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Diff'rent Strokes

Season 8 1985 - 1986
TV-G

  • 1985-09-28T01:00:00Z on NBC
  • 25m
  • 8h 3m (19 episodes)
  • United States
  • English
  • Comedy, Family, Drama
Two orphaned brothers, Arnold & Willis Jackson, are adopted by wealthy Manhattan widower Phillip Drummond when their mother (Drummond's maid) passes away. Along with Drummond's daughter Kimberly & housekeeper Mrs. Garrett, this family sitcom covers topics such as wealth- & racial- inequality. This was Gary Coleman's breakout role as short but sassy Arnold, whose catchphrase "What'choo talkin' 'bout?" became a national trend.

19 episodes

Season Premiere

1985-09-28T01:00:00Z

8x01 Sam's Missing (1)

Season Premiere

8x01 Sam's Missing (1)

  • 1985-09-28T01:00:00Z24m

A family whose little boy died, forces the father to kidnap Sam, who is shopping for some snacks in a grocery store. After the kidnapping, the man threatens to kill Sam's parents if he attempts in any way to escape.

1985-09-28T01:00:00Z

8x02 Sam's Missing (2)

8x02 Sam's Missing (2)

  • 1985-09-28T01:00:00Z26m

The Drummonds, desperate to get Sam back, go on the news to try and advertise to get Sam back. In the meantime Sam risks everything to tell the Drummonds where he is.

1985-10-05T01:00:00Z

8x03 Bully for Arnold

8x03 Bully for Arnold

  • 1985-10-05T01:00:00Z25m

Guarding the school bully's girlfriend, Ramona, seems like a simple task to Arnold, until his natural Jackson "charm" creates some problems, Ramona falls head over heels for him and Herman, the bully, wants to rearrange his face.

1985-10-12T01:00:00Z

8x04 Love on the Run

8x04 Love on the Run

  • 1985-10-12T01:00:00Z25m

Sam and Arnold fear that the time their parents are spending apart is a symptom of an ailing marriage and the boys attempt to give them a dose of romance, hoping it will be the cure that will keep them from divorce.

1985-10-19T01:00:00Z

8x05 Willis Goes to College

8x05 Willis Goes to College

  • 1985-10-19T01:00:00Z25m

Willis takes a big step when he leave home for college, but fears his initiation to dorm life is only one of the freshman experiences he may not be ready to handle.

1985-10-26T01:00:00Z

8x06 Arnold's Job

8x06 Arnold's Job

  • 1985-10-26T01:00:00Z25m

Arnold's dream of becoming an "overnight" success as a photo-journalist run headlong into reality when he gets his first job on a local newspaper.

1985-11-09T02:00:00Z

8x07 A Tale of Two Teachers

8x07 A Tale of Two Teachers

  • 1985-11-09T02:00:00Z25m

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar guest stars as a high school English teacher who gives Arnold a "classic" punishment for "goofing off" in class and the freshman quickly learns his lesson when his penace is teaching "A Tale of Two Cities" to his rowdy classmates.

A music instructor "backs up" Arnold after he claims to be an expert sax player in order to impress a girl.

1985-11-30T02:00:00Z

8x09 Speak No Evil

8x09 Speak No Evil

  • 1985-11-30T02:00:00Z25m

Father and son are feuding over First Amendment rights when an outraged Arnold objects to a white supremacy organization speaking at his high school and a discerning Drummond can't support Arnold's fury on the basis of the American right to free speech.

1985-12-07T02:00:00Z

8x10 Arnold's Bad Rep

8x10 Arnold's Bad Rep

  • 1985-12-07T02:00:00Z25m

Arnold succumbs to peer pressure and boasts he went "all the way" with his girlfriend, but his lie puts him in a more awkward position once the girl finds out about his claim to fame.

Drummond has "insured" that Sam will have an unforgettable birthday party by arranging for a local television personality to be the main attraction, until the swash-buckling "Captain Jack" steals the show and the birthday boy jumps ship.

1986-01-11T02:00:00Z

8x12 Arnold's Initiation

8x12 Arnold's Initiation

  • 1986-01-11T02:00:00Z25m

Arnold's initiation into the "cool" club at school jeopardizes his friendship with the mildly-retarded dishwasher at the Hamburger Hangar, after a prank Arnold "must" pull causes the man to lose his job.

1986-01-18T02:00:00Z

8x13 Bulimia

8x13 Bulimia

  • 1986-01-18T02:00:00Z24m

Arnold suspects that Kimberly has an eating disorder when his slender sister is secretly gorging herself, but not gaining any weight. Arnold seeks Drummond's help in confronting Kimberly with her problem and the family comes together to help her fight the eating disorder, bulimia.

1986-01-25T02:00:00Z

8x14 Sam's Big Brother

8x14 Sam's Big Brother

  • 1986-01-25T02:00:00Z24m

Arnold's preoccupation with girls and school leaves younger brother Sam alone and bored until Willis steps in, takes over as "big bro" and causes a row when Arnold decides to fight back for the title.

1986-02-01T02:00:00Z

8x15 Arnold's Tangled Web

8x15 Arnold's Tangled Web

  • 1986-02-01T02:00:00Z25m

To prevent Drummond from seeing his "F" in geometry, Arnold arranges to have Drummond's signature forged on his report on his report card, but the scheme backfires when Drummond insists on a personal inspection of Arnold's grades.

Sam's contempt for a classmate who incessantly insults and badgers him is pacified when he learns that the boy is an orphan who's jealous of Sam's "perfect" family life.

1986-02-22T02:00:00Z

8x17 The Big Bribe

8x17 The Big Bribe

  • 1986-02-22T02:00:00Z25m

A date with a gorgeous girl has Arnold walking on a cloud, until he learns she was bribed by Willis to go out with him.

1986-03-01T02:00:00Z

8x18 The Photo Club

8x18 The Photo Club

  • 1986-03-01T02:00:00Z30m

Arnold is disgruntled over being partnered with archenemy Lisa in photography class but his frustration soars when the two are accidentally locked together in the basement darkroom.

Season Finale

1986-03-08T02:00:00Z

8x19 The Front Page

Season Finale

8x19 The Front Page

  • 1986-03-08T02:00:00Z30m

Arnold's feature story about his high school football team threatens to turn into a controversial expose for the school newspaper when he witnesses team members buying steroids.

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