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Regular Cast
Chi McBride .. Steven Harper
Jessalyn Gilsig .. Lauren Davis (Seasons 1-2)
Anthony Heald .. Scott Guber
Loretta Devine .. Marla Hendricks
Nicky Katt .. Harry Senate
Sharon Leal .. Marylin Sudor
Joey Slotnick .. Milton Buttle
Fyvush Finkel .. Harvey Lipschultz
Thomas McCarthy .. Coach Kevin Riley
Rashida Jones .. Louisa (Seasons 1-2)
Jeri Ryan .. Ronnie Cooke (Season 2+)
Michael Rapaport .. Danny Hanson (Season 2+)
Leslie Jordan .. Dr. Harris (Season 2)
Kathy Baker .. Mrs. Peters (Season 2)
Jon Abrahams as Zach Fischer Season 3+)
Joey McIntyre as Colin Flynn Season 3+)
Cara DeLizia as Marcie Kendall Season 3+)
China Shavers as Brooke Harper Season 3+)
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Season One (2000-2001) |
Season Two (2001-2002) |
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Season One
Lauren Davis, the idealistic head of the social studies department, and Harry Senate, a geology teacher with buried secrets, are embroiled in controversy for failing the star running back before a huge game with the cross-town rivals. But they both have bigger personal problems. Lauren has been asked out on a date by the icy vice principal and Harry has been put on probation for wielding a gun in one of his classes.
When he's not dodging the star
running back's lawyer or pulling a bully off the class geek,
Principal Harper is trying to calm Ms. Hendricks. She left her class
after scrawling "Gone to kill myself, hope you're happy"
on the chalkboard. Meanwhile, English teacher Milton Buttle has
become the star attraction on student Sheryl Holt's Web site. His
unflattering, animated portrayal has made Buttle the butt of
everyone's jokes. And let's not forget dear old Mr. Lipschultz. The
80-year-old American history teacher kicked popular Dana Poole out
of class for not wearing a bra. These days it seems freedom of
expression doesn't apply to public high school.
The superintendent is breathing down Harper's neck because Lauren has rallied a few of the other teachers and they all refuse to get fingerprinted. Also, Marla Hendricks, who's supposed to be on medical leave, has shown up for work, and Lipschultz, the man behind the bra debacle, has shown up on Sheryl Holt's infamous Web site -- in a bra and panties! Harper decides the two of them will co-teach a class in order to keep an eye on each other.
Meanwhile, Vice Principal Guber tries to regain control by meeting with Dana Poole. He suspects that she's high, so he wants a urine sample. She protests and bolts straight to Harry Senate -- whom she blackmails for the second time in order to avoid suspension. It seems that earlier in the year she and Senate shared a kiss, and since then Dana has become quite adept in the art of extortion. Senate surrenders, but warns her that this is the last time.
Senate later confesses his sin to
Buttle and Kevin. They advise him to own up to Harper, but are dying
to hear all the juicy details!
Meanwhile, Harry Senate confesses to kissing Dana Poole and explains her blackmail scheme. Guber sends a shocked Dana to Bob "Big Boy" Lick for counseling, but Harper does not suspend Senate. Coach Riley, on the other hand, is dealing with a football team who has marked one of its teammates as gay and will not shower with him. Plus, Lauren is left to defend herself when Superintendent Shinn questions the topic of cannibalism being taught in Lauren's classroom.
At the school board meeting, things
come to a head when all of the faculty's -- and Principal Harper's
-- indiscretions are exposed. Surprisingly, an impassioned speech by
Marla Hendricks puts everything into perspective, and even manages
to silence Superintendent Shinn. At least, temporarily.
Elsewhere on campus, Lauren enters a stairwell and catches two student body presidential candidates engaged in a sex act. Lauren confronts the students -- Peter and Susan -- who deny any wrongdoing. However, when Peter later drops out of the election, it becomes clear that Susan's sexual favor was a motivating factor. On top of all this, Lauren must also deal with John LeBlonde. John's an excellent student on the recently suspended soccer team and needs Harper's approval to apply for a prestigious academic award. Harper is refusing to sign, not because John cheated -- he didn't -- but because he failed to report his teammates. Lauren is caught in the middle and is even more uncomfortable when John confesses that he is in love with her.
The night of the charity show, Buttle
sits with his date, Louisa, and tries not to let the spoof get to
him. Later, Lipshultz performs "If I Were a Rich Man" for
the 20th year in a row and receives his 20th standing ovation. After
the finale, Marla and Marylin serenade a mortified Guber. The
evening ends on a sad note, however, when Harper and Lauren learn
that John LeBlonde has overdosed on pills.
In response to the sex posse scandal, Principal Harper organizes a sophomore assembly to preach the benefits of chastity. The teachers draw straws, and Lipschultz is chosen to head up the event. Later at the assembly, Lipschultz' boring speech turns shocking when he confesses to catching his beloved late wife in bed with another man.
In his office, Harper confronts Jason Harrelson about the fight. Harrelson says he used a fighting technique that Harper taught Anthony in order to defend Anthony's honor. Repercussions ensue -- including a lawsuit by Malcolm's family and a confrontation with Jason's father in which Harper calls him a racist. Harper thinks Mr. Harrelson expects special treatment simply because they are both black. Ultimately, Harper goes to the Harrelson home to apologize for the outburst.
As most of the faculty gather at
Lauren's for a pre-holiday Thanksgiving dinner, others find their
own peace. Guber, who recently admitted to being in love with
Lauren, shares a meal with Principal Harper. And Harvey Lipschultz
sits in his classroom, alone with his memories.
