Eight Is Enough

Years have passed, and all the Bradfords, with the exception of Nicholas, have moved out of their Sacramento home and started their own lives. They get together for their father's birthday celebration, and bind together to solve a crisis at his place of employment.

""Never try eating nectarines since juice may dispense."" That's how Tom and Joan Bradford remember the names of their childrens: Nicholas, Tommy, Elizabeth, Nancy, Susan, Joannie, Mary, and David.Tired of fighting with his father,David move out of the Bradford house and the youngest Bradford children fight over his bedroom, prompting Tom to learn the importance of having a family relationship.Elizabeth is arrested for possession of narcotics and Tom and Joan have to find 1,500 to pay a lawyer. Nicholas had his tonsils removed.

Matilda, Mary's very pregnant, unmarriage, friend stays in the Bradford house while she is between apartment, but her attidude toward marriage upsets Tom. She learns the joys of parenthood and paternal Tom helps deliver her baby. Tom is upset that Susan wants to spend the weekend with her bofriend at Square Valley.

Tom's chance at managing the newpapers runs into trouble when the printers go on stike. The whole family pitches in to help earn extra money. Nancy is disappointed by a modeling agent but Joan geta a job as a photographer to earn money during the strike. Tom and Joan argue about her continuing to work after the strike is settled.

Dr. Max shows up on Tom's doorstep after a fight with his wife and ends up staying with the Bradfords, driving them crazy with his fussy ways. David tries to borrow money from his brothers and sisters to cover a bad check he wrote at poker game to cover a debt.

This episode introduces Betty Buckley in the contract role of Sue "" Abby"" Abbott. At first she was a special guest star. Tommy breaks his ankles at a touch football game and will miss school for five weeks. Mary moves in with her boyfriend, a young psychiatry students [Doug] . Sandra Sue Abbott is sent to tutor Tommy while he is absent from school.

David's new roommate romance both Susan and Joannie.Tom decides he has been neflecting Nicholas and drives Nicholas crazy by spending too much time with him. Tommy organizes a family garage sale to earn money.

Suffering from imsommia and thinking he's going nuts.Tom visits a psychiatrist to find the cause. Tommy develops two personalities, ""disco kid"" and ""mellow man"", to impress the two girls he is dating. Tom's sneaking around leads Abby to believe that he may be having an affair.

Nicholas convinces Tom to coach his little league football team. Tired of having no privacy, the Bradford children have their own phone line installed. Tom resigns as little league coach because of pushy parents but becomes a pushy parents himself when Abby takes over as coach.

Abby has her own problems when she thinks sha may be pregnant and is relucant to tell Tom. Tom panics when he finds out he is going to be audited by the I.R.S, and the family pitches in for help. Nicholas plays post office for the first time.

Nicholas and Susan meet Merle the Pearl, a local minor league baseball player. Nicholas is upset that his young girlfriend is moving out of town and wants to introduce her to Merle the Pearl to impress her before she leaves. Frustrated by the gas shortage, Tom agrees to buy a new, fuel-efficient car. Merle falls for Susan and Nicholas gets his first kiss

David returns and is determined to win Janet back from her new boyfriend. Merle confides to Nicholas that he wants to propose to Susan but Susan is upset when the entire Bradford family knows about before she does. Nicholas acts as the go-between for everyone

David and Janet set a wedding date but it turns out to be the same day Merle and Susan decided to move up the wedding day to accomodate Merle's ballplaying career move. Nancy gets a job delivering singing telegrams and is hired to deliver one at the double wedding for David and Janet and Merle and Susan.

Nicholas and Tom start boy scouts and Nicholas volunteers Tom to be the assistant scout master. Elizabeth considers moving in with her boyfriend. Susan keeps her pregnancy problems from Merle when his career takes a leap forward.

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Abby goes to a funeral in San Francisco and returns with her nephew, Jeremy, who has nowhere else to go. His behavior upsets the family, referring the Bradfords as that other family (The Brady Bunch), but all ends well as he becomes the newest member of the Bradfords. Joannie is promoted to sports anchor. Nicholas gets into trouble for selling peeks at Mary's medical books.