The Norm Show is an American sitcom that aired on ABC. The series premiered at midseason in 1999, on March 24, and ran for three seasons, airing new episodes through April 6, 2001. While titled The Norm Show during the show's first season, a legal conflict with Michael Jantze's comic strip The Norm forced the show's title to be shortened to simply Norm for the series' second and third seasons. [1]
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by [2] | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code [2] | Viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | "Norm and the Prototype" | Andy Cadiff | Bruce Helford & Norm Macdonald | March 24, 1999 | 475150 | 13.87 [3] |
Norm discovers one of his clients, Taylor (Nikki Cox) is working in a "massage parlor," and won't leave that job. | |||||||
2 | 2 | "Norm Dates a Client" | Michael Lessac | Bruce Rasmussen | March 31, 1999 | 225151 | 14.56 [4] |
While helping a pathologically shy man (Fred Stoller), Norm meets a woman in a bar (Heather Paige Kent) who turns out to be Laurie's client. Laurie and Danny deal with a stinky client (Ezra Buzzington). | |||||||
3 | 3 | "Norm Dates Danny's Dad" | Michael Lessac | Rob Ulin | April 7, 1999 | 225153 | 12.31 [5] |
Molly joins the department. Danny's father (Jack Warden) enjoys male companionship, but doesn't believe himself to be gay. Norm takes advantage of his denial, but Danny feels Norm is usurping his place as a son. | |||||||
4 | 4 | "While You Weren't Sleeping" | Sam Simon | Dave Caplan | April 14, 1999 | 225154 | 12.22 [6] |
Laurie's stress makes it so she can't fall asleep unless Norm holds her, which gets in the way of both her boyfriend (Alastair Duncan) and a woman Norm wants to date (Caprice Benedetti). Danny gets a toupee, and apparently a girlfriend (Rebecca McFarland) comes with it. | |||||||
5 | 5 | "My Name Is Norm" | Gail Mancuso | Cheryl Holliday | April 21, 1999 | 225152 | 10.67 [7] |
After Norm and a client (Casey Sander) go out drinking, the client checks them into rehab. Mr. Curtis assumes Norm is an alcoholic and lowers his workload. Guest Appearances: Veanne Cox | |||||||
6 | 6 | "The New Boss" | Sam Simon | Cheryl Holliday | April 28, 1999 | 225155 | 11.29 [8] |
After Mr. Curtis tries to kill Norm in a shooting spree, Mr. Denby is made his replacement, and reduces Norm's workload to nothing. Norm burns that deal by getting Denby to lighten up on Laurie. | |||||||
7 | 7 | "Denby's Kid" | Steve Zuckerman | Story by : Steve Zuckerman Teleplay by : Steve Gabriel & Sarah McLaughlin | May 5, 1999 | 225159 | 10.42 [9] |
Mr. Denby's son Jason (Michael Bacall) doesn't want to go to military school, but culinary school. Norm backs him, opposing his dad, until he discovers Jason likes to cook with marijuana. Norm's probation officer Ed (George Mudock) investigates. Laurie and Molly deal with a cat lady (Pat Crawford Brown). | |||||||
8 | 8 | "Drive, Norm Said" | Pamela Fryman | Story by : Bruce Rasmussen Teleplay by : Cheryl Holliday & Frank Sebastiano | May 12, 1999 | 225157 | 10.67 [10] |
Norm has sex with his evil coworker Kyra (Vicki Lewis), who becomes clingy. He helps Laurie pass a driving test. Danny and Molly find a hairy man (Andy Siegel) a job. | |||||||
9 | 9 | "Norm, Crusading Social Worker" | Gerry Cohen | Story by : Rob Ulin Teleplay by : Dave Caplan & Frank Sebastiano | May 19, 1999 | 225156 | 10.34 [11] |
