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.

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).

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.

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.

Eric's no-nonsense father, John ""The Colonel"" (guest star Peter Graves) returns when he learns an array of problems in the Camden household. Mary is jealous of a new member of the basketball team who is getting a lot of the attention. Lucy's declining grades are due to her hanging around with a bad crowd, while Ruthie needs to copy Simon in his quest to be a magician. Meanwhile, Eric is oblivious to all of the family troubles around him as he's preoccupied with writing a sermon that is to be covered by a camera crew. Meanwhile, Annie is doing all the chores at home and at church alone while everyone else is doing their own thing.

Convinced that she'll fail in her basketball comeback, Mary develops a horrible attitude making her quite unpleasant. Eric laments that Mary never talks to him anymore. Lucy is excited over the prospect of her best friend Suzanne coming to visit, until she learns the girl ran away from home. Afraid of his science teacher, Mrs. Hunter, Simon loses his confidence in his ability to complete a class project and feigns illness to avoid it. Also, Ruthie is fearful of her first field trip thinking that she'll get lost from the group.

Simon sees his teacher push a man who was screaming at his son. He then feels guilty when he learns his teacher got fired. Annie takes piano lessons as her ""pregnancy project."" Meanwhile, Matt makes a move on one of his college teachers. It turns out he misunderstood her signals. Mary and her friends skip a boring class and get caught. Also, Lucy forgets her lunch in geometry class and finds her teacher eating it--- two days in a row. She and her friend Shelby then learn a good geometry lesson. Lastly, Ruthie has trouble finding the perfect instrument for music class.

Eric's old Rock & Roll band has come to town for a small concert, although he is suspicious about their possible drug habit. The band is staying at the Camden home--- they have parked their trailer on the front lawn. Meanwhile, Simon starts to drink coffee and becomes very addicted. Lucy continues to be on the phone constantly talking to her boyfriend Jordan while Ruthie is constantly chewing gum. Also, Mary finds out that one of her friends from the basketball team, Diane, is taking natural pills to boost her energy and that everyone else on the team is taking them. Mary then decides to take a few pills herself when overhearing Matt in a conversation about his bottle of natural pills. Eric then yells at Matt when finding pills in his room. Matt says that he got it from a friend, but he didn't take any yet.

Mary then tells her father that she got the same pills from her friend Diane. When Eric tries to talk to Diane and her father, they do not listen to him. Later that evening, while E

Eric defends a custodian named Rudy from Simon's school who claims to be hearing messages from God and is forced into early retirement through the school board. Annie wants to cut loose for the evening, and does so with other fellow mothers. Ruthie encounters a chimp living in the Camden's tree in the backyard, but nobody in her family believes her when she tells them about it. Mary stays up babysitting for the twins when the parent's are out, and is ditched by Lucy.

Mary and her friend Corey Conway learn that they have been named recipients of their senior classes ""All Sports Award"" and they are both thrilled. Although, the local businessmen revoke the honor from Corey when they learn Corey is a mother. Angered and hurt by their actions, Mary gives her reward to Corey in front of the entire assembly. On the home front, tensions build after Eric and Annie find a bag of marijuana in Simon's new friend's backpack. They confront his family (who at first deny there is an issue), but after a successful intervention with the police, the boy's father agrees to seek counseling and to find a job. Meanwhile, Matt faces a disciplinary action after he breaks the honor code during a school exam. Also, Lucy questions herself whether she should help a boy she likes to access the school's computer system when she's working in the attendance office.

Mary and her basketball teammates are upset when their high school coach imposes a lockout on the season, citing that their studies should be top priority. When the school calls a meeting to discuss the situation, Eric and Annie support the coach's concerns and decisions. Outraged by the apparent betrayal, Mary and some members of the team break into the gym and vandalize it. They are soon caught by the police and are arrested. Meanwhile, sparks fly when Simon is caught making a lewd hand gesture in front of the school, and is busted. Also, Matt contemplates returning home and Ruthie obsesses about being one of the guys.

The Camden family rallies together after Mary's arrest. Mary truly learns the consequences of her actions after she learns that she is losing her scholarship to college, faces possible school expulsion and jail time. Eric and Annie enlist the help of a lawyer who manages to get Mary enrolled in a community service program. Simon and Ruthie feel overwhelming pangs of guilt for having some knowlege of Mary's intentions and not telling their parients about it. Simon and Ruthie decide to visit many different houses of worship to attain atonement. Also, Matt moves back home to help with the family, but soon realizes he needs to live on his own.

After Mary dreams about playing basketball with the Los Angeles Laker's players, she receives an unexpected call from her coach. Mary gets her hopes up that she may be drafted by the WNBA after high school. Meanwhile, Eric and Annie get their feelings hurt after hearing Simon and Lucy, that they would'nt want to be a minister or a stay-at-home mom like they are. By this, Eric and Annie decide to spend more time with the kids to explain their roles that they've chosen in life.

St. Valentine's Day delivers a few surprises for the Camden family. A grounded Simon is asked out by a senior. Annie's attempt to surprise Eric with romantic Valentine's plans backfires and results in a big fight. Mary discovers Robbie's plans with Joy. Lucy and Mary learn that Jeremy and Wilson both have dates for Valentine's. Matt seeks his fathers help as he wants to settle down, which leads him to seek out old girlfriends as to why they're no longer together. Ruthie is hesitant to go to a party because her friend tricked her into asking out a boy she's already going out with.