Grounded for Life

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Grounded for Life ranks 435 out of the 18,229 shows on TV.com.

The 1,461 users who count themselves as Grounded for Life fans have written a total of 98 reviews.

Status

Premiered

Ended

Genre

Theme

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Sean Finnerty and his lovely wife, Claudia, became parents right out of high school. Now 32, they struggle to keep their lives (and three children) under control. Claudia is a hostess at a swank restaurant, and Sean works in the subway tunnels. Working 9 to 5 and having three kids to maintain isn't an easy... more »

Sean Finnerty and his lovely wife, Claudia, became parents right out of high school. Now 32, they struggle to keep their lives (and three children) under control. Claudia is a hostess at a swank restaurant, and Sean works in the subway tunnels. Working 9 to 5 and having three kids to maintain isn't an easy task, but they're doing the best that they can. Oldest daughter Lily, 14, is more than a handful. At that age where she thinks the world revolves around her, Lily devours the majority of the Finnerty's free time. Her little brother, Jimmy, is bookish to say the least, and stays out of trouble -- for the most part. And then there's the baby of the family, Henry, who's just a little off. Hyperactive and mischievous, Henry is usually secondary when it comes to problematic children.

Helping Sean and Claudia deal with the brood is Sean's father, Walt, a crotchety man whose idea of a learning experience is teaching the boys how to dig a hole. If he hadn't been a father, he would have been a drill sergeant. Also helping to lighten the load is Sean's younger brother, Eddie, an unemployed stoner who spends his time hanging out with friends and "unknowingly" selling beepers to drug dealers.

Over its first season the show evolved a unique take on standard sitcom structure. Each episode begins with a family crisis "explained" in flashbacks from various character's points of view, often overlapping, sometimes contradicting each other as we learn to distinguish what the narrators THINK happened from what we eventually learn REALLY happened. Since the Finnertys are at least nominally practicing Catholics, this usually involves issues of blame, responsibility, and guilt, guilt, guilt.

In the third season, Grandpa Walt was phased out of the show (though he may appear in upcoming episodes). Sean and Eddie pooled their money and bought a bar (which Eddie initially intended to torch for the insurance money), which becomes the home away from home for the family.

Music plays a big role in this series. Original music was written/performed by Ben Vaughn and Ween. The majority of the titles of the episodes are derived from pop songs.

Emmy Nominations:
2001: Outstanding Choreography, Kenny Ortega for the episode "Mrs. Finnerty, You Have A Lovely Daughter" (lost).


Broadcast History
January 2001- June 2002: Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. on FOX
June 2002- December 2002: Tuesdays at 8:30 p.m. on FOX
February 2003- August 2003: Fridays at 9:30 p.m. on WB
August 2003- July 2004: Fridays at 9:00 p.m. on WB
July 2004- January 2005: Fridays at 8:30 p.m. on WB

First Telecast: January 10, 2001
Last Telecast: January 28, 2005
Episodes: 91 Episodesless «

• Grounded For Life short story

  If any fans of the show are interested, I've been writing a Grounded For life short story with a bizarre Twilight Zone t...more »

  If any fans of the show are interested, I've been writing a Grounded For life short story with a bizarre Twilight Zone twist that occurrs toward the end of the show without Brad or Lily ever getting involved. I'd *re-he-he-he-ally* like to get SOME feedback on it. If anyone knows of other Grounded for Life short stories, I'd gladly read them too and give YOU some feedback. All you got to do to read my stuff is click that little fanfiction link on my messages.less «

  aesgaard41 Last online 1 day, 20 hrs ago
  1 comments, last one 1 day, 20 hrs ago + Add Comment

• Where did the Finnerty's live?

  I found one reference they lived on staten island, but where on Staten Island? Does anyone have any clues to pin it down?

  I found one reference they lived on staten island, but where on Staten Island? Does anyone have any clues to pin it down? less «

  aesgaard41 Last online 1 day, 20 hrs ago
  5 comments, last one 1 day, 20 hrs ago + Add Comment

• Favorite Character Poll

  This is in replacement of the who is your favorite character thread. If you are adding a character to the list, add their name and your vote. If you want to add a vote to someone already there, you can do that too. This is also a zone to discuss the characters if you wish Jimmy - 1

  This is in replacement of the who is your favorite character thread. If you are adding a character to the list, add their name and your vote. If you want to add a vote to someone already there, you can do that too. This is also a zone to discuss the characters if you wish Jimmy - 1less «

  schyzofroggy
  38 comments, last one 1 day, 20 hrs ago + Add Comment

•  

  7.5 Good

  An Irish Catholic family goes through funny stories in New York. hide « show »

  Sean and Claudia Finnerty live in Staten Island, New York. They have 3 kids; Lily, Jimmy, and Henry. Also living with them and stopping by is Sean's father Walt Finnerty and Sean's brother Eddie Finnerty. I started watching the show when it debuted on Fox and I thought it was really funny. It was a good show to kill time with when nothing better was on. It was a good comedy with funny plots. I guess people just never picked up on it or they didn't find it when it was on. The show was different to me, The plot a lot of times had actually happened in the past and they were discussing about it in the present, till they caught up and figured out what to do. When the show moved to CW, It was on Friday nights, and I was never around to see it and it was eventually canceled. Overall I graded it a 7.5 out of 10.

