The WORST episodes of Thirtysomething
Every episode of Thirtysomething ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Thirtysomething!
When thirtysomething debuted in 1987 it was attacked by some critics as being a self-indulgent examination of the minutiae of yuppie life. Before the first season was over, some of those same critics were covering their tracks by calling it "the most improved show on television." Producers Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz had teamed up before on Family and would go on to create My So-Called Life, Relativity and Once and Again. Often using feature-film techniques, their brand of what could be called "reality" television tackled not only the small subjects, but the big ones too, all the way from life to death, as they followed their characters on the road from the idealism of youth to the search for security and responsibility as they glided toward middle age.
#1 - Legacy
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 10/31/1989
Elliot and Michael have a close encounter with disaster on an airplane. Hope's employer, the magazine Synergy, is being taken over and will curtain its environmental watchdog activities. At a dinner party, Hope gets irritated with Michael and Miles' date. Nancy is ready to take Elliot back.
#2 - Fathers and Lovers
Season 3 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/13/1990
CAPSULE: Melissa has conflicts with Lee over finding him a new job and with her father over his plans to buy her building. At a dinner with her parents, the Steadmans and Lee, Melissa mentions that she's concerned about her building turning into condominiums. Her father Murray surprises her when he invites her to his office to propose that he co-sign a loan for her which would allow her to buy the building. Melissa runs across Lee's sketchbook and she's impressed with his drawings. She tells him he's overqualified to be a house painter and that she could help him. He says the drawing is just for fun. Later at DAA, Melissa is there when Courtney Dunton comes into Elliot's office with some portfolios of job applicants. Melissa gets the idea to suggest Lee for the job. Melissa tells Lee about the job opening for a trainee at DAA. He doesn't seem interested, but goes there to be interviewed. His interview with Courtney is awful; he has no background at all or desire to work in advertising.
#3 - Nancy is Okay
Season 3 - Episode 13 - Aired 1/23/1990
CAPSULE: Nancy, family and friends deal with the aftermath of her cancer surgery. Nancy has come out of surgery and Elliot calls the Steadman house to tell Hope and Ethan the news--she's OK. Hope tells a stunned Melissa that Nancy had the operation. Nancy's mom Eleanor is there at the hospital, and soon her sister Deb arrives too. They're both glad to see Deb, who is a nurse, but a little of the familiar mother/daughter tension surfaces immediately. Ellyn comes by to see Nancy bearing a gift of banana bread (a running joke in this episode.) She appears to be extremely uncomfortable. Nancy comes home, to the delight of her children. Eleanor and Deb take up temporary residence at the Weston house and Ethan and Brittany go to stay with the Steadmans for a while. Nancy misses her kids, though, and wants to get back to a semblance of normality. Elliot is solicitous, though, and wants her to take things easily. Gary, Melissa, Hope and Michael discuss Nancy's condition.
