I am the creator of Hillman the Game which means I've spent thousands of hours watching one of my favorite Black sitcoms over, and over, and over, and over again. When I originally thought about this blog post, I planned to only list my top ten favorite episodes. But if you're a fan of the show like I am... 10 episodes ain't enough. With over 140 episodes, I decided to list the ones I felt would give someone whose never seen the show, a crash course on the series. You never know, they may end up just watching the whole thing.
With that being said... here's my long ass list of MUST-WATCH episodes of A Different World. Spoiler alert: Debbie Allen takes over direction of the show after Season 1 and EVERYTHING changes for the better!! K bye.
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"Pilot" (Season 1, Episode 2): Denise Huxtable begins her sophomore year at Hillman and moves into Gilbert Hall. Jaleesa and Denise get a new roommate, talkative transfer student Maggie Lauten.
"The Gift of the Magi" (Season 1, Episode 10): Millie tells the other dorm residents that Whitley's parents are divorcing.
"If Only for One Night" (Season 1, Episode 20): During the last week of school, Denise accepts a date with Dwayne.
"Dr. War is Hell: (Season 2, Episode 1): Dwayne faces the prospect of taking a calculus class from Col. Taylor, a tough professor nicknamed "Dr. War."
"Three Girls Three" (Season 2, Episode 5): I only have to say one thing... Gladys Knight.
"If You Like Pilgrim Coladas" (Season 2, Episode 6): Whitley and Kim stay at the dorm for Thanksgiving. Depressed by the thought of Thanksgiving dinner at the Pit, they decide to go out. Kim uses a fake ID to get them into a club.
"A Stepping Stone" (Season 2, Episode 7): Whitley choreographs Gilbert Hall's step routine for a competition during homecoming festivities.
"I've Got the Muse in Me" (Season 2, Episode 12): Freddie grapples with writer's block as she works on a creative writing assignment and ends up getting drunk.
"Risky Business" (Season 2, Episode 13): Clair Huxtable attends the Hillman job fair to conduct a seminar on business etiquette. She brings teenage daughter Vanessa and a friend in the hopes of convincing Vanessa to attend Hillman.
"No Means No" (Season 2, Episode 20): TRIGGER WARNING Freddie falls for Garth Parks, a handsome and intelligent baseball star who turns out to be a terrible predator.
"The Hat that Makes the Man" (Season 3, Episode 3): Walter and Jaleesa celebrate the anniversary of their first date, but are distracted by conflicts over dorm discipline.
"Forever Hold Your Peace" (Season 3, Episode 5): Dwayne drives Whitley to New York for her father's wedding. He drops in on the Huxtables, hoping to rekindle his relationship with Denise and convince her to return to Hillman.
"Great Expectations/Answered Prayers" (Season 3, Episodes 8 & 9): Kim and Freddie plan to spend home-coming weekend at Freaknik, a music festival in Washington, D.C.
"Under One Roof" (Season 3, Episode 11): Dean Hughes asks Whitley to spend the weekend at her house and co-host the annual freshman tea. Whitley considers this a great honor until Freddie is named the other co-host.
"Here's to Old Friends" (Season 3, Episode 12): Dwayne's old friend Milt comes for a visit. He believes that Hillman is holding Dwayne back, and encourages him to transfer to the University of Pennsylvania.
"That's the Trouble with You All" (Season 3, Episode 17): Whitley plays match-maker for Dwayne and a beautiful coed in the hopes of convincing him to move on.
"A Campfire Story" (Season 3, Episode 18): A lovesick Dwayne convinces Walter to let him tag along on a recruiting trip to North Carolina, where he is trying to sign a high school basketball prospect.
"Soldier Boy" (Season 2, Episode 22): Col. Taylor is the guest of honor at a campus roast. Frank Benning, a man from his first platoon in Vietnam, comes in to serve as the surprise guest speaker.
"Perhaps Love" (Season 3, Episode 25): Dwayne is selected for Phi Beta Kappa, and his mother comes to town to watch his induction ceremony.
"Everything Must Change" (Season 4, Episode 1): Whitley thrills her friends by announcing that she has finally decided that Dwayne is the right man for her.
"Good Help is Hard to Fire (Season 4, Episode 7): Dwayne falls apart in the aftermath of his kiss with Whitley.
"Love Thy Neighbor" (Season 4, Episode 8): Dwayne helps Whitley with her marketing project, but turns her down when she offers to take him to dinner.
