My Two Dads is an American sitcom that was produced by Michael Jacobs Productions in association with Tri-Star Television and distributed by TeleVentures. It starred Paul Reiser, Greg Evigan and Staci Keanan. The series premiered on NBC on September 20, 1987, [1] and aired 60 episodes over three seasons, concluding on April 30, 1990.
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by [2] | Original air date | Prod. code [2] | Rating/share (households) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "Pilot" | John Tracy | September 20, 1987 | 101 | 19.5/30 [3] |
In 1974, Michael Taylor and Joey Harris were best friends. However, the two developed a rivalry when they both competed for the affections of a girl: Marcy Bradford, and subsequently cut ties from each other. Thirteen years later, Michael and Joey are reunited for the reading of the now deceased Marcy's will and discover they have been granted joint custody of her 12-year old daughter, Nicole. Which of the two is the father? The judge declares they both are. Different opening credits, and a different theme song were used for this episode — the 1985 hit "You're a Friend of Mine," by Clarence Clemons and Jackson Browne. | ||||||
2 | 2 | "Soho's By You" | Peter Baldwin | September 27, 1987 | 102 | 18.1/28 [4] |
When the family experiment with moving into Michael's apartment, Joey has difficulty fitting into uptown life, and Nicole has no playmates in their new building. An opening, similar to A-ha's "Take On Me", was used for this episode, complete with a theme song sung by Greg Evigan, called "You Can Count on Me". | ||||||
3 | 3 | "Crime and Punishment" | Peter Baldwin | October 4, 1987 | 103 | 18.6/28 [5] |
The dads reach a turning point in fatherhood, where they have to put their foot down, upon learning Nicole and a friend have gone to a party in New Jersey...with boys...instead of to the movies. Guest star: Willie Garson | ||||||
4 | 4 | "Nicole's First Date" | Peter Baldwin | October 18, 1987 | 104 | 18.8/27 [6] |
Joey prepares Nicole for her first date. Unfortunately, his lecture didn't prepare her for being stood up. Note: Another new narration from Staci Keanan was used for this episode. | ||||||
5 | 5 | "Friends and Lovers" | Peter Baldwin | October 25, 1987 | 105 | 16.6/23 [7] |
Nicole sets Michael up with a neighbor. He finds the situation confusing when he can't decide if they're dating or just friends. Note: The opening narration by Staci Keanan in this episode returns to the version first used in Episode 3. | ||||||
6 | 6 | "Who's Night is it, Anyway?" | Peter Baldwin | November 1, 1987 | 106 | 18.0/26 [8] |
When both dads have dates, they decide to let Nicole stay home alone with her friends. | ||||||
7 | 7 | "Once a Son..." | Peter Baldwin | November 8, 1987 | 107 | 18.1/27 [9] |
Joey makes a deal with his father. He'll join the family plumbing business if his art doesn't sell at an upcoming one-man show. | ||||||
8 | 8 | "Sex, Judge, and Rock and Roll" | J. D. Lobue | November 15, 1987 | 108 | 16.4/24 [10] |
Michael gets a date with a woman that turned Joey down. Unfortunately, the woman is Judge Wilbur's engaged niece. | ||||||
9 | 9 | "The Artful Dodger" | J. D. Lobue | November 29, 1987 | 109 | 17.7/25 [11] |
When Nicole has a failing grade in art, Joey rushes to her defense. He ends up dating the teacher, something that makes Nicole very unhappy. | ||||||
10 | 10 | "Quality Time" | J. D. Lobue | December 6, 1987 | 110 | 16.2/24 [12] |
Michael suffers from guilt when business forces him to cancel dates with Nicole. | ||||||
11 | 11 | "Tis the Season" | Zane Buzby | December 20, 1987 | 111 | 16.4/25 [13] |
Joey and Michael are excited to celebrate their first Christmas with Nicole. Unfortunately, she wants to ignore the holiday because it will be her first without her mom. | ||||||
12 | 12 | "The Only Child" | Zane Buzby | January 3, 1988 | 112 | 19.5/28 [14] |
Nicole misses being the center of attention when her dads fulfill her wish for a little brother. | ||||||
13 | 13 | "Joey's Mother-in-Law" | Zane Buzby | January 10, 1988 | 113 | 22.9/33 [15] |
When Michael's mom comes for a visit, she makes Joey miserable and stops Nicole from seeing Cory. Guest star: Polly Bergen as Evelyn Taylor, Michael's mother. | ||||||