Norm is made the "agony of defeat" on Wide World of Sports , and wants to be reinstated to play hockey for a charity game. To impress the review board, he lets an elderly client, Sal (Abe Vigoda), move in with him. | |||||||
10 | 10 | "Norm's Coach" | Sam Simon | Frank Sebastiano | May 26, 1999 | 225158 | 10.02 [12] |
To get ready for his charity hockey game, Norm calls his old coach, "The Panther" (Michael McShane), who's in far worse shape than Norm is. |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by [2] | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code [2] | Viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
11 | 1 | "Norm vs. Love" | Steve Zuckerman | Cheryl Holliday | September 22, 1999 | 225801 | 11.43 [13] |
Norm gets Taylor (Nikki Cox) a job at the office but Max assumes she's still hooking. Norm meets up with his probation officer Shelly Kilmartin (Faith Ford). Guest Appearances: Dennis Miller, Richard Libertini | |||||||
12 | 2 | "Norm Pimps Wiener Dog" | Steve Zuckerman | Rob Ulin | September 29, 1999 | 225802 | 10.81 [14] |
Norm buys a $1200 Hank Aaron baseball card on credit from Al (Bob Einstein). He tries to pay the debt off by breeding Wiener Dog for stud fees. Meanwhile, Norm gives the card to a young kid Jimmy (Michael Welch) but only to impress Shelly. | |||||||
13 | 3 | "Artie Comes to Town" | Sam Simon | Dave Caplan | October 6, 1999 | 225803 | 10.19 [15] |
Norm gets toys for his office’s orphan donation program with the help of his brother (Artie Lang), who just came to town. Despite both money and Landlady (Patricia Belcher) troubles, Norm tells Artie to move in with him. Note: There is a Pokémon scene at the start of the episode. | |||||||
14 | 4 | "Norm vs. Death" | Shelley Jensen | Bruce Rasmussen | October 13, 1999 | 225804 | 8.94 [16] |
Norm reveals his fear of death after Danny's father dies. Laurie takes Norm to see Phil (Bill Macy), a grief counselor, to help him cope. Norm confronts his fear of death at the funeral, where Danny finds out during the eulogy that his father was gay. Guest Appearances: Andrea Martin, Holmes Osborne | |||||||
15 | 5 | "Norm and Shelly In Love" | Rich Correll | Lloyd Garver | October 20, 1999 | 225805 | 10.54 [17] |
Norm and Shelly kiss which seems sweet, until she finds out he's gambling again. This prompts her to punish Norm and refusing to date him, that is until she realizes her true feelings. Guest Appearance: Lou Rawls | |||||||
16 | 6 | "Laurie Runs for Office" | Gerry Cohen | Brett Baer & Dave Finkel | October 27, 1999 | 225806 | 10.01 [18] |
Laurie runs for city council after discovering that the incumbent councilman Krantz (Michael Gross) is heartless and corrupt. Laurie’s poll numbers drop after Norm and Artie get caught trying to frame Krantz. Guest Appearances: Al Ruscio, Josie DiVincenzo | |||||||
17 | 7 | "Norm and Shelly Break-Up" | Gerry Cohen | Bruce Rasmussen | November 3, 1999 | 225807 | 9.41 [19] |
Mr. Denby is now Laurie’s campaign manager in her unsuccessful run for city council. Norm slips up and says "I love you" to Shelly on the phone, so he pretends it didn’t mean anything. Meanwhile, Shelly doesn’t like living in the city and wants to move to Colorado. Guest Appearance: Brad Dourif | |||||||
18 | 8 | "Gambling Man" | Joe Regalbuto | Dave Caplan | November 10, 1999 | 225808 | 14.63 [20] |
