Season 1
Episode: 1x01 | Airdate: Sep 16, 1984
In the series opener, in Chicago, 8-year-old Penelope ""Punky"" Brewster and her dog Brandon are found living in an empty apartment by the building's grouchy manager, photography studio owner Henry Warnimont. Punky tells Henry that it all started when her father walked out on her and her mother Susan Brewster, then a couple of weeks ago, Susan said they were going on a trip, so Susan, Punky, and Brandon piled up in their car and drove to a shopping center in Chicago, where Susan abandoned Punky and Brandon, who have been homeless ever since. In the vacant apartment, Punky always had food, because 8-year-old Cherie Johnson, who lives upstairs from Henry with her grandmother Betty Johnson, always brought food to Punky. Henry takes some memorable pictures of Punky, Cherie, Betty, Brandon, and himself at his photography studio. Later, Punky decides to clean Henry's apartment but when Henry gets home, he is furious because he liked everything the way it was before Punky cleaned the place.
Episode: 1x02 | Airdate: Sep 23, 1984
Henry calls the Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS), but Punky panics, saying that she doesn't want to go to an orphanage, so Henry promises Punky that she won't have to go to an orphanage. The DCFS sends Miranda ""Randi"" Mitchell, who takes Punky away from Henry. Randi takes Punky to Fenster Hall, a home for kids up for adoption. Randi later returns to Henry's apartment and tells Henry that there hasn't been much progress in finding Punky's mother Susan, who may not want to be found. Randi also says that in 72 hours, the DCFS will have a hearing to decide who gets custody of Punky, and Punky wants it to be Henry. Henry has shed a lot of his grouchiness, and he now loves Punky and would like to have custody of her, but Randi thinks Punky would be better off with someone else. At Fenster Hall, Punky is introduced to her two room mates -- Lisa is a girl who acts tough, and Mary is a girl who never talks.
Episode: 1x03 | Airdate: Sep 30, 1984
Henry demands to know one reason why Randi doesn't think he should be Punky's foster father, but Randi gives him three reasons -- he's never raised a kid, he's not married, and he's too old.
Episode: 1x04 | Airdate: Oct 7, 1984
Punky and her friends convert Henry's study room into her bedroom without asking him first.
Episode: 1x05 | Airdate: Oct 14, 1984
Henry, Punky's foster father, takes over the task of walking her and her hyperactive friends Cherie, Margeaux, Scotty and Allen to school after Mrs. Johnson, Cherie's grandmother, challenges him to the job.
Episode: 1x06 | Airdate: Oct 21, 1984
As the Chicago Cubs play in their first post-season championship since 1945, proud Cubs fan Henry tries to get tickets for Punky and himself.
Episode: 1x07 | Airdate: Oct 28, 1984
As the school's parent-teacher night approaches, Punky is upset by Margaux's insensitive comments about foster parents and foster children.
Episode: 1x08 | Airdate: Nov 4, 1984
Punky can't sleep, so Henry agrees to let her stay up and watch the opera with him on TV.
Episode: 1x09 | Airdate: Nov 25, 1984
Punky, Cherie, and Margaux compete in a beauty pageant hosted by pop singer Andy Gibb.
Episode: 1x10 | Airdate: Dec 2, 1984
Punky and Cherie start a dog grooming business so that they can help make ends meet in their respective homes.
Episode: 1x11 | Airdate: Dec 9, 1984
Henry throws out Punky's worn-out old doll after the children's attempt to repair it fails. This upsets Punky, so Henry searches throughout the city to find it.
Episode: 1x12 | Airdate: Dec 16, 1984
Christmas is approaching, and the only thing Punky wants is to find her mother.
Episode: 1x13 | Airdate: Dec 16, 1984
Christmas is approaching, and the only thing Punky wants is to find her mother.
Episode: 1x14 | Airdate: Jan 20, 1985
Punky helps her piano teacher get into the music business.
Episode: 1x15 | Airdate: Jan 27, 1985
Henry is reunited with a woman he planned to marry in 1941; when Pearl Harbor was attacked, he enlisted in the Merchant Marines and did not see her again until now.
