Episode
Step by Step: Birth of a Salesman
Overview
Urged by his parents to either apply to college or find a job, JT gets a part-time position as an assistant salesman in a used-car lot. Not only does he actually enjoy his new job, but it turns out that he's incredibly good at selling cars. He thanks Carol for getting him off his keister and making him get a job. He dreams of one day owning the car lot and gets in a commercial for the place. Dana is assigned to write an essay for her psychology class. After Mark and Karen's refusals, she has to hire Cody as a subject for her study. She writes that Cody is a nutcase, but her teacher claims that she is close-minded. She gets a ""D"" on the paper and has to do a makeup assignment on one person's dreams for a week, and although Cody volunteers, she refuses.
Details
- Series
- Step by Step
- Season
- Season 3
- Episode
- Episode 19
- Air date
- 1994-03-11
- Runtime
- 22 min
Episode context
Birth of a Salesman is Episode 19 in Season 3 of Step by Step. It aired on 1994-03-11. The runtime is 22 min.
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Episode 18: Nightmare Weekend
Frank and Carol decide to celebrate the anniversary of thier first encounter (on June 20, 1993),by taking a weekend trip,thus leaving the kids alone.Carol and Frank get stuck at the hotel where Frank once spent a weekend with a red-headed ex-girlfriend of his.Ofcourse Carol gets mad several times before they finally make up and head home.
Mark laughs at the horror film (Chainsaw Slumberparty II) J.T.,Al and Brendan are watching.They decide to take revenge by making Mark think the house is haunted.
Episode 20: Feeling Forty
Worried about turning forty, Carol exercies and diets with Karen. When Karen steps out, Carol sees a commercial for Skinny Tabs and orders them. She loses three pounds, but possesses so much energy that she drives everybody crazy and is constantly talking and working. Frank tells her that he loves her for who she is, not just her body.
Al has to write a report on Abe Lincoln, but all the books on him are checked out. Cody takes her to Madame Sonya and he encounters Lincoln. Al does not believe and therefore, she does not see Abe, but she has a great idea for her report-- Abe in the 20th Century. Cody gives Abe's golf scorecard to Carol for her birthday.
More episodes from this season
Episode 17: Pretty Woman
Karen is having an interview at the mall for a jeans ad. The photographer is looking for a girl to promote the jeans ""with an attitude."" Al actually gets the job, which drives Karen crazy. Karen gets mad at Carol because she is not showing favoritism to her daughter (over her step-daughter). Carol is hurt and says that the whole Lambert/Foster family should be thought of as one family. Karen gets the point and is able to calm down Al with a ""family"" pep talk.
Cody thinks he is the victim of some mysterious curse that makes him lucky at whatever he does, thus taking all the fun and excitement out of life. When Frank makes him play poker, the curse is re-activated. Cody wins $1,000 and a trip to the Bahamas, but breaks the curse by having an industrial accident in his van.
Episode 21: The Case of the Missing Diary
Cody is writing a 40's style mystery for his creative writing class. He gets an idea when Karen proclaims her diary is missing. His pun-filled story is played out by the Lambert/Foster family. Kitty Meow (Karen), who sings in the famous trio the Andrews step-sisters, lost her diary. The suspects are as follows: the other two Andrew's step-sisters (Dana and Al), the establishment's piano player (Brendan), comic (JT), and other singing act, Miss Honey Dew (Carol). With the help of the lab technician (Mark), Sam Spud (Cody) discovers it was Honey Dew. In real life, Al turns out to be the one who misplaced Karen's diary.
Episode 16: My Bodyguard
Cody acquires this strange ability to see things in the future accurately (although unclear and misleading at times). He goes to Chicago to protect Dana, and although he ruins her interview, he does help her out.
Carol begins what Mark describes as ""aging"" by snoring- VERY loudly. She keeps everybody up several nights in a row, until Frank finally comes up with a plan (airport earmuffs for him and soundproofing the door for the kids).
Episode 22: Great Expectations
Cody's father comes to see him on his 21st birthday. He gives him a job as executive VP of his successful real estate business. Cody comes into the first meeting and disturbs everyone even coming up with an idea to build a mall on the beach that looks like a sandcastle. Upon advice from Frank, Cody decides to quit realizing,he will not be happy.
