Season 3

Season 3 is the third season on Step by Step which was premiered from ABC on September 24, 1993, and has concluded on May 20, 1994. The season consists of 23 episodes.

Cast[]

Main[]

Recurring[]

Donald Gibb as Slasher (credited as Don Gibb)

Guest[]

Shawn Levy as Daniel
Jason Marsden as Rich Halke
Rif Hutton as Ed Wheeler
Jensen Daggett as Bonnie
Sean Kanan as Michael
Don Knotts as Deputy Feif
Ashlee Levitch as Jackie Campbell
Phillip Van Dyke as Ryan
Marla Sokoloff as Marissa

Trivia[]

Jason Marsden would recur as Richie in this season.

Episodes[]

No. in series	No. in season	Title	Director	Writer(s)	Original air date	Production code
47	1	Way-Off Broadway	Richard Correll	Bob Rosenfarb	September 24, 1993	455453
Cody and Dana are cast as Romeo and Juliet in a community play. Also, Frank believes he has lost his wedding ring.
48	2	The Apartment	Richard Correll	Julia Newton	October 1, 1993	455451
Dana moves into an apartment down the street to gain independence, but soon realizes she is very lonely and misses the family. Also, Frank buys a new TV but becomes addict to it.
49	3	Never on Sunday	Richard Correll	Brian Bird & John Wierick	October 8, 1993	455452
Carol invites the new pastor and his wife for lunch after church one Sunday. Frank worries because he feels like he is being watched by a messenger to God. He nervously promises the pastor that he will go to church next Sunday; the Lambert children are upset because there is a big Packer game on that Sunday. Frank drags them all to church, but J.T. sneaks up to the attic to watch the game with the Pastor's son after the sermon starts. When Al and Brendan attempt to follow J.T.'s lead, Frank realizes something is wrong, and makes them tell him where J.T. is. Frank goes upstairs to find his son, but gets into the game, and ends up falling through the old floorboards, landing right behind the Pastor. Also, Cody and his friends create a new song.
50	4	Paper Chase	Richard Correll	Richard P. Halke	October 15, 1993	455454
Carol and Frank discuss having a baby; J.T. sells essays to the team. Also, Cody cares for Slasher's son which gives Carol a strange idea: have another child. Note: This episode marks the first appearance of Jason Marsden, He would later appear in the series as J.T.'s best friend Richie. In this episode he plays a character named Doug.
51	5	Trading Places	Patrick Duffy	Meredith Siler	October 22, 1993	455455
It's the old "Whose job is easier? game," played Foster and Lambert style. This time, parents Frank and Carol swap roles with J.T. and Dana when the comment is made that parenting is easier than being a teenager. Also, Cody wants to find true love and writes an announce in a biker magazine.
52	6	Video Mania	Richard Correll	Howard Adler & Robert Griffard	October 29, 1993	455456
Mark becomes addicted to video games. He had started playing the games to relieve stress (from receiving an A instead of an A-plus on a test), but then his whole attitude changes. Mark is eventually sent to a support group to work out his addiction. Meanwhile, Dana is annoyed at Cody's way of relieving his cold.
53	7	Hog Wild	James O'Keefe	Julia Newton	November 5, 1993	455457
Frank and Carol go crazy in searching for anniversary gifts. J.T creates an enterprise for Cody, but he does not like this.
54	8	Down and Out in Port Washington	Patrick Duffy	Maria A. Brown	November 12, 1993	455458
When Cody's van, Lucille (which doubles as his home and mode of transportation), breaks down and needs major repairs, he moves into the house. Naturally, he drives everyone crazy, annoying the family with his ant farm (which gets loose from their enclosure) and hanging laundry in the kitchen. Things come to a boil when Cody gets a call stating that there is no way to fix his van. Carol, thinking that Cody will become a permanent houseguest, threatens to move out. In the end, Cody decides that he will still live in Lucille even if she can't be driven. Karen falls in love with one of Dana's co-workers only to find that he has a girlfriend.
55	9	The Marrying Dude	Richard Correll	Howard Adler & Robert Griffard	November 19, 1993	455460
