Faces you'll recognise
Episode guide
After their divorced mother takes a job in Saudi Arabia, fraternal twins Sott and Jason Collins move from New York to Malibu to be with their father Peter, who runs a restaurant there called the Lighthouse. Both boys are immediately attracted to their neighbor Samantha and just as quickly start competing for her attention. Samantha's best friend Jennifer, or ""Stads"" as she's better known, starts developing a crush on Jason. Samantha is trying to stop Murray Updyke's rich father from drilling for oil near the beach, and to impress her, the boys plan to hold a fund-raiser for her campaign. The party is held at the Lighthouse on a night when Mr. Collins is away, and it quickly gets out of control, finally being broken up by the fire marshall. Peter Collins returns to find the mess the boys made. Unsure that he's ready to handle raising the duo, he plans to send them back to New York to live with their grandmother, but a talk with Murray convinces him not to. The money from the benefit hel
Condo developers plan to get rid of the Surf Shack, Murray's favorite place. Samantha thinks something should be done about it, and of course the brothers are always ready to help if it will impress her. They try to scam the developers by posing as corporate raiders but it doesn't work. Murray's dad tells him he will by the Shack, but only if Murray will give up surfing. Finally, the boys talk their father into buying it and putting Murray in charge. Also, Stads has to fight off the amorous advances of a guy she rescued from drowning.
While caring for their father's tropical fish while he's away, Jason and Scott find one of them, dad's favorite ""Goldie,"" dead. To raise the money to replace the expensive fish, the brothers hold a Miss Malibu contest and fix it so that Samantha will be the winner. Emcee Murray crowns Traycee the winner by mistake. Peter returns home early and the boys are desperate to replace the fish. Stads comes though with the new fish at the last minute, but the boys find out that it really wasn't Goldie who died in the first place.
Scott is restoring a 1965 Mustang and Samantha is spending a lot of time helping him with it, causing concern for Jason and Stads. To stop Scott and Sam from going to a car show in Santa Barbara, Stads and Jason make it look like the Mustang was stolen. Scott and Sam get wind of the plot, however, and turn the joke on them. When it turns out that Samantha can't go to the car show, Jason and Stads share a relieved laugh--and then a kiss.
Samantha is chosen by fashion photographer Devon for a photo shoot, but Jason believes that he's just hitting on her. Sam breaks a date with Scott for a session with Devon. Scott watches as the photographer puts the moves on other girls. Samantha is supposed to go with Devon to Paris. At the shoot, he tries to make his move on her, but Scott arrives with a rose in hand in time to rescue her. Samantha forgets about the trip to Paris.
Jason and Stads are dating, but Jason is embarrassed by always being outdone by Stads in athletics, etc. A robbery is attempted at the Lighthouse while the couple are there. The lights go out and Stads knocks out the robber. When the confusion settles down, Stads gives Jason credit for subduing the thief. Jason begins to brag about his supposed heroics, embellishing the story with more and more fiction. Scott suspects what happened and asks Stads about it. During Jason's most outrageous press interview, Stads blurts out the truth. Also, Scott and Samantha are tired of Murray hanging with them all the time. To try to get some time alone for themselves, they find a girlfriend for Murray, but their plan doesn't work.
Scott and Samantha are getting serious about each other and are planning a getaway to Catalina, but before it happens, Scott's old girlfriend Megan shows up. The spark is still there between the two, since Scott's move to California was the only reason for their breakup. He tries to hide Megan from Samantha, but Sam sees the two of them kissing and breaks off the relationship with Scott.
Jason and Scott enter a bowling tournament against the reigning Malibu Lanes champ Louie. Jason raises the stakes by making a bet with Louie for $300--Scott's tip money. Before the showdown, Scott injures his wrist. Stads is ready to replace him but the bowling alley has a ""men only"" policy for the tournament. Stads disguises herself as a boy and under the name ""Earl,"" she helps Jason win the championship. At the awards ceremony, the owner's daughter Melanie develops a crush on ""Earl."" Stads reveals her identity and she and Jason are disqualified. Melanie prevails on her father to forgo the outdated ""men only"" rule, making Stads and Jason the winners of the bet and the tourney's prize, a jet ski. Meanwhile at the Lighthouse, Murray, Samantha and Traycee try to save a mouse form extermination.
