Eight Is Enough
Eight Is Enough

Eight Is Enough

1977 5 Seasons 112 Episodes ⭐ 6.2 Drama Comedy

Eight Is Enough is an American television comedy-drama series that ran on ABC from March 15, 1977, until August 29, 1981. The show was modeled after syndicated newspaper columnist Thomas Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who wrote a book with the same name.

Eight Is Enough is an American television comedy-drama series that ran on ABC from March 15, 1977, until August 29, 1981. The show was modeled after syndicated newspaper columnist Thomas Braden, a real-life parent with eight children, who wrote a book with the same name.

Seasons & Episodes

EP 1

Never Try Eating Nectarines Since Juice May Dispense

""Never try eating nectarines since juice may dispense."" That's how Tom and Joan Bradford remember the names of their c

EP 2

Schussboomer

Matilda, Mary's very pregnant, unmarriage, friend stays in the Bradford house while she is between apartment, but her at

EP 3

Pieces of Eight

Tom's chance at managing the newpapers runs into trouble when the printers go on stike. The whole family pitches in to

EP 4

Women, Ducks and the Domino Theory

Topsy-turvy at the Bradfords when Tommy has his ""dream girl"" stand him up. Neither David nor Tom wants to go on thei

EP 5

Turnabout

David learns about his life at a party the family throws to celebrates doctor Maxwell's 25th anniversary, as his date an

EP 6

Quarantine

Togetherness can be really funny when the whole Bradford household is quarantined, including Nancy's blind date,after Ma

EP 7

V is for Vivian

Tony's sister shows up for a visit and turns the Bradford house upside-down when the encourages the kids to pursue their

EP 8

Hit and Run

Joannie has a fender-bender with a real developer who is upset with Bradford's column opposing his project. Meanwhile,

EP 9

The Gipper Caper

Tom is challenged to a family touch football game by his dentist. He learns that winning is not the only thing that coun

EP 1

Is There a Doctor in the House?

Dr. Max shows up on Tom's doorstep after a fight with his wife and ends up staying with the Bradfords, driving them craz

EP 2

Trial Marriage

This episode introduces Betty Buckley in the contract role of Sue "" Abby"" Abbott. At first she was a special guest sta

EP 3

Triangles

David's new roommate romance both Susan and Joannie.Tom decides he has been neflecting Nicholas and drives Nicholas craz

EP 4

Double Trouble

After Tom and Abby break up, the Bradford children set Tom up with another woman in an effort to make Abby jealous. Na

EP 5

Mortgage Burnin' Blues

Tom throws a party to celebrates paying off the mortage on the Bradford house. Unfortunately, the kids get into a melee

EP 6

Dark Horse

Mary runs for a seat of the Board of Education and enlists the famil's help on her campaign. Abby is too busy to keep

EP 7

The Bard and the Bod

Joannie agrees to do a nude scene in a shakespearean play and is relives when Tom says he can't make it to the show, or

EP 8

Children of the Groom (1)

After much debate, Tom and Abby decides on November 9th as their wedding date and agree to let the children handle the w

EP 9

Children of the Groom (2)

The children get carried away with the weddind plans and nearly cause the wedding to be canceled. Abby asks Elizabeth

EP 10

I Quit

Tom and Abby take the kids to San Francisco where Tom is scheduled to accept an award for his column anbd the trip doubl

EP 11

All's Fair in Love and War

Abby coordinates Spring cleaning at the Bradford house. Mary is upset when the son of Tom's friend comes to Sacramento

EP 12

The Return of Auntie V

Tom's eccentric sister Auntie V returns for another visit with the Bradfords. She surprises Tom and Abby with a new hous

EP 13

Yes Nicholas, there is a Santa Claus (1)

The Bradfords celebrate their first Christmas without their late mother,Joan. Nicholas mistakenly assumes the man he f

EP 14

Yes Nicholas, there is a Santa Claus (2)

The kids convince Tom to shoiw some Christmas spirit by bailing Sam out of jail and inviting him to the house for Christ

EP 15

A Hair of the Dog

Tom is upset when Abby makes arrangements for Elizabeth to get birth control pills. Tom is drafted into doing a ""Dear

EP 16

Author, Author!

