Episodes cast for
"Gimme a Break!" (1981) More at IMDbPro »

Season: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
Year: 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987

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Season 1

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Season 1, Episode 1: Katie the Crook

29 October 1981
Recently widowed Police Chief Carl Kanisky returns home to find his household in a mess. His housekeeper, Nell, has vacuumed his goldfish, Gertrude, his youngest daughter, Samantha, has a black eye, his middle daughter, Julie, is kissing a boy in the kitchen, and his oldest daughter, Katie, has been picked up for shoplifting.

Season 1, Episode 2: A Good Man Is Hard to Find

5 November 1981
Nell is tired of striking out on the dating scene, so the Chief sets her up with one of his officers.

Season 1, Episode 3: The Second Time Around

12 November 1981
The Chief is reunited with a woman he knew when they were both high school students - when she runs into his police car.

Season 1, Episode 4: Mom's Birthday

19 November 1981
Nell, the Chief, and the girls try to take their minds off of the fact that it today would have been the girls' mother's birthday.

Season 1, Episode 5: Do or Diet

26 November 1981
Nell and the Chief, who have both struggled with weight problems for years, try not to think about food.

Season 1, Episode 6: A Man in Nell's Room

3 December 1981
Nell quits her job and moves out of the house when she argues with the Chief over inviting her boyfriend to stay the night.

Season 1, Episode 7: Your Prisoner is Dead

10 December 1981
The Chief is caught in a stand-off at a drug store and is forced to shoot the hold-up man.

Season 1, Episode 8: Julie's Rejection

17 December 1981
Katie sponsors Julie for membership in the Silver Slippers, an exclusive club to which she belongs.

Season 1, Episode 9: Julie's First Love

7 January 1982
Julie falls in love with Arnie, a boy she meets at a video arcade.

Season 1, Episode 10: Nell's Ex

14 January 1982
Nell's ex-husband Tony, a singer who had a modest Top 40 hit in the mid-1960s, returns to audition for a gig on a TV show.

Season 1, Episode 11: Katie the Cheat

21 January 1982
The Chief hopes Katie will be the first member of the Kanisky family to go to college, but she doesn't believe she can do well on a test. She asks Julie to take the test for her.

Season 1, Episode 12: The Emergency

4 February 1982
Katie is hospitalized with what turns out to be complications from an Intra-Uterine Device.

Season 1, Episode 13: Nell Goes Home

11 February 1982
Nell goes back to Alabama when she learns her father is dying.

Season 1, Episode 14: Samantha Steals a Squad Car

18 February 1982
Samantha runs into the house after getting into a fight. Failing to get the attention of Nell and the Chief, who are fighting because Nell sat on his hat, she runs off with a squad car.

Season 1, Episode 15: Grandma Fools Around

25 February 1982
On their 55th wedding anniversary, Grandpa Kanisky discovers a shocking revelation about Grandma when he goes through their old love letters.

Season 1, Episode 16: Hot Muffins

11 March 1982
Katie's band has an opportunity for a gig in Hollywood.

Season 1, Episode 17: Sam's Affair

18 March 1982
Samantha believes that an innocent kiss from a boy has made her pregnant, but no one will clear up the situation for her.

Season 1, Episode 18: The Robbery

25 March 1982
Two burglars break into the house while the Chief and the girls are away at an award ceremony and Nell is out with a friend.

Season 1, Episode 19: An Unmarried Couple

1 April 1982
Katie's friend Valerie is pregnant, and her boyfriend Jonathan is unsure about marrying her.

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Season 2

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Season 2, Episode 1: Nell Goes to Jail

2 October 1982
When the Kaniskys' phone service is mistakenly cut off for non-payment (it was supposed to be a Chinese woman), Nell clashes with the service representative at the phone company.

Season 2, Episode 2: Brother Ed and the Hooker

9 October 1982
The Chief doesn't approve when his brother Ed has a date with a woman who used to be a prostitute.

Season 2, Episode 3: Sam's Imaginary Friend

16 October 1982
Sam causes a stir in the household because of her imaginary friend named Debbie Jo.

Season 2, Episode 4: Grandpa's Visit

23 October 1982
Grandpa Kanisky causes commotion when he stays over at the house.

Season 2, Episode 5: Take My Baby, Please

30 October 1982
Valerie, the girl who married and gave birth at the same time in the Kanisky household, returns with the news that her husband has walked out on her. Nell helps her find a job so that she can support her baby.

