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The Worst Episodes of Grounded for Life

Every episode of Grounded for Life ranked from worst to best. Explore the Worst Episodes of Grounded for Life!

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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

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  1. #1 Worst Episode
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    Grounded for Life Season 1 Episode 1 - Lily B. Goode
    0.0/10(177 votes)

    #1 - Lily B. Goode

    S1:E1

    In a desperate grab for attention, Lily makes out with the nerdish next-door neighbor, Brad O'Keefe, in his car; when Sean catches them, he responds in a rather unorthodox way--by throwing fried chicken at the windshield. Meanwhile, Walt babysits Jimmy and Henry and teaches them how to dig a hole; and Eddie tries to hook up illegal cable so he and Sean can watch softcore porn.

    Director:Gary Halvorson
    Writer:Bonnie Kallman

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  2. Grounded for Life Season 1 Episode 8 - Devil's Haircut
    0.0/10(116 votes)

    #2 - Devil's Haircut

    S1:E8

    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
    Writers:Bill Martin, Mike Schiff

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  3. Grounded for Life Season 1 Episode 9 - Eddie's Dead
    0.0/10(121 votes)

    #3 - Eddie's Dead

    S1:E9

    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

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  4. Grounded for Life Season 1 Episode 10 - Catch Us If You Can
    0.0/10(114 votes)

    #4 - Catch Us If You Can

    S1:E10

    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
    Writers:Jim O'Doherty, David Israel

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  5. Grounded for Life Season 1 Episode 11 - Jimmy's Got a Gun
    0.0/10(111 votes)

    #5 - Jimmy's Got a Gun

    S1:E11

    Walt gives Jimmy a BB gun for his birthday, prompting an all-out war between him and Sean, which ends up with Walt in the hospital, shot in the rump.

    Director:Paul Lazarus
    Writer:Ned Goldreyer

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  6. Grounded for Life Season 1 Episode 12 - Jimmy Was Kung-Fu Fighting
    0.0/10(111 votes)

    #6 - Jimmy Was Kung-Fu Fighting

    S1:E12

    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

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  7. Grounded for Life Season 1 Episode 13 - Loser
    0.0/10(106 votes)

    #7 - Loser

    S1:E13

    Sean volunteers to referee Henry's soccer team and ends up making an unethical decision in the team's favor. Which in hindsight wasn't a great idea, when Henry gets an inflated ego. So Sean tries to make things right the following week by making an unethical decision in the opposing team's favor. . . Meanwhile, Lily flirts with the cute guy at the concession stand and the conversation leaves her walking on air. But when she starts to obsess over the introduction, she replays the scene over and over in her head, each time thinking that she made a bigger and bigger fool of herself.

    Director:John Blanchard
    Writer:Tom Purcell

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  8. Grounded for Life Season 1 Episode 14 - Mrs. Finnerty, You've Got a Lovely Daughter
    0.0/10(119 votes)

    #8 - Mrs. Finnerty, You've Got a Lovely Daughter

    S1:E14

    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

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  9. Grounded for Life Season 1 Episode 15 - Love Child
    0.0/10(109 votes)

    #9 - Love Child

    S1:E15

    Sean has some explaining to do when Lily’s devastated to discover that she was born out of wedlock.

    Director:Craig Zisk
    Writers:Ned Goldreyer, Chris Kelly

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  10. Grounded for Life Season 2 Episode 1 - Baby, You Can't Drive My Car
    0.0/10(111 votes)

    #10 - Baby, You Can't Drive My Car

    S2:E1

    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
    Writers:Ned Goldreyer, Chris Kelly

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  11. Grounded for Life Season 2 Episode 2 - Dream On
    0.0/10(108 votes)

    #11 - Dream On

    S2:E2

    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:Unknown

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  12. Grounded for Life Season 2 Episode 4 - Rubber Sold
    0.0/10(99 votes)

    #12 - Rubber Sold

    S2:E4

    Sean freaks out over Lily's attending a bash at Brad's after he spots the nerdy neighbor stocking up on certain sexy party supplies.

    Director:Peter Werner
    Writer:Bob Kushell

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  13. Grounded for Life Season 2 Episode 5 - Bang on a Drum
    0.0/10(101 votes)

    #13 - Bang on a Drum

    S2:E5

    Sean and Eddie revive their old high school band to play a wedding reception, but Sean gets nervous when Lily seems way too interested in their hot new drummer. Jimmy convinces Henry that the reson he can't find baby pictures of himself is that Henry's a robot.

    Director:John Blanchard
    Writer:Chris Kelly

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  14. Grounded for Life Season 2 Episode 6 - Smoke on the Daughter
    0.0/10(106 votes)

    #14 - Smoke on the Daughter

    S2:E6

    During a stressful day at work, Claudia takes a puff of a co-worker's cigarette which quickly turns into an entire cigarette and then a daily habit. Desperate to keep her smoking habit from Sean and the kids, Claudia tries her best to smoke without being found out, but is busted by Lily. Lily makes a deal with her - she won't say anything if Claudia will get her a cell phone and Claudia agrees. Sean thinks that Claudia's bizarre behavior lately has something to do with him, prompting him to buy her the expensive armoire Claudia was admiring recently at the flea market. When her quest for a cigarette leads to her digging through the trash and landing outside Brad O'Keefe's window, she realizes she has hit a new low and swears off her habit. Meanwhile, after setting a date with Dean on her new cell phone, Lily is humiliated to find out Dean heard her gushing about him when the phone didn't turn off.