Carol keeps setting up Dana and Karen with blind dates. They are all bad especially the latest one where the guys are dressed up like Beavis and Butthead and bring fake snot. They plot with Frank to pay Carol back. Afterward, they all agree to not have anymore blind dates. Carol reneges, though, and tries to get them to date a cute guy, but they refuse before seeing him and later try to get him.
Episode 15: Thirteen with a Bullet
It's Mark's 13th birthday.While frank introduces him to the fine art of shaving,and Carol arranges a real party for him with music and girls.One of the girls is a lovely girl named Marissa,with who Mark falls in love with.But he's soon brokenhearted as he finds out her feelings for him are not quite the same as what he thought.
J.T. passes his mechanics exam.But Dana feels if he can do it so can she.So she challenges him to a bet,that she can do it.
Episode 23: Prom Night
After a little bad luck, JT is deceitfully set up with a 13-year-old. Dana, on the other hand, was able to get a date with the just broken up, best looking guy in school. At the prom, however, Dana is dumped for his ex-girlfriend. Dana is heartbroken-- not only because she lost her date, but also because she must dance the spotlight dance (as Student Body President) all by herself. JT comes to console her and offers to dance with her. Although the two walk out insulting each other under their breath, they gain an appreciation for each other.
Brendan belts a boy who cheated off his paper at school. Carol, feeling terrible, invites the boy and his family over. The situation is not reconciled when the boy's parents cheat at monopoly. In fact, after Carol hears them insult Frank and Brendan, Carol belts the boy's dad.
Episode 14: Read All About It
Cody reads so much that he ruins the stories (by telling the ending) for JT, Al, and Carol and desserts (by crushing it with a big box of books) for Dana. However, it does yield him a job as a story time reader for the little kids at the library. He makes the reading time tons of fun and even teaches one of Brendan's friends to read.
While filling out their taxes, Frank realizes Carol made more money than he did the previous year. He gets frantic over not being the ""provider"" of the family so he looks for a part time job. He looks everywhere but ends up passing out coupons for a local fried chicken restaurant while dressed as a chicken. Carol is, however, able to convince him that he is a great companion and father and she is perfectly satisfied with that.
Episode 13: Bad Girls
The boys at school tell Al they do not want to play with a girl; Frank tells Al to try to get more friends that are girls. Al begins to hang around with the only girls who she feels will be her friends. Al starts to wear combat uniforms, skip class, and stay out past curfew. Frank overreacts and the two get into a big argument. When Al's friends get her to steal Cody's guitar, Cody hears them and lets her take it. Cody points out to both Frank and Al that their relationship is vital.
Carol sees the TV set being temporarily out of order, as a great time to start a desperate attempt at ""Family Fun Time."" The only thing Carol is able to get them to enjoy doing together is leaving. In the end, the TV is fixed and the Lambert boys are watching Baywatch again.
Episode 12: Close Encounters of the Marital Kind
Carol has just bought a book named ""Ten Minutes Per Day to a Better Marriage."" The book advised to tell each other a big secret. Carol tells him about a secret bank account with a lot of money in it. Frank feels betrayed and goes to his office to spend the night. Upon seeking support from Cody, Frank discovers that he was unsure in other areas (he had not thrown away his little black book). They realize that in the end they are better off for having told each other.
Karen just passed her drivers license exam, creating three drivers (Dana, JT, and Karen) and no car. They decide it is time to buy their own car, but they can only come up with $400. JT manages to find an old Volkswagen Bug for $400. The car is a disaster and although Cody works on it, it is barely driveable. Cody and JT sell it for parts and get $425, and they keep the 8 track player with a Sonny and Cher 8 track.
Episode 11: Christmas Story
After Carol presents an idea of exchanging fewer gifts, Frank announces he gets a 20% discount at Hartman's Toy Store because of his remodeling work there. Both believe one has picked up Brendan's train set and therefore, neither does. When they realize this on Christmas eve, they use Frank's key to get into the toy store and are leaving money in the register when Deputy Barney Feif notices them. They are taken to jail where they are detained. After the kids open all their presents without knowing where their parents were, Cody points out that Christmas should be about joy and loved ones. The kids realize their mistake, get concerned, and find out their parents are in jail. They bring food and caroling to the jail. Deputy Feif lets them out and they all go back home to celebrate Christmas, even Barney.