Seasons & episodes

Christine suggests Cathy endure a natural childbirth, on all fours and with no anesthesia. Grandpa Larkin attempts to persuade Cathy to return home. Martha and Detective Johnson set-up the Renquists to incriminate themselves on tape, but Jack recognizes the scheme. Mary ruins Tom's adoption celebration with news that Cathy won't give them her baby, so Tom gets Mary drunk and seduces her with the intent of making their own baby.

Garth rejects Wanda's desire to enlist Pat in Merle's mayoral campaign. Later, Garth becomes disgusted by Pat's novel, a fictional account of their relationship, and forces her to destroy what she's written. Charlie meets with Dr. Fratkis and is horrified to learn that Fratkis has only performed the transplant surgery on canines. Loretta and Jody return from the drag race filled with excitement, but Mary brings the emotions down with news that Charlie was arrested in New Jersey.

Mary stuns Jody and Loretta with news that Charlie was arrested for cruelty to animals. In jail, Dr. Fratkis admits to Charlie the shocking identity of his transplant donor. Merle visits Tom to settle any conflict between them and asks Tom not to tell Wanda about the affair with Annie. Later, Merle and Jody both attempt to console Loretta. Charlie phones home and tells Loretta that he's never coming back.

Garth forces Pat to quit her job. Mary brings Pat a letter from Little Garth's military academy. After finding Jody in the Haggers home, Tom cautions Loretta to beware of men who might try to take advantage of Charlie's absence. Mary wants to be Cathy's natural childbirth coach, despite Cathy's desire for a man. Pat drops by Mary's kitchen and confesses that Little Garth is keeping a secret that will enrage Garth...if he finds out.

Mary recalls getting too close for comfort with Annie in the kitchen and theorizes to Tom that their friend is bisexual. Charlie is dismayed when Dr. Fratkis is released, but he remains jailed. Charlie meets Joe Sutonni, his new cell mate and "godfather". Giddy on Blue Nun wine, Martha is kissed by Detective Johnson, and Grandpa Larkin bears witness to their embrace. Mary warns Martha that there's an AC/DC problem in her driveway.

Martha visits Annie to discuss their AC/DC trouble. Charlie phones Loretta and tells her that he got out of jail but still won't come home. Jody offers to take Loretta to New Jersey to find Charlie. Mary decontaminates her kitchen with the help of the FDA and gossips to Wanda about Annie's sexuality. Pat phones Mary to tell her that Little Garth is home, but the call is interrupted by Garth, who thinks they're keeping secrets.

Pat and Little Garth hide the truth from Garth about his son's bed wetting. Detective Johnson insinuates that Annie is part of a prostitution ring in Fernwood and wants to use an antiquated city ordinance to send her on her way. Cathy is delighted to have Brian as her natural childbirth coach. Charlie returns to Fernwood and pays a secret visit to Mary. Mary gives Charlie a note left by Loretta and Jody, which they misinterpret.

Loretta and Jody meet Dr. Fratkis in New Jersey and learn that someone uglier than a Godfather cast member bailed Charlie out of jail. Mary and Merle have an intimate conversation about sexuality, and Merle can't help but feel attracted to Mary's innocence and gingham dresses. Wanda and Merle discuss Mary and Annie. Loretta and Jody return to Fernwood, where Mary confesses that Charlie may have left again under the wrong impression.

After writing about her in the journal, Mary visits Annie and bristles at her attention. Tom's arrival prompts Annie to make a quick exit with Mary's journal which Annie thinks is a shopping list. Mary admits to Tom that she was researching bisexuality. At the Capri, Jody watches Loretta sing a song imploring her husband to come home to his lonely prom queen. Sitting on a desolate bridge, Charlie is befriended by a wolf. Merle shocks Wanda with a marriage proposal cleverly timed for election eve. Pat's mother pays a visit and urges Pat to leave Garth.

Annie returns Mary's journal and insists she's not attracted to her. While discussing people's needs, Mary embraces Annie, but Tom walks in and misinterprets the situation. Later, Tom forces himself on Mary who begs him not to rape her. Grandpa Larkin meets Mrs. Delorean at the mortuary where she's moonlighting in the slumber rooms. Tom admits to Annie that same sex kissing disgusts him. Christine catches Cathy and Brian practicing their heavy breathing on the living room floor.

Embarrassed before a country club lunch, Tom wants Mary to keep up with the Joneses by shopping for chic dresses at Tufts and Tweeds. Martha fears God will punish Cathy for selling her babies. Garth discovers Little Garth's secret and tells Pat he'll shape her into a good wife it literally kills them. Merle advises Loretta to get rid of Jody and proposes she sing at his election rally.

Mary and Dr. Medwick rap about rape and upward mobility. Loretta kisses Jody and tells him goodbye forever. About to jump from the bridge, Charlie hears Loretta's love song to him on the radio and decides to go home. Joe Sutonni wants to give Charlie a physical and psychological makeover. Merle goes on live television and offers voters two minutes of silence to look into his eyes and see the best man for mayor.

