Grounded For Life: Season Five

One of the most enduring and endearing formats for television has always been the family sit-com. Americans seem to love looking in week after week on another typical family. This is also one of the most malleable formats in television. It has changed, albeit slowly, in response to the ever changing perspective and definition of family. At the start, back in those dim days of my youth, these sit-coms had a mother who stayed at home, cooking and cleaning. The father would go off each morning to his job, often not even specified. As for the children they were generally polite. Each week they would, however, get themselves into some form of mischief. As the new millennium dawned over America a new type of family sit-com had taken hold. On the heels of the Simpsons and the Bundys TV was at the right time and place for ‘Ground for Life’. Here, the family plagued by the type of problems the viewers experienced. The kids are just about out of control. The extended family was a source of constant consternation and the parents are just barely holding on. During the difficult economic times of the 2000’s this series helped give the audience something they could identify with. The laughs here come from seeing what is all too familiar.

The series focuses on the Finnertys, an Irish Catholic family living in New York’s Staten Island. The father, Sean (Donal Logue) now works as the co-owner of a neighborhood bar with his shifty brother Eddie (Kevin Corrigan). The bar is now able to provide a nice income for the family but the wife, Claudia (Megyn Price) still worries about money. The family has three children, eldest Lilly (Lynsey Bartilson), middle child Jimmy (Griffin Frazen) and youngest Henry (Jake Burbage). Also in almost constant attendance in the family home is Sean and Eddie’s retired father Walt (Richard Riehle). Much to Sean’s chagrin Lilly’s boyfriend Brad O'Keefe (Bret Harrison) is usually hanging around. In this final season of the series a lot of changes hit the family. Now that Lilly is 18 and will be moving out soon Sean and Claudia are beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel. Within six years all the children will be out and the house will be quiet. That is unless Claudia is pregnant.

In the first episode of season five Lilly is upset that an old girlfriend of Brad, Lana (Mila Kunis) has shown up. She was his girlfriend for several years at space camp. At the end of last season Lilly doubted Lana existed. Brad is a geek and she was sure he made her up. Now, with Lana there on Staten Island Lilly experiences a good dose of jealousy. It seems that all the Finnerty relationships are being tested. Eddie resurfaces after a month. His first serious relationship has fallen apart and he spent the time trying to become a stand up comedian. He wants to start an open mic night at the bar, an idea that Sean is less than wild about. When Sean intercepts a phone message from Claudia’s gynecologist he figures out that she is pregnant and panics. In the second episode the plots thicken. Sean feels ill ad Eddie convinces him that it is sympathetic pregnancy. Jimmy, now in his mid-teens tries to impress a girl, Taya (Arielle Kebbel), by pretending to be a jock. Eddie, on the rebound takes up with an old flame, Faye (Karri Bowman) who is a bit short of being psychotic. Brad ad Lilly are on again/off again for most of the season. While they agree to split teen hormones do manage to affect that decision. They also face off against each other in a race for class president. Brad runs on being the best for the job while Lilly is sure that her popularity can win it.

As Claudia’s pregnancy is confirmed and she starts to show things are in a major state of flux. Claudia is sure that she is no longer attractive and responds to perceived flirting from her college study partner, Steve (Trent Ford). The current batch of kids is also facing that fact that soon there will be another needy Finnerty child demanding parental attention. Hardest hit is Lilly who learns she may have to give up her room for the baby. Lilly is normally not the most gregarious of people. She is self centered almost to the point of making it an art form. Having to give up her own place of privacy is more than she can take. Jimmy has always been the quiet, sullen one. In this season he tries to become better socialized. He joins an after school group, the Sciencenauts, hoping to find others that enjoy learning. To his surprise the group meets after school with access to the audio-video equipment in order to watch pornography. Lilly and Brad reunite and she provides a list of acceptable anniversary gifts. One is lingerie but when Brad goes to the store to buy it he sees the head nun at the school, Sister Helen (Miriam Flynn). The thought of her in a Victoria Secrete style outfit completely shuts down any amorous thoughts he has for Lilly. Not to give a spoiler here but the end of the series is done right. Loose ends are tied up, and we see the family will continue in its wacky ways.

This series always worked on an emotional level. As you sit there watching you can understand these people. Of course there is exaggeration for the sake of humor but the jokes are real. The actual premise at the start of the series was much like that of the Gilmore Girls, Sean and Claudia where only sixteen when she got pregnant with Lilly. Unlike the Gilmore girls there is no witty repartee between mother and daughter; no pop culture references and no hugs. The conversations between Lilly and Claudia usually end with Lilly screaming incomprehensibly and storming up to her room. Those out there will appreciate this difference and wonder why the Gilmores are not on the Sci-Fi channel. This is a realistic middle class family. As Irish Catholics they have to deal with Sister Helen in order to keep the kids in school. Also very typical of this situation is the fact that Sister Helen remembers when she had Sean and Claudia in her class. This series is a survivor. It started out on Fox and then in the middle of season switched to the WB. It is the kind of series that doesn’t get a lot of fanfare but the audience loves. This final season still provides laughs set against very human situations.

Those with a sharp eye will remember Donal Logue has the vampire in the first Blade3 flick that gets burned, spiked, sliced and diced. He is a veteran character actor and this series was a great platform for his talents. He is completely believable as the much out upon head of the household. Sean and Claudia married too soon and they are now grounded for life. Logue shows a man who doesn’t shirk his responsibilities but he does miss the days of going to concerts and hanging out. Megyn Price is the perfect counterpoint to Logue’s performance. She plays Claudia as also missing the old days but who is now a woman that has to be the voice of reason in a crazy household. She has to keep Sean on the right track, keep Eddie from ruining things and avoid letting Walt derail the whole family. Together they are one of the best sit-com couples ever. Kevin Corrigan is fantastic as the slippery Eddie. He is always shady promoting only his own agenda. This is not the first time he has appeared with Logue. The two started together in the Abby Hoffman bio-pic, ‘Steal this Movie’. Lynsey Bartilson has a great sense of comic timing. She plays Lilly as a self centered teen who wonders why her parents are always against her. Bartilson is also an accomplished dancer and several episodes of the series highlighted this.

Starz / Anchor Bay gives us the final season with a plain vanilla DVD release. The only extra is an insert containing a good bye letter to the fans from the series creators. The technical specifications of this set are very good. I regularly watch this series on cable and I have never seen the full screen video as bright and clear as it is here. The Dolby stereo is also much better than most of us have heard before for the series. This series was a consistently excellent show. While I’m saddened to see it go at least now we can have it in our collections.

Posted 08/18/07