Scott and Jason are desperate to make some money after they mess up supply orders at the restaurant. To do this, they put their own home shopping show on the public access channel. Murray, who has been painting signs, accidentally appears on camera in a paint-spattered plastic coat and immediately the show starts receiving calls for the same kind of garment. Bloomingdale's calls with an order for ""Murray Wear."" The boys put on an outdoor fashion show for an important buyer. It begins to rain, all the paint starts to run, everyone is suddenly in see-through clothes and Murray Wear is history. Also, Traycee is dating a member of the British nobility. Samantha and Stads are trying to make her over to become properly respectable.
Jason is jealous of Stads' hunky lifeguard partner Kip. Scott advises him to flirt with Traycee to make Stads jealous. Samantha advises Stads to do likewise with Kip. Jason and Stads argue while shopping for costumes for a party and the two break up. Samantha and Scott feel guilty about what they've done and try to maneuver the couple back together at the party, but mistakes happen and the two costumed brothers end up dancing with each other. In the meantime, Murray has moved into the Collins house while Peter is away, and his intense cooking and cleaning are about to drive the brothers crazy.
Scott recognizes actress Jessie Sinclair at the Lighthouse, but he agrees to keep the news quiet. He invites her to his home and Jessie enjoys the freedom she feels there. Jason and Stads come by and wonder who Jessie is. After they sneak a peak in her wallet, they are determined to get a picture of her, which a local tabloid will pay $5000 for. They secretly snap a photo of Jessie and Scott, but the tabloid editor won't pay up until he gets some dirt to print about Scott. Meanwhile paparazzi descend upon the Collins home and Jessie thinks that Scott betrayed her. Stads and Jason admit what they did, but say that they didn't turn the picture over to the editor. The two disguise themselves as Scott and Jessie and lead the photographers on a wild goose chase, while the real Scott and Jessie enjoy a last moment together.
Jason and Stads have a big fight over his gift to her, tickets to a concert that he is anxious to go to. Samantha advises Jason to buy another gift for Stads and the two of them set out for Beverly Hills to buy a necklace. On the way a big storm rolls in, causing a mudslide. Samantha and Jason are unable to get out of the car. Stads' intuition tells her that there is trouble and she alerts a rescue patrol. Trapped in the car, Jason and Samantha talk about their feelings for each other. After spending the night in the car, the two are awakened by the movement of another load of mud. Startled, Samantha instinctively grabs ahold of Jason, then the two of them kiss. Stads leads the rescue party that frees the trapped couple. Later, she and Jason go out for a romantic dinner. He tells Stads about the kiss, which causes her to break off her relationship with him.
The boys throw a birthday party for their father, even though his car broke down and he's not in attendance. The party is going along just fine without him when who should show up but Michele, the boys' mother, back from Saudi Arabia. Michele lets her sons know that she doesn't care for what she's seen of Malibu. Jason and Scott are worried that she will ship them back to New York. They concoct a scheme to make her change her opinion. Michele has no intention of taking the boys away, but when she and Peter find out about the planned deception, they devise a little plot of their own and let the boys twist in the wind awhile.