Season 2, Episode 6: Porko's II

6 November 1982
Dr. George Avery, founder of the diet group People Organized to Reduce and Kick Obesity (PORKO), gives a speech at one of Nell's meetings. Having gained back a significant amount of weight, he is depressed and wants to end his life. It's up to Nell and the other PORKO members to try and stop him.

Season 2, Episode 7: The Chief's Gay Evening

13 November 1982
During a stakeout, a police officer admits his homosexuality to the Chief, who is extremely displeased.

Season 2, Episode 8: Katie Steals Julie's Jock

27 November 1982
Katie and Julie clash over a boy they both like.

Season 2, Episode 9: Sam Faces Death

4 December 1982
While Nell is away at a funeral, Officer Simpson accidentally shoots the Chief in the hand. The injuries are minor, but nonetheless Samantha worries that he's going to die.

Season 2, Episode 10: Nell Goes Door to Door

11 December 1982
Nell gets a job selling Amaze-O-Vac vacuum cleaners door to door, finding out too late about the shoddy quality of the product.

Season 2, Episode 11: Love Thy Neighbor

18 December 1982
Nell goes to court when a neighbor's dog becomes a nuisance.

Season 2, Episode 12: Love, Kidney

6 January 1983
When Uncle Ed falls ill suddenly, he learns that he needs a kidney transplant from a relative, so he asks the Chief to donate his kidney.

Season 2, Episode 13: Julie Smokes

13 January 1983
The Chief is angry when he catches Julie smoking a cigarette.

Season 2, Episode 14: The Centerfold: Part 1

20 January 1983
The Chief fires a female officer for posing for a pornographic magazine.

Season 2, Episode 15: The Centerfold: Part 2

27 January 1983
The Mayor of Glenlawn puts political pressure on the Chief over the female officer who posed nude.

Season 2, Episode 16: The Custody Suit

10 February 1983
The Chief's sister-in-law, Blanche Ross, drops in unexpectedly on his birthday and treats Nell condescendingly. Later night, she walks into the kitchen and sees Nell performing the Heimlich maneuver on the Chief, and assumes they're having sex. She decides to sue the Chief for custody of the girls.

Season 2, Episode 17: The Return of the Doo-Wop Girls

17 February 1983
Nell learns that the members of a singing group she used to belong to are in town, and she reflects on how they tricked her into leaving the group for a thinner replacement.

Season 2, Episode 18: Eddie Gets Married

24 February 1983
Uncle Ed asks his girlfriend Maxine to marry him.

Season 2, Episode 19: Grandpa Robs a Bank

3 March 1983
At the bank, Grandpa is confused for a bank robber.

Season 2, Episode 20: Greenlawn Street Blues

10 March 1983
Nell takes Samantha to the police station to show her that their real day-to-day functions bear no resemblance to what she sees on her favorite TV cop shows.

Season 2, Episode 21: Nell and the Kid

28 April 1983
A delicatessen owner takes in a young girl who tried to shoplift from him.

Season 2, Episode 22: Nell Gets Sick

5 May 1983
Grandma Kanisky takes over the household while Nell is sick.

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Season 3

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Season 3, Episode 1: The Groupie

29 September 1983
Julie wants to meet her favorite singer, Andy Gibb, who is doing a recording session in town.

Season 3, Episode 2: The Way to a Man's Heart

13 October 1983
Nell is attracted to a man in her diet group.

Season 3, Episode 3: Katie's Commitment

20 October 1983
Nell and the Chief worry when they see Katie going out with a 34-year-old college professor.

Season 3, Episode 4: Joey: Part 1

27 October 1983
Officer Simpson catches Joey Donovan, an abandoned seven-year-old boy, trying to bilk people out of their money.

