Even Stevens

The Stevens are a middle-class family living in Sacramento, CA. Husband and father Steve is a successful attorney. Wife and mother Eileen is a state Senator. Their oldest child Donnie ia a high-school sports legend. Ren, an 8th-grader, is just about the perfect daughter. She makes the best grades, she's popular, she does volunteer work and other extracurricular tasks by the score. Her brother Louis, in the 7th grade, is her opposite. He likes to sleep late, he's messy, his grades are not good, he's frequently in detention and he seems to take nothing seriously. But he is serious about finding something of his own that he can do to put himself on a par with the rest of his overachieving family. Though he and Ren occasionally soften their attitudes toward each other, at any given moment the're likely to be fighting like mongoose and cobra. In this episode, Louis finds a valuable ""Roaring Drycon"" card for sale online. He asks the price and finds out that the seller wants a date with his s

Coach Tugnut is looking for a replacement on the track team and he gives a tryout to Louis, the younger brother of the legendary Donnie Stevens, who the coach reveres. Team member Larry Beale sees an opportunity to destroy the Stevens legacy at Lawrence Junior High and finally defeat his nemeses. At the tryout Larry makes it look like Louis' time is best, and he makes the team. In practice Larry holds back against Louis, making Louis think that he's a great runner. Ren, who is assigned to cover the track meet for the school paper, figures out what's up. She tries to tell Louis but he's sure that Ren is just jealous because he's finally found something he's successful at. Ren warns Larry not to mess with ""Stevens genes;"" he'll lose every time. During the race, Larry gets tangled up with an opponent and falls down. Louis goes back to help Larry, who jumps up and speeds off to win the race. Louis sticks with the injured opponent and the crowd cheers them instead of the winner Larry. Ren w

Louis wants to enter the school talent show and do his comedy routine but he waits too long and misses the entry deadline. He tries to get Ren to let him share her spot in the show with him, but she has no sympathy. At dinner Louis gets his parents to pressure Ren into doing an act with him, much to her annoyance. They do Louis' act in rehearsal and it gets a lot of laughs. Larry Beale sees this and doesn't like it. He tells Ren that she's just being her brother's flunky in the act and that he keeps all the good lines for himself. Falling into Larry's trap, Ren gets mad at Louis and quits the act. When the talent show comes around, Larry and his partner Ivan go onstage before Louis and steal his act. Louis is crushed now that he won't get to do the one thing he felt he was really good at. Ren takes pity on him and at the last minute they come up with a comic opera routine that wins the brother and sister first prize.

Louis finds a penny on the school grounds. As he bends over to pick it up, a scaffolding with workmen on it tumbles to the ground around him, but it misses him. A uncanny lucky streak begins for Louis. A dreaded test is cancelled, he wins a free fashion makeover, he get a reward when someone's lost bird flies right to him. Meanwhile Ren is worried about Ruby's obsession with the British pop trio BBMak, as is Ruby's friend Nelson. After Ruby stays up all night listening to the radio trying to win a contest with the prize of attending BBMak's recording session in Sacramento, Ren and Nelson decide to stage an intervention for her. They tell her to stop with her fantasies about the group and focus her feelings on a person who is attainable. The intervention seems to have worked. As Ruby leaves the Stevens house, she passes the newly-made-over Louis. Later she tells Ren she's already found a new love in her life. To Ren's horror, she says that it's...Louis! In an effort to turn her off of L

Ren is ecstatic when she finds out that her braces will come off in the morning before her 8th grade school picture will be taken. When the dentist removes them, he says she has a slight infection and gives her some oral medication which has ""mild side effects."" Ren looks great and rushes to school to get her picture taken. The disinterested photographer doesn't tell her that her cheeks are now grossly swollen. In the halls everyone stares and laughs at Ren. Louis shows his sister a mirror; Ren is horrified. She chases down the departing photographer, Mr. Krapezi, but he says there will be no reshoot unless the principal authorizes payment. Ren is sure Principal Wexler will do it for her, but by the time she sees him, the swelling has gone down and he won't consider it. At home, Louis brings in the horrible yearbook photo that's arrived in the mail. Ren's mom tells her how she led a protest for women's studies in college and suggests Ren could do the same. Ren organizes a demonstration