Norm is gambling again (which breaches his probation), so Laurie convinces everyone that he needs an intervention. After they track Norm down to an illegal gambling parlor, all (Laurie, Artie, Danny, and Norm) are arrested and jailed following a police raid. (Note: this storyline continues in the next episode) Guest stars: Drew Carey, Ryan Stiles, Diedrich Bader and Tom Arnold. | |||||||
19 | 9 | "Norm vs. Norm" | Gary Halvorson | Steve Gabriel | November 17, 1999 | 225809 | 12.82 [21] |
All but Artie are bailed out of jail, but a bookie (Garry Marshall) owes Norm money, enough for Artie’s bail. Taylor’s 2-month probation at the office is up, so she worries that Denby won’t keep her on. Taylor and Danny learn that Denby’s wife (Janet Carroll) wants a divorce. Guest stars: Randall Carver, Lyle Kanouse | |||||||
20 | 10 | "Norm vs. Denby" | Ted Wass | Cheryl Holliday | November 24, 1999 | 225811 | 11.43 [22] |
Norm and Mr. Denby compete for the same woman (Sally Kellerman). Laurie has trouble dealing with Wendy (Julie Hagerty), a former high school classmate who unexpectedly shows up at the office. | |||||||
21 | 11 | "Norm vs. The Boxer" | Tommy Thompson | Frank Sebastiano | December 1, 1999 | 225810 | 11.16 [23] |
After witnessing a 15-year-old has a hidden talent, Norm encourages him to fight in a boxing tournament in order to pay off his $10,000 debt to his bookie. Special guest star: Richard Pryor | |||||||
22 | 12 | "Norm vs. Christmas" | Gerry Cohen | Frank Sebastiano | December 15, 1999 | 225812 | 11.98 [24] |
Norm and Artie find out that Laurie hates Christmas, so they decide to cheer her up, but with some consequences. | |||||||
23 | 13 | "Norm vs. The Evil Twin" | Steve Zuckerman | Brett Baer & Dave Finkel | January 5, 2000 | 225813 | 10.98 [25] |
Laurie's twin sister "Jamie" (also portrayed by Laurie MetCalf) visits. While Jamie brags about her suburban lifestyle, Laurie (in a panic) says Norm is her boyfriend. | |||||||
24 | 14 | "Norm vs. The Oldest Profession" | Steve Zuckerman | Story by : Sarah Folkman Teleplay by : Dave Caplan & Cheryl Holliday | January 19, 2000 | 225814 | 10.47 [26] |
Norm "steals" a job from a client which turns out to be a male escort service. | |||||||
25 | 15 | "Norm vs. Jenny" | Gerry Cohen | Cheryl Holliday | January 26, 2000 | 225815 | 9.67 [27] |
Norm meets the woman of his dreams. | |||||||
26 | 16 | "Norm vs. Fitz" | Joe Regalbuto | Frank Sebastiano & Rob Ulin | February 9, 2000 | 225817 | 10.75 [28] |
Norm – after finding out Jenny is engaged to another – still hangs out with Jenny, but is still is trying to win her over. | |||||||
27 | 17 | "Norm vs. The Wedding" | Gerry Cohen | Cheryl Holliday | February 16, 2000 | 225818 | 10.27 [29] |
Norm crashes Jenny's wedding because he doesn't want her to marry Fitz. He tells her he wants to marry her but he wants to wait until her mother dies. Her mother drugged Norm and locked him in a closet so he couldn't ruin the wedding but Norm kicked a hole through the door to free himself. Jenny told Fitz she didn't love him and she went back to Norm. | |||||||
28 | 18 | "Norm vs. Fear" "Norm's name that movie contest I" | Shelley Jensen | Story by : Steve Gabriel Teleplay by : Ed Lee & Curtis Chin | March 1, 2000 | 225819 | 14.15 [30] |
After Norm injures his back he admits his fear of doctors. Denby threatens to have Norm thrown in jail if he misses any more time. Norm vows to see a doctor on the condition that Danny, Laurie & Artie conquer their personal demons. | |||||||
29 | 19 | "Retribution" | Gerry Cohen | Dave Caplan | March 8, 2000 | 225820 | 9.50 [31] |
Fitz tries to get even with Norm for stealing Jenny from him by trying to ruin his and Jenny's lives. | |||||||