While Harper struggles to deal with the incident's aftermath and maintain status quo, the students and faculty begin to fall apart. A defiant pupil, Webster, spits on Lauren and she vows to have him expelled. The case becomes more complex, however, when Harper learns that Webster was close to Mr. McMahon and is extremely upset over his death. A disciplinary hearing is held and it's decided that Webster will only be suspended, much to Lauren's disgust.
Meanwhile, the distraught students hold an assembly to deal with their confusion. The kids quickly embrace God as the answer and their meeting turns into a mass prayer rally.
Eventually, Harper and Guber look
into McMahon's alleged affair and decide to take disciplinary action
toward Karen Fitzgerald. However, it turns out the only affair that
existed was in McMahon's mind. Obsessed with his student, he
suffered from a delusional disorder. This development is the last
straw for Harper, who addresses the kids over the prayer issue and
finally breaks down in front of the entire school. He later visits
McMahon's corpse and gives him a tearful goodbye.
In the middle of these overwhelming issues, Lauren and Senate find
time to steal a few moments together and enjoy a kiss.
George set Guber up on a blind date with a touchy-feely masseuse, only for Guber to discover (mid-massage) that she's a call girl! Lauren isn't much luckier in love. Things are going well with Senate, but holt45.com has exclusive footage of them making out. Seems Sheryl wanted some retaliation for her suspension. Plus, Lauren gets knocked out by a launched breast implant. A female student had implant samples in her locker and her boyfriend thought it would be funny to launch one. Lauren was in the wrong hallway at the wrong time, and has the black eye to prove it. While Marylin counsels the girl on her self-image, Lauren decides to let the boyfriend off the hook.
In court, Lipschultz's testimony - on
both the Holt and Walsh cases - is disastrous and results in two
losses for the school. Meanwhile, Lauren's week goes from bad to
worse when Webster's mom calls her a racist. She questions Lauren
suspending her black son for spitting in her face, but letting the
white student who launched the implant off with a warning.
Surprisingly, Harper agrees with the parent, which devastates Lauren
- and makes her question it herself.
Back at Winslow High, Senate learns that Juan Figgis' mother has been convicted on drug charges and is going to jail. Determined to provide for his family, Juan ignores Senate's pleas to finish his education and drops out of school to support them.
Meanwhile, Lipschultz collapses in class and is rushed to the hospital. A student, Kelly O'Toole, comes forward and confesses that she slipped ecstasy into his coffee as a joke. Harper decides to play hardball - he calls the cops, who take Kelly away in handcuffs, and then proceed to search the lockers.
Senate struggles to do the right thing concerning Juan and calls Social Services, who break up the family. Realizing that he did more damage than good, Senate begins a foundation to raise money to keep Figgis in school and get his siblings back together.
Now madly in love with Lisa, Buttle breaks up with Louisa and continues to ditch classes to spend time with his new girlfriend. He is delirious with joy until Lisa gives him the shocking news that she is actually a senior at Winslow High and has had a crush on him for years.
And as the school shuts down for the
winter break, Lauren and Senate slowly warm up to each other.
The police think the suspect is a student who is hiding on campus and demand to begin the search at once. Meanwhile, oblivious to the tense situation, Lisa and Buttle decide to have sex in the deserted boiler room. Unfortunately, Riley and an officer stumble upon the couple during the investigation and catch them in the act. Riley agrees to keep quiet about the affair for now, but urges Buttle to break it off before he loses his job…or worse.
As the hunt continues, it becomes a code red condition, locking both teachers and students in their classrooms. Eventually, Lauren realizes that a pupil in her class might be the suspect but before she can take action, the desperate student whips out his gun and takes Lauren hostage. The police immediately call in the SWAT team to stake out the area but Harper rushes into the classroom to talk the kid down.
Principal Harper makes little headway
and the situation is becoming extremely tense. Just then, Senate
barges into the room and using his usual risky but courageous
methods he manages to make progress with the frightened young man.
When the suspect lets his guard down for a moment, Harry wrestles
him to the ground freeing Lauren in the process and saving the day.
However, Riley has his hands full with another explosive situation - an anonymous bully has severely beaten three male students. When he discovers that the bully is actually an extremely overweight girl who was only defending herself from relentless verbal abuse, he enlists her for the wrestling squad. After enduring further derision, she defeats her opponent at her first match and earns the respect of her teammates and family.
Meanwhile, Marylin suspects that a girl in her class is a victim of incest when the student writes a "fictional" essay about her father molesting her. Although her pupil denies it, Marylin alerts Big Boy and together they confront the girl's parents. However, the father protests and testifies his innocence, becomes extremely angry and threatens to sue. Marylin is finally able to convince her student to admit the truth and she produces a videotape, which irrevocably proves her father's guilt.
In the middle of this crisis, Guber
asks Lipschultz to resign after accusing him of being a racist.
Lauren makes sure he is given a formal hearing and convinces Harvey
to let her represent him. However, at the hearing, Lauren chokes and
fails to defend Lipschultz, afraid that she might be labeled a
racist as well.
Eventually, Kevin tells Marylin the truth and she is forced to break the news to Marla, who is deeply hurt. While Kevin and Marylin do make plans to eventually go out, they decide to wait until Marla has gotten over her disappointment.
Meanwhile, Harper is concerned about the cheerleading squad. They have been rehearsing for an important competition, but their new routine is extremely sexual. The choreographer argues that it's impossible to tone down the program, so Harper cancels the meet.
Regardless of the consequences, Lisa
and Buttle continue to tempt fate and continue their heated affair.
However, more and more people, including Harper, are growing
suspicious and Riley is finding it difficult to keep silent.
