Wedding Bells Blues

[blondie44]

Wedding Bells Blues

Starring Maggie Lawson as Hailey Stevens, a gorgeous newly-engaged twentysomething bride-to-be living in her hometown of Chicago, Illinois. The Chicago-based magazine columnist, Hailey and her hunky bartender fiancee, Chris Vogel (Matthew Lawrence) must work together as they prepare to tell both sets of parents- whom are all divorced, some remarried, and all bicker. Hailey's meddlesome mother, Bobbie Stevens (Jean Smart) isn't too fond of her ex-husband/Hailey's egotistical father, Frank Stevens (Dennis Farina) and his vivacious second wife, Lisa Stevens (Daryl Hannah). Frank and Bobbie had gotten a divorce, after Bobbie found out Frank was cheating on her with his mistress, Lisa. Chris's overbearing and sometimes just rude mother, Susan Vogel-Nolan (Patricia Wettig) is now happily remarried to car salesman, Jimmy Nolan (John Schneider), whom thinks of Chris and his sister as his own children. Chris's troubled father, Mark Vogel (Tim Allen) is the main reason for the divorce of Mark and Susan, when Mark had a midlife crises and ended up prioritizing his marriage to Susan third to his work and his alcohol addiction. (Mark isn't a mean drunk, just he depended on the alcohol daily to get through his midlife crises.) Also, to add to Hailey and Chris's dysfunctional families is Chris's 20-year-old kid sister, Cassie Vogel (Jessica Rose), who is attending college as a drama major and has aspirations for becoming a famous Hollywood actress, and Hailey's slightly older brother, Patrick Stevens (Ethan Embry), who is waiting for the right moment to share a big shocking secret of his to his half-supportive, half-judgmental family. Lastly, Chris and Hailey's sanities are kept by their best friends. Chris's college roommate and frat brother, Tyrone Martin (Deon Richmond) is a bachelor through and through, and loves every minute of it as he jumps from girl to girl. Hailey's longtime childhood best friend, Lauren Stewart (Sara Rue) is quirky and confident, yet can't seem to grasp why she can't find her "Mr. Right". Watch how the Stevens-Vogel wedding party starts making planning preparations for the upcoming May 2008 wedding, and not to mention, all the trials and tribulations that come along with it. The sitcom's pilot episode starts off with Hailey and Chris announcing their engagement to their family and friends, and planning their engagement party.

Cast of Characters:
Maggie Lawson as Hailey Stevens-Vogel
Matthew Lawrence as Chris Vogel
Jean Smart as Bobbie Stevens
Patricia Wettig as Susan Vogel-Nolan
Sara Rue as Lauren Stewart
Deon Richmond as Tyrone Martin
Tim Allen as Mark Vogel
Ethan Embry as Patrick Stevens
Jessica Rose as Cassie Vogel
Daryl Hannah as Lisa Stevens
with John Schneider as Jimmy Nolan
and Dennis Farina as Frank Stevens

[blondie44]

EPISODES

Ep1: Pilot Episode:
Hailey and Chris decide it's time to inform their families and friends about their engagement, after only dating seven months. To their surprise, everyone is okay with their engagement and happy for them, except for Frank-who later confesses he is afraid to see his little girl go off and get married. However, after a heart-to-heart with Hailey, Frank changes his mind and gives them his approval, which thrills the engaged couple. Meanwhile, Lauren learns her boyfriend is cheating on her with her cousin.

Ep2: The Engagement Party:
It's Hailey and Chris's engagement party. Everything starts out great, but slowly the good turns into chaos when such things happen. Susan and Cassie have a mother-daughter spat when Cassie shows up with a thirtysomething man as her date, as well as Patrick making an announcement (in front of everyone at party) that he is gay and has been "closeted" for the past two years, which sends Frank into denial and Bobbie speechless. Chris and Lauren are convinced that Tyrone's date is a hooker, as well as Mark becomes pissed when Jimmy's speech upstages his speech before dinner.

Ep3: Bitter Feelings Aside:
Bobbie, Hailey, and Lisa must work together to talk to Frank, who claims Patrick's coming out speech was just a sick joke--which hurt Patrick when he found out what his dad had said. Meanwhile, Lauren and Tyrone go on a double date together, but low and behold, their dates happen to have dated in past and that alone creates jealousy between the others. Elsewhere, Cassie secretly overhears Susan and Jimmy fighting, and it reminds her of how Susan and Mark use to fight like that before they divorced-which makes Cassie upset and determined that another divorce isn't far away.

Ep4: Suck It Up And Move On:
Patrick decides it's time to move out of his dad and Lisa's basement, when Frank begins to avoid all conversations about Patrick's coming out. Bobbie opens up her house for Patrick to move in with her, but Patrick reluctantly moves in with Bobbie until he can get a place of his own. Meanwhile, Hailey and Chris are asked to go out to eat with Susan, Jimmy, and Susan's parents-who are thrilled to hear about Chris's engagement. Yet during dinner, Hailey accidently insults Susan's mom (Susan Sullivan), who takes it personally and takes back her approval. Elsewhere, Cassie tries to convince Mark to re-enter the dating field again, after being divorced and single for the past three years. Cassie sets Mark up with her fellow bitter-divorcee of a boss, Vicki (Michelle Pfeffier).