Season 3, Episode 5: Joey: Part 2

3 November 1983
When the social worker comes to pick up Joey, Nell tells her he ran away.

Season 3, Episode 6: The Mayor

10 November 1983
The new mayor of Glenlawn takes an interest in Nell.

Season 3, Episode 7: Melissa

17 November 1983
Nell sets the Chief up with a woman who, unknown to her, is a male-to-female transsexual.

Season 3, Episode 8: Nell's Friend

1 December 1983
Nell's friend (and sometimes rival) Addy Wilson, a Phi Beta Kappa, comes to town.

Season 3, Episode 9: Grandpa's Rebellion

8 December 1983
Nell and the Kaniskys try to persuade the recently widowed Grandpa to come and live with them.

Season 3, Episode 10: A Kanisky Christmas

22 December 1983
Nell's plans to give Joey a Christmas with the family meet with resistance, they've all made plans.

Season 3, Episode 11: Herbie

5 January 1984
Samantha believes the world is coming to an end.

Season 3, Episode 12: James Returns

12 January 1984
Upset because her ex has remarried, Nell goes out with the girls and runs into the other lover of her life.

Season 3, Episode 13: Samantha's Protest

19 January 1984
The Chief puts his whole family (and Nell) in the lock-up after they join Samantha in protesting the planned destruction of an old Spanish mission.

Season 3, Episode 14: Flashback

26 January 1984
Nell recalls how she met the girls' mother, Margaret Kanisky, and how she gave up a singing career to take care of them when Margaret revealed that was terminally ill.

Season 3, Episode 15: Knock Three Times

2 February 1984
Nell undergoes hypnosis to recall the location of a missing ring, but the side effects are unexpected.

Season 3, Episode 16: Valentine

9 February 1984
Nell arranges some Valentine's Day dates for the family; all of them end in disaster.

Season 3, Episode 17: The Big Apple: Part 1

16 February 1984
Nell and Addy win a trip to New York City on "Wheel of Fortune."

Season 3, Episode 18: The Big Apple: Part 2

23 February 1984
Nell and Addy fear that the man who stole their suitcase has come back for them.

Season 3, Episode 19: Rodeo

8 March 1984
After getting caught in the rain with Joey at the rodeo, Grandpa is hospitalized with severe pneumonia.

Season 3, Episode 20: Katie's College

15 March 1984
Nell is upset when she learns that Katie would rather open a business than go to college.

Season 3, Episode 21: The Center

19 April 1984
Grandpa attends a dance at a senior citizen's center.

Season 3, Episode 22: Class of '84

3 May 1984
The final tests stand in the way of Nell and Katie each receiving their high school diplomas.

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Season 4

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Season 4, Episode 1: New Orleans: Part 1

29 September 1984
Nell and Joey go to New Orleans for a little holiday. While there Nell runs into an ex who proposes to her. And Joey runs into someone he thinks he knows.

Season 4, Episode 2: New Orleans: Part 2

6 October 1984

Season 4, Episode 3: Nell's Birthday

13 October 1984
There's nothing happy for Nell about her birthday, until she learns it isn't the birthday she thinks it is.

Season 4, Episode 4: Grandpa's Secret Life

20 October 1984
A woman from Grandpa's past returns.

Season 4, Episode 5: Sam's First Love

27 October 1984
Samantha falls in love with an 18 year old con artist.

Season 4, Episode 6: Who Dunnit?

3 November 1984
When Nell's CPR patient dies, Ray Parker Jr. performs at the benefit for his widow, neither of them knowing that the deceased was a vicious mobster known as Eddie the Enforcer.

Season 4, Episode 7: Breakdance

10 November 1984
Katie's having some financial trouble with her shop and tries to keep Nell from finding out about because they know she'll over react. And when Joey seems to be spending more of his time on learning how to break dance instead of his studies, Nell tells him he has to stop. But he tells her he's doing it so that he can perform at his teacher's retirement party. But when the teacher tells Nell she isn't retiring anytime soon. Nell tries to find out what he is hiding.

