The Parent 'Hood

TK ponders violence after being assualted in front of Nicholas. He gets a gun and threatens to shoot Stone, but Robert talks him out of it. The two get ready to leave as Stone aims his gun at the both of them and fires. Meanwhile Cece fights with Skylar over the affections of Jesse.

Things get tense when Jerri's best friend Linda blows into town and meddles in everything about the Peterson household.

Zaria becomes ""the voice of teenage America"" as host of a New York-based TV talk show aimed at fellow high-schoolers. But success may be going to Zaria's head when she decides to drop out. Also, almost everyone in the house is missing money at the same time that T.K. starts showing up with new threads and jewelry.

Zaria's special 17th birthday outing turns into a real disaster - a natural one - after a blizzard hits, stranding her and her girlfriends at the Peterson house. The party is saved by a surprise visit from rap star Usher.

T.K.'s friend Boo, who's ""the smartest high-school dropout (he) knows,"" prepares for her general-equivalency diploma with help from Robert - but not from her skeptical dad. Meanwhile, Cece is promoted to a gifted class taught by substitute Wendell.

Nick and T.K. have crushes on older women -- the former on Zaria's friend Jamie, the latter on Jerri's new intern.

When T.K. gets a job at a pizza place, two of his old street homeys smell a target for a holdup, and try to get T.K. to cut them in for a slice of the action. Also, aspiring magician Nicholas's assistants have a little something up their sleeves when he refuses to share with them the profits from his show.

Nicholas writes a play for the school arts festival, but has problems with the star --Wendell -- who wants to make his role as a giant even bigger. Meanwhile, with Jerri away at a law seminar, much to the horror of her siblings Zaria must assume the cooking duties.

Robert and Jerri smell a rat when Wendell's former lover show up claiming he's the father of her 10-year-old son. Meanwhile, T.K. attempts to protect Zaria when she expresses a romantic interest in his oversexed friend Devaughn.

Zaria tries to become part of an elite, all-girls social group at school, but the price of admission may be too much for her conscience to bear: as part of an initiation rite she must date a nerd. Meanwhile, Nicholas and Cece try to help Wendell get a line on his love life by hooking him up with a dial-a-date service they saw advertised on TV.

T.K.'s stay is negatively affecting the younger kids: he's got Nicholas and Cece talking trash and flashing gang signs. Meanwhile, Wendell tutors the high school basketball star Big Mo, hoping the student will turn professional and repayWendell's kindness with a generous sum of money.

Zaria is surprised to overhear Skye professing his love for her, just after learning that boyfriend Shakim is heading off to college earlier than expected. And in a fantasy sequence, her Frankensteinish father thinks he's created the perfect guys -- Gary Coleman and singer Tevin Campbell (who appear as themselves). Meanwhile, Wendell enters a Bugs Bunny stamp essay contest for kids using Nicholas' name.

The last time Robert saw Parris, the elder Peterson brother was doing time in prison. Now he's out and visiting the family, but Robert thinks Parris has some kind of scam cooking, especially after some appliances mysteriously disappear. Meanwhile, Michael is upset when Nicholas continually breaks his big brother's possessions.

Shakim insists on driving old flame Alexis home from a party, and the resulting misunderstanding leads to a rift in his relationship with Zaria -- until she learns Alexis has a drinking problem. Meanwhile, Nicholas and Cece find money in the street but don't realize it is counterfeit.

Nicholas works the playground and accidentally smooth talks himself into two dates -- for the same afternoon. Meanwhile, Wendell thinks he's inherited a fortune and happily spends the money in advance.

While the Petersons are out of town at a wedding, Wendell tries to make a good impression on Karen's parents by telling them the Petersons' house is really his and they are welcome to spend the night. All goes well until the Petersons arrive home a day early....

Activists Zaria and Shakim disagree over how to organize a protest against a company that's polluting a river. Meanwhile, Nicholas wants a dog and tries to convince his parents he's ready for responsibility by ""caring"" for a loaf of bread.

Wendell is too terrified to go to the police after he witnesses a crime. Robert urges him to provide a good role model for Nicholas, who is writing an essay on heroes. After cooperating, Wendell learns the chief suspect is associated with organized crime, and hides out in the Peterson home. Meanwhile, Daniel decides he wants Zaria as his new girlfriend.

Nicholas has been having a ball playing on a losing basketball team. But when Robert takes over as coach, the fun is done even when the wins come. Meanwhile, Michael and his friend Theresa are confused about their feelings for each other after they unexpectedly share a few kisses.

Upset when her parents refuse to front her the cash for a pair of expensive running shoes, Zaria takes a second job at a clothing store where she discovers the wonderful world of buying on credit. Olympic gold medallist Gail Devers plays herself.

Wendell has romantic designs on Karen, an interior decorator working at the Peterson house, so Robert decides to play Cupid. Meanwhile, Cece calls on big brother Nicholas to champion her against school bully Daniel.

Nicholas is being bullied and shaken down by ""a bunch of baggy-pants, bandana wearin' hoodlums"" and figures the only way to beat them may be to join them. That is, until he learns about their gang initiation.

Nicholas overhears a difference of opinion between his parents and mistakenly thinks they are getting a divorce because of him, and enlists Wendell's help in trying to keep them together. Meanwhile, an overworked Jerri asks Michael and Zaria to babysit Cece.

