Season 5

24 EPISODES • 1982

Season 5 of Diff'rent Strokes was released on October 2 and consists of 24 episodes.

Episodes

1: Shoot-Out at the O.K. Arcade

Oct 2, 1982

Arnold is determined to defeat brother Willis at his own game and dethrone him as local video game champ, but in doing so Arnold's passion becomes a destructive ""addiction"" that could have serious consequences.

2: In the Swim

Oct 9, 1982

Willis is completely supportive of Kimberly's transfer into his public school, until his sister's ""innocent"" actions begin getting him into hot water.

3: Cyrano De Jackson

Oct 16, 1982

Arnold's on the outs with his best friend Dudley after he innocently offers to help his bashful buddy win the heart of a young lady -- who falls for Arnold instead.

4: Big Brother

Oct 23, 1982

Arnold's got a ""can't lose"" plan for curing a new classmate's loneliness -- sharing big brother Willis -- but his kind of intentions leave Arnold feeling like the lonely, only child.

5: The Peacemaker

Oct 30, 1982

Willis' personal safety is in jeopardy when his noble attempt to mediate a feud between rival gangs backfires, forcing him to take a drastic step to insure his protection -- purchasing a handgun.

6: Substitute Teacher

Nov 6, 1982

Arnold and his buddies fabricate a ""little white lie"" in an attempt to get rid of an overly-conscientious substitute teacher, but their tell tale could result in more than just removing the teacher from the classroom -- it could destroy his entire career.

7: The Older Woman

Nov 13, 1982

A false I.D. and a false bravado create real problems for Willis and a beautiful ""older"" woman when an evening on the town doesn't go quite as he had planned.

8: A Case of Overexposure (a.k.a.) Overexposure

Nov 20, 1982

Arnold must face the bare facts -- his chances of winning a prestigious school election seem desperately slim, thanks to an ""overexposed"" candid campaign photo taken by sister Kimberly.

9: Memories

Nov 27, 1982

A long lost trunk returned to the boys contains a tape recording of their deceased mother which brings to the surface a previously unrecognized problem that triggers uncharacteristic behavior from a usually happy-go-lucky Arnold.

10: Push Comes to Shove

Dec 4, 1982

Arnold's unexpected confrontation with the new building manager's son leads to a chilling series of events that could get the entire Drummond family evicted.

11: The Executives

Dec 11, 1982

Willis learns that even a little power in the wrong hands can be dangerous when he oversteps the bounds of his authority in his afterschool job at his father's office.

12: Santa's Helper

Dec 18, 1982

Arnold falls innocent victim to a beguiling street-corner Santa who has an ulterior financial motive for hiring him as a holiday ""helper.""

13: A Growing Problem

Jan 8, 1983

At 16, Willis thinks he's man enough and old enough to ""top"" a few drinks with the guys, but Drummond's objections send Willis storming out of the house intent on proving his father wrong.

14: Parents Have Rights, Too

Jan 15, 1983

Drummond's plans for a quiet and private weekend ""alone"" don't quite work out as he had intended, when a storm sends Arnold, Willis and Kimberly home from a camping trip early -- catching him off guard in a compromising situation.

15: Independent Woman

Jan 22, 1983

A new job and a handsome new boss add up to trouble for an innocent Kimberly when her new employer starts displaying a more than casual interest in her -- hoping that his ""special attention"" will help land him a position within Drummond's prestigious company.

16: The Bicycle Man (1)

Feb 5, 1983

Unaware that he's being lured into the carefully crafted trap of a child molester, Arnold eagerly agrees to perform a simple task in return for an overly generous reward from a ""friendly"" neighborhood merchant.

17: The Bicycle Man (2)

Feb 12, 1983

Arnold and Dudley's ""friendship"" with a local merchant reaches a dangerous turning point when, unbeknownst to the boys, the man, who is actually a child molester, is about to make his move.

18: Family on Ice

Feb 19, 1983

Kimberly is overjoyed when Olympic Gold Medalist Dorothy Hamill sees great promise in her as a competitive figure skater, but she's even more astounded when Drummond agrees to let her leave the New York ""nest"" to train full time with the award-winning skater -- in Los Angeles.

19: Hall Monitor

Feb 26, 1983

Arnold's good intentions backfire when his efforts to help his handicapped friend Kathy adjust to life in public school cost him the esteem of his classmates and the friendship of pals Dudley and Robbie.

20: The Cricket

Mar 5, 1983

To try to curb Arnold's run of bad luck, Drummond gives him a pet cricket, but the Japanese ""good luck charm"" brings nothing but sleepless nights and dreams of ""pesticide"" to the rest of the household.

21: Roommates

Mar 12, 1983

The household's turned upside down when Drummond becomes Arnold's roommate for a week.

22: The Reporter

Mar 19, 1983

Determined to prove he didn't fabricate a story about drug abuse in his grade school just to win a journalism contest, Arnold takes his article to the New York City newspaper sponsoring the competition, and when they run his story on the front page, Arnold receives some unexpected more support from First Lady Nancy Reagan.

23: Romeo and Juliet

Apr 30, 1983

Arnold's Romeo is steeped in more turmoil than Shakespeare ever intended when he's tricked by his ""best friends"" into playing opposite arch-nemisis Lisa's Juliet.

24: My Fair Larry (a.k.a.) My Fair Lady

May 7, 1983

School ""thug"" Larry coerces Willis into teaching him how to ""make it"" with girls, but things go from bad to worse when Larry's first target is Willis' sister Kimberly.

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