Throughout the day, Lauren meets with various loan officers in order
to purchase her dream home. Ultimately, her application is turned
down because being a teacher makes her a credit risk.
And in an effort to help his kids discuss their feelings, Senate
forms a "Suicide Club," which outrages parents and faculty
alike. But the students who participate are slowly learning to open
up about their problems, and once again, Harry's unorthodox methods
pay off.
However, Senate is unable to help because he gave his word that he wouldn't discuss the situation with the authorities. Prevented from taking action, he reluctantly hides the truth from Lauren, his coworkers and the police.
Meanwhile, Harper grows even more suspicious about Lisa and Buttle's deepening friendship, so Guber takes the reins and alerts Lisa's parents about their daughter's rumored affair. Thoroughly panicked, Milton tries to break it off, but Lisa pushes him to have sex one last time and her father catches them in the act.
Buttle is immediately fired and the
news rocks the halls of Winslow High. But when Riley attempts to
soften the blow for Milton, Guber fires him as well for withholding
information.
In the midst of these crises, Lauren has her hands full trying to
help an overweight female wrestler, Christine, cope with the loss of
her boyfriend. Known as "The Blob" to the student body,
Christine is attracting fans with her wrestling prowess.
Unfortunately, Christine's boyfriend is unable to deal with the
pressure of dating such a well-known object of ridicule and breaks
up with her. Christine eventually comes to terms with her size and
wins yet another wrestling match. She then bravely stands up for
herself by asking her fans to call her Christine instead of
"The Blob."
Ellenor immediately begins subpoenaing witnesses, sending a message to Winslow High that she means business. And in an effort to take Guber down, Coach helps her play hardball by supplying incriminating evidence against numerous coworkers.
The stress of the lawsuit has Guber and Harper at each other's throats. Harper is angry over Guber's predilection for firing teachers without consulting with him first and Guber dislikes doing the "dirty work" for Harper. The two have several yelling matches with no clear victor before their lawyer asks them to grow up and focus on the upcoming trial.
Meanwhile, Lauren discovers that Harry had dated another coworker, Jenna, before her. Disturbed that Harry would have a relationship with a woman Lauren deems unsavory, she becomes concerned about her own relationship with Senate. Although Harry tries to discover why she is so upset, Lauren denies that it has anything to do with Jenna but eventually loses her cool and goes off on Senate.
At the trial, Ellenor pulls no punches and proceeds to list every infraction, mental illness and strange behavior incurred by the other Winslow High teachers. Although she is highly effective, Harper is given the opportunity to give the closing argument for the defense and delivers a rousing speech that sways the judge.
Coach Riley loses his case and he and
Buttle have a tearful but awkward goodbye with their former
coworkers before leaving Winslow High for the last time.
Meanwhile, Guber wins a contest to guest conduct a Boston Pops rehearsal and is overcome with anticipation and nerves. He enlists Marylin's help and begins to practice conducting the school orchestra. But problems arise when Guber misconstrues Marylin's kindness for affection and asks her out on a date. She politely turns him down and Guber pretends to understand, but they both know his feelings have been hurt.
Senate attempts to help with the teacher shortage by recommending a good friend of his. Although his buddy ultimately does not interview for the position, Harry introduces him to Lauren and she realizes that he has never heard of her.
Lauren is extremely hurt that Senate never mentioned her to his pal and this just adds even more strain to their already tense relationship. She finally lets Harry know that while she can respect his need for privacy, she won't tolerate his uncommunicative behavior much longer. So Senate makes the effort to open up and begins by sharing a family secret - his father is in prison for armed robbery.
Overwhelmed, Harper must deal with yet another crisis: Lisa Greer has been teaching her lit class since the actual teacher hasn't shown up since November. Pressed to the limit for substitutes, he makes the surprising decision to let Lisa continue teaching…for now.
And when Guber finally gets his shot
to conduct, Marylin and Harper are in the audience, praying that it
all goes well. Guber conducts flawlessly and at least for one
shining moment, all his dreams come true.
Although he and Marylin are uninjured, it's clear to Tyronn that the Bloods know the truth and are out to get revenge. Senate is so desperate to help him that he breaks his vow of silence and calls in Tyronn's parents. However, the only option Tyronn will agree to is leaving Boston, so he tearfully says goodbye to Senate and Marylin and makes plans to leave town.
Meanwhile, Guber, in his ongoing effort to eliminate Lipschultz, demands that Harvey take a competency test. But Harper can't afford to lose any more teachers, especially in light of the fact that the cheerleading coach has just been accused of molesting a female student. Harper takes the accusation seriously and suspends the coach until he can determine who is telling the truth.
Eventually, Harper calls in the girl's parents only to discover that this student has a history of falsely accusing teachers of molesting her and is currently in therapy for it. Harper apologizes to the coach but the damage to her reputation has already been done.
Oblivious to the latest crisis, Guber is estactic over a potential job as musical director for the North Hampton symphony. However, he is soon devastated to learn the position was just a cruel joke set up by Lipschultz in an effort to get Guber off his back.
And as Harry Senate is getting ready
to check out for the day, Harper breaks the news that Tyronn was
just shot and killed at the bus station. Emotionally drained, Harry
collapses in tears and shock over the loss of what might have been.
Meanwhile, Harper and Guber learn that not only has there been a videocamera in the girls' shower room for months, but the videotapes are now missing. Plus, footage of Lauren Davis is included in the steamy shots. As Harper leaves to investigate, he discovers Marla's entire history class in his office. Now he worries that she's teetering on the edge of reason…again.
