Ed

Ed Stevens has just been fired for misplacing a comma in a 500 page contract, which cost his law firm employer millions of dollars. When he arrives home to give his wife the bad news, he finds her in bed with the mailman. He decides to pack it all in and head back to his hometown of Stuckeyville, Ohio. When he runs into Carol Vessey, the girl of his high school dreams who is now an English teacher at Stuckeyville High School, he decides to stick around and purchase the local bowling alley, where he sets up a law practice.

Ed goes up against his old law firm in a case involving four friends who wrote up a contract on a bar napkin. At the same time, he must pick a manager for Stuckeybowl and deal with being ""just friends"" with Carol. Nancy and Mike fuss over who takes care of the baby at night.

Carol drowns her sorrows over breaking up with Nick with a ""Xanadu"" marathon; Ed represents a jittery bride-to-be who sues her hairdresser over a bad pre-wedding haircut; feeling that her relationship with Mike is in a rut, Nancy decides to spice things up by starting a book club; Ed steps forward and makes yet another bold move to win over Carols affections, which runs into a snag and causes some misunderstandings.

On his first Thanksgiving without his wife, Ed decides to start a new tradition and arranges an unconventional Thanksgiving feast at Stuckeybowl for his friends; Phil schemes to resell store bought turkeys as marked up Corinthian birds; Mike dreads spending the holiday with his father-in-law; Ed represents a young man who was hurt while breaking into a mans cabin (on a dare) and is suing the owner.

The return of former high football star, Troy McCallum, brings out feelings of resentment in both Ed and Carol. Meanwhile Ed tries to help high school student Warren, whose nerd vs. jock conflict mirrors his own.

Ed locks horns with a sassy new D.A. while defending a man charged with breaking the law by putting dimes in parking meters; Molly chides Carol for taking Eds attention for granted; Phil searches for his own personal catch phrase; Nancy must decide whether she wants to accept a promotion at work.

When Carols music box is stolen from her car, Ed tries to help in apprehending the thief. Though the music box is valuable, Carol really wants it returned for sentimental reasons (her grandfather gave it to her). During the investigation, Carol lets her jealousy of Bonnie get the best of her and the two butt heads. Finally the culprit is found and with Eds detective work the man is brought in for questioning. Unfortunately the man has an alibi. Ed investigates the alibi and learns that the man lied. Confronted by Ed, the thief admits that he stole the music box because he was desperate for money because he lost everything while supporting his sick mother. He refuses to admit that in court however until Ed promises to talk the DA into waiving jailtime and putting him on probation. When Bonnie learns about the deal, she becomes furious that Ed used their relationship to his advantage, but she does end up waiving jailtime anyway, to Carols dismay. Later that night, Ed and Bonnie

As Ed and Bonnie grow more comfortable in their relationship, Carol grows more uncomfortable so Ed suggests that they all go out for dinner. Not wanting to be a third wheel, Carol brings an escort along. But dinner is a disaster for everyone when a misundering with her escort forces Carol to betray Mollys confindence and Bonnie drops a bombshell on Ed: shes accepted a job in Washington, DC; Big Rudy, the former owner of Stuckeybowl decides he wants the bowling alley back and resorts to dirty tricks to get what he wants-even enlisting Phils help. In court Ed represents a singer/songwriter suing her band for the rights to her songs after she was kicked out.

Ed and Carol finds themselves on opposite sides when he represents a gym coach who is flunking one of her best students; Dr. Jerome continues to humiliate Mike; Shirley starts working as Eds legal clerk.

Ed is dismayed when a couple decides to marry at Stuckeybowl simply because the man bowled a strike. In court he helps a man get a restraining order against his overzealous brother who is trying to help him stick to his diet; Warren fears that hes missed his chance with Donna.

Ed represents a golfer suing a fan who shouted out while he was making an easy putt-thus costing him the win; Warren cant decide whether to ask reliable Donna or dream-girl Jessica to the prom.

Ed and Carols close encounter is interrupted by Bonnie Hane; Ed defends Warren on a charge of criminal negligence after Warren brings a keg of beer to a party and an underage drinker has an bicycle accident on his way home; Nancy quits her job to be a full-time mother.

Carol and the new principal face off on ""The Great Gatsby""; Mike and Nancy debate over whether to try for Baby #2; Phil goes all out to find a missing bowling ball, ""The Devastator"", which magically reappears; Warren reveals to Carol the secret of the class ""Bingo"" game; Molly objects to Ed defending a sleazebag salesman, but Ed maintains that said sleaze has done nothing illegal.

