Lizzie, Miranda and Gordo all have big problems on the day their pictures are to be taken for the junior high yearbook. Lizzie searches and searches for the right thing to wear, but her mother insists she put on a ""hideous"" sweater that her grandmother gave her. Miranda runs afoul of Kate when they both show up wearing the same outfit. And Gordo feels the pressure to assume a tough-guy pose when his picture is snapped. Meanwhile Matt hasn't studied for a quiz at school, so he fakes being sick to get out of it. But he finds out that his mom's cure can be worse than the disease.

Gordo, always the nonconformist, has a new passion: 1950s & '60s Las Vegas lounge culture, as epitomized by Frank Sinatra and the ""Rat Pack."" Lizzie and Miranda don't care for it, but they buy Gordo a Rat Pack CD. Ethan Craft listens to it on the bus and, surprisingly, likes it, which makes the girls reconsider their opinion. Soon they are dressing in fashions of the time. Gordo thinks it's cool that they like it, but hopes that his new interest won't become the latest passing fad at school. But that looks like exactly what is happening as Ethan soon has all the guys wearing hats like Sinatra and listening to the music. Even Kate is admiring the girls for being in first on the new trend and actually asks for their advice on what to do!

Lizzie, who is writing for the school newspaper, asks for the assignment of covering the school's production of Mr. Escobar's play ""Greasier."" Miranda is overjoyed when she unexpectedly gets the lead in the play. When Lizzie and Gordo go to rehearsal, however, they are dismayed to find that Miranda is a terrible actress, and clumsy to boot. Miranda is confident before the opening of the play, but her performance is no better and she destroys most of the props and scenery. Lizzie can't bring herself to write the bad review Miranda deserves, but Gordo thinks she'll be able to take it. Lizzie writes a review that is honest, but goes easy on Miranda. Her friend doesn't see it that way, though, and thinks Lizzie has betrayed her. At lunch they get into a big fight.

Matt is irritating Lizzie with his magic tricks while she's trying to do homework. Soon they are fighting like cats and dogs--or brother and sister--much to the annoyance of their parents. But as soon as Sam and Jo stop them, they go right back to fighting.

At school Ethan Craft speaks to Lizzie and Miranda, but Lizzie is so tongue-tied she can barely utter a word. Mr. Escobar announces a charity drive and asks for volunteers. Lizzie thinks she'll be too busy until she hears that Ethan will be there. At home Lizzie is making some cookies for the event when Matt tries out another trick. This time he handcuffs himself to his sister, but he can't get the cuffs loose. Mom spies the key and hides it, thinking that if the kids are forced to spend a few hours chained together, they might learn to get along better. Now Lizzie is facing the horror of going to the charity drive with her little brother stuck on her arm!

Lizzie auditions to be in a fashion show presented by "Teen Attitude" magazine at a local mall and she gets accepted. At the show Lizzie looks great on the stage. Afterward, popular girl Jessica asks Lizzie to come to a party at her country club. Lizzie gets Miranda and Gordo invited also. At the party, all three are enjoying the fun, including the hot tub. But already Lizzie's friends are acting different. When Jessica asks her about coming to another party, Miranda starts answering for Lizzie like a press agent and she and Gordo start negotiating future appearances for her like a supermodel!

At school things are very different, also. Kids stare at her in the hall like she's a celebrity. Kate is now fawning all over Lizzie, wanting to be her friend. Ethan is so starstruck that he can't even mumble a coherent sentence around her. Gordo and Miranda are as bad as anybody. Lizzie muses, "Gordo and Miranda aren't my friends anymore. They're my people!"

The middle school is putting on a big Fright Night celebration for Halloween. Lizzie wants to appear as Vampira, the dungeon mistress, but Kate is in charge and she keeps the job for herself, making Lizzie clean out the janitor's closet and then giving her the role of a clown handing out balloons. Miranda brings her parents, who are helping her celebrate a Mexican holiday, the Day of the Dead. They bring by several items including skulls and skeletons which are meant to represent ancestors who are being honored. Kate is all smiles when Miranda's parents are around (""Toon Lizzie"" calls Kate ""phonier than cafeteria cheese""), but once they leave she yells at Miranda to get rid of that junk they brought. Miranda warns Kate that by disrespecting the dead, she is risking their wrath.

Hoping to win a trip to Miami, Lizzie, Miranda and Gordo team up to enter the school's ""Fact-athlon."" Their rival team consists of Kate Sanders, Larry Tudgeman and Claire Miller. But things start to look a little bleak when the faculty advisor Lizzie and company chose is replaced by substitute teacher Mr. Dig. But to their surprise, Mr. Dig manages to turn studying into something fun and interesting with his unusual approaches. By the time the competition starts, Lizzie's team is confident while Kate, Larry and Claire are feeling the pressure. But Kate's team beats Lizzie's team badly when there are too many questions about dates and names rather than ""how and why"" problems. Kate and her teammates gloat over their win and Mr. Dig is ready to leave his job at the school because he thinks he let the team down, But Lizzie, Gordo and Miranda convince him they they actually did learn a lot and that they had a good time doing it.

Gammy McGuire sends Lizzie one of her frequent ""birthday"" gifts--a role-playing game called Dwarflord: The Conquest. Mom insists that Lizzie play it at least once, so she recruits reluctant Miranda and Gordo for a game. The girls can't understand the incredibly complex rules but Gordo likes it. In fact, Gordo joins a ""Dwarf Tribe"" at school (led by Tudgeman, of course) and begins to spend all his time playing and thinking about the game. Gordo gets so obsessed that he even quits studying and, unbelievably, gets an ""F"" on a test!

Lizzie and Miranda try to talk some sense back into Gordo but he refuses to see he is addicted to the game. Matt agrees to help the girls capture Gordo and help to deprogram him. They stealthily invade a Dwarflord game, abduct Gordo and hold an intervention in which they finally convince him to go back to his old lifestyle.

Lizzie, Miranda and Gordo are obsessed with a Spanish game show, "El Oro de Montezuma." Miranda's cousin, Carlos, is scheduled to compete on the show and Lizzie and her friends decide to be on his team.

Lizzie and her mom become best friends after reading a book in social studies.

Lizzie learns what sort of things Ethan Craft is into in order to transform herself into his ideal date.

Miranda accidentally bumps into a lipstick display, upsetting the contents, she hurriedly puts things right, then tells Lizzie and Gordo she wants to leave, but the security guard stops her and wants to check her purse. Inside he finds a brand of lipstick from the display. Miranda protests that she bought it at the store last week and asks Lizzie to back her up, but Lizzie doesn't help her out.

Lizzie tries to get all eleven of her pictures in the school yearbook, but Kate has other plans.

Lizzie's friends and family play a murder mystery party game at her house.

The McGuire family members are all psyched about making their annual journey to Grubby Gulch, a "Wild West" theme park. But Lizzie, Miranda, and Gordo are reluctant to go for the trip.

Lizzie, Miranda and almost every girl in their class have a crush on their new English teacher.

Lizzie fervently hopes to win the grand prize in the Christmas parade with her idea for a "Rock & Roll Christmas" float. The rest of the McGuire family are there, and they are charmed by an eccentric old man in an elf suit who calls himself Nobby Frostybump and seems to really believe he's one of Santa's elves!