14 | 14 | "Nicole in Charge" | Zane Buzby | January 17, 1988 | 114 | 18.8/27 [16] |
Upset and worried when Michael ends up in the hospital after training, Nicole demands the loft's racquetball championship be cancelled. | ||||||
15 | 15 | "The Wedge" | Zane Buzby | February 7, 1988 | 115 | 14.7/21 [17] |
Joey's rock star friend visits. He believes Michael has been a bad influence on Joey. Guest star: Davy Jones (of The Monkees) as Malcolm O'Dell, Joey's rock star friend. | ||||||
16 | 16 | "Advice and Consent" | Andrew D. Weyman | February 14, 1988 | 116 | 13.4/19 [18] |
Cory needs kissing help, so his older brother and the dads try to give him some guidance. | ||||||
17 | 17 | "She'll Get Over It" | Zane Buzby | February 21, 1988 | 117 | 17.0/24 [19] |
When Nicole's first modeling audition goes badly, Michael uses his influence to cheer her up. Guest star: Scott Baio | ||||||
18 | 18 | "Michael's Sister Comes Over and Visits" | Valentine Mayer | February 28, 1988 | 118 | 14.4/21 [20] |
When Michael's sister left her medical career, she and Michael became estranged. Now she's come back to visit, and Michael is unhappy to learn that Joey is the person who convinced her to leave. | ||||||
19 | 19 | "Nicole's Big Adventure" | Zane Buzby | March 19, 1988 | 119 | 15.1/26 [21] |
Nicole spends a week away at camp, and the dads need help from friends to survive the loneliness. | ||||||
20 | 20 | "My Fair Joey" | Andrew D. Weyman | March 28, 1988 | 120 | 16.7/25 [22] |
Joey asks for Michael's help. He wants to be presentable when meeting his new date's father. Unfortunately, she's the woman of Michael's dreams. | ||||||
21 | 21 | "The Family in Question" | Mark Brull | May 9, 1988 | 121 | 14.4/23 [23] |
When a newspaper reporter writes an article criticizing Judge Wilbur, especially her decision to put Nicole with Joey and Michael, a television reporter decides to do a feature on them by interviewing everyone involved and recording Nicole with her two fathers to see who is right. Guest stars: Dr. Joyce Brothers, Ed Koch | ||||||
22 | 22 | "A Friend of the Family" | Matthew Diamond | August 14, 1988 | 122 | 8.5/16 [24] [lower-alpha 1] |
Cory's brother must repay the damage he caused to Klawicki's front door. |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by [2] | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code [2] | US viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
23 | 1 | "Blast From the Past" | Andrew D. Weyman | Bob Myer | January 11, 1989 | 7202 | 19.4 [25] |
Nicole's first co-ed party sees Cory clash with an ex, and Joey being respected as an elder. Note: In season 2, a new opening sequence, featuring a new version of "You Can Count on Me" – still sung by Greg Evigan, and with the missing lyrics restored – but with Staci Keanan's narration taken out, debuted. | |||||||
24 | 2 | "Who's on First?" | Andrew D. Weyman | Bob Young | January 18, 1989 | 7204 | 20.9 [26] |
Joey and Michael are having trouble adjusting to the fact that Nicole is starting to be interested in boys. | |||||||
25 | 3 | "Macho, Stupid Guy Time" | Andrew D. Weyman | Chuck Lorre | February 1, 1989 | 7209 | 22.1 [27] |
Michael and Joey vie to date an attractive woman they went to high school with, and the attention couldn't make her happier. Guest star: Morgan Fairchild | |||||||
26 | 4 | "The Man in the Pink Slip" | Andrew D. Weyman | Bob Young | February 8, 1989 | 7205 | 17.3 [28] |
A buyout leaves Michael dejected at home, and sends Joey into a new environment for him — the business world. Guest star: Russell Johnson | |||||||
27 | 5 | "Fallen Idol" | Andrew D. Weyman | David Steven Simon | February 15, 1989 | 7203 | 20.7 [29] |
Joey's rocker friend visits when he needs an idea for his next album. Guest stars: Davy Jones (second appearance), Peter Noone | |||||||
28 | 6 | "Story with a Twist" | Andrew D. Weyman | David Steven Simon | February 22, 1989 | 7210 | 20.3 [30] |
When Nicole comes home smelling of alcohol, Michael and Joey use an unorthodox method to teach her a lesson. | |||||||
29 | 7 | "Playing with Fire" | Mark Brull | Story by : Michael Jacobs Teleplay by : Bob Myer & Bob Young & Chuck Lorre | March 1, 1989 | 7213 | 22.6 [31] |
