Tear Jerker / Gimme a Break!

• While most of the episode "Sam's Affair" is played for laughs, mainly for the title character's misunderstanding of sex, it definitely takes a sadder turn when she's crying in her room and screams "I want my mommy!"
• Pretty much any time Margaret's death is mentioned.
• The Season 5 premiere, "Joey's Train," where the Kanisky girls and Joey mourn the Chief's passing, while Nell refuses to grieve, acting like a complete grouch and refuses to let the family talk about him. Later, Officer Simpson stops by to drop off the Chief's belongings (minus a pair of bowling shoes, which he keeps as a keepsake), and tells Nell how much the Chief loved his family. Nell tries to grieve but when she sees Joey playing with one of the Chief's electric train sets, she really snaps and doubles down on her ban of talking about the Chief. In the end, Grandpa – himself having grieved his son's passing – says that it is OK to grieve but the best way to get through it is share memories and enjoy his passions. Nell finally softens up as the family shares funny memories – the episode where Andy Gibb got arrested, cooking his boots in the oven, all the times Officer Simpson got on his nerves, Julie and Jonathan revealing they had eloped and the Chief (after congratulating the new couple) grounded them both – as the episode Fades To Black with a photo of Dolph Sweet.
  • Part of the heartbreak: The scene with Nell and Officer Simpson. Howard Morton keeps his composure throughout the scene, but one could tell his voice was trembling a little bit and it was likely all Morton could do to get through the scene without breaking down in tears.
• Later that season, in "Katie's Korner", Nell believes that Katie is going to commit suicide after her ex-boyfriend is getting married to another woman and she's forced to close the titular store due to financial difficulties.^note (Fortunately, Katie had gotten a new job in San Francisco along with a company car, so she gave her old car to Julie and Jonathan.) Near the end of the episode, Nell reveals to Addy that she had tried to take her own life after her ex-husband, Tony, had left her. Her speech has a bit of reality to it as Nell Carter herself attempted suicide in the early 80s.