Episode
Party of Five: Poor Substitutes
Overview
After a woman mistakes Sarah for someone else's daughter, she decides to try to find her birth mother. They find her on the list and Bailey calls her behind Sarah's back. He meets her. She's an actress and she tells him that she doesn't want to meet her. Bailey tells Sarah that the woman in the list is not her mother, killing her hopes. Charlie tries to teach Owen how to poop in the potter so he can go to pre-school. Claudia is shocked when she finds out that Kristen is dating a guy. She tries to make Kristen come back to the family, but Kristen tells her that she has to move on. Justin's friend Allison comes from England to visit him. At first, Julia is jealous, but then they really get along. Allison comes on to Julia, who later reveals her secret. Julia advises Allison not to run away from her problems.
Details
- Series
- Party of Five
- Season
- Season 2
- Episode
- Episode 13
- Air date
- 1996-01-17
- Runtime
- 44 min
Episode context
Poor Substitutes is Episode 13 in Season 2 of Party of Five. It aired on 1996-01-17. The runtime is 44 min.
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Episode 12: Hold on Tight
Claudia tells Charlie that Kristen called. He goes after her, but she just wanted some help with the taxes. They have dinner and end up sleeping together. Kristen tells him that they're not back together. Julia wants to move to the attic and Bailey says he should be the one moving there. They start a fight. Bailey sabotages Julia's audition for the lead singer of a band sending Sarah, who gets the job. And Julia sabotages Bailey's audition for a job, sending Justin, who also gets the job. The couples have a fight and when Bailey receives a letter that says he was accepted in a university in Massachusetts Julia decides to let him have the attic. Claudia takes off her cast and decides to quit violin. The family discusses her decision and she says she just wants to be normal. She says goodbye to her violin, putting it on the shelf.
Episode 14: Strange Bedfellows
Claudia is caught smoking, and her teacher advises Charlie to make a deal with her. The deal is that Claudia won't smoke is Charlie doesn't get involved with her teacher, which he does. Claudia walks on them making out and she starts to smoke. Charlie dumps her, but when she gets back by giving hard tests to Claudia's class, Jody asks her to get them back together. Will has a new girlfriend who is really annoying, and he breaks up with her because Bailey doesn't like her. He regrets and Bailey apologizes in chemistry class. They get back together and Bailey tries to like her for Will. Justin's parents are trying to make them stop having sex, worrying that Julia might get pregnant. Justin's mother is pregnant and Justin worries about his father's affair, so he goes talk to him, and he says that's over.
More episodes from this season
Episode 11: Unfair Advantage
A teacher is hitting on Julia and she feels uncomfortable. He asks her if he can give her a ride home and tries to kiss her. She is upset and talks to Justin. He threats him, and Mr. Peck tells the Principal that Julia is the one harassing him. She gets scared and tries to change classes, but Charlie convinces her to confront him. Sarah gets a credit card and starts to spend a lot of money just to get back at her parents for lying to her. It's her birthday and Bailey takes her to have dinner and they fight. He tells her that her parents love her, no matter what. Claudia is hanging out with Jody and they steal a bottle of rum from the bar. They get drunk and Charlie gets mad at her. Charlie is flirting with a waitress at the bar, but when she tells him that she doesn't want anything with him he gets mad. He calls Kristen just to hear her voice again.
Episode 15: Benefactors
One of Charlie's clients tries to seduce him. Emily says she thinks it's too soon to sleep with Charlie, so he sleeps with his client. Julia is having problems in her computer class, and asks Miller to be her tutor. After he kisses her by surprise, she backs off. She doesn't want any help from Justin, so they make a deal: an A for a date. Bailey gets a scholarship from a stranger. During dinner, his benefactor asks too much about Bailey's parents. The next day he goes to the cemetery and finds yellow roses by his mother's grave. He figures that the man who is helping him is in fact his grandfather. Bailey asks him to meet the others, but he refuses. Bailey tells him that he doesn't want anything from him. Jake surprises everybody when he introduces himself during family dinner at Salinger's.
Episode 10: Grand Delusions
Charlie decides to take Claudia with him to Mexico. Charlie meets a woman at the hotel lobby and Claudia gets mad at him, saying that he never loved Kristen in the first place. She meets a boy and they kiss. Julia and Justin can't stop having sex, and she gets confused when he is cold to her. Justin tells Julia that he doesn't want to go through the same thing again. Bailey joins Sarah at her grandma's party. While reading grandma's old letters to her, she finds out that she's adopted. She is very confused about herself and goes to Bailey for comfort. Charlie tells Claudia that he misses Kristen and they run into her in the house when they get back.