Guber's search of student lockers doesn't uncover the tapes, but does uncover Anthony Ward's hit list. Anthony swears it's pure fiction, but Guber wants to expel him. Finally, Anthony admits he just likes pretending that he's not a wimp, but a tough guy enacting revenge on his tormentors. Later, at Senate's meeting with parents, he is typically condescending and confrontational. Lauren confronts him about his attitude and he confesses that he covered for Tyronn and feels responsible for his death. Lauren is stunned and ultimately realizes that she and Harry will never have the open relationship that she needs.
Luckily, a porn Webmaster turns over
the shower tapes to Guber, who traces them back to a student. Guber
literally scares the piss out of the kid and demands all copies of
the tapes. But will he view them before he destroys them?
Meanwhile, Marla is systematically sending every student in her history class to Harper's office, which has Harper wondering if she's on the verge of another breakdown. Plus, Lipschultz - who has been assigned to monitor Lisa Grier's Shakespeare class - is causing a stir for calling the playwright an "oversexed hack." Lauren is horrified that her shower scene is playing for the entire school, but sort of happy that she's moved up on the list of teachers the students most want to sleep with.
By the end of the day, Guber's
figured out how to play hardball with Sheryl's lawyer. He just keeps
suspending and unsuspending Sheryl to rack up the billable hours. In
his free time, he has replaced Lipschultz in Lisa Grier's
Shakespeare class and is soon humbled by the students' extraordinary
grasp of the material. Lauren puts aside her own unfolding drama to
console Senate, who barely escaped being fired. As for Harper, he
takes time out from dealing with all the "bad" kids to sit
and listen to some of the good ones in Marylin's choir.
In the hallway, Lisa stops Senate and informs him that Dana Poole is skipping first period to work at a local strip club. Senate takes it upon himself to investigate. Elsewhere, Marylin confronts star wrestler Christine Banks. Marylin's concerned that while Christine's popularity is soaring her grades are falling. Marla, meanwhile, is so disgusted with her students' test scores that she warns them they are all going to wind up janitors. She makes them go to the parking lot and pick up trash for the rest of the hour.
The complaints start rolling in about Marla's tactics, causing her to resign. Plus, the teachers have started a coalition in protest of Darren's firing. Senate confronts Dana about her new career and discovers that she doesn't come from a wealthy family, like everyone thinks. She started stripping to help support her single mom, and she pulls in sixty grand a year! Senate doesn't tell her mom, but asks Lisa to speak with Dana on a peer level.
All this is nothing compared to that
night's wrestling match, where Christine Banks collapses in front of
the packed auditorium. Later, in the hospital, Coach Riley tells her
she won. Moments later, Christine goes into cardiac arrest and dies.
Meanwhile, Marylin suspects one of her best students is being victimized at home. When Jeremy has an anxiety attack and collapses over getting a B+, Marylin discovers bruises on his chest. Both Jeremy and his mother (Kathy Baker, Picket Fences) call the claims ridiculous, but Marylin sends social services over to their house anyway. She also warns Jeremy's mom that she'll be making sure that Jeremy isn't put under too much pressure. In other teacher-student relations, Lauren runs into an ex-student and accepts his offer for a date. She later admits to Marylin the teacher-student fantasy becoming real was a real turn on!
Lisa Grier earns early graduation
status, much to Lousia's dismay. The two were to have fought in the
parking lot, but had to postpone while Lisa shared the good news
with her family. Elsewhere, Anthony's case goes before the school
board. They decide that in light recent school tragedies they must
adopt a zero tolerance policy and Anthony must transfer schools.
Guber feels the addition of Kevin Jackson to the debate team will give the team "flair." The first topic is the AIDS crisis in Africa. While Jackson deliberates over his strategies, Lipschultz tells him not to "talk too black" and that it's his duty to be good since he's the only black kid on the team. During the debate, Jackson punches his opponent. Later, he confronts Guber and asks if he was brought on as the token African American. Guber denies such tactics, but Jackson quits the team anyway.
On the love-life front, both Harper
and Lauren are getting some action. Lauren is really enjoying her
affair with Daniel. The whole student-teacher fantasy is a great
turn-on. Harper's affair with one of the parents, however, is
backfiring. The woman's daughter has gone from a model student to a
rebellious one. When confronted, she tells Harper she resents his
relationship with her mom - who isn't even divorced yet. Harper
decides to put his romance on hold for now.
Meanwhile, Guber interviews for a
headmaster position at a prestigious private school and feels Harper
torpedoed his chances of getting it. But Harper's busy reminding
Marla and Marylin that they are not social workers. Marla intervenes
when a senior with a criminal past asks a freshman to the prom,
leading to a confrontation with the boy's parents. And when Marylin
notices a change in Jeremy (like, he's happy), she wonders what has
happened to his domineering mother.
Guber, still bitter over not getting a new job, is meaner than ever, even though graduation is only two days away. And speaking of graduation, Kevin Jackson is desperately working on his speech for the ceremony and Guber refuses to cut him any slack. Harper negotiates with a parent who wants his son reinstated at Winslow in time for commencement. Harper will allow the boy to return, if the father (who home schooled him) becomes a substitute teacher. Harper also pits Lipschultz against Marla when Marla flunks a Harvard-bound student. He asks Lipschultz to review the exam - and give the boy a passing grade.
Meanwhile, Marylin is still really concerned about Jeremy's mother. Since Jeremy is getting a prestigious award at graduation, she's convinced his mother would want to be there. Marylin goes so far as to notify the police, but Jeremy insists that sometimes his mom just takes off. Graduation goes off without a hitch but Marylin still suspects that Jeremy is hiding something. She never suspects that he's got his mother held captive in their basement..