When an arsonist may seek revenge on Judge Wilbur, Joey and Michael hire protection for her: Bull Shannon. Guest star: Richard Moll crosses over his character Bull Shannon from Night Court in this episode. | |||||||
30 | 8 | "Dirty Dating" | Andrew D. Weyman | Story by : Mindy Glazer & Robert Schwartz Teleplay by : Robert Schwartz | March 8, 1989 | 7211 | 22.4 [32] |
Nicole cuts her nose to spite her face when she goes out with a guy she knows is bad news to get back at Joey for not following her advice. | |||||||
31 | 9 | "The God of Love" | Andrew D. Weyman | Chuck Lorre | March 15, 1989 | 7212 | 20.7 [33] |
After Joey gets caught with a girl in the house, Nicole tells all of her friends, who now worships Joey like he is "The God Of Love". Is it more than Joey bargained for? | |||||||
32 | 10 | "In Her Dreams" | Andrew D. Weyman | Michael Jacobs | March 22, 1989 | 7201 | 20.8 [34] |
Nicole's dreams reveal how her life might be different if her mom had married Joey or Michael. Guest star: Emma Samms (as Nicole's late mother, Marcy) | |||||||
33 | 11 | "Together We Stand" | Andrew D. Weyman | Bob Myer | March 29, 1989 | 7207 | 15.3 [35] |
Joey and Michael start work at a new magazine, with Joey having the slightly better first day. | |||||||
34 | 12 | "The Courtship of Nicole's Fathers" | Florence Stanley & Patrick Maloney | Chuck Lorre | April 5, 1989 | 7215 | 19.5 [36] |
Nicole happily finds that an attractive new neighbor is keeping her dads preoccupied from pestering her. Guest star: Crystal Bernard | |||||||
35 | 13 | "Crushed" | Mark Brull | Michael Jacobs | April 12, 1989 | 7214 | 20.2 [37] |
Nicole's best friend Shelby falls in love with... her dad? | |||||||
36 | 14 | "Basket Case" | Andrew D. Weyman | Michael Jacobs | April 19, 1989 | 7216 | 17.5 [38] |
Joey is livid when Nicole gets cut from her school basketball team. Meanwhile, Michael is convinced that he is dying when his insurance company charges him a high premium after assessing him as a Type A personality. | |||||||
37 | 15 | "You Love Me, Right?" | Andrew D. Weyman | Martin Newman | May 7, 1989 | 7206 | 15.5 [39] |
Michael's uncle, Raymond, visits, and he hopes his uncle's predilection for bailing on plans has stopped. Guest star: Jan Murray | |||||||
38 | 16 | "Getting Smart" | Andrew D. Weyman | Gina Wendkos | July 29, 1989 | 7208 | 11.9 [40] |
When her dads' actions show her that men aren't attracted to smart women, Nicole opts out of her high-level English class. |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by [2] | Original air date | Prod. code [2] | US viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
39 | 1 | "That's No Lady, That's My Mother" | Florence Stanley and Mark Brull | September 24, 1989 | 7302 | 18.8 [41] |
Michael is out dating again; but this time, he finds himself dating Nicole's boyfriend's mother. Note: Another new opening, along with another new version of the theme song "You Can Count on Me" featuring a brassy lead, debuted in season 3. | ||||||
40 | 2 | "Say Goodnight, Gracie" | Florence Stanley and Mark Brull | October 1, 1989 | 7304 | 16.9 [42] |
Joey decides to be considerate and watch his girlfriend's baby, Gracie. It turns out to be more than the two men can handle, as the baby ends up staying all night, disrupting Michael's work, and waking up Judge Wilbur in the process. | ||||||
41 | 3 | "Love and Learn" | Andy Cadiff | October 15, 1989 | 7305 | 17.8 [43] |
Nicole breaks her fathers' rules by dating a college guy. | ||||||
42 | 4 | "You Can Count on Me" | Mark Brull | October 22, 1989 | 7301 | 16.0 [44] |
Hearing a guy's overconfident dating scheme leaves Joey and Michael fearful of Nicole getting taken advantage of by a similar guy. | ||||||
43 | 5 | "Joey Gets Pinned" | Mark Brull | October 29, 1989 | 7303 | 21.5 [45] |
Joey holds a bachelor party for a friend at his place. He ends up meeting a lady friend – a wrestler – and then ends up marrying her. | ||||||
44 | 6 | "Story in Development" | Andy Cadiff | November 1, 1989 | 7306 | 17.1 [46] |
Nicole feels physically inadequate compared to a classmate, and her dads admit to feeling the same inadequacy. | ||||||