Eileen Stevens is throwing a fancy dinner catered by French chef Pierre for the Lieutenant Governor Woods and his wife Dottie during which she hopes to persuade him to help pass her family care bill. Ren is angry with Louis, though, because the kids must eat take-out food in the back yard because Louis has been such an embarrassing slob at previous dinners. Louis steals food from the kitchen, infuriating the chef. A duck shows up in the Stevens' back yard, and Louis names him ""Seymour."" When Chef Pierre comes out in the yard looking for his ""canard"" to be served as the main course, the Stevens kids refuse to give up Seymour. The chef leaves the house in a huff. The hungry Lt. Governor doesn't want to talk politics before eating. Louis whips up some appetizers made mostly out of candy, but the Lt. Governor and his wife think they're Chef Pierre's creations and say they are wonderful. Donnie goes out on a desperate search for duck but can't find any until he comes upon the ""Bucket O' Duc

Loius and Tawny are having lunch together at school when she says that she's got something in her eye. Louis takes a close look--and unexpectedly kisses her! Both of them sit there stunned when Ren comes along and snaps them out of it by taking Tawny off for a costume fitting for the play she's writing and directing. Louis tells Twitty about the kiss, but says he doesn't know what Tawny's reaction was. Twitty goes to the play rehearsal to try and find out. Tawny tells him to have Louis meet her the next morning by her locker. Meanwhile, Coach Tugnut, the unlikely theatre advisor, tells Ren her play about Abigail and John Adams is deadly dull and needs to be spiced up. The next day Louis waits for Tawny nervously, but she surprises him by saying she'd like to be his girlfriend! The happy couple walk off hand-in-hand. At home, the Stevens family is watching an old romance movie on TV which gives Ren the idea to give her play a more romantic theme. Donnie is concerned the the movie didn't

Louis badly wants a set of drums he's seen in a pawn shop window, but his parents say that he (and they) have accumulated too much junk that just sits around the house. Louis proposes they have a garage sale. Steve and Eileen go for the idea and tell their son he can buy the drums if they make enough money. Meanwhile, Ren is apprehensive about Scott Brooks coming by to be her ""study date,"" and Ruby is there to help get the two together. While the three are studying, Ren's favorite stuffed animal from her childhood, Mr. Pookie, gets mistakenly included with the items to be sold at the yard sale. The sale is successful--even Donnie's old unwashed uniforms and cleats are bought by Coach Tugnut. But when Scott leaves, Ren looks for Mr. Pookie, who was hidden away during the study date. She can't find him, and her mom breaks the bad news to her: he was sold at the yard sale! Ren accepts the news maturely at first, but later she finds out from Ruby that Scott has gone back to his old girlfri

Louis and Twitty are indulging in their favorite new pastime--playing in the defective packaging material dump--when Twitty spies Allison Wong, a girl he has a crush on. Louis encourages him to talk to her, and he does. Allison seems to like Twitty too, and they make plans for later. At school Principal Wexler and Coach Tugnut host the dedication of a new rock-climbing wall named after Donnie. Tawny and Louis notice Twitty and Allison in the audience looking mighty cozy. Louis tricks Ren into competing against Donnie in a rock-climbing demonstration. Amazingly, Ren wins. Donnie says nothing but is upset. At lunch, Twitty brings Allison to the table with Louis, Tawny and Tom. The new couple are obviously getting very close and Louis is beginning to feel frozen out. Later Louis is happy when Twitty drops by his house--until he sees Allison with him. Louis can't find anything for the three of them to do together and Twitty and Allison leave, acting like lovebirds. Also at the Stevens hous