Garth bungles Merle's press conference, angering him, but Merle turns it around with an engagement announcement. Wanda requests a private celebration, but Merle insists on abstinence until their wedding night. Merle's rejection prompts Wanda to visit Annie, who claims she isn't a threat to the marriage. Wanda and Annie realize they both see people as numbers. Mary phones Italy to tell Gore Vidal that she can't continue co-writing their book because she' preoccupied with all the drama in Fernwood. Merle eavesdrops on the conversation and professes to Mary that he sees something in her that Tom doesn't. Mary invites Merle into her kitchen for a quiet cup of tea.

Pat introduces Mary to Garth Phillip Gimble, Jr., who doesn't like to be called "Little Garth". During Merle's election night party, Garth threatens Pat, but she swears she'll expose him as a wife beater if he lays a hand on her. Mary's new dress embarrasses Tom at the party. Tom refuses Cathy's request to help Martha with her mortgage payment. Merle fires Garth for not supporting his two minutes of silence trick on TV. Mary worries when Tom reveals he invested a large sum of money in lake property.

Mary suggests that an upset Loretta seek advice from Bob Gilroy, the plant psychologist. Gilroy makes a house call to the Haggers home, but Loretta's tale of Charlie's accident in the motel room repulses him. Tom finds Garth drowning his sorrows at the Capri and attempts to comfort him. Later, Tom is shocked to find Martha at the lounge dressed as a hooker. Joe Sutonni and an exasperated store clerk give Charlie a makeover.

Mary appeals to Cathy not to sell her baby, and although the idea is sound financially, Cathy feels shame. Suspecting that Big Honey is using the CB to run Fernwood's prostitution ring, Detective Johnson arranges for Martha to meet her at the Bide-a-Wee Motel, where she uses the alias Mrs. McQueen. Mary insists on accompanying Martha and they arrive dressed as hookers. When Mrs. McQueen fails to answer her phone, Mrs. Delorean gives Martha and Mary applications to complete. Mary and Martha are unnerved by the presence of a leering john and a cop.

Garth escalates his abuse of Pat. Annie informs Merle that her gift to Wanda is to never be intimate with him again. Merle flirts with Big Honey on Annie's CB. While Charlie phones Loretta to say he's returning to her, Joe Sutonni is gunned down in a mob hit. Everyone congregates in the Hartman living room for Merle and Wanda's wedding, but where is the groom?

Merle and Wanda marry with Mary's unusual ceremonial vows. Detective Johnson arranges for Tom to pose as a john and help him crack the prostitution ring by exposing Big Honey. On his wedding night, Merle makes a date with Big Honey over the C.B. and lies to Wanda that he has to go out to keep a campaign promise. A dejected Wanda seeks companionship from Annie, and the two admit they're attracted to one another.

Merle arrives at the mortuary where Big Honey's partner Mac is reluctant to let him see her. Merle talks his way into the slumber room and is stunned to learn the identity of Big Honey. Detective Johnson, Mary, and Tom raid the mortuary just as Merle and Big Honey finish 45 minutes of passion. When Harold Clemens arrives on the scene for a news story, Merle is forced to reveal the mastermind behind the prostitution ring. At the police station, Tom has questions for the new mayor who once again proves he can talk himself out of any situation.

Detective Johnson's shocking confession about his past prompts Martha to end their courtship. Garth and Pat have yet another fight, this time over his accusation that she doesn't support his career. Mary's suggestion that Tom is spending too much money angers him. Heather and Little Garth's discussion of teen sex is interrupted by a phone call from a man who claims to be George Shumway and says he's coming home.

Financially strapped Tom visits the plant to ask Crimins if he has any unpaid money due him. Christine mimics Cathy's movements to appear pregnant. Mary's kitchen is filled with women who received a mysterious questionnaire from the National Center of Sexual Activities. Pat's elation over Garth's Christmas presents fades when he gives her a mop and bucket and Little Garth a tinkle sheet for his bed. Brian and Christine scheme to have Cathy's natural childbirth at Mary's house instead of Fernwood Receiving.

Guests fill Mary's kitchen on Christmas Day, including the Jeeters, Gimbles, Annie, and Loretta who arrives late with one Jimmy Joe's bicentennial Christmas trees. Mary leads the group with a prayer of thanks, a rendition of Silent Night, and asks everyone to sing Happy Birthday to the baby Jesus. Martha opens the kitchen door to find a chanting George dressed like a religious cult member. Loretta performs for a packed house at the Capri lounge and receives her best Christmas present ever when Charlie arrives and gets a rise out of the occasion.

Charlie and Loretta express their passion in the car on the side of a public road. Heather hands over another sex questionnaire that Mary had hidden in a box of Froot Loops, and Mary learns the questionnaire was sent by Mae Olinski. Pat's tenderness toward Garth ends in her being beaten by a plastic snowman. Sikanda, another Boga Zidi cult member, joins George in the Shumway home which they raid. Tom's loan is refused, and Mary shows him a bounced check.

Mary refers Wanda to Bob Gilroy when Wanda begins lisping. Gilroy reacts with disgust when Wanda confesses she spent her wedding night at Annie's trailer, but Wanda's cured when she realizes Gilroy is more messed up than she is. Reverend Standfast refers Martha to a deprogrammer to help George escape the Boga Zidi cult. A desperate Tom turns to Merle for a loan, but Merle's money is tied up in a new Seville. Charlie and Loretta make up for lost time, and their luck appears to be changing when they learn that Joe Sutonni paid for Loretta to have an album recording session in Dayton.