The family gives Tom a day of peace for his birthday, and it drives him crazy. David goes for the weekend and gives To

EP 17

Much Ado about Garbage

With Abby's encouragement, Tom takes a leave of absence to pursue the dream of writing a book about his family. He can't

EP 18

Dear Ms. Dinah

Abby is upset about when David gives Nicholas a BB gun. Tom's column about garbage causes a controverty when he writes

EP 19

Hard Hats and Hard Heads

EP 20

Seven Days in February

Joannie, Nancy, and Susan meet new guys at a disco over winter break and love times three drives the Bradford household

EP 21

The Boyfriend

Susan and Tom are jealous when Abby spends too much time with Susan's new boyfriend she brought home for dinner, and Abb

EP 22

Great Expectations

Frustrated by the transporation arrangements, Tommy, Elizabeth, Nancy, and Susan buy their own car. Tom is upset that

EP 23

Long Night's Journey into Day

Abby suffers a concussion when she falls off a ladder. Tha Bradfords take turns keeping Abby awake by telling her stor

EP 24

The Lost Weekend

Abby convinces Tom to spend the weekend with her parents in Pasadena, leaving the kids alone for the weekend. While they

EP 25

Poor Little Rich Girl

David meets an attractive young woman who is the daughter of a wealthy construction man. Joannie tries to get the fami

EP 26

Who's on First?

Joannie directs a talent show to raise money, for the orphanage she is vo;unteering at . Joannie tries to get the whole

EP 1

Who's Crazy Here?

Suffering from imsommia and thinking he's going nuts.Tom visits a psychiatrist to find the cause. Tommy develops two p

EP 2

Nine Is Too Much

Nicholas convinces Tom to coach his little league football team. Tired of having no privacy, the Bradford children ha

EP 3

Here We Go Again

Abby has her own problems when she thinks sha may be pregnant and is relucant to tell Tom. Tom panics when he finds ou

EP 4

Cinderella's Understudy

Joannie gets accepted into a theater company and her first role is that of gopher and understudy.When the lead actress q

EP 5

Milk and Sympathy

Nicholas has a crush on his teacher and buys her self-portrait at her garbage sale, but tries to hide it from the kids,

EP 6

The Flunked and the Funked

Tom is chosen to teach a journalism class at the university and is impressed by one student who is working his way throu

EP 7

Cops and Toddlers

Susan struggles to find the right career after she realizes she's not out to be a professional athlete. So she decides t

EP 8

The Hipbone's Connected to the Thighbone

Many struggles with medical school and charaviristic professors. Susan, Elizabeth, and Nancy try to reach Tommy to drive

EP 9

Fast and Loose

David starts living gangerously after a close friend dies oif a heart attack at a young age. The kids try to help and ev

EP 10

War Between the Bradfords

The male Bradfords refuse to attend a speech that Abby was selected to give. War erupts between the Bradfords men and wo

EP 11

All The Vice President's Men

Abby's parents are flying in from Pasadena for Thanksgiving.Nicholas is surprised when the Vice-President accepts his in

EP 12

You Won't Have Nicholas to Kick Around Anymore (1)

The Bradford children plan a party for Tom and Abby's anniversary and Nicholas fell left out. Tom and Abby unknowingly

EP 13

You Won't Have Nicholas to Kick Around Anymore (2)

In San Diego, Nicholas is taken in by Joe Simmons, an old con man and bum who was a friend of Sam's. He then performs hi

EP 14

Alone At Last

Tired of not having time to themselves, Tom and Abby conspire to get rid of the kids so they can spent the weekend alone

EP 15

The Yearning Point

Both Elizabeth and Tommy learn that there is no easy way to success. Elizabeth wants to go to an expensive college in Ve

EP 16

Moving Out

Tired of Tom's strict rules, Nancy, Susan, and Joannie look for an apartment of their own because Tom has trouble accept

EP 17

Mother's Rule

In an effort to keep the remaining Bradfords at home, Tom repeals all curfews but Abby doubts his wisdom. Tom shows ever

EP 18

Inlaws and Outlaws

Abby's mother arrives for a visit and Abby is upset to learn that her parent are breaking up. Abby's father arrives shor

EP 19

Horror Story

On a rainy night in Sacramento, the Bradford house is turned upside-down when the power goes out and leaves the Bradford

EP 20

Just the Ten of Us

Nicholas tries to avoid a young lady who has a crush on him. Tired of saying goodnight to each other every night, Dav

EP 21

Best of Friends

Tommy offers to marry a pregnant friend who was a girl, Lori, even though he's not the father of her baby. The Bradfords

EP 22

The Kid Who Came to Dinner

Abby uses the family as subjects in a research project for school. Nicholas's new friend, Bobby, runs away from his f

EP 23

The Better Part of Valour

While substitute teaching at the high school, Abby refuses to pass the star basketball player, and troubles begin for To

EP 24

Dads, Daughters, Different Drummers

Tom and Abby are surprised to learn that Nicholas is musically talented but Abby is upset when Tom gets him a drum set.

