8.6/10162 votesLoading...#1 - Henry's Been Working for the Drug Squad
Season 3 Episode 6 - Aired 3/7/2003
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.
Director: John Blanchard
Writer: Ned Goldreyer
- 8.2/10170 votesLoading...
#2 - I Right the Wrongs
Season 4 Episode 4 - Aired 9/19/2003
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.
Director: John Blanchard
Writer: N/A
- 8.2/10152 votesLoading...
#3 - Hello, Goodbye
Season 5 Episode 13 - Aired 1/28/2005
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!
Director: John Blanchard
Writer: Mike Schiff, Bill Martin
- 8.1/10141 votesLoading...
#4 - It's Hard to be a Saint in the City
Season 4 Episode 22 - Aired 3/5/2004
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.
Director: John Blanchard
Writer: N/A
- 8.0/10124 votesLoading...
#5 - Oops!...I Did It Again
Season 2 Episode 22 - Aired 5/8/2002
A home-pregnancy test in the trash has Sean convinced Lily is with child, but it may be Claudia who has something unexpected to tell him. Meanwhile, Lily learns the truth about the musical circumstances surrounding her birth; and Jimmy sings the blues about the zit that is taking over his face.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 8.0/10132 votesLoading...
#6 - Space Camp Oddity
Season 4 Episode 28 - Aired 5/7/2004
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.
Director: John Blanchard
Writer: Chris Kelly
- 8.0/10136 votesLoading...
#7 - The Policy of Truth
Season 5 Episode 1 - Aired 9/17/2004
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.
Director: John Blanchard
Writer: Chris Kelly
8.0/10127 votesLoading...#8 - The Letter(s)
Season 5 Episode 11 - Aired 1/14/2005
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.
Director: John Blanchard
Writer: N/A
7.9/10156 votesLoading...#9 - Eddie's Dead
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 4/4/2001
Sean (Donal Logue) tries to keep Eddie (Kevin Corrigan) from hitting on a woman (guest star Julie Claire) Claudia (Megyn Price) is consoling after a break-up.
Director: Brian Levant
Writer: Chris Kelly
7.9/10149 votesLoading...#10 - Baby, You Can't Drive My Car
Season 2 Episode 1 - Aired 9/26/2001
After the family car goes missing one night, the Finnertys find themselves at an impasse: Sean is in mourning over the loss, while Claudia hopes to gain from a slightly inflated insurance claim. But when the battered remains of the car are towed to the house a few days later, it becomes clear that Lily has been covering her tracks about an ill-fated joyride -- and the reason why her parents have to buy the missing parts from Eddie's maniacal mechanic.
Director: Ken Kwapis
Writer: Chris Kelly, Ned Goldreyer
- 7.9/10141 votesLoading...
#11 - The Kids Are Alright
Season 2 Episode 17 - Aired 4/3/2002
When Sean and Claudia win a free weekend in Atlantic City, Eddie offers to look after the boys while they are away. At first suspicious of his offer, they succumb because they desperately want the time away. But when they return from their trip to find Jimmy and Henry locked in the basement, they are shocked to find out that it was Lily and not Eddie who put them there. As Lily tries to explain what happened at home over the weekend, it becomes clear to Sean and Claudia that, surprisingly, Eddie was not such a bad choice to take care of the kids after all, even if he really did have an ulterior motive.
Director: John Putch
Writer: N/A
- 7.9/10134 votesLoading...
#12 - Tonight's the Night
Season 3 Episode 11 - Aired 5/9/2003
Lily winds up with the strangest bedfellow after Dean fails to pitch enough woo on her monumental 16th birthday. Meanwhile, Henry and Jimmy put Sean's shoddy fathering skills to the test with a con-game and a hot-wings binge.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
7.8/10153 votesLoading...#13 - Devil's Haircut
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 3/28/2001
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.
Director: John Blanchard
Writer: Mike Schiff, Bill Martin
7.8/10150 votesLoading...#14 - Catch Us If You Can
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 4/18/2001
Sean catches a fly ball that's still in play and loses a game for the Yankees. Claudia's upset when the bachelorette party she's throwing for her girlfriend gets disrupted by Sean, Eddie and the boys, who have been chased home by irate fans.
