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22 Episodes 2001 - 2002
Episode 1
Sun, Sep 23, 2001 60 mins
In the series pilot, Max (Richard Dreyfuss) is passed over for a promotion that goes to a former student (Marcia Gay Harden) that he once taught. Also: Max's best friend returns to school after undergoing a sex-change operation; Max's daughter gives him some disturbing news. Erica: Helen Shaver. Nell: Katee Sackhoff. Lester: Eric Ian Goldberg.
Episode 2
Sun, Sep 30, 2001 60 mins
As Max juggles various duties associated with being department chair, the dean attempts to lighten Max's heavy course load by ordering him to team teach a class with Andrea. In other developments, Max adjusts to a pushy new assistant; Nell has trouble relating to her roommate; and the board considers making the school coed. Brenda: Meredith Lieber. Max: Richard Dreyfuss. Andrea: Marcia Gay Harden. Nell: Katee Sackhoff.
Episode 3
Sun, Oct 14, 2001 60 mins
Max becomes upset when he learns that he is to present an award to an alumna (Kim Hunter) who once worked for an anti-Semitic government official during WWII; Nell steals a drummer from another band, which infuriates the rest of the group. Josh: Patrick Fabian. Nell: Katee Sackhoff. Erica: Helen Shaver.
Episode 4
Sun, Oct 21, 2001 60 mins
The editor of the school paper calls for the shunning of any student who poses for a men's magazine that comes to campus to recruit girls for its layout; Max becomes angry when he discovers that Nell is enrolled in one of Andrea's classes; Nell's band performs its first gig. Josh: Patrick Fabian. Brenda: Meredith Lieber. Nell: Katee Sackhoff. Andrea: Marcia Gay Harden.
Episode 5
Sun, Oct 28, 2001 60 mins
Max learns that his sponsor has started drinking again, and Max fears he'll fall off the wagon, too; Lester tells Max that he wants to have a Bar Mitzvah; Andrea tries to fend off a student's advances; Judith is disappointed after she reads the first few chapters of her husband's new novel, but she doesn't know how to tell him. Judith: Regina Taylor. Brenda: Meredith Lieber. Lester: Eric Ian Goldberg.
Episode 6
Sun, Nov 11, 2001 60 mins
Max uses his savings to buy a run-down house owned by a deceased former professor and quickly discovers that it's a money pit; Andrea catches several students cheating and must decide whether to have them expelled; and Lester becomes friends with their new blue-collar neighbors, much to Max's chagrin. Josh: Patrick Fabian. Brenda: Meredith Lieber. Lester: Eric Ian Goldberg. Andrea: Marcia Gay Harden.
Episode 7
Sun, Nov 18, 2001 60 mins
Max learns some disturbing news about an old friend who is seeking to become a professor at Chadwick and he must decide whether to confront her; Erica starts dating a man who tells her all about his past, but she can't bring herself to tell him that she was once a man. Erica: Helen Shaver. Lester: Eric Ian Goldberg. Max: Richard Dreyfuss.
Episode 8
Sun, Dec 2, 2001 60 mins
Max tarnishes Lester's image of Honest Abe Lincoln and has a falling out with Nell, who is upset over a mother-daughter weekend at school. Also, Andrea is accused of bias by an ultraconservative student. Lyla: Jayne Atkinson. Quincy: Michael Mosley. Erica: Helen Shaver. Lester: Eric Ian Goldberg.
Episode 9
Sun, Dec 9, 2001 60 mins
Erica's ex returns to town, unaware that her former husband is now a woman and Max refuses to tell her the truth; Andrea pushes one of her students to confront the past, which leads to horrifying consequences. Erica: Helen Shaver. Andrea: Marcia Gay Harden. Nell: Katee Sackoff.
Episode 10
Sun, Jan 13, 2002 60 mins
Muslim students are harassed on campus and one of them receives a death threat; Max fears for the safety of a student after she takes a teaching position in Pakistan instead of accepting a scholarship to a prestigious grad school; Nell gets the attention of a legendary music producer, but he wants her to dump her band and become a solo act. Nell: Katee Sackhoff. Andrea: Marcia Gay Harden. Max: Richard Dreyfuss.
Episode 11
Wed, Jan 16, 2002 60 mins
Max is sued by a former student (Gwendolyn Whiteside) because he didn't give her an A on a class paper and then lowered the grade to an F after she threatened him. Also, Lester prepares to attend his first dance. Josh: Patrick Fabian. Judith: Regina Taylor. Lester: Eric Ian Goldberg.
Episode 12
Sun, Jan 20, 2002 60 mins
Max becomes concerned when he discovers that Nell is dating a professor; Josh risks being fired when he starts seeing one of his students; Erica's boyfriend (Boyd Gaines) accidentally learns that she was once a man. Felix: Todd Gearhart. Haley: Catherine Wadkins. Lyla: Jayne Atkinson. Ron: Rob Bogue. Kylie: Shauna Miles. Laura: Katherine Cunningham-Eves. Nancy: Aubrey Dollar. Rose: Natalie Venetia Belcon. Josh: Patrick Fabian. Nell: Katee Sackhoff. Erica: Helen Shaver.
