About this season
Right out of high school, Sean Finnerty got his girlfriend Claudia pregnant. Now she’s his wife, and at just 32, he’s somehow found himself with 14-year-old daughter Lily, two little boys, and a constant struggle between his need to be responsible and his desperate desire to be irresponsible. His judgmental father Walt and devil-may-care brother Eddie are no help at all. When they all get together, stories always start to fly. Of course, Sean’s family will never let him finish a story; they interrupt, they debate, they derail, they defend themselves; just like any good family would.
Episodes (28)
1. Your Father Should Know (1)
Aired 5 September 2003 • 30 min
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.
2. Your Father Should Know (2)
Aired 5 September 2003
Claudia feels it's time to smooth relations between the two families by having the O'Keefes over for dinner, but the evening falls apart when Brad's mother blames Lily for taking Brad's innocence. Meanwhile, Eddie teaches Jimmy and Henry a lesson in respecting other people's property after he finds out that they used his coin collection to play arcade games.
3. All the Young Nudes
Aired 12 September 2003
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.
4. I Right the Wrongs
Aired 19 September 2003
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.
5. I Just Paid to Say I Love You
Aired 26 September 2003
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.
6. S.A.T. and Sympathy (a.k.a. S.A.T. Out of Hell)
Aired 3 October 2003
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).
7. Pay You Back with Interest
Aired 10 October 2003
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.
8. Ticket to Ride
Aired 31 October 2003 • 30 min
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.
9. Smells Like Teen Spirit
Aired 7 November 2003
Sean talks to Jimmy about the birds and the bees; Brad accidentally sees Claudia naked.
10. Baby Come Back
Aired 14 November 2003 • 30 min
Sean becomes jealous when Claudia is asked to do some modeling for a fashion photographer. So she storms out, leaving him to deal with a bath products party that she'd organized. Meanwhile Lily recieves her yearbook photos, which are terrible.
11. Been Caught Stealing
Aired 21 November 2003 • 30 min
Sean and Eddie arrive at the bar to discover they've been robbed. Instead of calling the police, Walt suspiciously insists on cleaning up. Meanwhile, Lily and Brad spend a day at the mall and wind up in a fight, so Lily decides that she's gonna go out with another guy.
12. (She's Got) Kegs
Aired 9 January 2004 • 30 min
Sean wants to go to a Sex Pistols concert, but Claudia has to study for a college test and Lily has a science project due, which leaves no one to watch the boys. But Lily leaves Brad holding the bag by skipping off to a frat party... where she runs into Claudia. Meanwhile, Eddie hires a bodyguard.
13. My Ex-Boyfriend's Back
Aired 16 January 2004 • 30 min
Lily resents her ex-boyfriend's ability to move on so quickly after she dumped him; Eddie's stand-up routine flops until he incorporates material from Claudia and Sean's personal life.
14. Communication Breakdown
Aired 23 January 2004 • 30 min
Sean forgets to give Claudia an important message from her professor; Jimmy hides the telephone bill to conceal his calls to a 976 number; Lily freaks out when Brad doesn't call her for three hours.
15. All Apologies
Aired 30 January 2004 • 30 min
During a romantic getaway at a hotel, Claudia and Sean watch an adult film and realize it was shot in their home; a girl bullying Jimmy might actually like him.
16. I Think We're Alone Now
Aired 6 February 2004 • 30 min
Sean and Claudia try to take advantage of an empty house and spend some alone time together; Lily realizes that Brad is not a good dancer.
17. Can't Get Next to You
Aired 13 February 2004 • 30 min
Lily, Brad and Jimmy sign abstinence pledges at school; Brad asks Lily to marry him; Jimmy throws out everything that reminds him of sex. Meanwhile, Walt reveals that Eddie was born lefthanded.
18. Racketman
Aired 20 February 2004 • 30 min
Brad's (Bret Harrison) dad, Dan (guest star Gregory Jbara), claims to have been taking tennis lessons for years, however, after Sean (Donal Logue) beats him at a tennis game, it is revealed that Dan has been having an affair and not taking lessons.
19. Me and Mrs. O
Aired 20 February 2004 • 30 min
When the Finnerty's throw Brad a birthday party to take his mind off his parents' recent breakup, Sean secretly invites Brad's dad to the party as part of his ""plan"" to reunite him with his wife Connie (guest star Nancy Cassaro). Unfortunately, Connie has taken Claudia's (Megyn Price) advice to ""get some,"" which prompts her to pursue Eddie.
20. Tombstone Blues
Aired 27 February 2004 • 30 min
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.
21. Pictures of Willy
Aired 27 February 2004 • 30 min
Eddie persuades Sean to help him break into his ex-girlfriend's apartment to steal embarrassing photographs.
22. It's Hard to be a Saint in the City
Aired 5 March 2004 • 30 min
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.
23. Beat on the Brat
Aired 19 March 2004
Sean disciplines one of Henry's bratty friends; Lily asks Brad to choose between her and his geeky friends; Eddie uses a Jewish online dating service.
24. The Cheat Is On
Aired 26 March 2004 • 30 min
Claudia copies Lily's school paper, only to find out Lily plagiarized the essay. Sean hints to Sister Helen that Lily may have cheated, but he learns too late that the school's ""zero-tolerance"" policy on cheating could result in Lily being expelled.
25. You're So Vain
Aired 16 April 2004 • 30 min
Claudia's father, Tony, has returned to the Finnertys for and operation, and the rest of the family is very sympathetic, except for Sean.
26. Pressure Drop
Aired 23 April 2004 • 30 min
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.
27. Get a Job
Aired 30 April 2004 • 30 min
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.
28. Space Camp Oddity
Aired 7 May 2004 • 30 min
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.