EP 25

The Final Days

Abby and the children are frustrated when they are trying to study for finals and a youth-oriented article Tom wrote in

EP 26

Marriage and Other Flights of Fancy (1)

Tom is proud when Elizabeth and Joannie are graduating the same week (Joannie from college and Elizabeth from high schoo

EP 27

Marriage and Other Flights of Fancy (2)

Tom finally realizes his dream of being a published author when a magazine prints his short story, but finds it publishe

EP 28

The Graduates

David and his traveling companion continue on their cross-country trip and he gets involved in a hang-gliding competitio

EP 1

Merle the Pearl

Nicholas and Susan meet Merle the Pearl, a local minor league baseball player. Nicholas is upset that his young girlf

EP 2

The Cupid Crisis

David returns and is determined to win Janet back from her new boyfriend. Merle confides to Nicholas that he wants to

EP 3

I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do

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 da

EP 4

Ten Ships in the Night

Chaos hits the Bradford house when everyone's activities go around the clock. In order to get her Ph.D. more quickly,

EP 5

The Night They Raided Bradfords

Things are not as they seem at the Bradfords when Merle's sister, Linda Mae, comes from the farm and visits the Bradford

EP 6

The Devil and Mr. Bradford

Joannie gets a job in the research department of a TV station. Mary finds a hidden home pregnancy test and tries to find

EP 7

Big Shoes, Little Feet

Three Bradfords struggle to meet the expectations of others: Nicholas turns truant to escape the long shadow of his sibl

EP 8

Fathers and Other Strangers (1)

Tom's sister Vivian sweeps into town with an offer to take the entire family on vacation to Hawaii, where she secretly p

EP 9

Fathers and Other Strangers (2)

Still in Hawaii, Tom and his father contemplate whether they can or should bother to reconcile their relationship.

EP 10

Letter to One Bradford

When Tommy is rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery, Mary and Nicholas both feel culpable for different reasons;

EP 11

Separate Ways

The furnace is on the blink, causing a cold front in the Bradford house, but Tom dismisses Mary's offer to fix it; Susan

EP 12

Arrivals

Tom and Abby believe that Susan is depressed because Merle is gone but learn that she is pregnant. The girls try to chee

EP 13

Brotherhood, Sisterhood

Tom talks David into hiring Tommy as a construction worker but Tommy has to prove himself to his fellow workers by stand

EP 14

Mary, He's Married

Joannie tries to convince her boss that she is ready for more responsibility at work. Joannie wants to do a documentary

EP 15

My Son, the Prom Queen

Upset that an all girl band was chosen to play at prom, Tommy protests by running for prom queen. Joannie pushes her

EP 16

The Courage To Be

Tom is upset that everyone is neglecting their household duties so Abby and the kids pool their resources to hire a maid

EP 17

Semi-Centennial Bradford

Abby tries to cheer Tom up on his 50th birthday. Tom feels the pressure of teh youth movement at work and believes th

EP 18

The Commitment

Tommy is upset when Jill's idea of a commitment is not the same as his and then misinterprets signals from Mary's friend

EP 19

Seven More Days in February

It's winter break and Joannie, Nancy, and Mary meet strange men that drive Tom and Abby crazy. Tom fixes Tommy up wit

EP 20

The Return of Joe Simons

Tom's new temporary secretary is overly attentive. Joe Simons, the con man who helped Nicholas return from San Diego,

EP 21

Bradford vs. Bradford

Ernie misreads Elizabeth's friendly gestures. David is jealous that Janet is working long hours with a male colleague

EP 22

Memories

Abby needs time to deal with memories of her late husband after a fellow prisoner of war shows up in Sacramento. She wor