Season Two
Chapter 23 (OAD:
Oct 29 2001)
The start of a new year at Winslow High brings many a change
to the faculty and student body. Danny Hanson (Michael Rapaport) is
the hottest new teacher to join the high school ranks and doesn't
hesitate in making first impressions with students and other
teachers. His classroom's conversations venture into masturbation
while going toe-to-toe with Marla on the merits, or lack there of,
of being fat.
Harry Senate brings some new flavor to Winslow High as well when he invites lawyer friend, Ronnie Cooke (Jeri Ryan) to guest lecture on the law. While in class, a fight breaks out between two rival gang students, giving Ronnie a first-hand look at the reality of public high school and igniting a fire inside her that she hasn't felt in years. Harry quickly diffuses the dispute, but when the boys are tight lipped about the skirmish, he has them box (with gloves) while he and Ronnie judge. The boys beat the crap out of each other, but end up not resorting to off-campus gang violence.
Meanwhile, some overweight students approach Marla and ask her to sponsor their newly formed "Fat Club." Marla flies off the handle as she takes anyone's notion of her being fat as a personal insult. She ultimately decides to sponsor the club but realizes she needs to reevaluate her own personal physical condition.
In science class, Jeremy Peters brings in a human hand to dissect. While stating that he borrowed it from a medical student, Marilyn restarts her personal investigation into what happened with Jeremy's mother. She and Danny Hanson finally decide to pay her a visit and find her conveniently missing a hand. The mystery of how she lost the hand is still up in the air as she claims it was a gardening accident much to the skepticism of Marilyn and Danny.
Back at the school, Ronnie decides to
pay Principal Harper a visit. After lecturing for Harry Senate, she
decides to give up law and do what she says will make her feel
alive: teach!
Chapter 24
(OAD: Nov 5 2001)
First impressions are
never easy as Ronnie's first day doesn't go exactly as planned.
After another teacher leaves, she's thrown into a remedial class
with delinquent and struggling students. She does begin making a
dent though as her tough as nails approach seems to be getting to
her closed minded class.
Unfortunately for Ronnie however, the other teachers don't take kindly to her being an uncredentialed educator. The teachers have a meeting to protest her being there, but it's broken up when Ronnie enters and thanks them all for being so warm and welcoming to her. Ronnie isn't the only new face in the classrooms though. Jeremy Peters' mother becomes a teacher's assistant and is subsequently labeled "the hook lady" because of her prosthetic hand.
Scott is adamantly opposed to Ms. Peters being in the school, but when he finds out that they are seeing the same therapist, she opens up and tells him the real story of how she lost her hand making him more sympathetic. It turns out that Jeremy finally snapped and locked her up in the basement. She accidentally cut her hand off with a chainsaw while trying to escape.
Lauren meanwhile is mentoring a
student, Denise, who has an interview with Princeton. When she
faints during her meeting, it turns out that Denise is pregnant. She
and Lauren fight to keep her in school, but Steven holds to the
school's policy of once she shows, she goes. Denise winds up having
an abortion and it hits Steven hard.
Chapter 25
(OAD: Nov 12 2001)
Lipschultz continues his
yearly antics by choosing which new student to harangue. When he
calls the student a douche bag however, he crosses the line. The
students take the issue to Danny Hanson who decides to help the kids
out and assigns a class project to "sue Lipschultz!" Danny
enlists Ronnie's former lawyer expertise and helps guide the class
as they hand the suit to a shocked Lipschultz.
Harry Senate meanwhile receives great news. The one student he's helped countless times from getting him off the streets, to finding him jobs, to helping with class work, got accepted into Williams College. It turns out however, that the student bought his college essay off the Internet revoking the acceptance. Harry personally drives all the way to Williams to plead with the admissions advisor to give the student a second chance. He comes back and tells the student that it's the last time he's ever doing anything for him as the job really takes its toll on Harry.
Scott continues dating Ms. Peters outside of school but gets frigid at the moment of intimacy. When he finally does kiss her, she accidentally cuts his cheek with her hook. He lets it go but is then nearly killed by a planter falling off her upstairs window. The next day in school, Scott reprimands Jeremy Peters for the attempt on his head and lets Jeremy know he'll be taking a particular interest in his activities now that he's dating his mother.
In the meantime, Harper asks Marla to
give a lecture about gun safety because the students respond well to
her. Steven also tries to smooth over his disagreement with Denise,
the A-student who had an abortion. She blows him off making him
reconsider his role as a leader in the school. It's not until Lauren
lets him know how he makes the teachers want to be better does he
again realize his importance to the school.
Chapter 26 (OAD: Nov 19 2001)
A sex advice column in the school newspaper is has parents
in an uproar when the latest column tells students about breast
orgasms. Steven continues to avoid the issue, but is caught avoiding
parents and will be forced to deal with it. Meanwhile, Steven's
daughter Brooke, gets expelled from her private school because she
killed the school mascot: a goat. Steven and his ex-wife decide to
have Brooke go to Winslow where Steven can watch her a little more
closely.
Danny Hanson's class continues pursuing Lipschultz as they bring him into court. The students argue for the case not to be dismissed, but Scott (representing Harvey) successfully persuades the judge to throw the case out. The class is disappointed, but the judge took the case under advisement, giving the students confidence that their point was in fact made.
In Ronnie's class, the students have
a lack of appreciation for Shakespeare. To help, her boyfriend
volunteers to come into class and perform a monologue for her
students. Ronnie is very reluctant, but can't persuade him
otherwise. He comes into the class, but all the students can do is
laugh
Chapter 27 (OAD: Nov 26 2001)
Lauren's student Kara gets a record deal but has to drop out
of school to pursue her music career. Lauren helps her find an
attorney and an agent but gets yelled at by Kara's parents for
supporting her dropping out. Lauren assures them that she only
wanted her to be safe guarded "if" she dropped out.
