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For Better or for Worse

For Better or for Worse

2000 - 2001

TAKE MY MOM PLEASE

1st January 2000
Episode 1
Early - ""Three and Sympathy"" - Elly is feeling sick so the kids try to make a pie for her with disaterous while quite humerous results! Growing - ""Take my Mom, please"" - April gets lost on a family shopping trip. Let's just say that something embarassing happens to each of them! Later - ""My Dinner with Elly"" - Elly's peaceful night alone ends up being a girl's night out with Elizabeth.

CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE

Episode 2
Early - ""Puppy Love"" - Micheal attends his first boy/girl dance while John and Elizabeth play in the autumn leaves. Growing - ""Trade Off"" - Everyone has something better to do than to watch April - until she gets lost! Later - ""Crazy Little Thing Called Love"" - It seems like everyone in the house has a date: Michael has a date with Deanna, Elizabeth has a date with Anthony and April had a date with Edgar - as the house explodes with competing agendas, Elly sneaks out for a special date of her own.

A DOG'S LIFE

Episode 3
Early - ""Skunked"" - When Farley gets lost Michael and Elizabeth become unexpected allies, with the aid of a skunk! Growing - ""Offspring"" - While watching Farley and Edgar at play, John wishes he could spend more time with his kids - and then he gets his wish! Later - ""A Dog's Life"" - Each of the Pattersons chooses to mark the day they lost Farley in their own special way, leading to an impromptu celebration.

IT'S A LIVING

Episode 4
Early - ""Stage Fright"" - Elly's fight to save the Old Town Hall theatre upsets Michael. Growing - ""Hot Dog Summer"" - John helps get Michael a job at a hot dog stand. Michael learns a lesson in responsibility. Later - ""It's a Living"" - Michael must interview John about his profession as a dentist, leading to some important insights.

EGGNOG AND NUTMEG

Episode 5
Early - ""Wings and Things"" - Elizabeth's pageant is scheduled for the same time as Michael's hockey game, leading to a hectic holiday for the Pattersons. Growing - ""Farley -la-la-la"" - John is called away on a dental emergency on Christmas Day. Luckily his patient's wife is a vet, who offers help when Farley gets sick. Later - ""Eggnog and Nutmeg"" - Elly is upset when Christmas traditions are changing, and Michael sneaks home to surprise her on Christmas Day.

A SPECIAL KIND OF DAD

Episode 6
Early - ""Dad's Back"" - John puts his back out playing with Elizabeth, and Elly puts a dent in his sports car. Growing - ""A Tale of Two Daddies"" - Grandpa Jim and Grandma Marion are visiting on Father's Day, leading to double good-natured Father's Day torments, until Grandpa Jim teaches John a lesson in ""Dad Survival."" Later - ""A Special Kind of Dad"" - It's Valentine's Day and each of the Patterson men learn the value of flowers.

THE BOOGEYMAN

Episode 7
Early - ""Blackout"" - A snowstorm cuts the power to the Patterson house. John has trouble getting home and then gives his family and unexpected fright. Growing - ""Four Wheel Fear"" - Michael fails his driver's test and car failure strands Elly and Liz on the way to a berry farm. Later - ""The Boogeyman"" - April is spooked by the Bogyman in her closet and John is spooked by Elizabeth's date, Torch.

I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS

Episode 8
Early - ""I don't want to do this"" - When Michael finds out the Pattersons are moving he doesn't want to go. He decides he'll live in his tree house, but then finds out the truth. It's his best friend Lawrence who's moving. Growing - ""Surprise"" - Elly is feeling run-down and depressed about turning 40, until she learns the real reason for her lack of energy - she's pregnant! Later - ""Jingle, Jingle Mrs. Dingle"" - Michael loses his rent money in a poker game and must confess to his parents.

Season 2 - FAMILY LIES

1st January 2001
Episode 9
Early - ""Family Lies"" - Elizabeth hears Elly tell a white lie, and then fibs herself about breaking Mrs. Enjo's doll. However, she confesses after Michael unfairly gets in trouble. Growing - ""Young Love's Kiss"" - Michael says he's interested in Shakespeare only to keep Martha from kissing another boy on the stage. Meanwhile, Elly enters a poetry contest. Later - ""Parade Passing By"" - Elizabeth examines the real reason why she's reluctant to participate in a gay pride parade.

