Keith's search for a job results in strange behavior that everyone plainly points out is not just frustration, but rather a bigger problem. Little does anyone know, Keith has developed a serious drinking problem.

With the art contest approaching, J.J. believes that he is shoo-in to win. However things don't go as planned after he trusts a distracted Bookman to deliver his painting to the judges.

Florida gets a surprise visit from her cousin, Raymond, who has hit it big and gives each member of the family an expensive gift. However, Florida is reluctant to accept her gift of an expensive three room apartment, when she learns just how Raymond makes his money.

The family is getting ready to move to Mississippi which is where James has gotten a promising new job. However, the family is waiting for the right time to tell Bookman the news. Later, Willona throws a going-away party but the happiness is interrupted by heartbreaking news that James has been killed in a car accident.

The death of James has J.J., Thelma and Michael overcome with grief and also leaves them wondering what is wrong with Florida, who hasn't cried once since she found out the news of James' death. During a get-together at the apartment after James' funeral, the kids plan to confront Florida, who is seen laughing and having a great time.

Thelma invites her favorite teacher to the apartment and while she is there she is fascinated with JJ's artwork. She and JJ soon develop an instant attraction to each other, which disturbs Florida, who can't accept her oldest son carrying on with a woman who is fifteen years older.

Widespread violence has been running rampant in the neighborhood and a large part of it is due to the street gang, the Warlords. While Florida and some concerned citizens discuss the problem, Michael does his best to conceal a secret from his mother, he himself is a member of the gang.

Michael is in love with Yvonne but every time he's around her he freezes. When Yvonne meets J.J. she instantly falls for him thus creating a sibling rivalry between Michael and J.J.

Alderman Davis makes a visit to the Evans' household wanting J.J. to speak at his re-election campaign. However, when J.J. refuses, an eviction notice is immediately handed to Florida.

After loosing his job, J.J. tries his best to find a job. However, when Bookman serves the Evans' family with an eviction notice due to late rent, J.J. decides to take a job offer from a couple of his shady friends. Meanwhile, Thelma contemplates dropping out of college to get a full time job and help the family out.

J.J. is in the money, now that he has a new job working with two friends in a gambling operation. However, little does he know, the gambling business also includes prostitution and drugs. Meanwhile, Florida demands some answers from J.J. and kicks him out when she learns what line of work he is now in.

Florida and the children are excitedly anticipating the arrival of Grandpa Evans. However, he arrives with a loud companion in tow.

Some good luck strikes the family when J.J. wins a lottery. However, the luck doesn't last long, that is until, Thelma's friend Edna shows up with her sister both wielding pistols and demanding the winning money.

The kids feel Florida has been spending too much time alone and they decide to cancel their plans and spend an evening with her. But Florida surprises them all and goes out with Willona. Willona takes her to a local night spot where they have an exciting evening.

J.J. is managing Michael's singing group and gets them a gig at a local tavern. While there, J.J. comes across Judith Cohen, an act whom he knows will hit it big, given the right exposure.

J.J. borrows money from a loan shark to back his talented new comedian. However, within days, two thugs come to collect their money, money that J.J. doesn't have.

Florida's bad mood prompts the kids to go into the underwear selling business in order to raise enough money to send Florida on a vacation to Lake Geneva.

The cafeteria at Thelma's college is in disrepair. Thelma and her friends picket the college. She meets Ibe, an African exchange student. They date, and he asks her to move in with him. Thelma is suspended from college because of the picket.

Florida hits the roof when Thelma announces her plans of moving in with Ibe. However, things begin moving a little bit too fast when Ibe asks her to marry him and move to Nigeria.

Willona gets a surprise for her birthday, a visit from her womanizing ex-husband, Ray. Ray does his best at convincing Willona that he's changed and she decides to try to start over with him. However, quickly his old ways surface and he begins making passes at Thelma.

When Florida's away for the weekend, J.J., Thelma and Michael throw a wild party. However, it gets even wilder than they had dreamed of when one of the guests takes an overdose of pills and J.J. has to save his life.

Florida is horrified to learn that Michael is harboring atheist attitudes planted by his boss. This leads Florida to confront Michael's boss and get to the bottom of the situation.

A reluctant Florida agrees to go on a date with Carl. However, once at the restaurant, she gets into an argument with him ending with him walking out.

J.J. is all excited about taking Michael to a father-son dinner but when Michael breaks the news that he invited Carl to take him, J.J. storms out.

JJ has another money-making idea. He starts a greeting card business and has the whole family involved in making up messages. He has the business plans are laid out, but does not have the financing.