Episode: 1x16 | Airdate: Feb 3, 1985
Punky runs away when he learns that when Henry and Maggie are to be married, she'll be sent to boarding school in Europe.
Episode: 1x17 | Airdate: Feb 10, 1985
After getting in trouble for slugging a boy at school, Punky dreams of life 80 years into the future where everyone has found love except for her.
Episode: 1x18 | Airdate: Feb 17, 1985
Henry scolds Brandon for eating several valuable stamps. After that, Punky takes him on a walk, where he is hit by a car. He is rushed to the veterinary hospital, where his prognosis is grim.
Episode: 1x19 | Airdate: Feb 24, 1985
Henry purchases a video camera for his photo studio and firmly warns Punky that she is not to touch it under any circumstances. However, while he's away, she and her friends make an exercise tape and think he won't know it - until the camera breaks.
Episode: 1x20 | Airdate: Mar 3, 1985
Punky, Cherie, and Margaux all want a highly sought-after doll, but Henry can only find one of them at the toy store.
Episode: 1x21 | Airdate: Mar 31, 1985
Punky catches a boy breaking into her room and stealing from her. Henry takes the boy to Fenster Hall where Mike Fulton, one of the workers there, tries to bond with him.
Episode: 1x22 | Airdate: Mar 31, 1985
T.C.'s criminal mentor, Blade, sends him back to Fenster Hall to steal the money from the upcoming benefit auction.
Season 2
Episode: 2x01 | Airdate: Sep 15, 1985
When Punky bears the brunt of the school bully's aggression, she asks professional boxer Marvin Hagler for advice on self-defense.
Episode: 2x02 | Airdate: Sep 22, 1985
Punky wants to build a tree house behind her apartment building, but she has trouble getting people to help her.
Episode: 2x03 | Airdate: Sep 29, 1985
Punky and Allen cheat on their geography test.
Episode: 2x04 | Airdate: Oct 6, 1985
With Mrs. Johnson's assistance, Punky and Cherie go into the babysitting business. A woman leaves her baby with them, but when the three of them take it out for a stroll, they return home with another infant.
Episode: 2x05 | Airdate: Oct 13, 1985
The children enroll in a tap dancing class taught by Jersey Janet, a former Broadway dancer. Punky is not very good, and she quits the class when her skills do not improve.
Episode: 2x06 | Airdate: Oct 20, 1985
Punky and the gang go on a camping trip. When the children get lost in a cave, Punky tells a ghost story about an evil spirit who threatens the lake.
Episode: 2x07 | Airdate: Oct 20, 1985
The children do battle with an evil spirit, when the ghost of an Indian princess appears to tell Punky that it must be fought with love.
Episode: 2x08 | Airdate: Oct 27, 1985
Punky and Cherie are admitted into a clique, only to find that they use drugs and want them to do so.
Episode: 2x09 | Airdate: Nov 10, 1985
Punky has something in common with her teacher, Mike Fulton: they were both abandoned by their mothers. They work together to try and find the whereabouts of their respective families.
Episode: 2x10 | Airdate: Nov 17, 1985
On Halloween, Punky raises the ire of Mrs. Peevey, a cantankerous old woman who lives in the building, simply by trying to be her friend.
Episode: 2x11 | Airdate: Nov 24, 1985
Punky befriends the school janitor who, in spite of her learning disability, is a gifted violin player.
Episode: 2x12 | Airdate: Dec 1, 1985
Punky and Cherie learn that a girl who moved into the building recently was kidnapped by her divorced father, and they are both living in the building under assumed names.
Episode: 2x13 | Airdate: Dec 15, 1985
During the Christmas shopping season, Punky sees a friend shoplifting merchandise and decides to steal a present she can't afford for Henry. She regrets this when she accidentally switches bags with Mike, who ends up in prison.
Episode: 2x14 | Airdate: Jan 5, 1986
Punky is afraid that Henry will be the next victim of a widely publicized murder spree.
Episode: 2x15 | Airdate: Jan 12, 1986
Punky receives a remote-controlled race car as a gift. She wants to take it to the racing track, but they do not allow girls to compete there.
