The Michael J. Fox Show Episode 1.15 Sochi

The Sochi Olympics are around the corner, and Mike is determined to be Harris' pick to cover the games for the news department. Of course, his nemesis Susan thinks she should get the plum assignment and begins lobbying Harris herself. The boss sits them both down, and Susan begin regaling the two of them with her encyclopedic Olympics knowledge. But Mike catches on: Susan's actually got an earpiece in and is being fed with sports facts by an intern. Disgusted, Harris gives Mike the gig to accompany the station's news director to Sochi.

Meanwhile, Annie and Eve's mind games over finding an appropriate afterschool activity continue. Eve tries to outwit her mom, saying she plans to enter the Miss Manhattan Outstanding Teen Beauty Pageant, knowing Annie will recoil. But Annie's an old hand at mother-daughter games. She calls her daughter's bluff by telling her to go for it, knowing Eve will quit later and then have to do whatever she says. Eve slinks out. Leigh's got her own problems. She's convinced her apartment is haunted by a murdered admiral - whom she thinks is kinda cute.

Mike's packed and rarin' to go. In the newsroom, Harris wishes him well and sheepishly explains that Susan will be going too. It seems the sports director has come down with food poisoning (no doubt something to do with Susan taking him to a sushi dinner the night before).

At the very first rehearsal for the pageant, Eve realizes she's out of her league. Eve fumbles her way through the dance numbers; her fellow competitors are as bitchy as can be. As the too-cute girls continue to heap abuse on Eve, a fire ignites inside: she'll beat them at their own game. Eve even enlists her mom into the cause; the two of them begin a nonstop makeover and rehearsal regimen: walking, talking, smiling, hip-thrusting like a teen champion.

In Russia, Mike and Susan are relegated to the local reporters' lounge. Realizing that without an all-access credential they're doomed to covering unimportant stories, the two rivals actually team up, deceiving an official into giving them a single gold pass. As they triumphantly exit the credential center, Susan tries to make off with the pass, but Mike's a step ahead of her.

Back in Manhattan, Even and Annie ramp up the routines. Annie video calls Mike with the news that their daughter actually seems to be motivated - and seems to even have a competitive shot. Mike begins to wonder if he's missing out on an important family moment, but Annie assures him he's not. The Olympic spotlight is too important to pass up, she tells him. Mike continues filing reports, but when an NBC exec tells him he'd like Mike to work the closing ceremony for the national broadcast, Mike's family instincts get the better of him. Mike hands the assignment to Susan and heads for the airport.

The pageant gets underway, and Eve is on fire. She's poised, coiffed and dressed to thrill. Mike sneaks into the pageant just in time to see his daughter nail her beauty pageant questions and then stand out in the big finale. When the announcer reveals Eve is the overall winner, Annie jumps up onstage, a proud if improbable pageant mom. Mike surprises them backstage. He's thrilled to have made it back in time to witness what Eve has declared a once-in-a-lifetime event. While her mom would love to continue beating down beauty pageant bitches everywhere, Eve's declares she's done.

Leigh's ghost turns out to be just a growling heater and some worn electrical cabling. So much for the romantic ghost in her apartment. But the good news is that it would appear the hunky handyman will help her get over the loss. Mike, too, wastes little time lamenting his lost opportunity of being in the national spotlight for NBC. He discovers being there for his family for the moments that matter is worth more than anything the network could ever offer him.