Elsewhere, Danny Hanson comes home a little early from school and finds his fiancé having an affair with another man. Danny loses it and knocks the man unconscious by throwing a phone at his head. He gets arrested and thrown in jail. The police eventually let him out as they decide not to charge him criminally. Ronnie helps him in case of any other legal ramifications and also tells him he needs to talk to his fiancé, if for nothing else but closure.
Scott meanwhile continues dating Meredith Peters, although he remains frigid. When she tells him to ravage her, he responds by saying "it's a school night." Offended by his response, Meredith tells Scott that they should stop seeing each other. Scott offers to go to therapy together and they wind up reconciling while picking out a prosthetic hand for Meredith.
The Dear Hellen column rears its ugly
head yet again and leaves Steven at his wits end. He finally finds
out who the perpetrator is however: Louisa. Steven reprimands her
for committing fraud by posing as a student. He now has to decide
whether his recent pattern of doling out second chances will include
Louisa as well
Chapter 28 (OAD: Dec 3 2001)
Scott goes on the warpath when some students steal
Meredith's hook. He's even more enraged when he finds what they did
with it. He comes upon a cardboard cutout of himself with the hook
lodged in his rear. Scott grabs the hook, storms into Meredith's
class, slams it down and singles out specific students to be
interrogated later. Meredith is broken up about the whole incident
and her therapist feels that she needs closure with her old hand. He
tells her to have a funeral for it and in doing so, mourn for the
limb.
Meanwhile, an angry parent comes into Steven's office with the police in tow. He's brought them to arrest the student who's been sleeping with his underage daughter. Scott and Steven decide to let them arrest the student during class to set an example for the school. Ronnie is enraged when they haul the student away and vows to fight on the student's behalf. She eventually convinces the parents to drop the suit, but is weighed down by the hardships of what teaching really means.
Louisa, still walking on thin ice, confronts Steven, still apologizing. He tells her that she's psychologically damaged and needs help. She then decides to return to music and enlists Marilyn and Marla to start a small band.
While a group of students dance in
the hallways, a student goes into a seizure for taking PMA, a drug
10-30 times stronger then ecstasy. As a result, Danny Hanson
lectures his class on drug use and tells them that they shouldn't be
so stupid by putting things in their bodies when they don't know
what it is. This lecture prompts Brooke, Steven's daughter, to buy a
drug testing kit. Unfortunately for her, she gets stopped by the
police and they find the kit. When Steven and his ex-wife find out,
they lecture Brooke together but also use the opportunity to both
get closer to their daughter and perhaps reconcile with each other
on some level
Chapter 29 (OAD: Dec 10 2001)
With the holidays fast approaching at Winslow High, both the
faculty and students exhibit the same range of emotions from anxiety
and sorrow to cheerfulness and excitement. Marla, Marilyn and Louisa
add to the holiday cheer by performing for the school at the holiday
pageant. They get everyone on their feet with their incredibly
rocking performance.
Steven's holiday emotions turn towards his family. After a small school function, Steven and his ex-wife Luanna come home together and steal a kiss, giving Brooke the idea that they may be getting back together. When Steven and Luanna approach her on the idea, they tell her it's not going to happen. After some serious afterthought, Steven and Luanna readdress the option of getting back together, not just for Brooke's sake, but their own. The whole family gets together to decorate the Christmas tree, giving Brooke hope that they can be a family once again.
Scott meanwhile, is still grappling with his relationship with Meredith. They go shopping for a prosthetic hand together but Meredith winds up choosing the less expensive option. When Scott buys her the top of the line model for Christmas, she tells him that she's falling in love with him. The only problem is that Scott catches Jeremy making out with another male student, confirming his homosexuality, and causing Scott to decide whether or not to tell Meredith.
Harry Senate decides to take a special interest in one of his students, when the student writes an explicitly emotional essay about death. Harry feels that the student may be suicidal but finds out later that he has leukemia instead. Harry continues to be concerned however and as it turns out, the student is coming out of remission but doesn't want to tell his family until after the holidays.
Danny Hanson continues to help his student, Debbie, in her post graduation pursuits. When he finds out she didn't get into Boston University on early acceptance, he goes to her house and tells her he's going to make it his mission to get her in. Because of all the special attention he's been giving her, Debbie begins to develop a crush on him and comes clean by writing him a Christmas card divulging her feelings for him.
Ronnie's holiday is coming near as
she feels lonely in her heart. She tells her boyfriend Mathew that
she needs to move on. Rather then accepting defeat though, Mathew
decides to sing her a song during the holiday pageant in front of
the whole school. If nothing else, he brightens up her holiday mood
Chapter 33 (OAD:
Jan 28 2002)
Leaving school late one evening, Ronnie and Danny walk out to the parking lot together and happen upon a car with the windows all steamed up. Danny, all- too curious decides to open the door to see what's going on inside. In the car he finds a stunned and semi-clothed Brooke Harper, with an older man. The next day at school, Ronnie tells Danny that she ran the plates on the car and found out it's registered to a 27-year-old man. Danny and Ronnie feel they have to tell Steven and finally relay the information. Steven confronts Brooke and demands to meet the man she's seeing. She brings the guy in to meet Steven, but Steven threatens to kill him (softly). Brooke returns later to tell Steven that she broke it off with the guy, but that she no longer can take going to the same school where her father is the principal. Steven finally breaks down and tells Brooke how much she means to him and how her coming to Winslow feels like a second chance for him as a father. Brooke decides to stay, and their relationship grows by leaps and bounds as a result.
