Series 1
| Episode No. | Series No. | Title | Director | Writer | Airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Leader of the Pack" | Richard Boden | Andrew Marshall | 3 September 1991 (1991-09-03) |
| Struggling to keep up with the dual-role of a working mother and housewife, Bill life is chaotic as she receives no help from her lazy and childish husband, Ben, or their immature son, David, and prima donna daughter, Jenny. Bill is called into her daughter's school to see the headmaster who explains that Jenny has not been attending classes. Bill discovers Jenny has been secretly dating a boy with a motorbike, but as Bill has been meeting up with a mysterious biker herself, she doesn't have much to say about it without feeling hypocritical. Bill considers eloping with her biker friend when he offers to take her away from her current life. | |||||
| 2 | 2 | "Saturday Night and Sunday Morning" | Richard Boden | Andrew Marshall | 10 September 1991 (1991-09-10) |
| Jenny is unhappy with her new trainers, and Bill is struggling to keep the house in order which is made a lot harder by the fact that the rest of her family seem unwilling to help. Her relationship with Ben is also strained as he is too tired to have sex with her; he has been falling asleep on the sofa watching snooker. Forced to do the laundry at her neighbour's house, she is confronted by Rona's latest boyfriend Sven, who is unable to speak a word of English. Although he cannot understand her, she tells him the idea of a relationship with Angelo, the biker, is growing more and more tempting. Ben arranges for the family to have Sunday dinner at his sister Tina's house but when they get there, everything turns into a disaster. Tina's misogynistic husband, Brian, takes Ben to the pub, leaving the women to stay at home to cook. Tina tells Bill she is a bad mother because she chooses to work instead of staying at home with her children, and hits David in anger when she realises he has brought his pet rat into her house. Outraged, Bill storms out of the house with David and drives home in Ben's van, but panic sets in when they realise that in their haste, they forgot that Bill does not know how to drive. Angelo shows up and guides Bill safely off to the side of the road. | |||||
| 3 | 3 | "When the Going Gets Tough the Tough Go Shopping" | Richard Boden | Andrew Marshall | 17 September 1991 (1991-09-17) |
| Ben receives a letter from the Inland Revenue, informing him of an appointment with a tax inspector. Bill goes food shopping at the supermarket for Ben's barbecue, but becomes exasperated with one of the girls at the meat counter, who rather than serving Bill, is moaning to a co-worker that she would rather be working at the bakery section than with the meat. When she witnesses a theft and gives chase, Bill herself is mistaken for a thief and is taken for questioning by the store detective, an over-bearing woman who refuses to believe that Bill is innocent. Bill spots Angelo in the supermarket on one of the security cameras, which gives her the inner strength to stand up to the store detective. Ben's barbecue is a disaster and results in Jenny deciding to become a vegetarian. Bill and Rona call the telephone number that was left on a piece of paper on Ben's van, which Bill thinks is from Angelo, only to discover it was left by a potential customer. Ben's meeting with the tax inspector goes well when he finds out he is owed a rebate. | |||||
| 4 | 4 | "Love and Marriage" | Richard Boden | Andrew Marshall | 24 September 1991 (1991-09-24) |
| Panic sets in as the Porters prepare for a not-so-welcomed visit from Bill's nightmare mother Bette, who comes bearing unwanted gifts for Jenny and David in the form of a taffeta dress and a video nasty. Bette is intolerable as she kicks Bill and Ben out of their bedroom, and at dinnertime while Bill prepares some chicken, Bette decides she cannot eat it as chicken repeats on her. Ben offers to pick up fish and chips, but she does not want that either; fried food passes straight through her. The next day, Bill returns home from work and discovers her mother in bed with an old flame, which is the reason she commandeered the master bedroom. Appalled and upset at first, they later have a heart-to-heart conversation, and Bill realises she is becoming more like her mum with age. The temptation of an affair with Angelo rears its head again, while Ben has to visit an ex-girlfriend to do some plumbing work. | |||||
| 5 | 5 | "Dirty Bowling" | Richard Boden | Andrew Marshall | 1 October 1991 (1991-10-01) |
| Bill tries to teach David and Jenny that being honest is a mature and adult trait, while Ben's secretive trips to his workshop are becoming more frequent. Under pressure from doing the housework, coping with a new manager at the bakery and learning to drive, Bill is tested to her limits and overlooks Jenny, who has broken up with her first boyfriend. Bill and Ben go bowling. Rona talks to the tearful teen and reminisces about previous weddings. Ben decides to take Bill out for a night of bowling while Rona babysits David and Jenny, who comforts Jenny by reminiscing over her old flames. Bill is eager to show him her new driving skills and to see the work Ben has been doing on the family car, but is shocked to discover their Austin Montego is now a 1960s Chevrolet. | |||||
| 6 | 6 | "Young at Heart" | Richard Boden | Andrew Marshall | 8 October 1991 (1991-10-08) |
| Money is short in the Porter household as Ben spent all the tax refund money on the car, and Bill's bakery manager refuses to pay on time. Bill makes a trip to the bank to ask for a loan but struggles with the Chevy, until Angelo appears, who could be her guardian angel. Rona writes her telephone number on a carrier bag for a customer at the bakery, but the manager takes by accident and begins calling and pestering her for sex, implying life at work would be easier if she agreed. Rona contemplates it, but Bill is appalled. They initially lead him on, allowing him to strip completely naked, before quitting their jobs and locking him inside the shop. Bill visits David's best friend, Sammy, who lives on a poverty-stricken council estate and realises their life isn't so bad when compared to other people's. Ben talks to David about the birds and the bees, but finds David is more intelligent and mature on the subject than he was expecting. Lacking the second income from Bill's job, Ben decides to sell the car, but knowing how much pleasure he gets from it, Bill allows him to keep it. |
Read more about this topic: List Of 2point4 Children Episodes
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