IF IT AIN'T BROKE?

Episode 10
Early - ""Signals"" - Michael's birthday gets an unexpected boost when John unwittingly performs, and Michael realizes how much fun it is to include girls. Growing - ""Spring Clean"" - Elly goes to the spa for the weekend and her family cleans the house. Later - ""If it ain't broke"" - Gordon considers selling his garage to a big chain, and John enters a vintage car show.

BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE

Episode 11
Early - ""Baby it's cold outside"" - John and Phil are lost on a fishing trip. Growing - ""Crystal Clear"" - The Patterson house is disrupted when a beautiful woman comes to dinner. Later - ""A New Year"" - It's New Year's Eve and Michael is working up the nerve to tell Deanna how he really feels. Meanwhile, April stays up until midnight for the first time.

WHO WAS YOUR SLAVE LAST YEAR

Episode 12
Early - ""In a Pig's Eye"" - On a visit to Uncle Dan and Aunt Bev's farm, Michael is resentful of all the chores, but he ends up a hero when he rescues the escaping piglets and Elizabeth. Growing - ""Who was your slave last year"" - Elizabeth buys Anthony as her personal assistant, and Michael finds out there are fringe benefits to babysitting. Later - ""Whistle Blower"" - Michael and Weed are assigned to a crusty reporter as interns, and end up saving April and Duncan's reputation when they are unjustly accused of theft.

AAARGH!!!

Episode 13
Early - ""Aaargh!!!"" - Michael and Deanna are locked in the boiler room at school. Growing - ""A Tents Situation"" - Elly takes Elizabeth and her friends camping and Michael and his friends decide to scare them - but the tables are soon turned to reveal a funny ending! Later - ""Witness to History"" - Michael has left his homework assignment to the last minute and Weed takes photos of Mrs. Dingle.

THERE GOES MY BABY

Episode 14
Early - ""There goes my baby"" - Michael flies to Vancouver on his own and Elizabeth gets lost in the airport. Growing - ""Compulsary Figures"" - Elizabeth hurts her arm skating and can't compete, but she makes a new friend. Later - ""My Son, the Egg"" - Elizabeth is supposed to take care of an egg for health class, and Anthony must endure a simulated pregnancy.

ONLY WHEN I LAUGH

Episode 15
Early - ""Clowning around"" - Connie's blind date leaves Elly literally out in the cold and John decides to be more spontaneous. Growing - ""Broken Heart Blues"" - Michael is mooning over Martha until a family Jell-O fight cures him of his blues. Elizabeth turns a cartwheel. Later - ""Only when I laugh"" Michael decides to ""rescue' Liz from the clutches of a comedian and April and her parents watch the stars.

LEARNING CURVE

16th December 2001
Episode 16
Early - ""Movie Magic"" - Michael learns a hard lesson about the reality of movie magic, while keeping the magic of imagination alive for Elizabeth. Growing - ""Buddies"" - Michael avoids spending time with his grandfather in order to hang with his friends and find Gordon a date. However, the new girl, Hannah, leads him to a new respect for his grandfather's life. Later - ""Learning Curve"" - Elizabeth's friend Candace temporarily moves in and learns that family love includes limits and rules.
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The animated misadventures of Lynn Johnston's acclaimed comic strip family. In 2000, Funbag Animation, based in Ottawa, created an animated "For Better or for Worse" series for Teletoon, which aired from November 5, 2000, to December 16, 2001. The show, introduced by Lynn Johnston, explored three storylines from different periods of the comic strip: the mid-1980s, early 1990s, and late 1990s.

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Jayne Eastwood Image

Jayne Eastwood

Mrs. Dingle

Vanessa Lengies Image

Vanessa Lengies

Elizabeth Patterson

Lynn Johnston Image

Lynn Johnston

Self

Dawn Ford Image

Dawn Ford

Additional Voices

Terrence Scammell Image

Terrence Scammell

John Patterson

Bryn McAuley Image

Bryn McAuley

April Patterson (segment 'The Later Years')

Lynne Adams Image

Lynne Adams

Additional Voices

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