Seasons & episodes

Michael and Zaria use reverse psychology to get their parents to let them have their grandmother's car by pretending Michael wants a tattoo and Zaria a nose ring, but the plan backfires. Robert and Jerri trick the kids by encouraging them and even driving them to the tattoo/piercing parlor. Meanwhile, Mrs. Wilcox dates a young man and asks Robert's advice on lovemaking -- and the disturbing images this arouses in Robert's mind affect his performance with Jerri.

Robert is concerned when Zaria goes on a date with Michael's shallow friend Troy, and resorts to hiring a woman from Derek's acting class to lure Troy away. When Jerri catches Robert in the closet with this woman, he's got a lot of explaining to do. Meanwhile, Nicholas's beloved pet snake gets loose in the house, and when he replaces it with a dummy snake, Jerri thinks it died due to her neglect.

In an attempt to establish a strong work ethic in Michael, Robert makes a bet that he can work side by side with Michael at his pizza parlor job. Unbeknownst to Robert, the manager of the pizza parlor once flunked Robert's class. Meanwhile, worried about gaining weight, Zaria appoints Nicholas her ""health cop."" Every time she takes an unnecessary bite of food, Nicholas gets to punish her by looking at a page from her diary.

Robert pretends to forget his anniversary, while all the while he's made special plans for a surprise romantic evening with Jerri; but when the evening arrives, he must first attend a lecture with special guest Jeffrey Osbourne. When an unexpected blizzard ruins Robert's special anniversary plans, he convinces the singing star to come to his house and help save his marriage. Meanwhile, when Michael is unable to repay a loan to Zaria, she forces him to perform humiliating tasks around the house.

Robert, who has been critical of Michael's former girlfriends, agrees to be nice to college sophomore Patrice when she comes to dinner. But Patrice makes a pass at a shocked Robert when they are alone -- and nobody believes his story. Later, Patrice suggests to Jerri that she and Michael accompany the young couple on a double date at a restaurant, where Jerri catches Patrice in action.

Robert hopes a stray mutt will replace Nicholas' imaginary friend -- if they can keep the pup hidden from pooch-hater Jerri. The school psychologist convinces Robert than an imaginary friend is completely normal -- but when he relievedly tells Jerri about the dog, Jerri and the psychologist are convinced he's the delusional one.

A dinner visit from Robert's classmate, now an arrogant Princeton professor who believes men are smarter than women, sparks a battle of the sexes when Jerri scores higher than Robert on an I.Q. test included in the professor's latest book.

To avoid a sex chat, Robert puts Michael on-line with a health program, which the teen uses to access a computer sex line catering to swingers. Before Robert catches on, Michael makes a date with a female correspondent -- and is shocked when his date, LaWanda, turns out to be an elderly woman with a moustache.

Robert charges Michael and Zaria with being too irresponsible to have a party---so the family holds a mock trial, with Jerri serving as the defense attorney.

A series of burglaries, followed by Nicholas's bike being stolen, prompt Robert and Jerri to buy an alarm system. Robert doesn't want to pay for the high cost of installation so he hires Derek and Wendell to do the job. Derek and Wendell are complete amateurs and fail to install the system properly. That evening the alarm goes off several times waking the family and bringing police to the door. When the alarm is finally disabled, Robert and Jerri talk about what happened and decide they can feel safe without a security device.

Robert is so impressed with Zaria's new boyfriend, Daryl Cooper, that he actually envisions him as his future son-in-law. Zaria is not nearly as taken with Daryl and tells her father she intends to break up with him. Robert is crushed by the news. He believes that if Zaria spent more time with Daryl she would grow to like him. He lets Daryl use his Volvo to take Zaria to a concert. Zaria spends some quality time with Daryl and decides not to break up with him.

When a bully picks on Nicholas, it brings back memories of Robert's own childhood nemesis---and he decides to track the man down and settle the score.

When 15-year-old Michael asks if he can attend a basketball game, Robert says ""yes."" But Robert denies 14-year-old Zaria's request for permission to go to a ""gangsta"" rap concert. Later, Jerri reminds Robert that their parents objected to the music they used to listen to and convinces him that he is too protective of Zaria. Robert relents and allows Zaria to go to the concert -- but he and Derek secretly follow her in what they imagine to be hip-hop attire.

Robert is accused of being out of touch when he voices objection to the lyrics of a rap song written by Michael and his posse, so he takes Michael to the ""hood"" to show him he hasn't forgotten his roots. Meanwhile, Zaria wants her own phone line after discovering Nicholas and Cece are listening in on her phone conversations, and Jerri insists she do chores in exchange; and Wendell fails miserably on his first day of substitute teaching.

It's a case of kiss and tell for Nicholas when he kisses a classmate and his teacher tells his parents that he is sexually harassing the girl. Meanwhile, after seeing Zaria kiss the son of a record company executive, Michael tries to get the executive to listen to his demo tape.

Jerri's new study partner is funny, smart, handsome -- and a male dancer. Robert becomes even more jealous after Jerri, due to time constraints, agrees to meet her study partner at the dance club where he works, and follows Jerri only to find himself thrust on stage as the MC, with Wendell as a supposed erotic dancer. Jerri, busy backstage studying, has no interest in seeing the show until she hears Robert's voice. Meanwhile, Michael and Nicholas scheme to sell the family collection of baby teeth to the neighborhood kids, who in turn use them to get money from their parents/the tooth fairy.

Zaria runs into trouble when her parents discover she's received preferential treatment from her track coach -- and her grades start to slip. Meanwhile, Wendell tries to earn extra money selling cosmetics to Jerri and her friends.

Robert and Jerri finds themselves stuck in the middle when Wendell proposes to a woman he met at Cece's fourth birthday party after a 24-hour whirlwind courtship - and then proposes that the Peterson hold the reception at their house.

Nicholas thinks Halloween is going to be anything but a treat after he hears a local legend about a cab-driving ghost. Meanwhile, Michael tries come up with a brilliant way to scare Zaria.

Robert is overwhelmed when the kids throw him a surprise party. Unable to cope with the surprise, Robert leaves the party. Jerri explains that Robert's father left him and his family on his eighth birthday and never returned. The kids put an ad in the newspaper trying to track down their missing grandfather. Their grandfather eventually responds to the ad. Jerri encourages Robert to confront his father to mend their relationship so that the kids can know their grandfather. Robert attempts reconciliation, but they end up butting heads. Robert contemplates the negative cycle of fathers leaving their families and decides to break the cycle. He returns to his father's house with his kids to celebrate his birthday and their reunion.

Wendell needs a positive role model to speak to his class of troubled youths, so he asks Robert, who has trouble gaining the class's respect. Meanwhile, Michael and Zaria believe that their mother may be pregnant.

Robert lends a helping hand to reformed gang member Ricky, but when Zaria takes a romantic interest in the young man, her father gets up in arms.

Robert overhears Michael and his girlfriend planning to take the next big step in their relationship, so he cautions his son about sexual responsibility. But the boy mistakenly interprets it as a parental OK. Meanwhile, Nicholas becomes obsessed with superstition when Wendell gives him a good luck charm.

Robert decides to cancel the Christmas holiday because he is disgusted with his children's greedy behavior. On Christmas Eve, all of the children have the same strange dream where they are visited by elves, which look a lot like Wendell and Robert. The elves make each of the kids realize how terrible they've been acting. The next morning Robert has a change of heart and decides to celebrate Christmas as usual. However the kids decide to celebrate Christmas a different way by giving all of their presents to needy children.