30 | 20 | "Laurie Loses It" | Steve Zuckerman | Brett Baer & Dave Finkel | March 15, 2000 | 225816 | 9.04 [32] |
After Laurie loses another award for social work, she vows to work harder but feels terrible. Danny detects Taylor is cheating. |
No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by [33] | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code [33] | Viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
31 | 1 | "Norm vs. the Sacrifice" | Steve Zuckerman | Brett Baer & Dave Finkel | October 4, 2000 | 225822 | 10.12 [34] |
Norm is given an ultimatum by Denby. Either he'll behave at work or he'll make everyone's life difficult in the office. Laurie is dating a new guy. Note: By production code, this episode was produced with the season 2 episodes. | |||||||
32 | 2 | "I've Got a Crush on You" | Shelley Jensen | Rob Ulin | October 6, 2000 | 226603 | 7.51 [34] |
Norm tries to find out who has a thing for him when he finds printer papers of someone expressing feelings for him. Danny is trying to find the perfect proposal for Taylor and Shelly returns. | |||||||
33 | 3 | "Taylor Leaves" | Steve Zuckerman | Dave Caplan | October 13, 2000 | 226604 | 7.15 [35] |
Laurie now knows it's Taylor who has feelings for Norm even though she's with Danny. | |||||||
34 | 4 | "The Norm Law" | Steve Zuckerman | Cheryl Holliday | October 20, 2000 | 226605 | 5.82 [36] |
An investigation is launched after Norm "helps" with a juvenile girls group which later becomes a riot. | |||||||
35 | 5 | "Norm vs. Halloween" | Shelley Jensen | Bruce Rasmussen | October 27, 2000 | 226601 | 6.12 [37] |
Norm takes kids out for trick or treating. Danny starts dating a new lady, whom he dresses up like his ex. | |||||||
36 | 6 | "Norm and the Hopeless Cause" | Shelley Jensen | Lawrence Broch | November 3, 2000 | 226602 | 6.41 [38] |
Norm meets Laurie's friend Rebecca (Courtney Thorne-Smith) who is a lesbian, and he finds himself attracted to her. | |||||||
37 | 7 | "Norm vs. Youth (Part 1)" | Bob Saget | Lloyd Garver | November 10, 2000 | 226608 | 6.91 [39] |
Laurie dates a younger guy, and is made fun of by the others as a result. Norm dates a younger girl. | |||||||
38 | 8 | "Norm vs. Youth (Part 2)" | Steve Zuckerman | Dave Caplan | November 24, 2000 | 226610 | 7.41 [40] |
Norm dates an older woman who has a surprise pertaining to Laurie's younger boyfriend. | |||||||
39 | 9 | "Norm vs. Tennis" | Steve Zuckerman | Matt Tarses | December 1, 2000 | 226606 | 7.32 [41] |
Norm plays tennis with Shelly and he starts to let her win when he finds out that winning turns her on. Artie seeks Laurie's help when he wants to lose weight. | |||||||
40 | 10 | "Norm vs. The Kid" | Tommy Thompson | Brett Baer & Dave Finkel | December 8, 2000 | 226607 | 4.56 [42] |
Shelly, Laurie, Danny and Mr. Denby take in orphans while they search for a family who's willing to adopt all of them. They find a family that's willing to take them all but one of the orphans, because he has a criminal record. | |||||||
41 | 11 | "Norm vs. Schoolin'" | Shelley Jensen | Matt Tarses | December 15, 2000 | 226611 | 5.95 [43] |
Norm and Mr. Denby have to go to social workers' school. Danny and Shelly pretend to be the married couple who were Billy's previous foster parents so that he can be adopted. | |||||||
42 | 12 | "Norm vs. Freud" | Steve Zuckerman | Cheryl Holliday | January 5, 2001 | 226609 | 6.80 [44] |