When Nicholas decides to show off his dance moves in a school talent show, Jerri, who was classically trained, steps in as his teacher; but he finds studying with her akin to attending boot camp. Also, Wendell and Robert stumble upon Zaria's diary.

Zaria runs for class president against Bradley, a popular senior who stoops to use dirty politics by spreading false rumors about her. Furious, Zaria discovers that Bradley has a drug problem and was about to enter the school's counseling program before it was cancelled. Her moral dilemma is whether to sling the mud back at Bradley.

In observance of Black History Month, Nicholas must choose a famous African-American to portray at a school assembly. Nicholas shocks his family when he tells them he wants to be Buckwheat. Robert suggests to Nicholas that he choose an African-American figure with a more positive image. However, Nicholas is adamant about his choice so Robert decides to lend his son support. At the assembly, Nicholas comes out dressed in Buckwheat garb and speaks in the almost unintelligible style, which was Buckwheat's trademark. However, midway through his speech, Nicholas takes off his Buckwheat wig to explain that during Buckwheat's era, black actors had to portray stereotypical characters if they wanted to be in movies at all, and that we should honor these black film pioneers for making it easier for future generations of African-American actors. Meanwhile, Cece wants to be more like her big sister Zaria by emulating her.

Wendell subs in Nicholas' class and makes him the teacher's pet. Nicholas' classmates are jealous of the preferential treatment he is getting so they begin to taunt him relentlessly. In order to get back into his friends' good graces, Nicholas plays a practical joke on Wendell. His classmates stop harassing him but Nicholas feels very guilty about pulling the prank. The next day he goes to Wendell and admits he was the one who played the practical joke. He says he only did it so his classmates would stop teasing him. Wendell accepts Nicholas' apology and begins treating him like a normal student, including making him sit in the corner as punishment for his prank.

Michael thinks he's found the perfect girl in Chantel, one with looks, charm, a sense of humor -- and an infant son. Meanwhile, Wendell tries to win the grand prize on America's Funniest Home Videos.

Robert overhears Michael and his girlfriend planning to take the next big step in their relationship, so he cautions his son about sexual responsibility. But the boy mistakenly interprets it as a parental OK. Meanwhile, Nicholas becomes obsessed with superstition when Wendell gives him a good luck charm.

Wendell needs a positive role model to speak to his class of troubled youths, so he asks Robert, who has trouble gaining the class's respect. Meanwhile, Michael and Zaria believe that their mother may be pregnant.

Nicholas thinks Halloween is going to be anything but a treat after he hears a local legend about a cab-driving ghost. Meanwhile, Michael tries come up with a brilliant way to scare Zaria.

Zaria runs into trouble when her parents discover she's received preferential treatment from her track coach -- and her grades start to slip. Meanwhile, Wendell tries to earn extra money selling cosmetics to Jerri and her friends.

It's a case of kiss and tell for Nicholas when he kisses a classmate and his teacher tells his parents that he is sexually harassing the girl. Meanwhile, after seeing Zaria kiss the son of a record company executive, Michael tries to get the executive to listen to his demo tape.

When 15-year-old Michael asks if he can attend a basketball game, Robert says ""yes."" But Robert denies 14-year-old Zaria's request for permission to go to a ""gangsta"" rap concert. Later, Jerri reminds Robert that their parents objected to the music they used to listen to and convinces him that he is too protective of Zaria. Robert relents and allows Zaria to go to the concert -- but he and Derek secretly follow her in what they imagine to be hip-hop attire.

Robert is so impressed with Zaria's new boyfriend, Daryl Cooper, that he actually envisions him as his future son-in-law. Zaria is not nearly as taken with Daryl and tells her father she intends to break up with him. Robert is crushed by the news. He believes that if Zaria spent more time with Daryl she would grow to like him. He lets Daryl use his Volvo to take Zaria to a concert. Zaria spends some quality time with Daryl and decides not to break up with him.

Robert charges Michael and Zaria with being too irresponsible to have a party---so the family holds a mock trial, with Jerri serving as the defense attorney.

A dinner visit from Robert's classmate, now an arrogant Princeton professor who believes men are smarter than women, sparks a battle of the sexes when Jerri scores higher than Robert on an I.Q. test included in the professor's latest book.

Robert, who has been critical of Michael's former girlfriends, agrees to be nice to college sophomore Patrice when she comes to dinner. But Patrice makes a pass at a shocked Robert when they are alone -- and nobody believes his story. Later, Patrice suggests to Jerri that she and Michael accompany the young couple on a double date at a restaurant, where Jerri catches Patrice in action.

In an attempt to establish a strong work ethic in Michael, Robert makes a bet that he can work side by side with Michael at his pizza parlor job. Unbeknownst to Robert, the manager of the pizza parlor once flunked Robert's class. Meanwhile, worried about gaining weight, Zaria appoints Nicholas her ""health cop."" Every time she takes an unnecessary bite of food, Nicholas gets to punish her by looking at a page from her diary.

Michael and Zaria use reverse psychology to get their parents to let them have their grandmother's car by pretending Michael wants a tattoo and Zaria a nose ring, but the plan backfires. Robert and Jerri trick the kids by encouraging them and even driving them to the tattoo/piercing parlor. Meanwhile, Mrs. Wilcox dates a young man and asks Robert's advice on lovemaking -- and the disturbing images this arouses in Robert's mind affect his performance with Jerri.