7th Heaven

9/23/1996

Shhh! Don't tell anyone, but: Matt and Mary both have mysterious new friends; Simon and his new charge, Happy, could be in the doghouse; and Lucy keeps mum about the object of a crush.

9/30/1996

Mary offers to shield Lucy and her "date" from Eric; Matt gets into a scrape while out with a young woman; and Annie goes to Arizona to bring her parents home.

10/7/1996

Annie feels abandoned on the day of her mother's funeral when her father bolts for home, Eric counsels a couple and Matt escorts Renee to the hospital after she goes into labor at the post-funeral luncheon.

10/14/1996

The Camden kids learn hard lessons about race when Eric invites a black family to stay at the house after their church is destroyed in a racially motivated arson.

10/28/1996

Halloween is a fright, as Annie tries to scare up a costume for Ruthie; Lucy has a close encounter with the town "monster"; and a childhood memory haunts Eric.

11/4/1996

Eric counsels a teen drug addict; Matt's fired from another job; Lucy blows it when she tries to impress the most popular girl in school; Simon and Lucy get lost playing detective.

11/11/1996

Eric helps out a woman who is being abused by her husband. But when the good reverend is seen escorting the woman to a motel one afternoon, it's the talk of the town. Meanwhile, Matt warns Mary about an older guy she's seeing.

11/18/1996

Annie and Matt are robbed at gunpoint; Mary wants a tattoo; Eric is told to fire the church organist; Simon and Ruthie have the chicken pox; Lucy runs for student-body president (as does Jimmy Moon).

11/25/1996

Eric's sister visits the family for Thanksgiving but knocks the stuffing out of everyone when they discover that she has a drinking problem.

12/16/1996

Matt's new girlfriend seems more interested in hanging out with his family than with him; Simon thinks he can make himself invisible; Lucy wants to join the cheerleading squad.

1/13/1997

Matt helps out an elderly neighbor, but winds up getting in hot water for it; Eric searches for a way to aid a proud but homeless family; Lucy's 13th birthday approaches and she wants a party.

1/27/1997

The kids receive some lessons about stealing: Matt and Mary carry on a high-school tradition by lifting a glass from a local diner and Lucy borrows liberally from a term paper Mary lent her.

2/3/1997

A tug-of-war ensues between Eric and his cantankerous parents over who will adopt a young orphan found hiding in the church.

2/10/1997

Everyone's plans for a romantic Valentine's Day are interrupted when Happy, Simon's dog, gets out of the house and is hit by a car.

2/17/1997

Mary deals with harassment from a boy she turned down for a date; Lucy's new best friend seems to be hiding something; Simon prepares Ruthie for pre-kindergarten.

4/14/1997

Mary takes a walk on the wild side with a classmate she meets in detention; a former associate minister from Eric's church drops in unexpectedly; Simon and Ruthie ferret out a scheme to fund their college educations.

4/21/1997

Annie volunteers as the church's treasurer pro tem but gets caught in the middle when Eric wants to hire an ex-con against the advice of the church vestry. Meanwhile, Mary agrees to tutor Jimmy Moon in science.

4/28/1997

Eric has to tell his parents that George may have to be given over to his birth father, who has resurfaced; Eric's alcoholic sister is released from rehab.

5/5/1997

Annie's "boy-crazy" best friend from school, Rachel, is in town, but the boy she has her eye on is Matt; Lucy may have to say goodbye to her friend Suzanne.

5/12/1997

Annie is livid when her father brings along his girlfriend on a weeklong visit; Mary and Matt pursue new romantic interests; Lucy wants to find out if blondes really have more fun.

5/19/1997

Mary undergoes knee surgery, while Matt learns that Michael Towner was the hit-and-run driver; Wilson reveals the truth about Billy to Eric.