Director: Ken Kwapis
Writer: Jim O'Doherty, David Israel
7.8/10148 votesLoading...#15 - Jimmy Was Kung-Fu Fighting
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 5/2/2001
To save for a dream vacation to Mexico, Sean and Claudia start working extra shifts at work. This leads to chaos at home, with Eddie raising the kids, Lily getting her tongue pierced, Jimmy becoming a bully, and Henry panhandling and eating out of the garbage.
Director: Terry Hughes
Writer: Brad Copeland
7.8/10156 votesLoading...#16 - Mrs. Finnerty, You've Got a Lovely Daughter
Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired 5/16/2001
When Lily is miserable because she and her girlfriends have been booed off the stage at the school's talent show, Sean and Claudia have some explaining to do. Meanwhile, the Finnerty's get roped into buying cases of candy bars that the boys are selling for school.
Director: Kenny Ortega
Writer: Aron Abrams
7.8/10145 votesLoading...#17 - Love Child
Season 1 Episode 15 - Aired 5/23/2001
Sean has some explaining to do when Lily’s devastated to discover that she was born out of wedlock.
Director: Craig Zisk
Writer: Chris Kelly, Ned Goldreyer
7.8/10145 votesLoading...#18 - Dream On
Season 2 Episode 2 - Aired 10/3/2001
Claudia's dream about Eddie has Sean out to relight his wife's fire, until he goes down in flames during an impromptu visit to her work. Meanwhile, Lily bombs out with a new boy after guzzling Jimmy's spiked cider. (TV Guide)
Director: John Blanchard
Writer: N/A
7.8/10140 votesLoading...#19 - Let's Talk About Sex, Henry
Season 2 Episode 8 - Aired 1/2/2002
After Henry unexpectedly catches Sean and Claudia having sex, Sean is determined to handle the inevitable topic of the birds and the bees with Henry in a better way than Walt did with he and Eddie. After having a father/son talk with Henry about sex, Sean feels good about how he handled things. When Sean and Claudia catch word that they have a ""reputation"", they discover that Henry told his entire class about what he caught Sean and Claudia doing, forcing them to do some damage control.
Director: Peter Lauer
Writer: Jim O'Doherty, Bob Kushell
7.8/10132 votesLoading...#20 - Cat Scratch Fever (a.k.a. The Bitch Is Back)
Season 3 Episode 3 - Aired 12/3/2002
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.
Director: John Blanchard
Writer: Ned Goldreyer
- 7.8/10134 votesLoading...
#21 - Just Like a Woman
Season 3 Episode 5 - Aired 2/28/2003
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.
Director: John Blanchard
Writer: Brad Copeland
- 7.8/10124 votesLoading...
#22 - Your Father Should Know (2)
Season 4 Episode 2 - Aired 9/5/2003
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.
Director: N/A
Writer: N/A
- 7.8/10132 votesLoading...
#23 - My Ex-Boyfriend's Back
Season 4 Episode 13 - Aired 1/16/2004
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.
Director: N/A
Writer: Ned Goldreyer
- 7.8/10131 votesLoading...
#24 - Pressure Drop
Season 4 Episode 26 - Aired 4/23/2004
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.
Director: John Blanchard
Writer: Eric Kentoff
- 7.8/10130 votesLoading...
#25 - Get a Job
Season 4 Episode 27 - Aired 4/30/2004
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.
Director: John Blanchard
Writer: N/A
The Best Episodes of Grounded for Life
Every episode of Grounded for Life ranked from best to worst. Let's dive into the Best Episodes of Grounded for Life!
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...
Genres:FamilyComedy
Best Episodes Summary
"Henry's Been Working for the Drug Squad" is the best rated episode of "Grounded for Life". It scored 8.6/10 based on 162 votes. Directed by John Blanchard and written by Ned Goldreyer, it aired on 3/7/2003. This episode scored 0.4 points higher than the second highest rated, "I Right the Wrongs".