Episode: 2x16 | Airdate: Jan 19, 1986
Henry reluctantly buys a new refrigerator and puts the old one in the backyard. Mike teaches CPR to the children in class. Allen goofs off and is sent to the principal's office. When the children are playing Hide and Seek, Cherie hides in the fridge and suffocates. Allen doesn't know what to do, so it's up to Punky and Margaux to save their friend's life.
Episode: 2x17 | Airdate: Feb 2, 1986
Henry's studio burns down; with no insurance and a mountain of bills he can't pay, he suffers a bleeding ulcer and is hospitalized.
Episode: 2x18 | Airdate: Feb 9, 1986
Just as Henry was planning to adopt Punky, a Fenster Hall bureaucrat named Simon P. Chillings rescinds his custody citing his age, his illness, and his lack of a steady income. Mike Fulton tries to change his mind but to no avail.
Episode: 2x19 | Airdate: Feb 16, 1986
Punky's friends visit her at Fenster Hall. Hoping that Simon Chillings won't notice (and by taking his glasses), Margaux impersonates Punky so that the real Punky can visit Henry in the hospital.
Episode: 2x20 | Airdate: Feb 23, 1986
Simon Chillings performs a Rorschach inkblot test on the fake Punky, and based upon the results, he places the real Punky with a wealthy family. However, she does not take to high society very well.
Episode: 2x21 | Airdate: Mar 2, 1986
After a tearful reunion between Punky and Henry, the Buckworths plan to move to Europe. Henry, however, is working as hard as possible to rebuild his business and win Punky back.
Episode: 2x22 | Airdate: Mar 9, 1986
Punky's dream is to become an astronaut when she grows up. When she sees the explosion of the Challenger Space Shuttle on TV, she is devastated.
Season 3
Episode: 3x01 | Airdate: Oct 30, 1987
Punky wants to see the rock group DeBarge in concert, but Henry is more concerned with her education.
Episode: 3x02 | Airdate: Nov 2, 1987
Punky writes a gossip column for the school newspaper.
Episode: 3x03 | Airdate: Nov 3, 1987
Punky's overweight cousin Louise wants to lose weight.
Episode: 3x04 | Airdate: Nov 4, 1987
When Allen's parents file for divorce, his mother moves to Kansas and takes him with her.
Episode: 3x05 | Airdate: Nov 5, 1987
Punky believes one of Henry's lodge buddies has been drinking and driving.
Episode: 3x06 | Airdate: Nov 6, 1987
Punky tries to help an elderly woman in the building.
Episode: 3x07 | Airdate: Nov 10, 1987
Punky is angry when Cherie falls for a boy.
Episode: 3x08 | Airdate: Nov 11, 1987
After Henry scolds Punky for not taking better care of Brandon, she dreams that she's a dog and Brandon's a person.
Episode: 3x09 | Airdate: Nov 12, 1987
Henry goes shopping for a brassiere for Punky.
Episode: 3x10 | Airdate: Nov 13, 1987
Punky and Henry campaign to turn an empty field into a city park, but Henry's fear of public speaking gets the best of him.
Episode: 3x11 | Airdate: Nov 13, 1987
Punky sets Henry up with the school librarian, while Mrs. Johnson goes on a dating game show.
Episode: 3x12 | Airdate: Nov 16, 1987
Punky tries to fit in at a high society banquet.
Episode: 3x13 | Airdate: Nov 17, 1987
Punky is concerned about the way Cherie always seems to act every year on the 9th of May; she soon learns that it was the day Cherie's parents were killed in a car accident.
Episode: 3x14 | Airdate: Nov 20, 1987
When Punky pretends to be an elderly woman and sneaks into an R-rated movie, Cherie and Margaux cover for her truancy at school.
Episode: 3x15 | Airdate: Nov 25, 1987
Punky enlists the aid of Cherie and Margaux in kidnapping a pig to save it from being slaughtered.
Episode: 3x16 | Airdate: Dec 1, 1987
Spud threatens to jump off a building if Punky won't go to the Sadie Hawkins dance with him.
Episode: 3x17 | Airdate: Dec 2, 1987
Photo developing tycoon Matt Glossy offers to buy Henry's studio for $100,000. When he accepts the deal, he ends up working for him. Dissatisfaction quickly sets in, so Henry quits his job. Since his contract with Mr. Glossy forbids him from opening another studio for several decades, he opens a restaurant instead.