Ep5: Doing Your Boss, Doing My Boss:
After yet another breakup, Lauren resorts to sleeping with her married boss (John Stamos), even after Hailey advices her not to. Also, Chris and Cassie begin to have second thoughts about Cassie setting their dad up with Vicki, after they find out that Mark and Vicki are just using each other for sex and that's it. Meanwhile, Lisa tries her best to talk some sense into Frank, who still is adamant about not letting Patrick back into "his" house after Patrick told off Frank once and for all before he moved out, but Lisa becomes upset when Frank refers to "their" house as his and not theirs--which leads Frank to be in Lisa's doghouse.

Ep6: One Last Hoorah!:
Thinking this will be her "last hoorah" before getting married, Hailey decides to go with Lauren, Lisa, and Cassie, as they four ladies go on a road trip to Mall of America. Realizing she wasn't invited, Susan begins to think Hailey doesn't like her and begins to pressure Chris for answers to her questions. Meanwhile, Bobbie comes to terms with the meaning of her own true happiness--after learning Patrick came out for himself to be happy, not anyone else. Also, Frank makes an ill-attempt to come in contact with his son, who refuses to listen to what Frank has to say. While out road tripping, Lisa poses as Cassie's mother in order to get her into a bar with the three ladies-who have the idea of getting wasted.

Ep7: Apologizing And Bonding:
Hailey apologizes for not inviting Susan along, and gets herself roped into spending some quality "bonding" time with Susan at a craft fair, where the two bump into Lisa and a friend of hers. Susan ends up insulting Lisa's intelligence, and Hailey begins to be feel torn between her stepmom and her mother-in-law to-be. Out of fairness, Chris tries to bond with Frank, who shrugs it off and claims "it's okay, we don't really have to bond, let's not and say we did"--which makes Chris re-think his original opinion of his future father-in-law. Elsewhere, Patrick begins apartment-hunting when Bobbie starts to make an ill-attempt to rejoin the dating realm and starts having "overnight guests" (which makes Patrick uncomfortable).

Ep8: Flirting With Disaster:
Cassie and her friend, Denise (Monique Coleman) attempt to befriend the new girl in class, Nicole (Nikki Reed). Nicole is invited to hangout with Cassie and Denise at Cassie's dad's house. While, Cassie and Denise are off doing something, Nicole decides to do some snooping around the house and ends up coming into contact with Cassie's dad, Mark. Nicole becomes attracted to Mark and vice versa, as Nicole decides to be flirty and sultry as she seduces (and beds) Mark--which Cassie (and Denise) find out about later on. Meanwhile, Bobbie reluctantly takes Lisa's dating advice-which actually turns out to be beneficial when she's out on a date (which causes Bobbie to see Lisa in a different light, besides being a homewrecker). Elsewhere, Tyrone becomes frazzled when his roommate just ups and leaves (with all his things) in the middle of the night without explanation, which causes Tyrone to start looking for another roommate to help him make the rent.

Ep9: Lady Luck:
Chris scores six free tickets to Atlantic City for an all-expense paid weekend. Chris and Hailey decides to take Susan, Jimmy, Frank, and Lisa along with them (in hopes of her dad and his mom getting along). While in Atlantic City, there is still tension between Lisa and Susan (after Lisa still remembers how she insulted her intelligence weeks ago and neglected to apologize), and Jimmy and Frank learn that they have nothing in common (seeing how Frank is a Cubs fan & Jimmy's a White Sox fan). Back home, Lauren plays the messenger of good news when she sets Patrick up with an apartment and Tyrone with a roommate... each other. At first, the both are a little hestitant-but after seeing how both are desperate, they agree to become roommates in Tyrone's apartment. Yet while in Atlantic City, Lisa and Jimmy share an "moment" while chatting alone at the hotel's bar (after both having spats with their spouses), which leads to a kiss between the drunken pair.

Ep10: Picking A Planner:
Hailey and Chris are at loss for words when everyone all at once decides to help them as they choose a wedding planner for their wedding. First of all, Susan and Jimmy's choice is Jimmy's sister who is a well-known, expensive wedding coordinator (based out of L.A.), Bobbie and Lisa's choice is Renee Dubois (Jaclyn Smith) who is a traditional yet modern wedding planner, Lauren, Tyrone, and Patrick's choice is Jamie Crawford (Heather Locklear) who is a trendy yet pricey event planner, and lastly, Cassie and Denise's choices are themselves, who are inexpensive and inexperienced yet have the "personal style" factor. The married-to-be couple try to avoid their family and friends who are bombarding them with their choices and escape the madness and headaches to go down to the neighborhood bar to get some air and a drink, where they bump into Chris's dad, Mark - who advices the stressed out couple that "what truly makes the wedding special is the couple, not the wedding planner".