45 | 7 | "Duel" | Patrick Maloney | November 5, 1989 | 7307 | 18.6 [46] |
Michael and Joey land a job chaperoning Nicole's school dance. Nicole, however, decides to sit the dance out because it's lady's choice and she can't possibly choose between Zach and Cory. | ||||||
46 | 8 | "Dad Patrol" | Madeline Cripe | November 8, 1989 | 7308 | 17.9 [47] |
Joey and Michael start a neighborhood watch when a burglary costs Nicole a precious memento. | ||||||
47 | 9 | "Pop, the Question" | Michael Jacobs | November 15, 1989 | 7309 | 18.2 [48] |
When a counselor feels the question of Nicole's paternity is the source of squabbling between Joey and Michael, he offers the option of a DNA test to settle the issue. | ||||||
48 | 10 | "Thanks for the Memories" | Patrick Maloney | November 22, 1989 | 7311 | 16.8 [49] |
Michael and Joey are stuck in the elevator on their way to Thanksgiving dinner. As they pass the time, they reminisce over the past couple of years. | ||||||
49 | 11 | "Class" | Florence Stanley and Mark Brull | November 29, 1989 | 7310 | 18.2 [50] |
Joey's final class to complete his college degree is taught by Michael. | ||||||
50 | 12 | "I'm Dreaming of a Holiday Episode" | Michael Lembeck | December 20, 1989 | 7312 | 18.4 [51] |
It's the holidays, and Joey is dreaming of what holidays and life would be like if they were older... a lot older. | ||||||
51 | 13 | "Power Struggle" | Jeff Melman | January 10, 1990 | 7313 | 16.6 [52] |
When the dads fear Nicole and Zach are becoming too close too quickly, they order Nicole to see other boys. Nicole devises a plan to prove to her dads that Zach is the right boy for her by bringing home the date from hell. | ||||||
52 | 14 | "Bye Bye Baby" | Jeff Melman | January 21, 1990 | 7314 | 12.9 [53] |
Joey is stunned when he learns that his girlfriend Sarah, and her baby Gracie, are both moving away to San Francisco. | ||||||
53 | 15 | "Enviro-Mental Case" | Jeff Melman | March 5, 1990 | 7316 | 18.2 [54] |
Joey gets thrown in jail for environmental protests, so Michael and Judge Wilbur have to bail him out. | ||||||
54 | 16 | "Party, Sweet 16: See Appendix" | Jeff Melman | March 12, 1990 | 7315 | 18.3 [55] |
Nicole's sweet sixteen party gets canceled due to appendicitis. | ||||||
55 | 17 | "It's My Art, and I'll Die If I Want To" | Jeff Melman | March 19, 1990 | 7321 | 16.7 [56] |
Joey finally gets himself in the paper – in the obituary section. Art galleries call offering loads of money for his artwork, and he's fine pretending to be dead. | ||||||
56 | 18 | "To Thine Own Elf, Be True" | Jeff Melman | March 26, 1990 | 7317 | 15.2 [57] |
Joey's old high school flame comes back to New York, and gets attracted to Michael. | ||||||
57 | 19 | "You Only Surprise the Ones You Love" | Jeff Melman | April 2, 1990 | 7318 | 17.0 [58] |
When Judge Wilbur is going to be honored, Joey, Michael, and Nicole think it would nice if some of her friends and family were there. The only problem is they don't know any of her friends and family, or if she even has any. So they do a little snooping around and find a picture of her and someone named Louis, and thinking he was a friend, invite him. Guest star: Robert Mandan | ||||||
58 | 20 | "Kind of a Drag" | Florence Stanley | April 16, 1990 | 7322 | 14.8 [59] |
Nicole is devastated when she finds out she has been put on the "out list" at school. Meanwhile, Joey is dealing with a girlfriend who just won't let him break up. | ||||||
59 | 21 | "When You Wish..." | Jeff Melman | April 23, 1990 | 7320 | 12.0 [60] |
Nicole enters a Rock TV music channel contest, which she wins, and she gets to go on a musical dream date of her choice. Her dads also get to live out their own fantasies in the process – Michael playing the piano live in front of a national TV audience, and Joey playing basketball... with Dr. J?! | ||||||
60 | 22 | "See You in September?" | Jeff Melman | April 30, 1990 | 7319 | 13.8 [61] |
Joey's girlfriend Sarah wants to marry ... another guy. Joey stops the wedding and gets back together with Sarah, but is faced with a tough choice – move to San Francisco, or stay with Nicole in New York. Note: Although this was not the last episode to be produced, it was intended to air as the series finale.[ citation needed ] |