Grounded for Life (2001)
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John Blanchard — Director
Episodes 40
Devil's Haircut
Sean (Donal Logue) tries to disguise the fact that he cut Henry's (Jake Burbage) hair himself instead of taking him to a barber shop.
Read MoreLoser
Sean volunteers to referee Henry's soccer team and ends up making an unethical decision in the team's favor. Which in hindsight wasn't a great idea, when Henry gets an inflated ego. So Sean tries to make things right the following week by making an unethical decision in the opposing team's favor. . . Meanwhile, Lily flirts with the cute guy at the concession stand and the conversation leaves her walking on air. But when she starts to obsess over the introduction, she replays the scene over and over in her head, each time thinking that she made a bigger and bigger fool of herself.
Read MoreBang on a Drum
Sean and Eddie revive their old high school band to play a wedding reception, but Sean gets nervous when Lily seems way too interested in their hot new drummer. Jimmy convinces Henry that the reson he can't find baby pictures of himself is that Henry's a robot.
Read MoreSmoke on the Daughter
During a stressful day at work, Claudia takes a puff of a co-worker's cigarette which quickly turns into an entire cigarette and then a daily habit. Desperate to keep her smoking habit from Sean and the kids, Claudia tries her best to smoke without being found out, but is busted by Lily. Lily makes a deal with her - she won't say anything if Claudia will get her a cell phone and Claudia agrees. Sean thinks that Claudia's bizarre behavior lately has something to do with him, prompting him to buy her the expensive armoire Claudia was admiring recently at the flea market. When her quest for a cigarette leads to her digging through the trash and landing outside Brad O'Keefe's window, she realizes she has hit a new low and swears off her habit. Meanwhile, after setting a date with Dean on her new cell phone, Lily is humiliated to find out Dean heard her gushing about him when the phone didn't turn off.
Read MoreI Saw Daddy Hitting Santa Claus
Sean gets ticked off with Walt, who's playing Santa Claus, when he promises Henry a $350 Astro Jammer Battle Buggy for Christmas. So Sean responds by bringing violence to Santaland. Meanwhile Lily tries to figure out if the blurry giftcard on her boxershorts reads ""from Brad"" or ""from Dean.""
Read MoreMr. Roboto
Jimmy and his class are having a robot science fair. Sean goes all out to create a ""first place"" robot for Jimmy. When the judge of the fair calls Jimmy's robot ""substantial robot"" and ""you could prop a door wide open with this!"" Sean stands up and admits that he made his son's robot. He requests that the other parents do the same (It's obvious that the other robots were made by the parents.) In the end, Jimmy and his robot, fight Benji (his classmate) and his robot in a robot battle! Benji, who was marvelously acted wins!
Read MoreEddie Said Knock You Out
Sean accepts a challenge from his obnoxious neighbor, Mr. O'Keefe, for a boxing match. But he has second thoughts when he discovers Eddie's tried to fix the fight. Meanwhile, Claudia becomes enraged when she learns about a rumour that she's had breast enhancement surgery.
Read MoreSwearin' to God
Sean exploits a nun's foulmouthed slip of the tongue to get Claudia and the kids everything they've ever wanted from St. Finnian's.
Read MoreWe Didn't Start the Fire
Claudia learns the results of her pregnancy test and Sean celebrates the news with a major purchase: a bar that Eddie plans to burn down for the insurance money. Meanwhile, Lilly and Brad try their luck at getting liquored-up; and Henry develops a craving for a different kind of watering-hole delicacy.
Read MoreCat Scratch Fever (a.k.a. The Bitch Is Back)
Things get tense at the bar when Sean hires his high school fantasy girl as the bartender. And Lily freaks out when she tells Dean she loves him at a concert and can't hear his reponse.
Read MoreDrive Me Crazy
For the second time, Lily has failed her behind-the-wheel exam. But this time it's not her fault, it's Sean's, who went out of her way to sabotage her driving test by teaching her rediculous driving tips, such as the all-important ""W-turn."" In other events, Claudia is having a devil of a time keeping Henry and Jimmy from playing a violent video game condemned by Sister Helen -- but she winds up addicted to it herself.
Read MoreJust Like a Woman
The boys mock Sean when he can't get the lugnuts off of the car, leaving him to have his wife attract a trucker's attention to change the flat tire while he sits in drag in the backseat. Elsewhere, Eddie holds a garage sale at Sean's house where he sells off hot merchandise and his brother's possessions, and he welcomes the kids to partake in the sale. But Lily is mortified when Brad buys her old bra from Eddie, then boasts to the school that he and Lily have slept together.
