Seasons & episodes

Texas' rejection and Wanda switching the sugar with salt drives Lila closer to the edge. Mary visits Wanda and says she didn't sleep with Merle. Texas and Merle scheme to have Lila committed to a mental institution. Later, Lila flips out in the Capri and is taken into custody by Texas. Tom and Charlie go out on armed GGG patrol. Loretta opens her front door to something horrifying.

Loretta spots a hairy, 8 foot monster, but Mary wonders if maybe it's a crazed militant or the new milkman. Howie leaves money for Cathy with Mary. Mary feels bad about not telling Tom that she's talking to Dewey. George decides to fool around himself since Martha is thriving at Cathy's. At the Capri, Martha and Howie have a heart-to-heart, resulting in Martha's cure from kleptomania and Howie deciding to come clean about the robbery and the GGG. Texas, wearing an outrageous disguise, murders Howie.

Texas forces Lila to leave town, but she has the last laugh when her suitcase gets mixed up with the one containing the missing money. Mary brings Dr. Mattick to the Haggers house, and he identifies Loretta's monster as a Sasquatch. Merle asks Mary to be his Girl Friday, but she insists there's nothing between them, and she no longer wants to play their games. Heather declares Merle a creep. The GGG suggests Dewey is the militant bomber. An armed Tom vows to kill the person responsible for murdering Howie and nearly killing Mary in the explosion. Dewey finds Wanda's diary and Howie's research papers.

Heather's revelation that Merle was in her parents' bedroom infuriates Tom. Wanda questions why Merle wants Mary as his assistant, and she strongly recommends that he think carefully about it. Martha holds an unusual wake for Howie. As the mourners listen to an audio recording of Howie's impressions of Fernwood, Vernon stops the tape just as the GGG is about to be exposed.

Mary's unusual method for drying clothes annoys Tom. Martha accidentally scatters Howie's ashes on the linoleum. In possession of Howie's research, Dewey warns Vernon to stop the GGG's activities. Wanda arranges a meeting with Dewey to collect her diary. Later, she walks out on Merle after confronting him with Mary's slip, found in the pocket of his overcoat. Vernon phones Tom claiming to have discovered the militant's arsenal. Over Mary's protests, Tom loads his gun and leaves for a fateful meeting.

Charlie and Loretta find Wild Child on their doorstep. Vernon phones Charlie and lures him to the meeting at the intersection of Hidden Bay Road and Birch Bark. Mary begs Charlie for help in stopping an armed and dangerous Tom. George rejects Mary's fears that Tom's in over his head. Texas sets fire to Dewey's house, and when Tom tries to stop them, Vernon knocks him unconscious.

Vernon and Texas force whiskey down an unconscious Tom. After awakening, Tom runs to Dewey's burning house. Vernon tells Charlie and George that a drunken Tom vowed to kill Dewey in retaliation for bombing the plant. Lt. Trask arrests Tom when a body is found. A distraught Mary goes to Merle for help. Wanda misunderstands when she returns to find Mary in Merle's embrace. Merle takes a call from the police and informs Mary that Tom has been charged with murder. George sees Mac and Martha in a compromising, medicinal position. Mary learns the identity of the person Tom's accused of killing.

Charlie breaks the bad news about Tom to Loretta, and she shares her concerns about Wild Child. Wanda offers Mary a fur for not sharing what she read in Wanda's diary. Mary doesn't believe Tom's claims that Texas and Vernon are responsible for setting him up. Mary decides to accept Merle's job offer to help make ends meet while Tom's in jail. Texas taunts Tom. Merle advises Mary to let justice run its natural course in Tom's case.

Charlie and Loretta decide that Wild Child needs to see a special kind of doctor: a veterinarian. Vernon and Texas agree to make it appear they're trying to help Tom but secretly want him sent up the river for a very long time. The GGG names George the Grand Mysto. Cathy visits Tom in jail and tells him that Mary's not coming because he's too negative. Mary holds a sparsely attended memorial service at the plant

Grandpa Larkin urges George to call Martha, but Cathy says she's happy being away from the selfish, pig-headed, bozo. Cathy and George wonder if there's anything between Mac and Martha, while Mac and Martha watch a boring porno movie together, and Martha thinks Mac's lip is cute when he talks. In the middle of the night, a lonely Mary can't sleep alone and disturbs everyone in her family.

Tom and Merle warn Texas away from a vulnerable Mary. Tom refuses to sign the Guardian Party's petition to put Merle on the next election ballot. Merle takes Mary for a ride on his "white horse". Dr. Mattick pays a house call to examine Wild Child and theorizes he was raised by Bigfoot. Tom tries to convince Charlie that the GGG is responsible for violence and murder. After Charlie expresses concern that Tom can't take much more, Texas reveals that a new cop has been hired to take special care of Tom. Tom is subsequently stunned by the arrival of Sgt. Dennis Foley.

