Seasons & episodes

Heather wants Mary's blood for tests to prove they're not related. Mac surprises Martha with dinner and persuades her to have an affair with him. Heather babysits Johnny Doe and fails to teach him how to get with it. Johnny Doe's tears make Charlie and Loretta realize he may not be happy with them. Mary agrees to meet Dennis and parents at the Capri for cocktails. Cathy drops by the Capri, where two familiar looking widows are in tears. Cathy and Martha aren't talking to each other about Mac, Mary throwing herself at Dennis, and the Jewish Indian dying in the Shumway kitchen.

Grandpa Larkin and Cathy learn more about Standing Cow. Dr. Mattick examines Johnny Doe and theorizes that he'll be utterly miserable for the rest of his life unless he returns to the wild. Wanda suggests Merle revamp his lifestyle image to include fish fries and barbecues, but he counters with an idea to have his mother live with them. Merle phones Miss Adeline and tells her about his presidential campaign. Mary meets Fred and Fiona Foley, Dennis' parents, and wonders why they seem to really like her.

Martha returns to the Shumway home, where George begs her to stay, and Standing Cow lies dying on the kitchen table. Fiona Foley's pleasant visit with Mary is tempered by Mary's obsession with tea bags, Tom's rudeness, and Heather's insistence that Mary isn't her mother. Merle's blunt, rude, abrasive mother Miss Adeline arrives just in time for Merle's TV interview with Jud Thompson.

Tom insists that he and Mary have a "perfect damn marriage" but with "too much damn communication." Miss Mildred, Johnny Doe's teacher, agrees that he should be taught by Dr. Mattick at the zoo. Tom, George, Loretta and Charlie discuss their losses at the Capri, where Tom turns to alcohol for comfort instead of the Lord. Mary's unnerved and Tom speechless when Heather establishes a Dennis Foley fan club and plasters the kitchen with life size posters of his face.

Tom seeks reassurance from Wanda that making love with him was more than a duty for her. Before expiring, Standing Cow predicts Martha's relationship with Mac will bring tragedy to the Shumway family if she stays with him. Loretta and Charlie are forced to let Dr. Mattick continue civilizing Johnny Doe. Mac and the Shumways set a deadline of one week in which to decide whether Mac ends up with Martha, Cathy, or all alone as usual. Dennis attempts to ease the tension between Tom and Mary, and tells Mary that he thinks they're about to start another beautiful friendship together.

Mary seeks George's advice about Tom's drinking. Martha admits she still has feelings for George and is worried about Standing Cow's omen. Johnny Doe speaks his first word, but Loretta fears it might be his last after he apparently eats a bag of moth balls. Mac begs Martha to stay with him, but remembering Standing Cow's warning, she insists on waiting until the last minute to decide. Wanda's Get to Know Your Mayor campaign irritates Merle. Dennis and his parents invite Mary to tea.

Merle and Wanda's live broadcast of At Home With the Jeeters dissolves into a disaster when Mary phones in to discuss Tom not sleeping with her, and a trapped Miss Adeline attempts to break out of her locked bedroom. Dennis reveals his true intentions for Mary to Tom. Tom drinks more and begs Merle to help him save his marriage. Dennis tells Mary about his talk with Tom, and the two kiss passionately in front of Fred and Fiona.

Merle claims he's doing a favor for good friend Tom Hartman when Miss Adeline wonders who he's courting with his gussied up suit and box of chocolates. Mary begins to hear and see Dennis everywhere. Dr. Fermin wonders if Johnny Doe will survive eating mothballs and instructs Charlie and Loretta to pray. Dennis and Merle descend on Mary's kitchen. After Dennis kisses Mary in front of Merle, Merle explains to Mary how to avoid temptation.

Dr. Fermin says Johnny Doe will recover but thinks he might be better off in the wilderness. After Tom gives Mary a dog, Heather tells him that he won't win her away from Dennis with such a pathetic gift. George, Charlie, and Mac gossip about the triangle between Tom, Mary, and Dennis. Later, the three go to Mary's separately to talk sense into her, and they're forced to hide in the Hartman bedroom when Tom comes home.

Cathy confirms Mac's suspicion that she's still angry with him because of their breakup. A major fight erupts between George and Martha when they gather with Mary to meet the Foleys at the Capri. Tom confides to Charlie that he's giving up Mary to make her happy. Mary asks Tom to meet Dennis' parents. Martha fears Standing Cow's prediction of doom is coming to pass.

Buzz MacGregor and Angela Atwater from the Republican Party attend Merle's sermon on Love Thy Neighbor, where dirty linen is aired and guests repent. When George makes a disaster of their dinner party, Martha chooses to stay with Mac, but she feels something terrible is about to happen. Mary guesses that Dennis had a happy childhood, and he wants to make her life better. Tom dances with Cathy and Wanda at the Capri.