"The Apple Doesn't Fall (Season 4, Episode 10): Ron's father sends him a car to officially welcome him into the family car dealership.
"War and Peace" (Season 4, Episode 12): Dwayne's good friend Zelmer comes to visit and stuns him by announcing that his Army Reserve unit has been called to the Persian Gulf.
"Risk Around the Dollar" (Season 4, Episode 14): Whitley has to cut into the tuition check from her father to cover her share of the rent.
"A Word in Edgewise" (Season 4, Episode 16): Matthew arranges for some friends from the National Theatre of the Deaf to perform for the children from the community center outreach program. Kim feels embarrassed by Matthew's free-spirited behavior, which she considers too silly.
"Ms. Understanding" (Season 4, Episode 17): This is the episode we meet Shazza Zulu and all hotep hell breaks loose.
"It's Showtime at Hillman" (Season 4, Episode 20): The community outreach program loses funding after a corporate buyout, so Walter organizes a three-hour telethon to raise the $15,000 it needs to remain in operation.
"Sister to Sister, Sister" (Season 4, Episode 21): Whitley is placed in charge of pledges for her sorority.
"If I Should Die Before I Wake" (Season 4, Episode 23): Whitley plans to sleep with Dwayne for the first time on his birthday. The public speaking professor assigns the students to write their own eulogies.
"To Be Continued" (Season 4, Episode 25): Ron tries to keep his father from discovering that he did not graduate.
"We've Only Just Begun" (Season 5, Episode 1): Dwayne and Whitley prepare for the coming school year at Hillman. He will teach classes, and she will serve as director of a new dormitory.
"Baby I'm A Star" (Season 5, Episode 7): The club owner fires Ron's band, X-Pression, because the group is not bringing in any customers. Dwayne suggests that Ron hire a vocalist.
"To Tell the Truth/ Do You Take This Woman" (Season 5, Episodes 9 & 10): Whitley panics about wedding preparations--particularly the upcoming engagement party, in which her parents are to see each other for the first time since their divorce.
"Mammy Dearest" (Season 5, Episode 11): Dwayne seeks a friendship with Whitley, but she doesn't feel like hearing him out. She throws herself into organizing her dorm's official dedication ceremony. Kim and others object when she includes images of "mammies" (black nursemaids in the past, particularly during times of slavery) with the art exhibit.
"The Cat's in the Cradle" (Season 5, Episode 14): Ron promises to take Dwayne's mind off the situation by taking him to the big football game between Hillman and Virginia A&M but things get ugly when three white rival students start trouble with them.
"May the Best Man Win" (Season 5, Episodes 17, 18 & 19): These episodes detail the Byron Douglas saga... very important to the show's main story arc.
"Save the Best for Last" aka The Wedding (Season 5, Episodes 24 & 25): The number one episode for 95% of ADW fans. Two words: Baby, Please!
"Interior Desecration (aka Sofa So Good)" (Season 6, Episode 3): Whitley and Dwayne argue about which furniture should be kept for their new house.
"Somebody Say Ho" (Season 6, Episode 4): Charmaine annoys the other students with her pushy attitude in Dwayne's statistics class.
"The Little Mister" (Season 6, Episode 7): During their Halloween party, a drunken Dwayne responds sarcastically when Whitley and friends discuss women's rights and the "Year of the Woman."
"Baby, It's Cold Outside" (Season 6, Episode 8): Whitley catches Ron sneaking Freddie out of his apartment at six o'clock in the morning. Dwayne and Whitley cannot find any time together because he is working three jobs in an effort to support her.
"Faith Hope & Charity" (Season 6, Episodes 17 & 18): Whitley's mother surprises Whitley and Dwayne by coming to visit for Thanksgiving. Whitley is too ashamed to admit that she is unemployed and that the couple was recently robbed.
"When One Door Closes" (Season 6, Episodes 17 & 18): Whitley has trouble getting through to a pupil that she is tutoring. Dwayne brainstorms about a video game that would get kids more interested in grammar. Ron suggests a game that combines grammar with the elements of baseball.
"Lean On Me" (Season 6, Episode 20): Col. Taylor recommends that Dwayne apply for a summer job with Kinishewa.
"Homie, Don't Ya Know Me?" (Season 6, Episode 23): Lena's friends from Baltimore come to visit for the weekend.
"A Rock, A River, A Lena" (Season 6, Episode 26): Legendary singer/actress Lena Horne visits the Hillman campus to dedicate a scholarship named for her grandmother.
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