Florida and Carl's relationship has gotten quite serious and Carl breaks the news to J.J., Thelma and Michael that he's planning on proposing marriage to Florida. However, after a visit to his doctor, Carl decides to break off the relationship, since he's been diagnosed with lung cancer.

A furious J.J. confronts Carl, who makes up an excuse that a war injury in the groin is the reason why he's breaking up with Florida. However, later Carl reveals the truth to Florida and he proposes marriage and she readily accepts.

When a young girl, Penny Gordon follows J.J. home, she quickly insinuates herself into the Evans household and makes up stories about her life, including forgetting to mention she has an abusive mother.

Willona and the Evans children are convinced that Penny is being abused, but when Willona takes Penny to see a doctor about a broken arm, he refuses to believe she's being abused.

Willona and the Evans kids are stunned to discover that Penny and her mother have moved. They are equally stunned when they discover Penny hiding the Evans apartment. Later, Penny's abusive mother abandons her leaving Willona to ponder adopting the battered youth.

Willona worries over whether or not she will be able to adopt Penny. Meanwhile, a well meaning, Bookman, tries to help out by telling the social worker, that he's married to Willona, this only makes things worse when the social worker learns the truth.

Fed up with having no privacy and being burdened by two brothers, Thelma decides to move out and into an apartment that is shared by three other roommates.

Willona is offered a new job but her morals force her to refuse it. However, when Penny has her heart set on figure skating lessons, Willona decides to set her morals and values aside and take the job for the extra money.

J.J. and his friends become partners in the ownership of car, a car that they foolishly bought from Bookman. However, the quality of the car is minor compared to the constant fighting over who gets to use it.

Michael passes himself off as J.J. while using a CB radio and quickly discovers he's not the only one who's putting on an act. A girl he contacts who calls herself Fun Girl really turns out to be a paraplegic.

The conditions in the building become to much for Willona, Penny and the Evans kids to bare so they decide to circulate a petition that would terminate Bookman as the superintendet. However, Bookman and his wife, hatch a plan to save his job.

Thelma begins dating a man named Lloyd Williams, however, suspicions run rampant between J.J., Willona and Michael who become convinced he's married. However, J.J. makes a discovery that surprises everyone.

Fishbone, a wino, complains that he has no friends and quickly discovers he has many when a vagrant steals his wallet and is later killed in a car accident. Everyone assumes, Fishbone is the one that was killed and they hold a wake.

After getting her wallet stolen, Penny steals a necklace from a department store in a desperate attempt to try to get Willona a Christmas gift. However, Penny's attempts may lead to Willona losing custody of her.

Michael's apathetic behavior towards household chores and homework leads J.J. to put his foot down and to step in as a father figure. He really comes down hard when Michael and Penny are arrested for being in a stolen vehicle.

Willona's old boyfriend arrives back in town and asks Willona her hand in marraige. However, Willona turns him down since his job would have her and Penny constantly moving. Meanwhile, Penny, feeling like she's holding Willona back, decides to run away.

J.J. is given a sexy assistant, one whom he makes a play for immediately. However, later when he learns that she's the boss's daughter, he continues to go out with her thinking that it will give him special privileges with his boss.

A hole has been burned into one of the couch cushions and J.J., Thelma and Michael each have their own versions of how it got there. However, Penny is the only person who knows the truth of how it really got there.

J.J. wants a promotion at work but a co-worker convinces him that the promotion will only go to a white man. This leads J.J. to have a crazy dream where he gets to experience being white.

To pick up extra money for the rent, J.J. decides to take in a boarder. However, little does he know the man he takes in, is placed their by the police department for his protection.

J.J.'s latest relationship with a woman, Barbara, who's currently married but plans on divorcing her husband, results with him coming down with an ulcer. The situation is compounded when J.J. learns that her husband and her still share an apartment.

Bookman's strange behavior leads his wife, Violet to become convinced that he's seeing another woman. However, appearances can be deceiving especially when Violet catches Willona and Bookman in a compromising situation.

Grandpa Evans visits and has plans of becoming rich thanks to his new invention. Meanwhile, Lena, Grandpa's fiancee gets tired of being ignored and decides to leave him.

Willona's boyfriend, Frank, continues his efforts to try to get her to marry him. Meanwhile, down at the boutique, Willona gets a promotion but Frank is determined to get her to turn down the offer.

Thelma has written a full length play and is ecstatic when it is chosen to be produced as the local theater's latest production. Thelma quickly realizes a few changes to her manuscript may be needed, but it soon feels like almost everything will need to be changed to please the theater owner.