Season 4, Episode 8: Daddy's Little Girl

17 November 1984
Nell thinks she has quite a find in a charming archaeologist, until she discovers he's Addy's daddy.

Season 4, Episode 9: Carl's Delicate Moment

24 November 1984
A female officer accuses the Chief of sexual harassment.

Season 4, Episode 10: Julie's Lie

1 December 1984
Julie lies to Nell to be with her boyfriend Jonathan.

Season 4, Episode 11: Baby of the Family

8 December 1984
To get back at Nell for not letting her go on a fishing trip, Sam plans to use Joey to get back at her.

Season 4, Episode 12: TV or Not TV

15 December 1984
Nell tries to get her family and friends to go one evening without watching any television.

Season 4, Episode 13: The Spirit of Christmas

22 December 1984
During the Christmas season, Nell and Addy are attracted to the same man.

Season 4, Episode 14: Grandpa's Will

5 January 1985
Grandpa is acting very cranky. He's complaining about having to share a room with Joey. He wants to move out but Carl reminds him he has no resources.

Season 4, Episode 15: The Answering Machine

12 January 1985

Season 4, Episode 16: The Gift

19 January 1985
Nell's stressed because she's being honored as the woman of the year and can't find anything to wear. Julie shows her the diamond necklace her new boyfriend just gave her. Nell tells her that she should give it back because she doesn't know him that well. She entrusts it to Nell till she meets him again. Nell's new boyfriend gives her a mink coat, which she takes and plans to wear at the ceremony and also wears the necklace. Later she gets robbed. And tries to tell Julie what happened without looking like a hypocrite.

Season 4, Episode 17: Alabamy Bound: Part 1

26 January 1985
Nell goes back to Alabama for her sister's wedding, where she clashes with her mother.

Season 4, Episode 18: Alabamy Bound: Part 2

2 February 1985
Nell's mother plans to move to Glenlawn with her.

Season 4, Episode 19: Earthquake

9 February 1985
After an earthquake, Nell is trapped in the library with a deaf woman who can read lips, but only in Spanish.

Season 4, Episode 20: The Lookalike

16 February 1985
Addy's women's group is having a benefit concert with Sammy Davis, Jr. as the emcee. When Sammy can't make it, Nell finds a man who looks like him and tries to get him to perform.

Season 4, Episode 21: Cat Story

23 February 1985
During a torrential rainstorm, Officer Simpson disappears while trying to save a cat and is presumed to have died.

Season 4, Episode 22: Police Mamas

23 March 1985
Nell and Addy take over when the entire Glenlawn police force suffers food poisoning.

Season 4, Episode 23: Monkey See, Monkey Do

30 March 1985
Everyone gets mad at the Chief and starts to move out of the house one by one.

Season 4, Episode 24: Friendship

4 May 1985
Nell is angry at Addy, so she decides to find a new best friend.

Season 4, Episode 25: Julie's Birthday

11 May 1985
It's Julie's birthday, and she's depressed about breaking up with her boyfriend, Jonathan.

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Season 5

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Season 5, Episode 1: Joey's Train

14 September 1985
It has been three months since Chief Kanisky died, when a present he bought for Joey's birthday turns up. Meanwhile, Julie and Jonathan want to move into his bedroom, but Nell objects to this.

Season 5, Episode 2: Ship of Fools: Part 1

21 September 1985
There's a major house payment that's due so everyone tries to pull all the cash they have. But it still comes up short. Later Nell's ex-husband, who says his band plays on cruise ships, asks Nell to fill in for the band's singer. Nell initially refuses but upon learning about the payment and that what she'll be payed will enough for the payment reluctantly goes and brings Addy and Joey with her.

Season 5, Episode 3: Ship of Fools: Part 2

28 September 1985
Upon learning that her ex-husband is remarried to a younger woman, Nell's voice goes out, jeopardizing her earning the money needed for the house payment. The ship's doctor tells her to relax but when she tries another stressful moment befalls her.

