Eight Is Enough: Season 5
Season 5 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of Eight Is Enough Season 4.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 5 Progress Shield
And Baby Makes Nine (1)
Oct 29, 1980
Nicholas and Tom start boy scouts and Nicholas volunteers Tom to be the assistant scout master. Elizabeth considers moving in with her boyfriend. Susan keeps her pregnancy pr
Jeremy
Nov 5, 1980
Abby goes to a funeral in San Francisco and returns with her nephew, Jeremy, who has nowhere else to go. His behavior upsets the family, referring the Bradfords as that other famil
Welcome to Memorial Dr. Bradford
Nov 12, 1980
Abby gets a job as a guidance counselor at a rough high school filled with trouble. Tom discovers his driver's license has expired and fails the renewal test. Tom drives his fam
Generations
Nov 19, 1980
Susan brings the baby, Sandra Sue, home from the hospital. When Joan's parents visit the Bradford household to see the family and their great-grandchild, a conflict with Abby oc
Holly
Nov 26, 1980
Ernie introduces Tommy to a slightly older songwriting woman who has a 4-year old son. When he falls for her, she has second thoughts. The Bradford's convert the garage into an
Maltese Airline Bag
Dec 10, 1980
Nicholas and his friend, Melvin, start a messenger service to earn money and get more than they bargained for. One of their first deliveries turns out to be an airline bag full of
Strike
Dec 17, 1980
Caught up in a newspaper strike and laid-off, Tom tries to bring the feuding parties together thanks to something Nicholas says about giving and compromise. To save everyone mon
Bradfordgate
Jan 7, 1981
Tom is nominated for a political post by the governor. A political appointment for him ends up more than he can live with. Joannie goes undercover to do a story on a video datin
Darlene Dilemma
Jan 14, 1981
Abby is proud of the progress one of her students has made and invites her to the house for dinner. Jeremy falls for 16-year-old Darlene, who likes to flirt and cause trouble (s
Second Thoughts
Jan 21, 1981
Joannie is tired of not getting any serious assignments at work and Abby encourages her to take a leave of absence to evaluate her career, and falls for a co-worker. Nancy finds
David's Rib
Jan 28, 1981
Joannie involves David in the renovation of an old opera house. However, Janet is the legal counsel for the developer who wants to build low-income housing on the site. Nicholas
Vows
Feb 18, 1981
Jeremy meets a new girlfriend at a Fred Astaire film festival. Tom and Abby decide to renew their marriage vows on their 3rd anniversary and they agree to let the kids handle th
The Way We Were
Mar 4, 1981
Tommy and Ernie, back from college with a ""preppy"" look, run into Jill, Tommy's old girlfriend. When Jill picks Ernie over Tommy, David helps him realize that reliving the past i
If The Glass Slipper Fits
Mar 11, 1981
Nancy's modeling career is about to take off but she needs to make an important decision as she later finds out she has to pose topless for a jeans ad. Elizabeth is trying to at
The Best Little Telethon in Sacramento
Mar 28, 1981
Jeremy wants to manage Tommy's band and tries to get him a gig. Joannie is chosen to organize a charity telethon and tries to get celebrities to appear on the show. She recruits
Yet Another Seven Days in February
Apr 4, 1981
This year it's the boys' turn to meet new women. Tommy dates the daughter of a radio station owner in order to get his band some air time. Jeremy runs himself ragged trying to k
Idolbreaker (1)
Apr 11, 1981
Just as Tommy's career is about to take off, his old girlfriend returns to tell Tommy she is pregnant after it is announced that his band has been booked for a national tour. Ni
Idolbreaker (2)
Apr 18, 1981
Ellen tells Tommy that she doesn't want to marry him and Tommy isn't sure what he wants to do. At the last minute, they both realize it is not the right thing to do. Joannie is
Starting Over
May 9, 1981
Jeremy is suspicious when he finds a skull while digging in the garden. David and Janet consider getting back together. Nicholas assumes he's a shoo-in for the basketball tea
Goals
May 16, 1981
Merle suffers a career-ending shoulder injury and doesn't know what to do if he can't play baseball. Merle comes upon Nicholas and his friends playing ball. He is offered a job of
Father Knows Best
May 23, 1981
Finally ready to be a father, Jeremy's father returns for a visit and wants to take him back to Los Angeles. David relives old memories when four of his old high school buddies