A child-care center in the neighborhood is scheduled to close due to lack of funds. To keep it open, the Evan's plan a show to raise money from the neighbors.

The Evans children and Willona are pleasantly shocked to learn that Thelma has been dating the nationally renowned football player Keith Anderson, a Heisman Trophy candidate currently negotiating a 1,000,000 dollar professional contract with the Chicago Bears. When Keith proposes it only remains for Thelma to phone her mother in Arizona to ask her blessing.

Florida arrives home after hearing the news of Thelma's engagement. However, Thelma's impending wedding may never take place, that is if she lets her pre-wedding jitters get the best of her. Meanwhile, J.J. loses his job.

After losing his job, J.J. takes out a $1,000 loan from Sweet Daddy Williams, to pay for Thelma's wedding. The wedding finally goes off without a hitch, but after the ceremony the couples' exit down the aisle ends with Keith breaking his leg.

After a joyous wedding ceremony, things are anything but happy. Thelma and Keith cannot go on a honeymoon because Keith's leg is broken and it may end his sports career. Also, the loan sharks come to visit JJ to get their money back.

Both Florida and J.J. are looking for work but neither are having any luck. One ad, in the newspaper, for part-time work as a school bus driver sparks Florida's attention, but when Alderman Fred Davis becomes involved, it appears Florida may not have a chance, because one of his relatives is also applying for the position.

Willona adamently refuses to discuss the birds and the bees with Penny especially after Willona learns a 13-year old friend of Penny's is pregnant. This leads Willona to tell Penny, that her friend has stomach mumps and not to go near her.

J.J.'s student has to deal with a violent father who ademently refuses to allow his son to take art lessons from J.J., even though J.J. offers to give them for free.

The Evan's apartment feels crowded with Thelma and Keith still living there after their marriage. In addition, things continue to fall apart. Michael decides he can help the situation by moving into his own apartment - with a white girl.

JJ's former girlfriend Vanessa is back in town, and she still has expensive taste. JJ does not want to tell her that he is out of work and cannot afford to take her out all the time. Bookman's assistant is interested in JJ.

J.J. could pay dearly for witnessing an auto accident.

A snowstorm hits Chicago and Florida gets stuck in it with her school bus. This leads her and the kids on the bus to take refuge in an abandoned building to keep warm.

When Keith's Scrooge-like boss at the taxi-cab company won't give him Christmas off, the Evans family brings their Christmas party to Keith and holds at the company. J.J. hosts the festvities and it features Michael singing, Bookman (dressed as Santa) dancing, Keith doing impersonations & the girls (Florida, Penny, Willona & Thelma) portraying ""The Pointless Sisters"" doing ""Steam Heat"".

The Evans family has found the perfect home to move into and plan on taking out a loan to pay for it. However, they quickly find, as usual, that that's easier said then done, when they run into trouble trying to perusade the banker.

A student whom Florida drives to school on her bus, becomes the center of attention when Florida discovers he has a hearing problem and his mother refuses to believe Florida's suspicions.

After a near fatal accident, Larry's mother finally realizes that Larry has a hearing problem. Unable to take him to the doctor because she has to work, Mrs. Baker allows Florida to take him to the doctor, which is where Larry makes the announcement that he plans on running away from home.

Sweet Daddy Williams sends his hoods to snatch J.J. from his home and bring him to the hospital. His reasons: J.J. is the only person they could find that match's Sweet Daddy's blood type and Sweet Daddy is in dire need of a blood transfusion.

When Willona goes out of town, she leaves Penny in Florida's care. Shortly after, Penny comes down with a virus and Florida takes her down to the free clinic to be examined. Florida quickly comes face to face with the hardnosed doctor who's out of touch with the people in the ghetto and who's also planning to leave, right in the middle of what seems to be an epidemic.

A tomboy who's been helping out Bookman, wants J.J. to ask her to a dance. However, J.J. thinks of her as just one of the guys, that is until he has an encounter with her at a seedy pick-up bar.

Florida discovers she must take and pass a physical examination to keep her bus driving job. However, the night before her physical is utter chaos ending with Michael landing in jail.

Willona's latest boyfriend, Jeffrey, has been showering her and Penny with extravagant gifts even though they've only been seeing one another for a couple months. Little does Willona know, that he is part of a plan to make Willona look like an unfit mother, a plan engineered by Penny's birth mother.

This final episode brings all too good news for the Evans family. J.J. gets an offer to a comic company, Keith's bad knee is miraculously healed and is offered another football contract, and Florida is asked if she wants to move in with Keith and Thelma in the fancy apartment building across town where Willona happens to be moving and just so happens to be her future next door neighbor.