Diff'rent Strokes

First Aired in 1978

Diff'rent Strokes took place in New York and centered around the happenings in the Drummond household. Philip Drummond was a widower and had a daughter, Kimberly. He was also quite wealthy and lived in the penthouse of a luxurious apartment building. His wealth was due to the fact that he was the president of Trans Allied, Inc.

However, the household was shaken up when Drummond's black housekeeper died and her deathbed wish was that he would take care of her two sons, Arnold and Willis Jackson. So, Drummond took both of them in and they became the sons Drummond never had.

Others in the cast included Mrs. Garrett the new housekeeper who later left for her own series, The Facts of Life. She was replaced by Adelaide, who was seen occasionally and she was later replaced by Pearl. In the seventh season, Drummond wed an aerobics instructor, Maggie McKinney and she moved in with her son, Sam, from a previous marriage.

First Telecast: November 3, 1978
Last Telecast: August 30, 1986

Episodes: 189 Color Episodes

Theme Song:

"It Takes Diff'rent Strokes"

Written by: Alan Thicke, Gloria Loring and Al Burton

Sung by: Alan Thicke

Spinoffs: Hello, Larry and The Facts of Life

Episode descriptions: courtesy of Todd Fuller at Diff'rent Strokes Online.

NBC Broadcast History

November 1978-October 1979----Fridays----8:00 p.m.
October 1979-October 1981----Wednesdays----9:00 p.m.
October 1981-August 1982----Thursdays----9:00 p.m.
August 1982-August 1985----Saturdays----8:00 p.m.

ABC Broadcast History

September 1985-March 1986----Fridays----9:00 p.m.
June-August 1986----Saturdays----8:00 p.m.

Nielsen Ratings
(Top 40 or Better)

#27 in the 1978-1979 Season
#26 in the 1979-1980 Season
#19 in the 1980-1981 Season
#39 in the 1984-1985 Season

Theme Song: "It Takes Diff'rent Strokes"

Written by: Alan Thicke, Gloria Loring and Al Burton
Sung by: Alan Thicke

Now, the world don't move to the beat of just one drum.
What might be right for you, may not be right for some.
A man is born, he's a man of means.
Then along come two, they got nothing but their jeans.

But they got, Diff'rent Strokes.
It takes, Diff'rent Strokes.
It takes, Diff'rent Strokes to move the world.

Everybody's got a special kind of story.
Everybody finds a way to shine.
It don't matter that you got,
not alot, so what.
They'll have theirs, and you'll have yours, and I'll have mine,
and together we'll be fine....

'cause it takes, Diff'rent Strokes to move the world.
Yes it does.
It takes, Diff'rent Strokes to move the world.

If you see any mistakes on this page or if you have more infomation about this show, please submit a comment

Episodes:

Season 1:
1. Movin' In
2. The Social Worker
3. Mother's Last Visit
4. Prep School
5. The Spanking
6. Goodbye Dolly
7. The Trial
8. Retrospective (1)
9. Retrospective (2)
10. The Fight
11. The Club Meeting
12. The Woman
13. No Time for Arnold
14. The Relative
15. The Tutor
16. The New Landlord
17. Willis' Privacy
18. Mrs. Garrett's Crisis
19. The Job (a.k.a.) Willis' Job
20. The Trip (1)
21. The Trip (2)
22. Getting Involved
23. Willis' Birthday
24. The Girls School (a.k.a.) Garrett's Girls

Season 2:
1. Arnold's Girlfriend (1)
2. Arnold's Girlfriend (2)
3. Feudin' and Fussin' (1)
4. Feudin' and Fussin' (2)
5. Mrs. Garrett's Romance
6. Birds and Bees
7. Arnold's Hero (a.k.a.) The Hero
8. The Adoption (1)
9. The Adoption (2)
10. Father and Son Day
11. Thanksgiving Crossover (1)
12. Thanksgiving Crossover (2)
13. The Rivals
14. Hot Watch
15. The Dog Story (a.k.a.) A Dog Story
16. The Election
17. Friendly-Mate
18. Poor Drummond
19. Big Business
20. Return of the Gooch
21. Valentine's Day Retrospective (a.k.a.) Valentine's Vigil
22. Skin Deep or True Blue (a.k.a.) Guess Who?
23. Teacher's Pet
24. The Slumber Party
25. Arnold Faces Fatality (a.k.a.) The Will (a.k.a.) Drummond's Will
26. The Squealer