Meanwhile, Senate, sick of being treated like a second class citizen and also sick of his students being treated the same way, decides to challenge Scott's debate team to a debate. Guber thinks it's preposterous, but accepts the challenge in hope of putting Senate in his place once and for all. Both Scott and Harry work their teams to exhaustion, getting them ready for the debate. Lauren questions Harry as to whether he's doing this as a vendetta against Scott or in the best interest of his students.
The two teams debate and Harry's team surprisingly holds it's own against Scott's, but Scott accuses him of using cheap tricks. When the voting comes in, Scott's team wins, but barely. Senate's class is devastated, but Harry picks them back up by telling them they can no longer be called underachievers because they took two days of research and practice and turned out a team that nearly won. Now no one can call them anything bad ever again.
Chapter 35 (OAD
Feb 4 2002)
One of Lauren's student's, Austin, approaches her after class with a notebook he claims to have found off school grounds. The notebook contains satanic verses and a plot to attack the school. Lauren thanks Austin and alerts Steven and Scott. They immediately treat the notebook as a credible threat and call the police to come and investigate. While searching an abandoned house by the school, the police come across a large stash of knives, gun shells and bomb making equipment. Steven instantly puts the school in a lockdown, but when explosives are actually found in the basement, they evacuate the entire school. Austin is hailed as a hero, but while watching the news footage, Lauren hears him mention satanic masks and is convinced that he couldn't have known about the masks in the house unless he was inside. She notifies the police who take a handwriting sample from Austin. It matches and Austin is arrested for plotting to attack the school. Lauren questions him as to why he would plan such an atrocity, Austin tells her it's because he's always picked on and wanted someone to look to him in a different light - thus posing as the hero.
Meanwhile, in Marla's class, some popular girls are caught bullying another girl in class. Marla takes it upon herself to remedy the situation and reprimands the popular girls. She then goes on a personal crusade to rid bullying from Winslow and makes impassioned speeches to each class on what bullying means and does to people. The popular girls end up apologizing and the rest of the school gets a serious wake-up call to bullying in light of Austin's almost-attack on the school.
Danny Hanson, still working with cerebral palsy kids, is approached by one of the kids' parents. They want their son, Hunter, to attend Winslow and ask Danny to help make it happen. Danny does everything in his power to get Hunter into school but everything seems to always fall just short. It turns out though, that the parents used Danny to set up the school. There is a disabilities act that claims if the public high school is unable to meet the handicap requirements of a student, then that school must pay for the student to attend a school that can meet them. Steven and Scott immediately realize they were defrauded and Danny berates the family for their lack of integrity. He imparts his final teaching to Hunter that all the brains in the world don't mean anything if you have no integrity.
Amidst all the tension and controversy in the school, the teachers decide to have a talent show to boost school morale. All the teachers take part, including Guber and Steven. The show is a hit, especially the duet of Marilyn and Lipschultz. At the end, the students are supposed to do a skit as well, but instead, Debbie Nixon comes to the podium and decides to show the student's appreciation for the teachers by rewarding all of them with diplomas for showing how much they truly care about the school
Chapter 36 (OAD
Feb 11 2002)
Harry's student, Max, is in the hospital dying of cancer. Harry continues pushing Max however, giving him homework and trying to get him into college and also hope for a reason to live. He even has his own students get tested for bone marrow matches. The worse Max gets, the worse Harry's psyche becomes. Just as a bone marrow match is made and Harry's hopes are arisen, Max dies in surgery. Harry is totally devastated and contemplates quitting. He even hands a letter of resignation to Steven. It's not until another of his students, Jamaal, tells Harry how much the class resents him for quitting and makes Harry realize what an impact he truly has, does he realize that quitting may not be the right answer. Ronnie confronts him as well, and for the first time, Harry breaks down and cries in her arms.
Meanwhile, Brooke Harper and Jeremy Peters begin dating. Meredith couldn't be more pleased to initially hear that her son may not be gay. But when she hears that he's dating Brooke, she seems put off by the idea. Meredith then gives so much attention to Jeremy and Brooke as a couple, inviting them to dinner, plays, etc., that she ends up driving Jeremy away from the relationship. Scott confronts Meredith and tells her he won't be spending the night at her house because he thinks she's a bigot.
Lauren confronts an anorexic student when she finds out she's been stuffing pennies in her panties to fake her own weight. Lauren realizes she got the weight-gaining tip from a pro-ano (pro-anorexic) Web site. Lauren gets Scott to force the girl to remove the site from the school's servers. Lauren then confronts the original girl's parents and forces them to confront the issue of their daughter's eating disorder.
Chapter 37 (OAD
Feb 25 2002)
When African-American classmates begin calling each other the "n-word" in Hanson's class, a fight breaks out and Danny decides to turn the incident into a learning experience. He tells his students to read Randall Kennedy's book "nigger," so the class can discuss and debate the power of the word in it's historical significance. News of the subject matter quickly spreads through the school and Marla goes on the warpath demanding Steven fire Danny for even saying the word out loud. Steven tells Danny to stop the discussion entirely, but when Danny's class persists, he's forced to continue the debate. Steven threatens to fire Danny for defying him, but Danny then turns the tables and tells Steven that he has the right to tell him not to teach the class, but he doesn't have the right to tell the students to stop questioning. He then challenges Steven to teach it himself. Steven takes over and reopens the dialogue.
Meanwhile, Ronnie gives her class a project to find out what it's like to be homeless. She soon realizes that one of her students is actually homeless and lives with her mom in a van. Ronnie convinces her student to try living in transitional housing, but when she and her mother enroll, they threaten to take her and put her in a foster home. Ronnie is outraged and threatens to sue Social Services, but ultimately writes a check to pay for the first month of rent to get her student off the street.