Cody meets a blind date through a biker magazine dating advertisement. The woman, Bonnie, is a single mother who is looking for the perfect father for her 8-year-old son. When Cody and Riley hit it off, Bonnie sees that Cody is the right man for the job and asks if they can get married. Cody at first accepts, but then realizes things are moving too fast. Cody and Bonnie decide that they should take things slow, and see what happens, instead of rushing into marriage. Al is concerned aboutnot getting asked out because of her small breasts and Frank and Carol want to redecorate the living-room.
56	10	Sister Act	Patrick Duffy	R.J. Colleary	November 26, 1993	455461
Karen desires to date a 21-year-old man named Michael, and enlists Dana to help set up the date. However, it is Dana who hooks up with Michael. Later, Dana is talking with a friend on the phone; however, she is unaware that J.T. is secretly taping her phone conversation (wherein Dana reaffirms that Michael is not Karen's boyfriend). J.T., wanting to cause dissention between the normally close Karen and Dana, plays back the phone conversation to Karen, who becomes very angry and plots revenge (by calling Michael and telling him that Dana is 14 years old); at the 50s Diner, Michael breaks up with Dana, citing their "age difference". That night, Karen accuses Dana of stealing her boyfriend, but the argument quickly dies out when Karen admits she is jealous of Dana's virtues. The two make up, and J.T.'s hope that his two step sisters would kill each other never comes to pass. Also, Frank learns (thanks to Cody) how to dance.
57	11	Christmas Story	Patrick Duffy	Brian Bird & John Wierick	December 10, 1993	455463
Frank and Carol wind up in jail on Christmas Eve when they are caught inside a toy store by a know-it-all deputy sheriff (Don Knotts). Frank had recently remodeled the store and was given a discount on the store's merchandise. They had gone there after hours because he and Carol had forgot to purchase a toy train set for Brendan, and stocking stuffers for the kids. Meanwhile, the kids do not know that their parents are in jail, and rip through all of their presents. Cody sets them straight, and when they learn that Frank and Carol are in jail, they all go down there to celebrate Christmas with them. Note:: Knotts' character and actions are a direct reference and link to his character on the Andy Griffith Show. He and Suzanne Summers co-starred on Three's Company.
58	12	Close Encounters of the Marital Kind	Richard Correll	Bob Rosenfarb	December 17, 1993	455459
Frank's hesitant after Carol purchases a marriage-improvement book. With all of them now drivers, Dana, J.T., and Karen scrounge up money to buy an old Volkswagen Bug, which is so dangerous it has to be sold for parts to get their money back. Note: The song playing on the eight-track player Cody salvages from J.T.'s car is "I Got You Babe", which later becomes Dana and Rich's song after they become a couple later in the series.
59	13	Bad Girls	Richard Correll	Maria A. Brown	January 7, 1994	455462
Al, in a funk with making friends, falls into a bad group of girls. They dress in military fatigues, skip school and stay out late at night, among other things. Al's new attitude angers Frank, and the two get into a huge argument. But what hurts Al even more is her losing Cody's trust when she tries to take his air guitar without permission. Al finally realizes she needs to be herself and take her time in choosing friends (and wisely, at that). Also, Carol tries to make family time when the TV is broken.
60	14	Read All About It	Richard Correll	Howard Adler & Robert Griffard	January 14, 1994	455465
When Frank learns that Carol makes more money than he does, he gets a job at a chicken restaurant. He ends up passing out fliers dressed as a chicken. Cody gets a temporary job as a storyteller in the children's section of the public library. He learns that one of Brendan's friends can't read, so he teaches him how to read for the next storytime session.
61	15	Thirteen With a Bullet	Patrick Duffy	Patrick Duffy & Bob Rosenfarb	January 28, 1994	455466
Mark, who is celebrating his 13th birthday develops a huge crush on a pretty classmate, he dances with her, gets his first kiss during a game of spin the bottle, and is later rejected when he sent her flowers. Also, J.T obtains an excellent note in his mechanic exams and forces Dana to repair a car in order to prove her that he can beat her at manual work.
62	16	My Bodyguard	Patrick Duffy	Meredith Siler	February 4, 1994	455468