#4 - Another Country
Season 3 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/16/1990
CAPSULE: Just as her children's book is published, Nancy is diagnosed with ovarian cancer. On a typical madhouse morning at the Weston house, Nancy is experiencing some back pain. Later when she sees Melissa and gives her a copy of the new book dedicated to her, Nancy says the pain may be stress related. While at school to pick up the kids, she gets ill has has to rush to the bathroom. Dr. Silverman does an ultrasound for Nancy the next day. At home she tells Elliot that the doctor found ""something,"" an ovary that has dropped behind her uterus, and she wants to do a test. Dr. Silverman does the examination and says there might be a tumor. More definitive results will come on Monday. Both Nancy and Elliot are worried, but try to keep family life normal and for now aren't telling anyone the news. When Nancy comes to pick up Ethan after a basketball practice, he gets upset with her because she didn't watch him play. Nancy loses her temper and snaps at him, then quickly apologizes. Ethan s
#5 - Pulling Away
Season 3 - Episode 11 - Aired 1/9/1990
CAPSULE: Michael is given more responsibility at DAA, causing friction between him and Elliot. Hope also has to take some responsibility with the anti-incinerator campaign. Michael and Eliot are excited: Miles loved their ideas for the Snap Happy/Oh My account and DAA will make a commercial to show to a focus group. In a very public way, Miles upbraids Carl Draconis for shooting down the guys' ideas. The next day, Michael and Elliot are stunned to find that Draconis has ""left"" the company ""to pursue other interests."" Miles tells Michael he will be the creative director on the account, and depending on his performance with it, he could be offered Carl's job as the agency's creative director. Michael inherits Carl's office and his assistant Page, who he and Elliot formerly referred to as the ""dragon lady."" Meanwhile, Hope goes with John Dunaway and Ricky Bianca to see a congressman to enlist his opposition to the incinerator, but they receive no encouragement. Elliot asks Michael if he c
#6 - Michael's Campaign
Season 3 - Episode 10 - Aired 12/12/1989
CAPSULE: Michael crosses swords with the creative director at DAA. Hope gets more involved with her environmental project. At DAA, Michael and Elliot attend a ""war council"" on Minnesota Brands, a huge potential account who they've convinced to give their agency a try. DAA's creative director, Carl Draconis, doesn't even give them credit for this in a meeting about the account, however. Michael has a flashback to 1968. He tells his father he's running for vice-president at school. His father wonders why he isn't running for president instead. Back in the present, Michael comes up with a bold marketing strategy for Oh My Pies, a product of Minnesota Brands which has not been selling well. Draconis coldly shoots his idea down. But privately, Miles tells Michael to stay directly accessible to Minnesota Brands on this project. Meanwhile Hope is getting more involved in the anti-incinerator campaign, planning for a big meeting and finding office space for John Dunaway and his organization. M
#7 - New Parents
Season 3 - Episode 9 - Aired 12/5/1989
CAPSULE: Gary's decision to quit teaching and stay at home with his new baby causes a conflict between him and his mother. Gary and Susannah's new baby Emma cries for twelve hours and they can't figure out why. In the morning Susannah is reluctant to go to work, but Gary insists. She finds out there that the nearby homeless shelter might be closed to make way for condos, which gets her fighting spirit up. Gary's mother Eileen comes by while Hope is there and mistakenly thinks she is Susannah. After Susannah comes home late and the baby is put to bed, Gary tells his mother he's not going back to teaching; rather, he's going to be a househusband. His mother's reaction is simply, ""Oh."" During the next day or two, however, Eileen makes it clear that she's not thrilled with Gary's decision to quit teaching. They argue about his deceased father, who wanted badly for him to go to law school. Eileen tells Gary that he's avoided every big decision he ever had to make and should concentrate on g
#8 - The Burning Bush
Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 11/28/1989