Back in school, Lipschultz is in trouble again when a family threatens to sue him for giving their son an unfavorable recommendation to college. Scott, surprisingly, backs Harvey though and stands by his statements. When the college calls Scott however, to see whether Harvey's words hold any merit, like Harvey, Scott told the school the truth and that Harvey's words are meaningless. Harvey then asks Scott if he should quit, but Scott dodges the issue and tells him he can't answer that.
Meanwhile, back at school, a student approaches Guber with information that Meredith hit her with her prosthesis during an argument. After some investigating, Guber reluctantly admits that he believes the student and fires Meredith. As a result, Guber and Meredith's relationship seems to be terminated as well.
Also at the school, one of Lauren's
students has an emotional break-down. The break-down was apparently
brought on by stress, caused from Lauren pushing too hard. Harper
brings both Marilyn and Lauren into his office after finding out
that their students have had the most stress-related incidents in
the school. Later, when Lauren visits the student in the hospital,
the student tells her that she's scared of Lauren, and that she's
not the only student afraid, causing Lauren to reevaluate her
teaching methods.
Meanwhile, at the school, Harper tells the teachers that they need to start addressing the issues of drugs in a more constructive way after learning that members of the baseball team have been using steroids. Steven has Marla lecture the parents about the issues of drugs - most especially diet pills, supplements and other easy-to-get, over-the-counter types.
In Marilyn's class, a student
approaches her about an online chat she and a friend had been having
with a teacher from Winslow. They tell Marilyn that the teacher is
the chemistry professor, Dr. Harris. Despite the girls' insistence
that they pursued the relationship and that Dr. Harris didn't know
who they were, Harper considers firing him. But Dr. Harris, who has
been humiliated and ostracized, resigns instead.
Meanwhile, Lester, a 58-year-old African American, shows up at Winslow and tells Lipschultz that he's his son via a one-night stand just before Lipschultz went off to war. Lipschultz accepts Lester and is embraced by his family, which includes numerous grandchildren.
Also at the school, more accusations
against teachers continue to fly. First, Hanson is accused of giving
Debbie special favors by giving her a heads-up about an up-coming
test. In addition, Guber accuses Lauren of giving "inside
information" to her A and B students, convincing Lauren that
the administration is in fact out to get her
The party is further thrown into chaos when Lipschultz snoops in Harper's briefcase and learns that he has applied for a headmaster job at another school and has recommended Marla as his replacement. Scott is totally crushed upon hearing the news.
The party almost completely spirals out of control when Meredith shows up unexpectedly - Ronnie invited her while she was still dating Scott. She leaves however, after Steven calls her a psycho and Danny Hanson thinks she committed suicide. Meanwhile, Lauren feels her peers are ganging up on her when they accuse her of being a perfectionist who insists that her way is the only way. A chance encounter in the bathroom brings Lauren and Scott together as Scott divulges how much he appreciates the way Lauren is so meticulous and caring in her every endeavor.
The party ends on an upbeat note
though, as everyone puts aside their differences and dances the
night away
The faculty is also outraged when a group of beautiful girls auctions themselves off as prom dates to lonely, dateless classmates. Meanwhile, Marla's old high school boyfriend returns to Winslow to ask her to the prom they never got to go to the first time. She turns him down initially when she finds out Harvey told the man that she was dying. But he persists and Marla eventually gives in.
The biggest issue facing the prom comes from a transgender male student who wants to run for Prom Queen. There is a myriad of protests from students, but Harper allows the student to run. The gay student goes on to win Prom Queen and the students of Winslow High cheer on the accomplishment.
Meanwhile, Guber finally musters the
courage to ask Lauren to the prom. He gets himself so worked up,
that when she actually says yes, he passes out. They wind up going
together and have a famously good time.
Chapter 43 (OAD May
13 2002)
Jamaal turns to Senate for help when his brother Amaad shoots a convenience store clerk after the clerk refuses to sell him beer. Senate urges Jamaal to go to the police immediately and turn himself in since he was present at the shooting and could be charged with murder. Senate asks Ronnie for help, but the two can not convince Jamaal to turn himself in. Convinced it's in Jamaal's best interest, Senate makes the agonizing decision to call the police. Jamaal is booked for murder. While Senate is working late in the dungeon, Amaad confronts him for turning in Jamaal. Senate reaches for his cell phone to call the police but is stabbed with a knife after a short scuffle.
Meanwhile, Marilyn and Lauren worry their student Rachel has cancer after she constantly suffers from stomach flu and begins to lose her hair. But when Lipschultz tells them Rachel eats her own hair, they realize she suffers from Tricholtillomania, an impulse control disorder.
Also at the school, Hanson get in trouble for writing a letter to the parents of his obese students, urging them to show concern for their children's health
Chapter 44 (OAD
May 20 2002)
After Ronnie spots Amaad dashing past her in the hallway at Winslow High, she frantically runs to Senate's classroom and finds him on the floor, bleeding profusely from knife wounds. Senate is rushed to the hospital, where he desperately clings to life.
At Winslow, students and teachers hold a vigil, while Harper remains at Harry's side, leaving Scott in charge of the school. Ronnie pleads with Jamaal to turn in his brother. She reminds him that Harry was always there for him no matter what.
Meanwhile, Lauren asks Scott to comfort her in this time of need and their relationship turns romantic. Back at the hospital, Harry finally comes to and is bound for recovery. Ronnie is with him when he does, and she finally divulges that she loves him. They share an embrace as Steven looks on, crying over the fact that his friend is alive and well.
Summaries courtesy of Fox