Tom warns Dennis away from Mary, but Dennis insists he has no intention of seeing her. Charlie, Mac, and George ponder a temporary insanity plea for Tom. Merle's anxious to talk about his plans to run for president in 1980, but Wanda's preoccupied with Tom's murder rap. George's suggestion that Tom needs a psychiatrist before an attorney leads Mary to a painful realization.

Vernon persuades the GGG men to hire Nat Dearborn to defend Tom, but Texas would rather shoot him. Dennis makes an official visit to the Haggers house after a neighbor's complaint about Wild Child. Mary goes to see Tom in jail and realizes that it's just like breakfast at their kitchen table. Loretta broaches the subject of Dennis with Mary but is interrupted by Vernon, who tells her that Nat Dearborn has accepted Tom's case.

After Martha refuses to reconcile with George, Cathy moves back home. Mary comes up with a plan to reunite her parents and narrowly misses meeting Dennis in the Shumway kitchen. Cathy arrives home and has words with Dennis. George prevents Cathy from telling Mary about Dennis, and later, Cathy still can't shatter Mary's dream family. George goes to the Capri looking spiffy for Martha. Mac visits Martha, spoiling Cathy and George's plans.

Merle wants money from the Guardian Party for his presidential campaign, and Vernon suggests he persuade Mary to accept cheaper Nat Dearborn as Tom's attorney. Wanda brings Mary dinner and wonders what Merle's agenda is when he shows up at Mary's. Tom warns Dennis away from Mary again. Wanda visits Tom and reassures him that Dennis is in Mary's past. Texas tempts Tom off the wagon before his visit with the psychiatrist. As Reverend Buryfield begins Wild Child's baptism, Loretta realizes he needs a proper name.

Social worker Ms. Finken gives Charlie and Loretta an ultimatum about Wild Child. Texas taunts a hungover Tom into a violent rage just as Dr. Williams arrives to examine him. Tom describes recent bizarre events in his life, leading Dr. Williams to decide he's paranoid. Mary's friends and family treat her to an evening at the Capri, where she and Dennis come face to face once again.

Mary and Dennis share a very public reunion at the Capri. Loretta asks Wanda if Merle can change the law requiring Wild Child to attend school, and Wanda suggests she spank him. Vernon tells Texas that Dr. Williams' report found Tom insane. A disheveled Nat arrives and vows to defend Tom as best he can. Mary rejects Tom's attempt at lovemaking in his cell, and he accuses her of wanting Dennis instead.

Mac wants to reap the golden harvest with Martha and vows to win her from George. Heather's hostile toward Mary and reminds her that she can't ever replace Tom. Dennis calls to tell Mary that Tom had a peaceful night in jail. Mary realizes she never gave Merle an answer to his job offer. George writes a love letter to Martha, but Cathy warns him it's not enough because Martha and Mac are getting serious.

Mary and Grandpa Larkin discuss Heather's disrespectful attitude. Martha asks Mary if she and Mac can use Mary's house for their trysts. Wanda wonders why Merle isn't doing more to help free Tom. After learning that the GGG is paying Nat, Tom orders him out of the cell. Texas gives Tom a noose. Merle is jealous after finding Dennis visiting Mary in her kitchen.

George chooses a new path in life as an inventor. Loretta and Charlie ponder names for Wild Child, and Mary suggests Johnny Doe. Nat reassures Mary that he thinks Tom can't be proven guilty of murder. Texas accidentally turns the Capri into a drive-in lounge. Wanda visits Tom in jail, and her comfort turns to passion.

After Wild Child runs into the street and is nearly hit by a car, Ms. Finken isn't sure he's safe with Charlie and Loretta. Vernon and Texas promise Tom that Mary and Heather will be in danger if he implicates them in the murder. The courtroom is left stunned when Tom takes the witness stand and makes a shocking declaration.

Mary's in shock after Tom's statement to the court, and Dennis promises to be there any time she needs him. Loretta and Charlie worry about a homesick Johnny Doe. Before his transfer to the county jail, Tom warns Mary about Texas and Vernon. Friends, family, and enemies congregate in Tom's cell to say goodbye. A surprise witness steps forward with new information that may clear Tom of murder.

The surprise witness reveals what really happened the night of the fire, leading to an explosive end of the GGG. A freed Tom avoids making love with Mary, opting for a night out with George and Charlie at the Capri. Mary invites Dennis in for a Pepsi. Merle and Wanda agree that they're a match made in heaven and celebrate by taking a match to the infamous diary. Tom returns to his old ways with several rounds of beer.

An amorous Tom returns from the Capri, but Mary's comment about Dennis spoils the mood. George shows Tom a new invention, and they celebrate with beer for breakfast. Dennis invites Mary to meet his parents. Wanda apologizes to Mary for not clearing Tom sooner. Cathy meets Standing Cow, who has come to die on the sacred ground of the Shumway home.