Carol asks Ed to help her friend Sonja, whose husband Andy wants a divorce after discovering that Sonja had advertised herself in a mail-order-bride catalog before they met. Sonja is about to be deported to her native Brazil, since they live in a no-contest divorce state and Andy can get a divorce immediately. As Ed gets more involved in the case, he re-evaluates his own failed marriage and invites Liz to visit him so that they can mend fences. Mike continues to be beleaguered by Dr. Jerome, who refuses to relinquish his practice until Mike reads all the volumes of medical knowledge Dr. Jerome has amassed in his career. He also has a friend pose as a patient who needs an emergency appendectomy but refuses to listen to Mike and walks out of his office. When Dr. Jerome takes Mike along to see a terminally ill patient, Mike realizes that Dr. Jerome isnt such a bad guy after all. Molly and Jim continue to wend their way through the trials and tribulations of dating. After Jim cancels a da

Ed represents Dennis in a minor fender-bender case, but when the other partys lawyer asks for an exorbiant amount of money, Dennis insists they settle in order to close the case; Ed tries to resurrect the annual Thanksgiving Day parade; Nancy declares war on her fellow ""cookie moms"" when she is sabotaged while launching her own cookie line.

Ed becomes the anti-Claus after a wealthy client gives Stuckeyville a Christmas gift he really cant afford, forcing the bowling-alley bunch to host a frenzied fund-raiser. Meanwhile, Mike fears that he and Nancy are a bad influence on their own daughter; and Carol gets a peek at the other woman in Denniss life.

Carol breaks Eds heart with a lie about her relationship with Dennis, who gives Miss Vessey cause to reconsider romance with him. Meanwhile, a Stuckeyville woman hires Ed to watch over her husband during his very unusual birthday celebration; Phil and Kenny set out to invent a new food; and Warrens first date with Jessica hits a snag.

Ed and Carol disagree about the propriety of reuniting Eds high school garage band to play at the funeral of the bands songwriter; Warren spends a blissfull week dating Jessica and immortalizes the event with an infinity tattoo; Molly tutors Phil in chemistry so that he can pass his G.E.D. exam.

Ed helps a wimpy lawyer negotiate with a trucking company that is disturbing Stuckeyvilles peace by routing its rigs through town; Carol regrets asking Dennis to critique one of her short stories; Molly rebuffs Jims attempts to explain his behavior.

Eds fast-talking big brother blows into town and ropes Ed into a risky plan to glam up Stuckeybowl; Nancys Internet chat buddy turns out to be a little younger, but a lot older-acting than she expected; and Warren finally sees Diane in a new light after he fails to make headway with a college girl.

On the 15th anniversary of his missing the foul shot that led to Stuckeyville Highs losing the championship, Ed looks to rewrite history by reenacting the moment and making the shot this time around; Molly is torn when Jim offers to leave his wife for her; Phil teaches Shirley how to flirt with a shy delivery guy.

The news that Dennis and Carol have moved in together has Ed scrambling to find the perfect way to revisit the past and win her back; Dennis decides to run for president of the senior class after disapproving of the frontrunner; Warren embarks on his first real date with Diane, only to find that the feelings they have arent exactly romantic.

Ed is forced to defend the scam artist who manipulated Mike into betting and losing $3,000 on a baseball game; Carol, still furious at Ed for kissing her before she left on her trip with Dennis, finally makes a decision about her romantic future; Kenny bowls a perfect game, then bids adieu to Stuckeyville to pursue new adventures; and Ed hires a new supervising manager for Stuckeybowl.

Overwhelmed by Carols wedding preparations, Ed decides to take to the road for awhile, but finds the peace and quiet more than he can bear; Eli and Phil duke it out on the basketball court for the right to use Eds office while hes away; Dennis makes Nancy prove her mettle before hiring her as a guidance counselor by assigning her to turn around a multi-cut slacker; Carol plays passive-agressive games with Dennis over plans for their upcoming nuptials; Carol tries to connect with Ed, but he wont admit his true feelings.

Ed represents a pair of squabbling morning radio hosts who want to split up after a twenty year friendship; Mike and Nancy find that their preemptive marriage counselor is more of a hinderance than a help; and Molly knocks some sense into Ed and Carol to prevent them from destroying their friendship.

The families converge for the wedding, and Carol begins to have second thoughts after talking to her father about her parents courtship; Warren enlists the help of Carols sister Stella in writing a song for the bride, and the two hit it off better than Warren could have dreamed, leading him to seek out Eli for advice about women; Ed decides not to attend the wedding, but Carol begs him to reconsider; Jennifer encourages Ed to break up the wedding and he decides to go for it and ride up to the church on a white steed, but the horse he ends up with has other ideas; Dennis makes a painful decision to tell the truth at a crucial moment.

Lloyd returns to Stuckeyville, and his new scheme is selling makeup for men. When hes prosecuted for being part of a pyramid scheme, Ed doubts Lloyds claims that he knew nothing about it, creating friction between the brothers. After Marks father has a heart attack and Mark gets bad news about his own health at his annual checkup, Mike and Warren convince him to have gastric bypass surgery. Ed and Carol smooth over the rough patch in their relationship and become friendly again.