Murray decides to run for mayor of Malibu to save a 500-year-old tree stump that's slated for removal for road construction. His opponent is Dennis Haskins, the actor who played Mr. Belding on ""Saved by the Bell."" When Scott and Jason hear that Murray's father has given him a $20,000 campaign contribution, they quickly volunteer to be his campaign managers. The boys aren't interested in the election, though; they're spending the money strictly to impress girls. Haskins finds out about their actions and threatens to expose them if Murray wins. Now Jason and Scott try to rig the election so that Haskins will win. When the results come in, Murray wins despite their efforts. He proposes a new road to go around the tree stump, then resigns as mayor. Haskins becomes the new mayor and the boys are forced to sell all the new goodies they bought with the campaign money, as well as some of their other possessions. Also, Traycee is practicing to be a magician's assistant and handcuffs herself to
After his breakup with Stads, Jason is striking out with women while Scott is having great success with girls he's met through the internet. Jason thinks the girls must all be geeks until he gets a look at a picture of Scott's intended date Jocelyn. Jason replaces Jocelyn's picture with one of a musclewoman. Scott is surprised when he sees the picture and Jason advises him to stand her up. Jason then goes to meet Jocelyn, introducing himself as Scott. She loves extreme sports, so he takes her to an event. While there, they run into Scott. Jason asks him not to blow his cover, and introduces Scott to Jocelyn as Jason. To get back at Jason, Scott tells Jocelyn his brother loves skydiving. She proposes they all go skydiving and soon the three of them are in an airplane ready to jump. Scott enjoys watching Jason squirm. Jason confesses to Jocelyn. Disgusted with him, she jumps out of the plane. Scott tells Jason there's no hard feelings and pats his brother on the back, which sends him fal
Murray is attracted to a sunbather on the beach named Amber. To help him out, Jason lets her know that Murray is a trust-fund baby. Amber all of a sudden is wild about Murray. She takes his credit cards, goes on a shopping spree and within hours has maxed out his cards. To expose Amber as a phony, Scott poses as a rich nerd. He catches her in the act when she goes after him just like she did to Murray. Amber doesn't care, though; she admits to Scott she's after Murray for his money. Before Murray can be told, he announces that he and Amber will marry. Jason and Scott try to convince Murray of Amber's real intentions, but he doesn't believe them. At the altar, Murray vows that his love for Amber is so strong that he doesn't need his dad's money and won't take any. Amber promptly walks away. After many disappointments, a discouraged Traycee is talking about giving up acting. Samantha and Stads encourage her to try something else, like doing makeovers. Traycee tries it out, doing makeover
Peter Collins promotes Scott to a position over Jason at the restaurant. In their sibling rivalry, the boys make a $200 bet over who is the better ladies' man. To do this they appear on Traycee's new cable show which is similar to ""The Dating Game."" Murray also is on the same panel as the boys. Both brothers try to cheat by getting inside information on the female contestants, but it doesn't work. Jason and Scott get into a fight onstage and are disqualified, as Murray wins the date and a trip to Hawaii Also, Stads dons a ""fat suit"" to do an undercover article for the newspaper. She's surprised to find out the way society treats obese people.
Jason likes a girl he meets on the beach named Holly, but she has a boyfriend. Murray gets a gig doing surf reports for a radio station, but accidentally gets promoted to ""The Dude of Love,"" who gives advice on romance. Holly thinks that the Dude has all the answers, and Jason sees this as a way to get her to break up with her boyfriend. He gets Samantha to call into the show pretending to be in the same situation as Holly. Murray is supposed to go along with Jason's plan and advise the caller to break up with her current boyfriend, but on air Murray advises her (Sam) to stick with her mate. Jason then concocts a plan to impersonate the Dude and advise Holly to break up with her boyfriend, and she does. But later Jason is confronted by Holly's angry ex. Meanwhile, Traycee is looking to invest her first ""Baywatch"" paycheck. She gets conned into buying a 2 square-foot plot of the public beach. Stads, Scott and Peter help her reverse the sting on the con man.
Jason is hurt and offended when his father snaps at him at work, suggesting no one else would hire him. He leaves the Lighthouse gets a new job at a Malibu health club. Jason is looking forward to working around pretty girls all day, but his boss Bertha gives him tough, unglamorous tasks to do. Back at the Lighthouse, Peter and Scott are shorthanded while preparing for an important visit by a food critic. Peter hires a new guy who he thinks is the greatest. He trusts his new employee to open up the restaurant, but when he and Scott show up the next morning, they find the guy has robbed the place. Everything is going disastrously during the critics' visit, but just before he leaves in disgust, Jason, who has swallowed his pride, and Scott come to the rescue with some good food. Jason and his father make amends.
Laura, a graphic designer, is hired to design new menus for the Lighthouse, and the boys notice that their father has more than a professional interest in her. Jason tutors his father on how to turn a business dinner into a romantic one. Before Peter can go out with Laura, she asks Jason for a date. To avoid this, when she arrives at the restaurant, Jason fakes a toothache. An attractive woman who happens to be a dentist is on hand, and Peter now gets interested in her. Also, Traycee is going to try out for a spot on the Laker Girls roster. Samantha and Stads think cheerleading is demeaning to women, so they plan to go to the tryouts as candidates but stage a protest when they get there. Samantha goes through with her protest and gets thrown out, but she convinces the judges to hire a Laker Guy instead--Murray.