Season 5, Episode 4: The Man from Zoron

5 October 1985
Joey meets a man who claims to be from another planet.

Season 5, Episode 5: Addy's Goodbye

19 October 1985

Season 5, Episode 6: So Long, Jonathan

26 October 1985

Season 5, Episode 7: Mama

2 November 1985
Nell's mother comes to Glenlawn to have eye surgery.

Season 5, Episode 8: Sam's Little Girl

9 November 1985
Sam volunteers as a Big Sister to a mischievous little girl who is rude to Nell.

Season 5, Episode 9: The Elevator

16 November 1985
Nell and Addy find themselves stuck in separate, adjacent elevators in the same building.

Season 5, Episode 10: Nell's New Car

23 November 1985
Nell buys Addy's old car. When the car starts to break down, it comes between the two of them.

Season 5, Episode 11: Nell's Gifted Child

30 November 1985

Season 5, Episode 12: Katie's Apartment

7 December 1985

Season 5, Episode 13: Snippets

14 December 1985
Nell and the Kaniskys and their friends look back at the past during the Christmas season.

Season 5, Episode 14: Second Chance: Part 1

4 January 1986
Nell agrees to sing for a band led by an ex-convict.

Season 5, Episode 15: Second Chance: Part 2

11 January 1986
Nell and the band appear on "Hour Magazine".

Season 5, Episode 16: Bienvenido, Jonathan

18 January 1986

Season 5, Episode 17: The Gun

1 February 1986
Joey is frightened when Nell is accidentally shot in the foot with the Chief's old gun.

Season 5, Episode 18: A Lesson for Nell

8 February 1986

Season 5, Episode 19: Pride and Prejudice

15 February 1986

Season 5, Episode 20: Family Reunion

22 February 1986

Season 5, Episode 21: Getting to Know You

29 March 1986

Season 5, Episode 22: Katie's Korner

5 April 1986
Nell worries what Katie might do after a string of extremely bad luck.

Season 5, Episode 23: Found Money

3 May 1986
Nell shares her monetary inheritance with her family and friends.

Season 5, Episode 24: The Purse Snatcher

10 May 1986
Nell's purse is stolen at a Greek restaurant.

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Season 6

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Season 6, Episode 1: Sam Goes to College: Part 1

24 September 1986

Season 6, Episode 2: Sam Goes to College: Part 2

24 September 1986

Season 6, Episode 3: Below Sea Level

1 October 1986

Season 6, Episode 4: Joey Meets Matthew

8 October 1986
Joey's father returns and introduces him to his younger brother, Matthew.

Season 6, Episode 5: Nell Goes Back to New York

15 October 1986

Season 6, Episode 6: The Apartment

29 October 1986

Season 6, Episode 7: I Love New York

5 November 1986
Nell starts to regret moving to New York. Even after Grandpa successfully sells the Kaniskys' house, she still feels homesick for Glenlawn.

Season 6, Episode 8: Nell, the Boss

12 November 1986

Season 6, Episode 9: Harry the Hamster

19 November 1986

Season 6, Episode 10: Joey the Gambler

26 November 1986

Season 6, Episode 11: The Scam

3 December 1986

Season 6, Episode 12: Christmas in New York

10 December 1986

Season 6, Episode 13: Nell's Secret Admirer

7 January 1987

Season 6, Episode 14: The Loan

14 January 1987

Season 6, Episode 15: The Window: Part 1

21 January 1987

Season 6, Episode 16: The Window: Part 2

21 January 1987

Season 6, Episode 17: Joey's First Crush

28 January 1987

Season 6, Episode 18: Joey's Teacher

4 February 1987

Season 6, Episode 19: Joey's Hero

11 February 1987
Captain Jerk, the star of Joey's favorite TV show, chokes on his whistle and is hospitalized. He needs a transfusion, and Nell gladly agrees to allow the hospital to use her blood. However, she is livid when she learns that the Captain is the leader of a white supremacist group.

Season 6, Episode 20: Joey, the Gigolo

25 February 1987

Season 6, Episode 21: Parents' Week: Part 1

31 March 1987

Season 6, Episode 22: Parents' Week: Part 2

7 April 1987

Season 6, Episode 23: Save the Church

28 April 1987
When Nell learns that the church where her father preached is being torn down, she goes back to Alabama to try and save it.

Season 6, Episode 24: Someday My Prince...

5 May 1987
Nell goes out on a date with an African prince.

Season 6, Episode 25: Mama's Date

12 May 1987
Nell tries to interfere in her mother's love life.