Read MoreHenry's Been Working for the Drug Squad
From TV Guide: Following his school's drug-awareness day, Henry thinks his family is on drugs and stages an intervention for Sean after he finds a suspicious plant growing in the yard.
Read MoreCuts Like a Knife
Sean has a hard time fighting off an amorous Claudia after lying to her that he's finally undergone a vasectomy. Meanwhile, Brad gets a chance to hang out with Lily by paying her to tutor him in a subject he already excels at.
Read MoreClaudia in Disguise with Glasses
Claudia wreaks havoc at a wedding reception after losing her glasses -- though it may not be Claudia who lost them. Meanwhile Lily convinces Eddie to persuade Dean to get her the perfect birthday gift; and Brad begins spending way too much time with Jimmy.
Read MorePart Time Lover
When the dump closes, Walt finds himself with an abundance of free time and begins hanging around the house, much to the dismay of Lily, who finds it increasingly hard to get alone-time with Brad. So she schemes to get him a date online... which turns out to be with a drag-queen. Meanwhile, Eddie finds out that his girlfriend has another boyfriend.
Read MoreYour Father Should Know (1)
After Sean confronts Brad's father, who's boasting that Lily and Brad have slept together, he confronts Claudia -- and finds out she already knew too. So when Brad mysteriously gets injured by an airborn Christmas decoration, everyone thinks Sean finally lost his temper. Meanwhile, the boys have spent Sean and Eddie's Liberty quarter collection, and Eddie is disgusted. So Eddie takes the boys out to teach them a lesson about stealing from other people -- by stealing a toy machine that Henry loaded with quarters.
Read MoreAll the Young Nudes
Sean and Eddie hire strippers for the bar to help make ends meet -- then wind up being protested by the PTA. But what's most shocking is who set the PTA on their tails. Meanwhile, Brad asks Lily to break up with Dean. Lily doesn't want to hurt Dean, but agrees, only to find that he takes it far easier than she expected.
Read MoreI Right the Wrongs
Brad is bothered that Lily is embarrassed to be seen with him, so Sean tries to make over his geeky image. But all Sean succeeds in doing is inadvertantly getting another student suspended from school... Which leads to an in-bar confrontation with Sister Helen. Meanwhile, Jimmy's ""trademark"" hair-length has become an issue at school. Elsewhere, Claudia helps Eddie deal with an unwise purchase he made for the bar -- by getting drunk with the customers. And Lily confesses her relationship with Brad in front of the entire school.
Read MoreI Just Paid to Say I Love You
Brad plans a romantic date with Lily in New York City, but because one incident throws them off schedule, the rest of the evening becomes a disaster. Meanwhile, Eddie breaks a window in the sewing room, leaving it wide open for an animal to wander in...an animal which Henry wants to keep as a pet.
Read MoreS.A.T. and Sympathy (a.k.a. S.A.T. Out of Hell)
Lily and Brad stress over their upcoming S.A.T. tests... and Claudia turns the SAT's into a competition. Meanwhile, Sean teaches Henry a lesson in compassion by taking in a homeless guy (Dave Sheridan).
Read MorePay You Back with Interest
After Eddie buys an electric car to impress a girl, Sean unwisely gives Eddie a loan without telling Claudia, which results in her college enrollment check bouncing. Meanwhile, Brad discovers a tatoo with Dean's name, but Lily's plea for her parents to pay for her tattoo removal goes ignored.
Read MoreTicket to Ride
After a night of partying, Lily wakes up with a nasty hangover, her car parked on the porch and no memory of how she got home. To teach Lily a lesson, Sean and Claudia decide to sell her car and have her sign a contract that she will call them when she is too drunk to drive. Angry at losing her car, Lily pretends to be drunk night after night in order to make her parents give her a ride home. Meanwhile, Eddie makes a huge profit when he sells Lily's car for Sean.
Read MoreTombstone Blues
Claudia refuses to include Brad in the family portrait; Claudia's father-in-law (guest star Richard Riehle) gives her plot to his dead cat.
Read MorePictures of Willy
Eddie persuades Sean to help him break into his ex-girlfriend's apartment to steal embarrassing photographs.