Charlie makes Loretta realize that if they really love Johnny Doe, they should let him go. Buzz and Angela encourage Merle and Wanda to go public with their swinging lifestyle and drink a toast to Wanda as the first woman president. When all of her premonitions come true, Martha declines Mac's marriage proposal and leaves. Mary feels sick after learning the truth about Dennis' parents.

Cathy encourages her parents to reconcile. At Mary's family breakfast, Heather announces that her classmates are gossiping about Dennis wrecking the Hartman marriage again. Charlie and Loretta think they've civilized Johnny Doe too much. Dennis wants Mary to tell him what she really feels. Cathy advises Tom on how to win Mary from Dennis.

Mac confronts George about Martha, and the Shumways face another financial crisis. Mary is amazed to receive sensible advice from Cathy about appreciating Tom's qualities. Wanda's potential presidential run intimidates Merle. Tom attempts to duplicate Dennis' appeal with a jar of Dippity-Doo, and Mary wishes she could choose without having to choose.

Dennis deals with Heather like an adult when she admits she wants to date him. Mickey Moe, the younger brother Merle disowned, arrives in Fernwood to make Merle's life even more miserable. Going back to the wilderness with Johnny Doe proves heart wrenching for Loretta. Wanda inadvertently incites Tom's passion.

A suicide pact is the last resort for George and Martha when their heat and electricity are cut off, their car is repossessed, and Cathy, Grandpa Larkin, and Barbie move out. Charlie catches Loretta tempting Johnny Doe back to civilization with junk food and television. Dennis wiggles out of Charlie and Loretta's attempt to convince him that Mary belongs with Tom. George proclaims he is close to selling his invention for a million dollars. Tom tries to woe Mary with a romantic hotel room supper.

Friends and family gather at the Jeeter apartment for Wanda's unexpected political announcement and at the Capri where George demonstrates his Bug Massacre invention to investors. Loretta and Charlie bid a tearful goodbye to Johnny Doe who is Wild Child again.

Loretta releases her grief over Johnny Doe's departure in a new song. Buzz and Angela's idea about including Miss Adeline and Mickey Moe in Merle and Wanda's co-campaign angers Merle. Cathy devises a new plan for the impoverished Shumways to make money, while Martha experiences another terrible premonition of impending doom. Dennis invades Mary's dreams. Mary meets Wanda at the Capri for advice about whether or not she should sleep with Dennis.

Cathy's first day of private catering at the plant gets off to a dismal start. Mr. Billingsley refuses to rehire George, who gets drunk at the Capri and fights with Mac. Dr. Joyce Brothers counsels Mary about a potential second affair with Dennis. Mary phones Dennis to arrange another infamous Thursday date. After their fight, George and Mac realize they could make a lot of money as professional wrestlers. Dennis interrupts Mary and Tom's lovemaking.

Mary admits to Dennis that she loves him but wants to know if she can take it back later. Cathy agrees to let Mary use Howie's apartment for the rendezvous with Dennis, then Mary has to justify it to Martha. George trains Mac for the first wrestling match. Cathy seeks help from Loretta in stopping Mary's affair, but Loretta suggests Cathy's own sordid past should make her more tolerant of Mary's desires. Martha has another premonition and foretells terrible doom for Cathy.

Tom goes to the ring with Charlie, Dennis, and Mac at the Capri's wrestling round-robin. Merle and Wanda try to reassure Tom that he and Mary can survive their marital crisis. Mary decides to stand up Dennis, but he arrives before she can leave, and they end up in a romantic embrace.

Dennis proposes to Mary. Tom visits Charlie and Loretta and asks them to choose friends. Merle is enraged when Wanda is friendly with Mickey Moe and threatens to end his bid for the presidency. When she tells him about her evening with Dennis, Tom doesn't take Mary seriously. Before leaving Fernwood, Dennis asks Mary to meet him at Niagara Falls in one week aboard the Maid of the Mist.

Grandpa Larkin meets Barth Gimble, who's in Fernwood to find his brother Garth. After Tom convinces himself that Mary was just trying to make him jealous, Cathy accidentally reveals that Mary spent the night with Dennis. Merle and Mickey Moe argue over Wanda, who Miss Adeline dismisses as a blonde hussy. Cathy and Loretta pump Mary about her night Dennis. Mary reveals to Tom that Dennis has left Fernwood for good, but first he asked her to marry him.

Svetlana, a female wrestler, challenges Mac. Mary and Tom agree to host Mary's 16th high school reunion in the Hartman home. After seeing how much pledge money Mickey Moe brought in, Merle decides to let him and Miss Adeline stay. Martha and Cathy scream at the sight of Barth Gimble and realize that he doesn't know about brother Garth's violent death. Cathy experiences excruciating back pain, reinforcing Martha's premonition of doom. George doesn't want to know if Mary will choose Dennis or Tom, but vows to support her final decision.