CAPSULE: Ellyn takes steps toward starting an affair with Jeffrey Milgrom. Hope begins work on an environmental project. Ellyn and Hope's present-day relationship is compared to the one they had in high school. Flashback: At Lower Merion High School in 1970, Hope and Ellyn are sneaking a smoke. Ellyn tells Hope she's going off to New York with bad boy Mark McCreary. The two girls circulate a petition opposed to a dress code. Present Day: Hope talks with Ellyn, saying that she's quit the magazine Synergy and might be working on an anti-incinerator project. She doesn't tell her friend that she's pregnant. At the gym's pool, Ellyn is swimming and meets Jeffrey Milgrom, an acquaintance from the Steadmans' dinner party. He's Hope and Michael's lawyer and he works with his wife Valerie. Ellyn drops off a batch of material about the incinerator and tells Hope she's seen Jeffrey at the gym the past few days. They're meeting for lunch. Flashback: Ellyn and Hope protest the dress code and wal
#9 - Pilgrims
Season 3 - Episode 7 - Aired 11/21/1989
CAPSULE: Elliot reunites with his family, but Ethan is still full of anxiety which manifests itself as fear for his safety. Elliot moves back in his house with his wife and children on a busy morning as Thanksgiving is approaching. Ethan tries to get out of going to school. He's being a bit of a discipline problem, complaining that no one listens to him. He walks to school with his friend Nicholas and they talk about a recent spate of robberies that have occurred in the area. Nancy is at her mother Eleanor's new place. She's moved to the area from Indiana, and Nancy hopes she will come by for the holiday celebration. Elliot and Nancy are happy the family is back together, but at night, Ethan listens warily to the police sirens. Ethan asks his grandmother if his grandfather ever left her. She admits that he did, but came back. Nancy tells Hope and Melissa that Ethan has been obsessed with the recent robberies. Elliot tries to help Ethan with his reading; he balks at the help and then ru
#10 - Strangers
Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/7/1989
CAPSULE: Melissa must come to terms with the problems she has over the age difference with Lee. Their relationship is paralleled by a new one between Russell Weller and Peter Montefiore. Russell drops by Melissa's place and is surprised to find Lee there wearing a towel. Melissa takes Russell to DAA, where he meets Peter Montefiore. Melissa encourages Michael to talk up Peter to Russell; Michael didn't realize before that Peter was gay. Later Lee and Melissa are still in the throes of passion when he has to leave. Lee wonders why she never introduces him to her friends. Melissa tells him that they will go have dinner at the Steadmans soon. Mel photographs Russell painting. She's nervous about her friends meeting Lee and he's nervous about seeing Peter again. Melissa deliberately passes up a locksmith where she was going to get a key made for Lee. Melissa and Lee arrive at the Steadmans. She imagines all sorts of bad things even though everyone likes her new boyfriend. Peter and Russell
#11 - The Wedding
Season 4 - Episode 17 - Aired 4/9/1991
Ellyn and Billy get married. Predictably, all does not go smoothly, as Ellyn gets a bad case of pre-wedding jitters.
#12 - Mr. Right
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 10/10/1989
CAPSULE: Ellyn and Melissa try using a video dating service. Melissa is unexpectedly attracted to a younger man she meets. Ethan must kiss a girl in the school play. Ellyn and Melissa are talking about using a video dating service, and despite the misgivings of others, they go in and give interviews at the service. They go through the books of available guys and find a cute one, William, whose profile and interview they like. Melissa is afraid to ask for his number, though; she'll wait, hoping he will contact her. Later when they return to the service, Melissa is dismayed to find that the list of guys interested in Ellyn is much longer than hers, and it includes William. Meanwhile, a good-looking young man named Lee Owens has come to paint Melissa's loft. He's spending a lot of time there, and there seems to be an attraction between the two. Also, Ethan is upset about having to learn to dance for the school production of ""Cinderella"" he's starring in. Even worse, he's supposed to kiss
#13 - Love and Sex
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/3/1989
