Through tests, tears, and triumphs as a fire drives the Waltons from their home, John-Boy becomes a scriptwriter, Mary Ellen applies to nursing school, and Jim-Bob discovers a fact about his birth, all while Hitler and Mussolini threaten the world.

Pacific Coast Academy is an all boys boarding school that is accepting female students for the first time since the school was established. Zoey's brother, Dustin, is currently a student there. Zoey decides to be one of the first girls to become a student at PCA. This is very exciting, but also very scary. Fitting in at a new school is hard enough, but going away to boarding school and living on your own when you're only thirteen can get a little...

Jon and Wendy Savage (Hoffman and Linney) are two siblings who have spent their adult years trying to recover from their abusive father, Lenny (Bosco). Suddenly, a call comes in that Lenny's girlfriend has died and he cannot care for himself. Lenny suffers from dementia and her family dumps Lenny on his children. Despite the fact Jon and Wendy have not spoken to Lenny for twenty years and he is even more loathsome than ever, the Savage siblings feel...

Foster children Andi and Bruce have been placed with a flaky couple who care more for their aspiring rock careers than their charges. Their mischievous tendencies repeatedly get them into trouble. After a close call with the local pound, the kids end up searching for Friday, their secretly adopted dog, in an abandoned old hotel where they find several other stray dogs seeking shelter. They, along with three other local kids, begin caring for the strays....

Morrie is an uptight university professor who is anxiously seeking tenure. This requires the approval of his department head, who lives next door. Morrie and his wife Betty live in the house he inherited at 18, after his mother died and his father committed suicide. Morrie has raised his brother Jay and sister Ida, both have problems of their own. Ida is a substance abuser, as well as being promiscuous. Jay is a deeply gentle and sensitive soul whose...

Olive is a little girl who dreams of winning the Little Miss Sunshine contest. Her family wants her dream to come true, but they are so dysfunctional that they can barely make it through a day without some disaster befalling them. Olive's father, Richard, is unsuccessful as a motivational speaker. He is barely on speaking terms with Olive's mother. Her uncle Frank has attempted suicide following an unsuccessful romance with a male graduate student....

Marty Bronson raises his son and daughter on his own. He has to sell his homey motel to Barry Nottingham who promises to make Marty's son manager. But, Nottingham pulls down the motel and builds a pricey hotel. Now grown up, Marty's son, Skeeter, works as a janitor and general servant. He still dreams of becoming the manager. When Nottingham announces a brand-new hotel, built on an existing school's property, he makes his future son-in-law, Kendall,...