and staff, all of which result in a formal warning, Lindsay takes a radical step and turns to Bob for help in keeping her job. Can the guru turn her into a ‘super teacher’?
#15 - Episode Eleven
Season 3 - Episode 11 - Aired 10/15/2003
Brian becomes more obsessed with dinner lady Eileen, and soon comes to her rescue when Bob complains about the canteen food. This wins him a date with her, but he becomes so infatuated with her that he leads himself to believe that they are in a long term relationship, which he sadly ends after he claims that it isn’t “working”. He feels gutted however, when he realises that he never slept with her even when it was offered.
#16 - Episode Twelve
Season 3 - Episode 12 - Aired 10/22/2003
Lindsay bets Penny that Matt and Kurt are completely alike when it becomes apparent that they are both tight when it comes to giving to charities.
#17 - Episode Thirteen
Season 3 - Episode 13 - Aired 10/29/2003
Penny embarks on a new romance. In a drunken moment Matt and Lindsay find themselves in a compromising situation. The two spend the rest of the week avoiding their feelings for one another. After hearing that the human pupils dilate when looking at someone you love, Brian and Kurt try it out with everyone. It only proves successful however, when they look at each other. Meanwhile, Clare discovers Bob’s secret ‘weapon’ and has sex with him on her porch.
#18 - Episode One
Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/26/2004
Summerdown Comp has merged with a rival school into Wattkins Comprehensive, and a ""us and them"" divide between staff and pupils. Bob starts a vendetta against his new boss Ewan, only to be humiliated. Claire, on the other hand, does everything she can to get Ewan's attention. The other newcomers, the cynical Damien and hypochondriac Ben, meanwhile, are labelled standoffish by Lindsay and Penny as they resist friendly gestures.
#19 - Episode Two
Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 11/2/2004
Penny is upset after a failed pass at Ewan, but she is soon chatted up by a librarian. Her colleagues learn that he is actually a pupil, but Lindsay is loathe to tell Penny. Bob faces rejection as he searches for a Thai mail order bride, while Ben changes his views of the aged after visiting a group of pensioners on Age Awareness Day.
#20 - Episode Three
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/9/2004
During Gay & Lesbian Awareness Week, Ewan panics when a pupil develops a crush on him. Ben is attracted to Sarah from The Advisory Group, Claire is fascinated by a lesbian's behaviour, Liz worries that daughter Kayla is gay, and Lindsay is upset when she's told she'd make a good lesbian.
#21 - Episode Four
Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/16/2004
Bob has a vasectomy to prepare for the arrival of his mail order bride. Meanwhile, Claire informs Lindsay that she must lose weight, as it is Obesity Awareness Week. Penny gets dumped by pupil Anthony, who would prefer to concentrate on his schoolwork.
#22 - Episode Five
Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 11/23/2004
The teachers are excited by the arrival of Bob's new wife Ping, from Thailand. However they soon discover she is a misery who refuses to have sex. Meanwhile, it's the school's Religious Tolerance Week, resulting in a war between the pupils, and Ben is provoked to go to search for inner peace.
#23 - Episode Six
Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/30/2004
The staff learn that Penny's surname is really Eichmann, and they immediately suspect her to be a Nazi - and she does lots of things to arouse their suspicions. During Race Awareness Week, Bob pretends that he is having lots of sex with his new wife, Ping. However in reality the only one Ping seems to be interested in is Ewan.
#24 - Episode Seven
Season 4 - Episode 7 - Aired 12/7/2004
Damien proudly declares he doesn't need a girlfriend to complete his life - however he changes his mind when he sets eyes on supply teacher Anna. But his inflamed ardour is cooled after an unfortunate incident with an icing bag. Bob is still having problems with his wife, who refuses to give him sex and constantly abuses him.
#25 - Episode Eight
Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 12/21/2004
Bob is planning his stag night in Dublin, but Ben insists he can't come- a ouija board predicted he would die the day before- and to ensure going to heaven, he converts to all religions for half a day each. Meanwhile, Penny tries to avoid getting into trouble for having an affair with pupil Anthony.