CAPSULE: While she and Michael are having problems of their own, Hope gets involved in the love life of her teenaged babysitter. Hope and Michael arrive home early while their teenaged babysitter Lauren is there, saying they have some important matters to discuss. What they're really there for is some baby-making, though Mike has a little trouble at first. Lauren seems to admire Hope; she's read her article on the ozone layer. At DAA, Michael and Elliot are nervous about a presentation when Gary, dressed like a playground basketball bum, shows up just in time for Miles to see him. Gary tells the guys he and Susannah won't be marrying. Michael arrives home late. After some arguing about domestic matters, Hope says she can't ""switch gears"" and have sex. After shopping with Melissa and Ellyn, Hope comes back home to find Lauren on the front lawn with her boyfriend Bernard, music blaring, having a picnic. Hope is furious. Lauren profusely apologizes, saying she and Bernard are being kept a
#14 - Nancy's Mom
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 9/19/1989
CAPSULE: Nancy's and Elliot move closer to a reconciliation, to the disapproval of her visiting mother Eleanor. Elliot and Nancy are spending an evening at Michael and Hope's talking about Nancy's upcoming book. Nancy says her mother Eleanor, who is coming for a visit, is OK with her but still can make her crazy. When Nancy and Elliot leave, they kiss goodbye like a dating couple. When Eleanor arrives, she asks about Matt, but Nancy mentions that Elliot has been ""around."" Later Elliot has dinner with Nancy, Eleanor and the kids. Eleanor makes it clear she doesn't approve of Elliot or his marketing idea for a ""monster doll"" book tie-in. Later that night Eleanor refuses to go to bed and leave Nancy and Elliot alone, so he leaves and sneaks back in Nancy's bedroom window. Still later, Elliot is downstairs raiding the refrigerator when he runs into Eleanor. Nancy admits to her mother that she's seeing Elliot again. Eleanor still isn't ready to forgive him. She surprises Nancy by telling he
#15 - Best of Enemies
Season 2 - Episode 17 - Aired 5/16/1989
CAPSULE: Hope is writing an article that could affect Susannah's Race St. Project, driving a wedge between her and Gary. Gary and Susannah are proceeding with preparations for parenthood. Melissa doesn't care for Susannah at all and thinks the relationship won't be permanent. Meanwhile, Hope gets a nibble from the Philadelphia Inquirer about doing a story on the Race St. Project. After talking to Rosie at Race St., Hope goes to City Hall to see what Ellyn, fresh from her breakup with Woodman, has to say about the organization. After a few questions about the government's relations with Race St., Ellyn gets a little circumspect, then asks Hope to turn off her tape recorder for the rest of the conversation. Hope tells Michael about irregularities with grant money received by Race St. When Michael tells Gary about this, he's sure Hope and Ellyn must be mistaken. But when he talks to Rosie, she tells him some of the allegations are just practical things that a place like Race St. has to do
#16 - Courting Nancy
Season 2 - Episode 16 - Aired 5/2/1989
CAPSULE: Nancy pursues her relationship with Matt, but Elliot makes a concerted effort to win her back. Elliot returns the kids to Nancy and has an awkward meeting with her new boyfriend Matt Enwright. At work Elliot and Angel are working closely pitching ideas. Mike asks if there is anything between the two but Elliot says they are just friends. Nancy excitedly gives the big news to Melissa, Ellyn and Hope: her book is going to be published! When Elliot comes by later to see Nancy, she tells him also. He's happy for her, but tells her he misses her and wishes they could get back together. Nancy doesn't know how to respond, but says she still doesn't trust him. Matt makes a date for dinner at Nancy's, but she makes it clear there will be no sex in her house. At DAA, Angel asks Michael about Elliot and Nancy's status. Michael discourages her from going out with him. Elliot tells Mike he's going to confess his affair with Cheryl Eastman to Nancy. Mike thinks it's a bad idea. At Nancy's,
#17 - Be a Good Girl
Season 2 - Episode 15 - Aired 4/25/1989
CAPSULE: Melissa must deal with her aging grandmother who wants her to take over her business. Melissa is preparing to go to her parents for a birthday dinner for herself, her mother Elaine and her beloved grandmother Rose, or Nana, who has runs a dress store for fifty-five years. Elaine thinks her mom needs to move in with her and her husband Murray, but Melissa thinks her mom treats Nana ""like Grandma Moses"", even though she has congestive heart failure! Ellyn, who is therapy now, comes to Melissa with a job offer from City Hall and Melissa takes it, even though she's quite busy. At her parents house, Melissa is taking a family portrait with a couple of other aunts included when Nana has a vivid flashback of a young girl skating. Her behavior worries the others, and they call a doctor. Soon, though, Nana is back at work, critiquing customers, when she has a pain attack. She asks Melissa not to call Elaine, but she does call her, along with a doctor. Nana also has another flashback of