Stads is interning at a local TV station and everyone else seems to want to get in on the act. Traycee tries out for weather girl and Jason enters the jingle-writing contest. Scott confides to Stads that he's always wanted to be a sportscaster, so she gets him an audition. The night before the audition, Jason keeps Scott up all night listening to his jingles, resulting in Scott looking and acting like a zombie the next day. He finishes his audition by falling asleep. Meanwhile, Traycee's good looks win her a job, but her bizarre weather forecasts lose it for her as quickly. Scott gets another audition, but this time he's had so much caffeine beforehand that he ends up dancing on the tables. Embarrassed, Scott won't audition again, but Jason and Stads work on the station manager to give him yet another look. This time she likes what she sees and makes Scott weekend sports reporter. Peter, meanwhile, has been having no luck with women and is taking out his frustrations on Murray. Murray
The boys have forgotten to buy their mother a birthday present, so they decide to make her a videotape all about their lives in Malibu. Told in flashback, Murray, Samantha and Stads come up with plenty of memories, but all of them are bad. It's up to Peter to point out some of the positive things that have happened in Malibu.
Mr. Collins gives Jason and Scott the responsibility of hiring a new cook while he's away, and they choose a beautiful, statuesque blonde--whose cooking is awful. Murray's old surfing buddy Webfoot Wilson shows up in Malibu and Murray is glad to see him. But Stads and Samantha witness Webfoot stealing money from the till of Murray's Surf Shack and they wonder how they should tell him.
The boys' favorite, Uncle Charlie, is coming to visit, but he isn't as happy about it as they are. The Marine Corps is pushing him to retire and take a teaching position at a military school. Concerned with his depression, Jason and Scott convince him to stay in town a while longer, ostensibly to help their dad, who they say has been drinking and gambling. But Charlie ends up whipping the boys into shape instead, turning their Malibu lives into a Marine boot camp. Later Charlie meets Murray, who tells him about the glories of surfing. Charlie tries it and soon becomes a total beach bum, turning down the military school job. Meanwhile, Traycee has two tickets to a Beastie Boys concert. To decide whether she should take Stads or Samantha, she holds a ""friendship contest,"" awarding points to the girls for their good deeds toward her.
Scott and Jason accidentally destroy their father's $2000 watch. To raise money to replace it, they convince Murray to hold a ""Casino Night"" on his father's yacht while he's out of town. The event is a moneymaking success, but when Murray hears that Mr. Updyke is returning sooner than expected, he panics and runs the boat into a reef, sinking it. Murray is afraid to tell his father what happened, but Peter tells him that his father might be more understanding than he thinks. Murray owns up to what he did, and his father is proud of him for taking responsibility. This gives Jason and Scott the courage to tell Peter about the watch, but their dad does not react to the news as well as Murray's did. Stads is picked to star in a lifeguard training video. Traycee volunteers to be her acting coach. At the shoot, Stads flubs her lines and Traycee is heard delivering them perfectly. The producers replace Stads with Traycee. Stads is both mad and hurt by this rejection, so Traycee gets the produ
Scott and Stads are training together for a triathalon. Murray asks Jason if he will be jealous of their closeness during this time. Jason says no but he soon is jealous anyway. He enters the triathalon himself to keep an eye on the two, but can't keep up the rigorous training. Murray is enlisted to help distract Scott and he locks them both in the restaurant's cooler overnight. Scott misses the trialthalon, and so does Stads, who tries to find the missing Scott. Jason and Stads spend some time together and old feelings are reignited as they kiss. Also, Traycee slips on the Lighthouse's wet floor (ignoring a ""Wet Floor"" sign) in order to get on a commercial for a lawyer who specializes in personal injury lawsuits. Though Traycee just cares about getting the commercial job, Peter is terrified of being sued and lavishes attention on Traycee hoping to dissuade her from filing a lawsuit. When he sings to her, however, Traycee thinks she's in love and begins making wedding plans. To avoid
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About this story
Fraternal twins Scott and Jason Collins relocate to Malibu, Calif., to live with their dad.
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