    Director:John Blanchard
    Writer:Tom Purcell

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  15. Grounded for Life Season 2 Episode 8 - Let's Talk About Sex, Henry
    0.0/10(102 votes)

    #15 - Let's Talk About Sex, Henry

    S2:E8

    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
    Writers:Bob Kushell, Jim O'Doherty

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  16. Grounded for Life Season 2 Episode 9 - Is She Really Going Out with Walt?
    0.0/10(102 votes)

    #16 - Is She Really Going Out with Walt?

    S2:E9

    The Finnertys' plan to push Walt (Richard Riehle) back into the social scene backfires when he's social with a lady they don't like. Meanwhile, Lily fears that her bad behavior has thrust Brad into Kristina's arms.

    Director:Paul Lazarus
    Writer:Brad Copeland

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  17. Grounded for Life Season 2 Episode 10 - We Are Family
    0.0/10(102 votes)

    #17 - We Are Family

    S2:E10

    A favor for Claudia's well-connected Uncle Sal (Vincent Pastore) goes awry, leading Sean to fear that the guy may be a goodfella. Meanwhile, Brad is more than willing to share a shower with Lily after a plumbing problem leaves the Finnertys all wet.

    Director:Dennie Gordon
    Writer:Jim O'Doherty

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  18. Grounded for Life Season 2 Episode 11 - Mr. Roboto
    0.0/10(99 votes)

    #18 - Mr. Roboto

    S2:E11

    Jimmy and his class are having a robot science fair. Sean goes all out to create a ""first place"" robot for Jimmy. When the judge of the fair calls Jimmy's robot ""substantial robot"" and ""you could prop a door wide open with this!"" Sean stands up and admits that he made his son's robot. He requests that the other parents do the same (It's obvious that the other robots were made by the parents.) In the end, Jimmy and his robot, fight Benji (his classmate) and his robot in a robot battle! Benji, who was marvelously acted wins!

    Director:John Blanchard
    Writer:Unknown

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  19. Grounded for Life Season 2 Episode 13 - Take It to the Limit
    0.0/10(99 votes)

    #19 - Take It to the Limit

    S2:E13

    Lily's compulsive credit-card usage sinks Sean's plans to take Jimmy and his friends to a pricey waterpark; Eddie refuses to open up to his family about the contents of his mysterious locked box. (TV Guide)

    Director:Dennie Gordon
    Writer:Ned Goldreyer

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  20. Grounded for Life Season 2 Episode 14 - Eddie Said Knock You Out
    0.0/10(103 votes)

    #20 - Eddie Said Knock You Out

    S2:E14

    Sean accepts a challenge from his obnoxious neighbor, Mr. O'Keefe, for a boxing match. But he has second thoughts when he discovers Eddie's tried to fix the fight. Meanwhile, Claudia becomes enraged when she learns about a rumour that she's had breast enhancement surgery.

    Director:John Blanchard
    Writer:Ned Goldreyer

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  21. Grounded for Life Season 2 Episode 17 - The Kids Are Alright
    0.0/10(102 votes)

    #21 - The Kids Are Alright

    S2:E17

    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:Unknown

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  22. Grounded for Life Season 2 Episode 20 - I Fought the In-Laws
    0.0/10(106 votes)

    #22 - I Fought the In-Laws

    S2:E20

    The minor insults of Claudia's visiting parents get so far under an insecure Sean's skin that it starts to look like he's gone out of his mind. Meanwhile, karaoke leads to an unlikely liplock between Brad and Lily.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Unknown

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  23. Grounded for Life Season 3 Episode 1 - We Didn't Start the Fire
    0.0/10(94 votes)

    #23 - We Didn't Start the Fire

    S3:E1

    Claudia learns the results of her pregnancy test and Sean celebrates the news with a major purchase: a bar that Eddie plans to burn down for the insurance money. Meanwhile, Lilly and Brad try their luck at getting liquored-up; and Henry develops a craving for a different kind of watering-hole delicacy.

    Director:John Blanchard
    Writers:Bill Martin, Mike Schiff

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  24. Grounded for Life Season 3 Episode 4 - Drive Me Crazy
    0.0/10(90 votes)

    #24 - Drive Me Crazy

    S3:E4

    For the second time, Lily has failed her behind-the-wheel exam. But this time it's not her fault, it's Sean's, who went out of her way to sabotage her driving test by teaching her rediculous driving tips, such as the all-important ""W-turn."" In other events, Claudia is having a devil of a time keeping Henry and Jimmy from playing a violent video game condemned by Sister Helen -- but she winds up addicted to it herself.

    Director:John Blanchard
    Writers:Bill Martin, Mike Schiff

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  25. Grounded for Life Season 3 Episode 8 - Who Are You?
    0.0/10(95 votes)

    #25 - Who Are You?

    S3:E8

    Sean and Claudia are shocked to learn that Jimmy has been shoplifting and try to figure out his motivations for stealing. Elsewhere, Lily agonizes over what to wear for dinner with Dean's parents. Brad helps her find the perfect outfit, but Dean's parents turn out to be not so great. Meanwhile, Henry brings home his class's pet lizard.

    Director:Unknown
    Writer:Jeremy Hall

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Worst Episodes Summary

"Lily B. Goode" is the worst rated episode of "Grounded for Life". It scored /10 based on 177 votes. Directed by Gary Halvorson and written by Bonnie Kallman, it aired on 1/10/2001. This episode scored 0.0 points lower than the second lowest rated, "Devil's Haircut".