Season 3:
1. The Bank Job (1)
2. The Bank Job (2)
3. Small Claims Court
4. Substitute Mother
5. The Accident (1)
6. The Accident (2)
7. Little Mother
8. Football Father
9. First Love
10. Count Your Blessings
11. The Loan
12. Roots
13. Junk Food Junkie (a.k.a.) Junk Food
14. The Bus
15. The Older Man
16. Where There's Hope
17. The Magician (a.k.a.) It's Magic
18. Drummond's Fair Lady
19. The Ancestors
20. Almost American
21. Room for One More
22. The Athlete

Season 4:
1. Growing Up
2. First Day Blues
3. The Model
4. The Team
5. The Big Heist
6. Double Date (a.k.a.) Blind Date
7. The Ski Weekend
8. Health Club
9. Burial Ground
10. Hello, Daddy
11. Jilted
12. Dreams
13. Kathy
14. Fire
15. The Squatter
16. The Car
17. Crime Story (Part 1) (a.k.a.) Crime in the Schools
18. Crime Story (Part 2) (a.k.a.) Crime in the Schools
19. B.M.O.C.
20. Green Hair
21. Have I Got a Girl for You
22. Lifesavers
23. Stress? What Stress?
24. The Music Man
25. Short But Sweet
26. On Your Toes

Season 5:
1. Shoot-Out at the O.K. Arcade
2. In the Swim
3. Cyrano De Jackson
4. Big Brother
5. The Peacemaker
6. Substitute Teacher
7. The Older Woman
8. A Case of Overexposure (a.k.a.) Overexposure
9. Memories
10. Push Comes to Shove
11. The Executives
12. Santa's Helper
13. A Growing Problem
14. Parents Have Rights, Too
15. Independent Woman
16. The Bicycle Man (1)
17. The Bicycle Man (2)
18. Family on Ice
19. Hall Monitor
20. The Cricket
21. Roommates
22. The Reporter
23. Romeo and Juliet
24. My Fair Larry (a.k.a.) My Fair Lady

Season 6:
1. Mr. T and mr. t
2. The Goat
3. Rashomon II
4. The Lie
5. Drafted
6. The Van Drummonds
7. The Moonlighter
8. Coming of Age
9. Assert Yourself
10. Mrs. Z
11. The Senior Class Queen
12. Where There's Smoke
13. Drummond's Lady
14. The Hitchhikers (1) (a.k.a.) Hitchhiking (1)
15. The Hitchhikers (2) (a.k.a.) Hitchhiking (2)
16. Hooray for Hollywood (1)
17. Hooray for Hollywood (2)
18. The Wedding (1)
19. The Wedding (2)
20. The Honeymoon's Over
21. The Bar Mitzvah Boy
22. Kathy's Olympics
23. The Houseguest
24. The Boyfriend

Season 7:
1. A Haunting We Will Go
2. Arnold and Lisa's Mother
3. Bed-Wetting
4. Undercover Lover
5. Arnold's Strike
6. Sam's Father
7. Carmella Meets the Gooch
8. Arnold the Entrepreneur
9. The Honorable Arnold J. Jackson
10. The Gymnasts
11. Tonsils
12. Arnold's Songbird
13. Baseball Blues
14. Arnold Saves the Squirrel
15. Sam Adopts a Grandparent
16. Harry Birthday Drummond
17. Sam's New Pal
18. Russian Embassy
19. Cheers to Arnold
20. A Camping We Will Go
21. Beauty is in the Eye of Arnold
22. Blue Collar Drummond
23. Street Smarts
24. A Special Friend

Season 8:
1. Sam's Missing (1)
2. Sam's Missing (2)
3. Bully for Arnold
4. Love on the Run
5. Willis Goes to College
6. Arnold's Job
7. A Tale of Two Teachers
8. So You Want to Be a Rock Star
9. Speak No Evil
10. Arnold's Bad Rep
11. It's My Party and I'll Cry if I Want To
12. Arnold's Initiation
13. Bulimia
14. Sam's Big Brother
15. Arnold's Tangled Web
16. Lifestyles of the Poor and Unknown
17. The Big Bribe
18. The Photo Club
19. The Front Page

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