Episode 13
Sun, Jan 27, 2002 60 mins
Max's father (Eli Wallach) pays an unexpected visit, and Max learns that his dad has cancer. The news prompts Max to get a checkup and adopt a healthier lifestyle. Dr. Sherman: Bob Balaban. Isabelle: Ylfa Maria Edelstein. Lester: Eric Ian Goldberg. Nell: Katee Sackhoff. Erica: Helen Shaver.
Episode 14
Sun, Feb 24, 2002 60 mins
Max's personal feelings for an attractive, wealthy donor (Joanna Kerns) get in the way of his mission to persuade her to build a multimillion dollar music center at the college; Andrea's two college roommates arrive to spend the weekend with her, but she's so busy she hardly has time for them. Lindsay: Angelica Torn. Sarah: Becky Ann Baker. Rachel: Veanne Cox. Thornhill: David McCallum. Jeffrey: Logan Arens. Patty: Amy Bouril.
Episode 15
Sun, Mar 3, 2002 60 mins
Max, believing his father (Eli Wallach) is dying, rushes to New York to see him and must decide whether to grant what could be his dad's last request: to see the old deli he used to own. Also, Andrea's mother (Marian Seldes) unexpectedly shows up and moves in with her. Sharon: Tovah Feldshuh. Jean: Ann Dowd. Lester: Eric Ian Goldberg. Andrea: Marcia Gay Harden.
Episode 16
Sun, Mar 10, 2002 60 mins
Max finally completes his revealing autobiographical novel and it sets off a firestorm of protest when copies are secretly passed around campus and various people recognize themselves in some of the characters. Judith: Regina Taylor. Nell: Katee Sackhoff. Lester: Eric Ian Goldberg.
Episode 17
Sun, Mar 17, 2002 60 mins
Max becomes the swing vote when he's appointed to serve on a city-planning committee that is considering whether a mall should be built on a historic site. Also, Andrea becomes attracted to a cop after he tickets her car. Arthur: John Neville. Will: Matt Mulhern. Nilou: Angel Desai. Karen: Amy Bouril. Maya: Shauna Miles. Zarnett: John Speredakos. Owens: Peter McRobbie. Parnell: John Ahlin.
Episode 18
Sun, Mar 31, 2002 60 mins
Max and Nell are at odds when a controversial speaker (James Naughton) is invited to campus. While Nell organizes a protest, Max defends the man's right to free speech. Rose: Natalie Venetia Belcon. Greta: Celia Keenan-Bolger. Rex: Stephen Spinella. Susan: Cynthia Addai-Robinson. Jean: Meghan Wolf. Francesca: Rebecca Mills. Thornhill: David McCallum. Nell: Katee Sackhoff. Lorraine: Molly Regan.
Episode 19
Sun, Apr 14, 2002 60 mins
Max becomes concerned when Lester falls under the influence of a new girl (Halley Wegryn Gross) at school who smokes pot and wants Lester to try it; Andrea falls head-over-heels for a handsome TV producer (Roger Rees) who visits the campus to report on the "dumbing down" of American colleges. Cathee: Ann Talman. Jake: Gerard Canonico. Valerie: Kristin Schaal. Rose: Natalie Venetia Belcon.
Episode 20
Sun, Apr 21, 2002 60 mins
Max is thrilled when a renowned publisher (Marsha Mason) wants to sign him as a client, but he isn't sure he can meet her demands, which include altering his appearance and leaving his teaching position to promote his book on the road. Also, a chauvinist professor (Jay Thomas) visits the campus and debates with Andrea. Himself: Maury Povich. Alphonse: Frederick B. Owens. Ingrid: Liz Morton. Isabelle: Suzie Plakson. Susie: Allison Siko.
Episode 21
Sun, May 12, 2002 60 mins
Harvard's renowned dean (Peter O'Toole) offers Max a teaching position; and Max's ailing 84-year-old dad (Eli Wallach) announces he is getting married to a slightly younger, non-Jewish woman (Anne Jackson). The news shocks everyone, especially Max's sister (Tovah Feldshuh), who's troubled by her widowed dad's behavior. Jerry: Jay Thomas. Danielle: Angela Goethals. Isabelle: Ylfa Edelstein. Craig: Paul Wasilewski.
Episode 22
Sun, Jun 2, 2002 60 mins
Max rejoins a weekly poker game he quit when he stopped drinking, but he soon learns one of the guys is angry with him for something he did while he was still a drunk. Also: Nell pawns her prize guitar to pay a pricey application fee for a summer music program. Carl: Tom Bloom. Herb: Roger Robinson. Larry: Joe Grifasi. Isabelle: Ylfa Edelstein. Abrams: Diane Cossa. Jean: Ann Dowd.