Episode 16: Comings and Goings
Emily finds out about Charlie's affair and they break up. Kathleen tells him that she doesn't want to be just another girl, and wants to take their relationship ahead. Sarah is mad at Bailey because he didn't tell her about his college plans. Robin meets Sarah and tells her that she's leaving in two days. Sarah asks her to stay, and Robin gives Sarah her cat, promising that she'll be back. Claudia is trying to get closer to her grandpa, and she asks him to move into the house. Julia tells her how much their mother hated him for leaving her. Jake tells Julia that he wants to be a part of the family, and so she accepts him, thinking that their mother would have done the same. Jake moves in.
Episode 9: The Wedding
It's the wedding day. Charlie is not sure and asks Kristen to wait 6 more months, but she doesn't understand. He feels pressured and can't handle it. Everybody is worried about what's happening. Ellie tells Kristen to pressure Charlie, and so she tells him that is now or never. He leaves the house. Just as she is announcing to everybody that the wedding is off, he shows up. He decided to get married in order not to lose her forever. He is waiting for her in the altar, but she never shows up. He goes talk to her and she tells him that they shouldn't get married like this, afraid of what might happen in the future. She gives him the wedding ring back and leaves. Bailey tells Will that he might love Sarah and she feels the same way, so Will decides to step out of the picture letting them stay together. Julia and Justin get drunk and have sex.
Episode 17: Valentine's Day
It's Valentine's Day. Bailey has unromantic plans and Sarah doesn't like it. An old friend of hers comes back from Paraguay and Bailey gets jealous. They go to a bar and he reads a poem that Bailey thinks was written for Sarah. Bailey punches him and realizes he was wrong. He tries to be romantic to Sarah to make up for his mistake. Kathleen loans money to Charlie so he can hire a new chef to grow the business. Charlie takes her for a romantic weekend after she is demoted from her job. Griffin comes back and decides not to go back to school. Julia asks Justin to help him, although he doesn't like Griffin. Griffin tells Julia that he's in love with her and takes off. Justin asks Julia to be his fiancée and she tells him that she's late and might be pregnant.
Episode 8: Best Laid Plans
musical guest: Sophie B. Hawkins
Kristen prohibits Dudley to give Charlie a bachelor's party, so he asks Bailey if he would do it. Charlie runs into a desperate woman in the hallway of the hotel. Her husband is cheating on her. They go to the bar and have some drinks, and she asks him to sleep with her. They go up to her room and Bailey sees them. Charlie tells her that he's in love with Kristen and he won't sleep with her. Bailey is mad at him, but when he finds out what happened, he says their parents would be proud of him. Justin is mean to Julia, and they run into each other at a concert. They see Justin's father with another woman. He asks her what to do, and she asks him to forget about Griffin. Claudia's plans to make a special night for Kristen fail. Charlie is not sure about the wedding and flips a coin for it.
Episode 18: Before and After
Julia is pregnant. She's not sure if she wants to have an abortion. Charlie finds her pregnancy test in the trash and talks to her. She wonders what will be like to have that baby, and Charlie opens her eyes on everything she would be giving up. He confesses to her that when he was in college one of his girlfriends got pregnant and had an abortion. Julia feels awful and so does Justin. They have a fight because he will get over it soon, but she has to carry this fact for the rest of her life. Claudia finds out and gets shocked.
Bailey and Sarah plan on sleeping together, but she makes it too special. Bailey asks her to make it simple, but Julia's news scares them. Julia tries to talk with Sarah about her pregnancy, but Sarah says that if her mom decided to have an abortion, she wouldn't be there. Julia has a miscarriage. Claudia apologizes to Julia and Julia tells Charlie that he's a good brother.
Episode 7: Where There's Smoke
A fire destroys the restaurant. The insurance company refuses to give Charlie the money because they think he did it. Kristen helps him and they get the money. Will asks Bailey if he can go out with Sarah, and he says yes, but later regrets and realizes he still likes her. Griffin steals money from one of the restaurant's employees, and he goes to jail. Julia asks his father to help him. Griffin is released and has to go away for 6 months. Claudia meets a new friend who is a troublemaker, and the girl convinces her to smoke.
Episode 19: Altered States
Julia doesn't want to go to school, and when she does she feels awful and guilty. She lies to Justin and Charlie and runs away to New Orleans to meet Griffin. She feels safe around him. They spend time together, talking about what happened to her, and he tells her to go back home. Bailey is jealous about Sarah for wearing tight clothes in her shows and for hanging out too much with her band. They fight because she thinks he's controlling her too much. Kathleen wants to be more in Charlie's life. She invites the whole family to go to Hawaii and Charlie gets mad at her because he wants to keep it casual. He tells her that he doesn't love her and she attempts suicide.