Cody annoys the family with his recollections of weird dreams. First, he pictures Al "behind bars" and "wearing a striped shirt," but she's just wearing a striped soccer jersey and showing off her hamster cage. But Dana gets beyond annoyed when Cody tells her about a dream where a man dressed in a suit is attacking her. He tags along and intrudes on her college interview in Chicago, and winds up assaulting the dean of admissions, thinking him to be Dana's assailant (he was bracing her as they were leaning out the window to look at the Chicago skyline). Dana angrily tells Cody she wants nothing more to do with him; however, Cody can't seem to shake his seemingly ridiculous bad vibes. That night at a bus station, a man dressed in a suit corners Dana when the two are alone. Before the man can sexually assault her, Cody shows up and runs him off. Dana breaks down in Cody's arms and thanks him. Also, Frank and the kids are concerned about Carol's snoring problem.
63	17	Pretty Woman	William Bickley	Richard P. Halke	February 18, 1994	455467
Karen loses out on a coveted modeling job for a jeans advertising campaign, but her disappointment is nothing compared to learning who does get the job: Al, whom the nationally renowned photographer says has the look they were searching for. A vengeful Karen bitterly tries to upstage her stepsister by destroying her self-assurance, but in the end realizes that Al deserves support. Meanwhile, Cody struggles with his good luck "curse". He also shows Dana, Brendan and JT the true values of karate.
64	18	Nightmare Weekend	Patrick Duffy	Maria A. Brown	February 25, 1994	455469
After Mark ruins a scary movie for J.T., Brendan, and Al, they decide to scare Mark. Frank takes Carol out to a cabin where he had brought an old girlfriend.
65	19	Birth of a Salesman	Patrick Duffy	Julia Newton	March 11, 1994	455464
Carol is worried when J.T. gets a job at a used-car lot, and says he is going to do that rather than go to college. However, when she shows up at the lot, and sees him in action, she concedes that maybe he is doing what is best for him, after all. Dana uses Cody as a subject for an essay in her psychology class.
66	20	Feeling Forty	Richard Correll	R.J. Colleary	March 25, 1994	445471
Carol is feeling every bit her age as the big 4-0 approaches, so she decides to invest in some diet pills to improve her appearance. It only makes matters worse, as she quickly becomes hooked on the amphetamines. Meanwhile, Cody tries helping Al with a research project about Abraham Lincoln. Instead of going to the library and looking up the information, Cody suggests consulting a psychic who supposedly has connections with the 16th president. When Al sees Cody talking with "Honest Abe" as though he were right there in the room, she realizes she needs to do the work herself.
67	21	The Case of the Missing Diary	Richard Correll	Howard Adler & Robert Griffard	April 29, 1994	455473
Cody gets some inspiration for a class writing project when Karen can't find her diary. He uses her plight to spin a 1940s-style detective yarn about who took it, with the Fosters and Lamberts filling the roles of Cody's characters.
68	22	Great Expectations	Patrick Duffy	Brian Bird & John Wierick	May 6, 1994	455470
Cody's father pressures him into a job as executive vice president of his real estate company. With a little help from Frank, Cody tells his father he's simply not interested and would rather continue working in demolition. Meanwhile, Carol (as a favor for a customer) sets up Dana and Karen on blind dates, against their expressed wishes. The guys turn out to be living images of Beavis and Butt-head. After Frank gets rid of them, he helps his stepdaughters set up a "get even" prank on Carol. Note: Josh Byrne is not in this episode.
69	23	Prom Night	Patrick Duffy	Julia Newton	May 20, 1994	455472
On prom night, J.T. is set up with a 13-year-old girl as a joke. Meanwhile, Dana's date with the school hunk also doesn't go very well (he got back together with his ex-girlfriend). The two step-siblings – who are constantly at odds – are left to share a dance... and gain gruding respect and appreciation for one another. Also, Frank and Carol invite a classmate of Brendan's after the two fought in school only to discover that the son is like his parents.

Seasons of Step by Step
Season 1 • Season 2 • Season 3 • Season 4 • Season 5 • Season 6 • Season 7