As Ed takes the case of a injured high school football player whos suing another player for unnecessary roughness, he meets an enthusiastic law school graduate eager for a job; Eli helps Warren and Diane give Mark his last great meal before surgery; Molly does her best to be the coolest principal ever.

Carol decides to be objective after debating whether she should avenge Rich Keenans cruel high school hoax on Molly by writing a negative review of his restaurant in the ""Stuckeyville Progress"". As it happens, she sincerely hates the food and writes a scathing review, which prompts Rich to sue her for maliciously ruining his business. Ed and Frankie represent her in a bench trial before a judge who doesnt care for Ed, but who manages to be objective nonetheless. Although Carol wins the case, she is forced to deal with the aftermath of a secret thats revealed during the proceedings. Phils latest lamebrained scheme to increase business at Stuckeybowl by attracting a younger crowd gives rise to ""Extreme Bowling"", an idea Ed quickly vetoes before it burns the building down. Molly is stymied about how to help a young geek from being harassed by other students until she devises an ingenious scheme to ensure his popularity, while all kinds of sparks fly between her and the boys single f

Ed becomes concerned about his legacy after taking a longevity test and learning that his life expectancy is ""only"" 83 years; Stella returns to Stuckeyville after breaking up with her boyfriend, who follows her there; hoping to cash in on the royalty market, Phil and Eli compete to create a new birthday song; Frankie and Leon come to a parting of the ways; Warrens high-flying approach to playing Cupid for Stella on Valentines Day gets him the thank-you of his dreams.

Ed tries lucid dreaming to figure out if he should pursue a relationship with Frankie.

As Mike and Nancy endure a weekend at a bed-and-breakfast run by a over-enthusiastic owner with her own agenda, Ed babysits for Sarah while Frankie is out of town; when it becomes obvious that Sarah requires a womans touch, Carol comes to his rescue and sees Ed in a new, more flattering light; Ed and Carol take Sarahs rejection by another toddler personally, and show the world how to host the ultimate playdate; ever the publicity hound, Phil attempts to spark some interest in an ""ebony and ivory"" newspaper story about his friendship with Eli, but Jerry Dobbs is only interested in writing about Eli.

When Carol is discouraged after Ed spurns her feelings as ""not real"", Molly becomes the catalyst in helping Ed to rethink his position; Ed helps an old friend achieve his dream of making a movie; Nancy and Mike dip their toes into show business as Mike and Phil pester the star of the movie; claiming that its never over between Ed and Carol, Frankie flees to Houston to visit Leon; Warren is heartbroken when Stella decides to return to Boston to finish school.

Ed and Carol stumble through the first days of their changed relationship; Mike and Nancy have their hands full with a new puppy and its dishonest breeder; Eli is bewitched by an attractive and talented pie maker.

Ed u0026 Mike buy a racehorse. Carol faces trouble with the school board and Molly when she suggests to Warren that college may not be for him. Warren pursues his dream of being a TV host on local cable access.

Mike and Nancy devise a series of bizarre tests to determine which of their friends would make the best guardian for Sarah if anything were to happen to them; Phil creates the perfect farewell of a 21 pin salute for an eccentric customer who breathes his last at Stuckeybowl; Molly meets an adventurous new man who literally sweeps her off her feet and into the air; Ed represents a man being sued by his father for the cost of his undergraduate and dental school tuition after he quits his internship because he hates being a dentist.

Afraid that their relationship wont survive if they live apart, Ed decides to join Carol in New York and puts Stuckeybowl up for sale; feeling that hes losing his best friend, Mike tries unsuccessfully to make a new one; after Eds client wins an arbitration that prevents his long-time friend from dissolving their partnership, Ed urges him to think both inside and outside the box to discover a solution that works for both of them; Molly comes to crossroads in her relationships, and realizes that neither Sean nor Ted is the right man for her; even though Ed guarantees that they will not lose their jobs, the crew at Stuckeybowl pulls some pathetic stunts to sabotage the sale until Ed decides to make them Stuckeybowls new owners; Warren sees Carol off in high style; at their going-away party, Carol realizes that she shouldnt tear Ed away from Stuckeyville, so they agree that shell go to New York and Ed will rack up frequent flyer miles visiting her.

Ed is planning an elaborate proposal in New York, but when Carol returns to Stuckeyville to find out how they stand, he must come up with another plan. Mikes parents visit and his dad drives Mike crazy. Plus he wants to deep fry the turkey. Eli, afraid, that Jenny will date someone else, arranges a charity Thanksgiving dinner at StuckeyBowl and enlists her help.

With only a few days left until Christmas, Eds getting ready to move back to New York with Carol, however an unexpected "friend" returns from Eds past. In the meantime, Mike and Nancy are anxious to get back into their home in time for Christmas, and Mr. Hagadorns annual Christmas yard display is under attack from a neighbor.

Eds ex-wife, Liz is back in town and tries to get Ed to help her get a new restaurant up and going. Meanwhile, Eli is trying to come to grips with his girls desires