#18 - New Job
Season 2 - Episode 14 - Aired 4/11/1989
CAPSULE: Hope suffers a miscarriage just as Michael and Elliot begin work for Miles Drentell at DAA. Elliot and Michael are in Miles Drentell's office interviewing for jobs at DAA. While they are there Michael gets a phone call from Hope at her obstetrician's office: the doctor has done an ultrasound and it shows a case of fetal demise. Hope acts stoic about it. Later Elliot calls with good news--they got the jobs, with offices and great pay. Mike tells him about the miscarriage. Michael is reluctant to go in to DAA for his first day but Hope insists that he does. Mike and Elliot meet a fellow creative team, Angel Wasserman and Hollis Amato, who seem to be playing with the guys' heads a bit. In fact, they been assigned to the same account as Michael and Elliot, the Spingeri automobile. Michael returns home to Hope, who is glad to see him. The phone rings, and it's Elliot with some work, which secretly disappoints Hope. Hope talks with Val about working for Synergy. Val encourages her t
#19 - We'll Meet Again
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 12/6/1988
As she and Michael argue about her working and having another child, Hope learns about some previous tenants of their house. Hope is making tentative moves toward returning to work full-time. Michael suggests, though, that there might be some problems in doing that and muses about having a second child. Hope, Melissa and Gary find an old trunk in the Steadman's basement full of letters and photos of previous residents, Sally and Roy McCauley. Hope gets lost in these, imagining the courtship of Sally Spangler and Roy, who goes to the South Pacific during World War II. Later Hope and Nancy find Sally's journal. There are more fantasy flashbacks about Roy and Sally getting married and him leaving for war. Later that night as Hope works in bed, Michael comes in and begins to get amorous. Hope, not wearing her diaphragm, stops him. Ellyn finds Hope at home crying. Hope has just read about Sally getting a telegram saying Roy is missing in action.
#20 - Good Sex, Bad Sex, What Sex, No Sex
Season 3 - Episode 17 - Aired 2/27/1990
CAPSULE: Against the background of an examination of the characters' sex lives, Melissa and Lee break up. Melissa and Lee's sex life is going great and she tells the other women about it, to their envy and amazement. They seem to be doing it all the time, unlike Gary and Susannah who are having a hard time fitting sex into their schedule with a new baby to take care of; in fact, he gets injured when he slips on a toy while attempting an encounter while Emma sleeps. Melissa and Lee are out with a couple of Lee's friends of his age, Stephanie and Robert. They end up going to a late-night rock club where a girl throws up on Melissa's shoes. At DAA the next day Melissa is worn out after the late night out. She tells Michael that the nightlife with Lee is boring. She begs off going out on the town with Lee again which causes some tension for a while which is succeeded by--sex! At the Weston's house, Nancy is concerned when she finds copies of Playboy under Ethan's bed. Elliot makes a candle
#21 - The Difference Between Men and Women
Season 4 - Episode 16 - Aired 2/26/1991
Bachelor and bachelorette parties for Billy and Ellyn provide the backdrop for a look at the various couples' relationships with each other and their fideliity.
#22 - Fighting the Cold
Season 4 - Episode 15 - Aired 2/19/1991
Susannah returns for Gary's funeral. Melissa is an emotional wreck in the aftermath. She and Susannah come to terms with each other.
#23 - A Second Look
Season 4 - Episode 14 - Aired 2/12/1991
Amidst the celebration over the success of Nancy's cancer surgery, a terrible and unexpected tragedy strikes another member of the group.
#24 - Sifting the Ashes
Season 4 - Episode 13 - Aired 2/5/1991
On a business trip to Baltimore, Elliot confronts issues with his mother and with his religious faith. Ethan too is wondering if religious faith can help his own mother.
#25 - Advanced Beginners
Season 4 - Episode 12 - Aired 1/22/1991
While Ellyn and Billy are living together temporarily, an old girlfriend of Billy's arrives upon the scene, causing some problems.