It's All Relative
| It's All Relative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by |
Anne Flett-Giordano Chuck Ranberg |
| Starring |
Reid Scott Maggie Lawson Lenny Clarke Harriet Sansom Harris John Benjamin Hickey Christopher Sieber Paige Moss |
| Composer(s) | Bruce Miller |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 22 (2 unaired) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 30 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
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| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | October 1, 2003 – April 6, 2004 |
It's All Relative is an ABC sitcom about a man who dates the adoptive daughter of a gay couple, which forces their very different families to learn to coexist.
Overview
The show, created by Chuck Ranberg and Anne Flett-Giordano, premiered on ABC on October 1, 2003 and aired until it was cancelled, with two episodes unaired, on April 6, 2004. While the final two episodes produced were never aired in the US during the show's original run, they have been broadcast in the original run of the show abroad (such as in the United Kingdom and Ireland, where the channel Trouble, aimed at teenagers, showed the episodes), as well as in reruns.
Story
The story revolved around two rather different realities, in Boston, Massachusetts. In one corner, there was Mace O'Neill, the rather stereotyped character played by Lenny Clarke, a Boston Irish bar owner close to retirement who watches with dismay as his son falls for a girl with a rather unorthodox family history: she is the adoptive, and somewhat spoiled, daughter of an upper-middle class gay couple. The situation forces the character to come to terms with his homophobia although this aspect of Clarke's character was substantially toned down, not wanting to overtly rip off Archie Bunker from All in the Family (also an urban, prejudiced bar owner, albeit one from New York City instead of Boston) any more than they already had; producers were more interested in light comedy than social satire. In addition, the audience is introduced to the also stereotypical Irish American wife (Harriet Sansom Harris), who helps in the pub but is generally a traditional middle-aged housewife (but oddly has little problems accepting her soon-to-be daughter-in-law's parents), as well as the couple's tough-but-kind daughter (Paige Moss), who waitresses in the family's bar.
On the other side, there were Simon (Christopher Sieber) and Philip (John Benjamin Hickey), a same-sex couple who takes pride in how well they were able to raise their adoptive daughter. Here, the comedy came from the couple's difficulties in adjusting to their daughter's boyfriend's family, especially his father (Lenny Clarke), and most notably from Philip's notion that his daughter was dating someone "beneath her", both socially and culturally.
The first (and as it turned out, the only) season followed Maggie Lawson's and Reid Scott's characters romance as it evolved from a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship into engagement and, eventually, marriage. During this process, the two families strove to come to terms with the inevitability of being "joined" by their children's union, which would force both sides to revisit their preconceptions and prejudices.
Cast and characters
- Reid Scott as Bobby O'Neill
- Maggie Lawson as Liz Stoddard-Banks
- Lenny Clarke as Mace O'Neill
- Harriet Sansom Harris as Audrey O'Neill
- John Benjamin Hickey as Philip Stoddard
- Christopher Sieber as Simon Banks
- Paige Moss as Maddy O'Neill
Episode guide
| Title | Writers | Director | First Aired | Obs. | |
| Pilot | Chuck Ranberg, Anne Flett-Giordano | Andy Cadiff | 1 October 2003 | Taped on July 14, 2003 | |
| Truth and Consequences | Barton Dean | Steve Zuckerman | 8 October 2003 | ||
| Hell's Kitchen | Ken Levine, David Isaacs | Steve Zuckerman | 15 October 2003 | ||
| Take Me Out | Jon Fener, Josh Bycel | Steve Zuckerman | 22 October 2003 | ||
| The Doctor Is Out | Ellen Byron | Lissa Kapstrom | 29 October 2003 | ||
| Waking Uncle Paddy | Barton Dean | Barnet Kellman | 5 November 2003 | ||
| Swangate | Josh Bycel, Jonathan Fener | Barnet Kellman | 12 November 2003 | ||
| Road Trippin' | Lissa Kapstrom, Ellen Byron | Barnet Kellman | 19 November 2003 | ||
| Thanks, But No Thanks | Anne Flett-Giordano, Chuck Ranberg | Andy Cadiff | 26 November 2003 | ||
| Artistic Differences | Jordan Hawley, Wil Schifrin | Andy Cadiff | 10 December 2003 | ||
| The Santa That Came to Dinner | Ken Levine, David Isaacs | Ken Levine | 17 December 2003 | ||
| What's Up | Anne Flett-Giordano | Philip Charles MacKenzie | 7 January 2004 | ||
| And Our Sauce, It Is a Beauty | Michael Markowitz | Bob Koherr | 14 January 2004 | ||
| Ready, Aim, Sing! | Michael Markowitz | Barnet Kellman | 21 January 2004 | ||
| Tackleboxxx / The Love Below | Michael Markowitz | 28 January 2004 | Title name after an Outkast album | ||
| Cross My Heart | Jayme Petrille | Ken Levine | 11 February 2004 | ||
| A Long Day's Journey Into Leonard's | Charlie Hauck | Barnet Kellman | 18 February 2004 | Title named after the famous play by Eugene O'Neill. | |
| Oscar Interruptus | 25 February 2004 | ||||
| Who's Camping Now | 30 March 2004 | ||||
| Philip in a China Shop | Barton Dean, Josh Bycel | Barnet Kellman | 6 April 2004 | The show was cancelled after this episode. | |
| Doggy-Style | Barton Dean | Leonard R. Garner Jr. | UNAIRED | ||
| Fight For Your Invite to Party | Lissa Kapstrom, Ellen Byron | Barton Dean | UNAIRED | Last episode produced. | Title take from the famous song by the Beastie Boys |