Norm agrees to go to group therapy and discovers that the reason he has problems with Mr. Denby is because he has issues with his father. Danny and Artie invest in a weight loss gadget but then discover the horrible side effects. | |||||||
43 | 13 | "Norm vs. Dad" | Shelley Jensen | Lawrence Broch | January 12, 2001 | 226612 | 6.37 [45] |
Norm deals with some father issues, and his antagonistic dysfunctional relationship with his dad. Guest star: Tom Smothers as Norm's dad | |||||||
44 | 14 | "Denby Quits" | Wil Shriner | Brett Baer & Dave Finkel | January 26, 2001 | 226613 | 5.55 [46] |
Denby gets tired of dealing with Norm and quits. Laurie finds she hates being Denby's replacement. | |||||||
45 | 15 | "Norm Lets Go" | Tommy Thompson | Cindy Caponera | February 2, 2001 | 226615 | 6.85 [47] |
Norm accepts that he and Shelly will never get back together, and decides to move on. Danny and Shelly go on a date. Meanwhile, Laurie teaches Denby how to dance so he won't make a fool of himself at an upcoming banquet. | |||||||
46 | 16 | "Norm vs. Danny and Shelly" | Shelley Jensen | Cheryl Holliday | February 9, 2001 | 226614 | 6.21 [48] |
After sleeping with Norm, Taylor tells him that she's still in love with Danny but she doesn't want Norm to tell him. Mr. Denby complains to Laurie about the conditions in the men's room. | |||||||
47 | 17 | "Norm and Wiener Dog vs. Fatherhood" | John Fuller | Dave Caplan | February 16, 2001 | 226616 | 6.60 [49] |
Mr. Denby takes Norm to court for possession of the puppies that his dog Fifi had with Wiener Dog. Norm is thrown out when he can't pay the rent. | |||||||
48 | 18 | "Norm vs. Homelessness" | Steve Zuckerman | Steve Gabriel | February 23, 2001 | 226617 | 6.01 [50] |
Mr. Denby and Danny go on a business trip and try to pick up women but have no luck. Norm uses Mr. Denby's apartment for a date and gets him evicted when the landlady finds out he has a dog, so he has to move in with Laurie as well. | |||||||
49 | 19 | "Norm Is Fat" | Steve Zuckerman | Lawrence Broch | March 2, 2001 | 226618 | 6.01 [51] |
When Shelly returns she sees that Norm is fat, so he recounts the story that led to his vast weight gain. | |||||||
50 | 20 | "Norm vs. Deception" | Wil Shriner | Leslie Rieder | March 9, 2001 | 226619 | 6.50 [52] |
Norm and Laurie fake a relationship and it helps Laurie get a man, but Norm discovers that Shelly is still in love with him. Mr. Denby is afraid to catch Danny's cold. | |||||||
51 | 21 | "Norm vs. Cuba" | Shelley Jensen | Cheryl Holliday & Brad Rasmussen | March 16, 2001 | 225821 | 5.44 [53] |
Laurie and Norm care for a Cuban kid who is left alone. Note: By production code, this episode was produced with the season 2 episodes. | |||||||
52 | 22 | "Norm's Free" | Shelley Jensen | Brett Baer & Dave Finkel | March 23, 2001 | 226621 | 6.80 [54] |
Norm is freed from his community service early and a monkey attacks Danny. | |||||||
53 | 23 | "Norm Comes Back" | Shelley Jensen | Curtis Chin | March 30, 2001 | 226622 | 5.43 [55] |
Norm is hired as Mr. Sweeney's assistant. A psychic tells Shelly that she and Norm will be married. | |||||||
54 | 24 | "Norm vs. Shelly's Old Flame" | Gerry Cohen | Edd Lee | April 6, 2001 | 226620 | 5.76 [56] |
Norm is shocked when he gains the ability to hear other men's thoughts, but he uses it to his advantage when he finds out that an old boyfriend of Shelly's is trying to steal her away from him. |
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