Episode: 3x18 | Airdate: Dec 3, 1987
Punky convinces Henry to let her work at Punky's Place, the new restaurant named for her. However, she screws things up tremendously and is quickly fired.
Episode: 3x19 | Airdate: Dec 4, 1987
A blackout prompts the gang to reminisce on old times (in clips from previous episodes).
Episode: 3x20 | Airdate: Dec 7, 1987
Punky tries to help Henry break his addiction to sleeping pills.
Episode: 3x21 | Airdate: Dec 8, 1987
Brandon runs away after Cherie leaves the apartment door open.
Episode: 3x22 | Airdate: Dec 9, 1987
The boy who finds Brandon refuses to give him up, even when his parents tell him that they're moving to California.
Season 4
Episode: 4x01 | Airdate: Apr 27, 1988
Punky believes she has donated an urn containing Henry's Aunt Mabel's ashes to a convent.
Episode: 4x02 | Airdate: Apr 28, 1988
Punky has a crush on an older boy.
Episode: 4x03 | Airdate: Apr 29, 1988
Punky, Cherie, and Margaux go to Camp Kookalookie.
Episode: 4x04 | Airdate: May 2, 1988
Margaux believes that Punky and Cherie won't want to be her friends anymore because her family has gone bankrupt.
Episode: 4x05 | Airdate: May 3, 1988
Punky pushes Brandon into doing a TV commercial for dog food.
Episode: 4x06 | Airdate: May 4, 1988
Punky and Cherie believe that a man has died at Punky's Place. When a newspaper's restaurant critic eats there, they fear that this will hurt the restaurant's reputation.
Episode: 4x07 | Airdate: May 5, 1988
During the Christmas season, Punky finds a briefcase full of stolen money.
Episode: 4x08 | Airdate: May 6, 1988
Punky and Cherie make money selling cosmetics with unexpected side effects.
Episode: 4x09 | Airdate: May 9, 1988
When Henry teaches Mrs. Johnson how to drive, mutual lawsuits result because of an accident. The judge hears contradictory testimony from both of them.
Episode: 4x10 | Airdate: May 10, 1988
Punky, Cherie, and Margaux perform a radio drama.
Episode: 4x11 | Airdate: May 11, 1988
Betty's sister Larnese, a world famous singer, asks Cherie to come live with her in France.
Episode: 4x12 | Airdate: May 12, 1988
While Henry tries to throw out souvenirs he has collected over the years, Punky tries to read Cherie's diary. After it accidentally goes out with the garbage, Punky and Margaux search the dumpster to try and find it.
Episode: 4x13 | Airdate: May 13, 1988
Cherie's cousin Paula is a talented artist. When it is suggested that she enters a contest, she balks at filling out the entry form because she doesn't know how to read.
Episode: 4x14 | Airdate: May 16, 1988
Punky is afraid to undergo an appendectomy.
Episode: 4x15 | Airdate: May 17, 1988
When Margaux's father buys the apartment building, Mrs. Johnson can't afford the rent increase he has proposed. Punky, Cherie, and Margaux protest the rent increase by going to his office and chaining themselves to his desk.
Episode: 4x16 | Airdate: May 18, 1988
Brandon's behavior receives complaints from other tenants.
Episode: 4x17 | Airdate: May 19, 1988
In Punky's dream, Henry and Mrs. Johnson are the children while she and Cherie are the parents.
Episode: 4x18 | Airdate: May 23, 1988
Punky - who has a broken leg - and Cherie are stuck in an elevator with a pregnant woman in labor.
Episode: 4x19 | Airdate: May 24, 1988
Punky has a crush on her math tutor, who is more interested in Margaux.
Episode: 4x20 | Airdate: May 25, 1988
Punky tries to juggle two dates at the same time.
Episode: 4x21 | Airdate: May 26, 1988
Punky befriends a deaf girl.
Episode: 4x22 | Airdate: May 27, 1988
Though Henry finds it ridiculous, Punky arranges for Brandon to get married to Myron's dog Brenda.