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  Baycityrookie Added Aug 8, 2008 All my reviews
•  

  9.5 Superb

  The Finnerty's yell and argue there way to family joy hide « show »

  This show is really funny and realistic in an outrageous kind of way. Sean, the head of the family, is really hilarious and all of his yelling and irrational decision making leads to a lot of really funny situations. His constant fights with Sister Helen are classic and are really hilarious. Claudia is great as the teenage mother at 30 who is trying to deal with all the craziness around her. Eddie adds so much comedy to this show with all of his shady dealings and his crazy girlfriends. I love how he ends up with Crazy Amy at the end who mixes really well with his personality.
  The kids are also really great. Henry the youngest added a lot of easy humor to the show and he was at his best when he was on the drug squad and trying to bust his father. Jimmy's character develops a lot from the dorky youth whose afraid of everything to the dorky horny teen. He gave that character depth even thought my description didn't.
  And finally Lily who was as outrageous as Sean in this series and she brings a lot of humor to the show. A lot of times when women are in comedies they only play off the other characters but she creates a lot of humor on her own. I loved all of her boyfriends especially Dean and Brad. Brad was a constant on the show that led to a lot of great moments.
  Overall a really great family comedy that is more grown up.

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  addict666 Added May 30, 2008 All my reviews
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  10 Perfect

  Grounded for Life hide « show »

  Sean Finnerty and his lovely wife, Claudia, became parents right out of high school. Now 32, they struggle to keep their lives (and three children) under control. Claudia is a hostess at a swank restaurant, and Sean works in the subway tunnels. Working 9 to 5 and having three kids to maintain isn't an easy task, but they're doing the best that they can. Oldest daughter Lily, 14, is more than a handful. At that age where she thinks the world revolves around her, Lily devours the majority of the Finnerty's free time. Her little brother, Jimmy, is bookish to say the least, and stays out of trouble -- for the most part. And then there's the baby of the family, Henry, who's just a little off. Hyperactive and mischievous, Henry is usually secondary when it comes to problematic children.
  
  Helping Sean and Claudia deal with the brood is Sean's father, Walt, a crotchety man whose idea of a learning experience is teaching the boys how to dig a hole. If he hadn't been a father, he would have been a drill sergeant. Also helping to lighten the load is Sean's younger brother, Eddie, an unemployed stoner who spends his time hanging out with friends and "unknowingly" selling beepers to drug dealers.
  
  Over its first season the show evolved a unique take on standard sitcom structure. Each episode begins with a family crisis "explained" in flashbacks from various character's points of view, often overlapping, sometimes contradicting each other as we learn to distinguish what the narrators THINK happened from what we eventually learn REALLY happened. Since the Finnertys are at least nominally practicing Catholics, this usually involves issues of blame, responsibility, and guilt, guilt, guilt.
  
  In the third season, Grandpa Walt was phased out of the show (though he may appear in upcoming episodes). Sean and Eddie pooled their money and bought a bar (which Eddie initially intended to torch for the insurance money), which becomes the home away from home for the family. Music plays a big role in this series. Original music was written/performed by Ben Vaughn and Ween. The majority of the titles of the episodes are derived from pop songs.
  
  Grounded for Life is a great comedy movie.

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  Aria427 Added Apr 11, 2008 All my reviews
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  8.2 Great

  Nice show. hide « show »

  "Grounded for Life" is a live action sitcom that now airs on ABC Family. It centers around a blue collar family. It has a laugh track that sometimes doesnt fit the show and I have to take off for that. I still liek it though. I have whatever episode they offered for download on itunes on my ipod and i sometime tend to watch it alot, sometimes not. Sometimes im really in to it, sometimes im not. The comedy is really funny though. i love it so much. its the best thing of the show. I hate that it got canceled

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  crzza Added Mar 22, 2008 All my reviews
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  8.5 Great

  We had way to much fun during the 80's and all we got was this lousy family... hide « show »

  I absolutely loved this show. This was a case where a great show got caught up in a lot of network mumbo jumbo. Also i loved how the show used the idea of flashbacks to tell a story. Usually you see the idea of flashbacks in more dramatic works so i actually thought it was very groundbreaking to use this idea for a comedy. Also i like it when middle class families are portrayed on tv. Especially middle class families that are more along the edge. Also it was a breath of fresh air to see a family who was YOUNG. Rarely have u seen parent who are only 18 years older than their children portrayed in a light hearted sort of way.
  This along with "Still Standing" has to be one of my favorite shows. I wish this show could have stayed on longer but unfortunately it got sent to the television graveyeard before its prime. I think at least another season could have been made with the Finnerty family's new baby and Lily being in college but still living at home. I highly recommend this show to anyone who is just looking for a funny show to kick back and laugh at.

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  cherbear16 Added Feb 6, 2008 All my reviews