EP 23

Official Positions

Merle recruits the girls for a charity basketball team. Tom is jealous when a publisher offers to publish Abby's thes

EP 24

A Matter of Mentors

Joannie gets an important assignment at work but Jeffrey believes that the boss will be expecting a favor in return. Joa

EP 25

Roll Over Bradford

Tom is upset that Tommy hasn't sent in any college applications but Tommy wants to be a musician and is not interested i

EP 26

A Little Triangle

Nicholas starts a dog-sitting service. Nancy falls in love with the 5-year-old daughter of the young widower she is d

EP 27

(Finally) Grad Night

Tom and Abby agree to let Tommy and a few friends have the house for a small party after graduation. Nicholas and Irv

EP 1

And Baby Makes Nine (1)

Nicholas and Tom start boy scouts and Nicholas volunteers Tom to be the assistant scout master. Elizabeth considers m

EP 2

And Baby Makes Nine (2)

.

EP 3

Jeremy

Abby goes to a funeral in San Francisco and returns with her nephew, Jeremy, who has nowhere else to go. His behavior up

EP 4

Welcome to Memorial Dr. Bradford

Abby gets a job as a guidance counselor at a rough high school filled with trouble. Tom discovers his driver's licens

EP 5

Generations

Susan brings the baby, Sandra Sue, home from the hospital. When Joan's parents visit the Bradford household to see th

EP 6

Holly

Ernie introduces Tommy to a slightly older songwriting woman who has a 4-year old son. When he falls for her, she has se

EP 7

Maltese Airline Bag

Nicholas and his friend, Melvin, start a messenger service to earn money and get more than they bargained for. One of th

EP 8

Strike

Caught up in a newspaper strike and laid-off, Tom tries to bring the feuding parties together thanks to something Nichol

EP 9

Bradfordgate

Tom is nominated for a political post by the governor. A political appointment for him ends up more than he can live wit

EP 10

Darlene Dilemma

Abby is proud of the progress one of her students has made and invites her to the house for dinner. Jeremy falls for

EP 11

Second Thoughts

Joannie is tired of not getting any serious assignments at work and Abby encourages her to take a leave of absence to ev

EP 12

David's Rib

Joannie involves David in the renovation of an old opera house. However, Janet is the legal counsel for the developer wh

EP 13

Vows

Jeremy meets a new girlfriend at a Fred Astaire film festival. Tom and Abby decide to renew their marriage vows on th

EP 14

The Way We Were

Tommy and Ernie, back from college with a ""preppy"" look, run into Jill, Tommy's old girlfriend. When Jill picks Ernie

EP 15

If The Glass Slipper Fits

Nancy's modeling career is about to take off but she needs to make an important decision as she later finds out she has

EP 16

The Best Little Telethon in Sacramento

Jeremy wants to manage Tommy's band and tries to get him a gig. Joannie is chosen to organize a charity telethon and

EP 17

Yet Another Seven Days in February

This year it's the boys' turn to meet new women. Tommy dates the daughter of a radio station owner in order to get his b

EP 18

Idolbreaker (1)

Just as Tommy's career is about to take off, his old girlfriend returns to tell Tommy she is pregnant after it is announ

EP 19

Idolbreaker (2)

Ellen tells Tommy that she doesn't want to marry him and Tommy isn't sure what he wants to do. At the last minute, they

EP 20

Starting Over

Jeremy is suspicious when he finds a skull while digging in the garden. David and Janet consider getting back togethe

EP 21

Goals

Merle suffers a career-ending shoulder injury and doesn't know what to do if he can't play baseball. Merle comes upon Ni

EP 22

Father Knows Best

Finally ready to be a father, Jeremy's father returns for a visit and wants to take him back to Los Angeles. David re

Popular Cast

Dick Van Patten
Dick Van Patten
Tom Bradford
Betty Buckley
Betty Buckley
Abby Bradford
Grant Goodeve
Grant Goodeve
David Bradford
Willie Aames
Willie Aames
Tommy Bradford
Dianne Kay
Dianne Kay
Nancy Bradford
Connie Needham
Connie Needham
Elizabeth Bradford
Lani O'Grady
Lani O'Grady
Mary Bradford
Adam Rich
Adam Rich
Nicholas Bradford
Susan Richardson
Susan Richardson
Susan Bradford
Laurie Walters
Laurie Walters
Joannie Bradford