Greek

All the Greek houses are preparing for Freshmen Parents' Weekend, but Omega Chi's not really a part of this episode, so let's focus on ZBZ and Kappa Tau, okay? Neither Casey nor Rusty are all that psyched for the 'rents to hit up Cyprus-Rhodes -- Casey because they've always looked down on her sorority involvement, and Rusty because, well, he totally lied to them and said that Kappa Tau was a service-oriented fraternity and not the Animal House it really is.

Cappie gives the Kappa Tau pledges the choice between cleaning up and putting the best possible face on frat life for Mom and Dad, or else fly that Kappa Tau flag and be their drunk, slobby selves. Rusty's pledge class chooses the path of laziness, much to his dismay.

Over at ZBZ, Casey's stressing over preparations to host Rebecca's father, aka Senator Logan (a.k.a. Michael Mancini from "Melrose Place"). When she's not ordering her ZBZ sisters to get any and all biscotti out of sight, Rebecca tries in vain to prep Cappie for meeting her dad. She ultimately decides their relationship (meaning: Cappie) isn't ready for parental scrutiny yet, and she tells him to stay home.

Rusty tries his best to steer his parents clear of Kappa Tau, distracting them with academia, which only leaves the Cartwrights room to criticize Casey for her lack of direction. Not even talking about the reception for Senator Logan gets Casey any credit, since her folks aren't fans of his politics. Unfortunately for Rusty, Beaver (sorry, "Charles") blows his cover and tells the Cartwrights about the big Kappa Tau mixer that night.

Rusty, playing a bit of defense, drops his parents off on Casey that evening while he scrambles back to the Kappa Tau house and begs Cappie to let him clean the house. Cappie gets Rusty to admit that he's hiding his true self from the folks, before leading him to a backyard full of his pledge brothers cleaning up. "Happens every year," says Cappie. The pledges start off talking tough, but by the time the weekend comes, they all become "Amelia Bedelias." Cappie's a fan of the Amelia Bedelia books, huh? The man's an enigma.

At the ZBZ function, Senator Logan shows up without Rebecca's mother (he says she's sick, but he's clearly full of it -- he's Michael Mancini!), though he does have a sour-faced blonde staffer, Heather, within arm's reach at all times. Rebecca is not pleased (what else is new?). She's even less pleased when she sees a half-clothed Heather sneaking out of her dad's hotel room.

Dale, for his part, is all sorts of gung-ho for his parents' visit -- after all, they're his best friends! But after they shadow him for the whole weekend, cramping whatever style Dale can be said to have, he starts to crave his own independence.

Casey is all too happy to bring her parents to the Kappa Tau house, hoping they'll turn some of their anti-Greek scorn onto Rusty, but Cappie and the boys are way too good at faking respectability.

Rebecca, seething mad at her skirt-chasing father, brings him by the Kappa Tau party hoping to shock him with the news that she's dating someone so aimless and low-class as Cappie. Too bad for Rebecca that Cappie's not an idiot -- he figured out what she's up to pretty quickly and tells her he doesn't want any part of getting back at Daddy.

Later on, Casey, sick and tired of hearing her folks go on and on about how wonderfully noble Rusty's fraternity was, and how the ZBZs could learn a thing or two about philanthropy from them, brings them by the REAL Kappa Tau party, complete with booze, girls, and Rusty serving jello shots in a maid's uniform. Hey, he said they were service-oriented, didn't he?

The Cartwright siblings have it out about which one of them cares more about their parents' approval, and Rusty reveals that he's being forced to quit Kappa Tau.

The next morning, Rebecca makes things up to Cappie with an egg sandwich and an apology. She explains about her father having an affair and then gingerly approaches telling him she really cares about him. In return, Cappie accompanies her on a trip to freak out her dad.

Elsewhere on campus, The Cartwright kids stick up for each other, for once, telling their parents how awesome a person the other one is and demanding to be taken seriously even though they've gone Greek. By the time Mom and Dad leave town, they've come to an understanding, particularly Casey and her mother, who find a good bit of common ground in their independent streaks (and sarcasm). Of course, this happy ending doesn't keep Rusty and Casey from taking off at a run when they hear their parents' flight has been delayed.