Read MoreIt's Hard to be a Saint in the City
This one might be better:
Sean is having trouble keeping the bar alive and Claudia asks him to reconsider running it. With St. Patrick's Day around the corner Eddie tries to lure customers over from rival pubs. Meanwhile, Brad and Lily prepare for the parade and Jimmy is having trouble understanding the meaning of St. Patrick's day.
Read MoreYou're So Vain
Claudia's father, Tony, has returned to the Finnertys for and operation, and the rest of the family is very sympathetic, except for Sean.
Read MorePressure Drop
Claudia tries to alleviate Sean's hypertension and high blood pressure by running the household all by herself but everything goes awry. Jimmy gets suspended from school, which causes a set of problems all its own, and Lily and Brad break her bed so they steal the family car... and get it impounded.
Read MoreGet a Job
Lily is less than thrilled about Brad's new job, which is taking up all of his time. Meanwhile, Walt's having problems finding work, so Sean and Eddie offer him a job at the bar... but they soon find that he takes over. Jimmy's at the age where he finds his mother to be an embarrassment, so Claudia sets out to bond with him.
Read MoreSpace Camp Oddity
Lily has her doubts when Brad tells her about a girl he once had a relationship with at space camp named Lana. But Brad, tired of Lily thinking this, changes his Summer plans and boards a bus to space camp with a very cute, and very real, Lana.
Read MoreThe Policy of Truth
Brad, after admitting he hooked up with his space camp buddy, Lana (guest star Mila Kunis), begs for forgiveness from Lily until he learns of her infidelity.
Read MoreMan, I Feel Like a Woman
Sean's feeling sick, and Eddie convinces him that he has sympathetic pregnancy syndrome. Brad and Lily decide to just be friends but their hormones get the best of them. Jimmy tries to impress the new neighbor girl by pretending to be a sports fanatic. Eddie resumes his relationship with his ex, Faye, who's become more bitter and angry than ever.
Read MoreOne Is the Loneliest Number
Now that Eddie is spending all of his free time with Faye, lonely Sean finds every possible thing wrong with her, including the way she parks her car, which he ""accidentally"" smashes into. Meanwhile, Lily's attempt to make Brad jealous by dating Mocha Joey backfires when Brad points out that Lily and Mocha Joey have nothing in common; and Claudia gets upset when she finds out that Sean has told everyone that she is pregnant.
Read MoreMystery Dance
With the bar in financial trouble, Sean and Claudia are having difficulty paying their bills, so Sean applies for a manager position with T.J. Shenanigans, while Claudia works from home collecting unpaid medical bills. Sean and Eddie contemplate selling the bar after finding out that they are competing for the same job. Meanwhile, Brad and Lily get back together, to the dismay of broken-hearted Taya. On the rebound, Taya starts dating Jimmy to help win Brad back.
Read MoreDo Ya Think I'm Sexy?
Depressed that she doesn't feel sexy while pregnant, Claudia gets a boost when her cute study buddy, Steve, flirts with her. But her bubble is burst when she finds out that Sean paid him to do it. Meanwhile, Lily helps Eddie write material for his stand-up routine, but it backfires when another comic steals Eddie's jokes. Brad gets a reluctant Jimmy into Sciencenauts and his attitude changes when he finds out that the ""secret"" of every meeting involves porn.
Read MoreTom Sawyer
Lily becomes insecure when she learns that she's ""not school smart."" So when Brad snags an interview at Yale, she becomes jealous and connives to land her own interview. Sean takes a second job as a limo driver, to avoid doing work at home. Claudia tries to convince her neighbor, Arianna, that the Finnerty clan is not trash. Jimmy seeks advice from his uncle Eddie for his debut in the school production of Tom Sawyer.
Read MoreThe Letter(s)
Sean becomes infuriated after receiving letters from the Home Owner's Association telling him to clean up his house, while Claudia is happy about the positive changes to the neighborhood. Meanwhile, Lily insists that Brad buys her an anniversary gift from a list that she's made... but he defies her wishes and gets her a sexy nighty... that he can't enjoy because he's busy picturing Sister Helen, who he ran into at the lingerie store. And Jimmy shocks the family by making an unusual lifestyle choice -- he announces that he's a vegetarian.
Read MoreHello, Goodbye
In the series finale, Claudia and Sean miss Lily's graduation (thus spoiling Lily's senior-prank plan) when Claudia goes into labor. Meanwhile, the Finnerty boys learn that Walt has a girlfriend... his cleaning lady!
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