[blondie44]

Ep11: Love Complicates Things:
Cassie feels she has fallen for her older yet hunky professor. Denise (Monique Coleman) advices her not to act upon her feelings, yet Cassie can't help herself as she prepares to confront Prof. Grayson (Jason Priestly), who doesn't feel the same way as Cassie, who becomes crushed. Cassie feels she isn't pretty enough, and won't make it as a young actress someday. Later, Cassie, along with Denise for support, decides to ask him why he doesn't feel the same way as she does. Grayson says "first of all, I don't date my students, and second, I am gay". Immediately, Cassie and Denise see their professor in a whole different light, yet promises him that they won't out him. Meanwhile, Lauren comes to Hailey and Chris's in hopes of finding Hailey, so she can help console her after another breakup, but this time Hailey is gone and Chris is home. Chris decides to show more of a sensitive side and decides to console Lauren, which first turns out to be awkward but later turns out fine--until Bobbie drops by and walks in on Chris consoling Lauren on the couch, which leads Bobbie's mind to wander.

Ep12: Honesty And The Truth:
Chris and Lauren explain the whole situation with Bobbie and Hailey (whom was told by Bobbie). Hailey believes Chris and Lauren, yet Bobbie still has her doubts and ends up making a comment about Lauren's jealousy about Hailey getting married and she's still hopelessly single, which pisses off Lauren. Hailey sides with her faithful and loyal best friend and fiancee, which Bobbie disagrees with. Meanwhile, Lisa gets fed up with Frank's bull**** and gives him an ultimatum: rebuild a relationship with his son or she's gone. Frank, with the fear of losing Lisa, attempts to talk with Patrick, who reluctantly gives in and listens to what his dad has to say. Frank and Patrick become uneasy with each other, when one of Patrick's gay friends joins them at the table for drinks for a little bit. Patrick becomes upset with Frank once again, when Frank's "true colors" shine through and his true uncomfortableness shows-which hurts Patrick.

Ep13: Appreciate Me, Accept Me, Want Me:
Susan becomes to feel unappreciated by Jimmy, Chris, and Cassie, and decides she will give up on doing things for them until each of them prove it to her that she is appreciated for everything she does for them. Meanwhile, Patrick treats Hailey, Chris, Bobbie, Frank, and Lisa out to dinner, where he confesses he just wants to be accepted as being a gay member of the family and not just some gay person (mostly talking to Frank, and everyone knows this). Everyone becomes upset when Frank gets up and leaves halfway through dinner when Patrick resorts to pleading for his father's approval. Elsewhere, Tyrone finds himself in a relationship with a girl (Meagan Good) who won't let him sleep with her until she gets to know him better, so he decides to sit her down and give her his life story in hopes of getting her okay.

Ep14: Sexual Decisions:
Hailey and Chris mutually decide to hold off on having sex until after they are married now, which proves to be extremely hard for both of them. Elsewhere, Susan suggests Jimmy and herself going to a sex therapist, since their once-great sex life is not dimenishing recently. Jimmy isn't fond of the suggestion and doesn't want to go, which upsets Susan who tries her best to convince him when she decides to stop giving him sex until he agrees-which turns out horrible for both of them as well. Meanwhile, Cassie and Denise decide to introduce Patrick with Professor (Mike) Grayson, who both aren't too keen on blind dates, but actually hit it off better than both had thought originally.

Ep15: Location, Location, Location:
Hailey wants an outdoor wedding, as Chris wants one in the church where his parents were married. Bobbie is pitted against Lauren once again, when Bobbie agrees with Chris and Susan about having the wedding taken place in a church, as Lauren agrees with Hailey about having the wedding outdoors. To everyone's surprise, Susan and Bobbie actually are agreeing upon something together, even if it is Hailey and Lauren's dismay. After being questioned about the indoor/outdoor ceremony question, Tyrone, Patrick, Jimmy, and Frank all decide to stay out of the decision and taking sides. Also, to Chris and Susan's surprise, Mark finally steps up and announces he is siding with Hailey and Lauren about having the wedding outdoors, because "times have changed and he & Susan were married in a church and now look at them".

Ep16: Accidental Mishaps:
Tyrone and Patrick's newfound friendship and roommate status becomes tested when Patrick accidently walks in on Tyrone in the shower, and things were seen-much to their dismays. Meanwhile, after another argument with Frank, Lisa decides to go out for a few drinks, where she bumps into Jimmy once again. Lisa and Jimmy talk and have few drinks again, where they bond and sparks fly. Jimmy and Lisa decide to secretly sneak off and rent a motel room for a few hours. However, Jimmy and Lisa's drunkenly departure together from the bar is witnessed by Mark, who has a feeling something is up. Also, Jimmy and Lisa are seen entering their motel room together by none other than Bobbie as she is just driving by the motel. Bobbie stops down by the bar to see if she can find Chris and Hailey, but end up running into Mark, the two scorned ex-spouses end up sharing information about Jimmy and Lisa.