It's All Relative - Sitcoms Online Photo Galleries

It's All Relative aired from October 2003 until April 2004 on ABC.

Two young lovebirds struggled to blend their polar-opposite families in this cliche-ridden sitcom. Bobby ( Reid Scott) was a blue-collar guy who liked sports and bartended at his father's Boston bar , O'Neil's Pub. His fiance Liz ( Maggie Lawson) was a WASPy Harvard student and bubbly chatterbox, given to intellectual pursuits. As if that was not enough to cue the laugh track, their families might as well have been from different planets. Mace ( Lenny Clarke) was Bobby's blustery Irish Catholic dad, Audrey ( Harriet Samson Harris) his earthy sensible mom, and Maddy ( Paige Moss), his sexy-but-dumb sister. Liz, on the other hand , had two dads, having been raised since birth by a gay couple, fluttery art gallery owner Phillip(John Benjamin Hickey) and somewhat more grounded schoolteacher Simon ( Christopher Sieber). Much of the humor stemmed from the clash between meat-and-potatoes Mace and well-heeled over-the-top Phillip, both obstinite but both wanting to see their children happy.

Episode Guide

Pilot
Air Date: 10/01/2003

In the premiere episode, Bobby and Liz break the news of their secret engagement to their families and each gets a less than warm response. In fact, Bobby's conversation with his folks ends with him moving into Liz's parents' guest house. Naturally, this doesn't thrill Philip and Simon, but at the risk of losing Liz completely, they agree to the situation temporarily until Bobby can work things out with his parents.

"Truth and Consequences"
Air Date: 10/08/2003

When Liz observes Bobby encouraging a friend to lie in order to break up, she questions his sincerity in their own relationship. In order to prove that he's changed and that he really loves her, she challenges him to find all the women he's dumped in the past and tell the truth about the break-ups. But Liz's plan may backfire when Bobby reconnects with the seemingly "perfect" girl.

"Hell's Kitchen"
Air Date: 10/15/2003

Now that Bobby has moved into Liz's parents' guesthouse, he's been warned that neatness counts — a lot! But his attempt to make coffee with Philip's fancy cappuccino machine leads to a burst pipe in the kitchen. In desperation he calls his dad, Mace, to help fix the calamity before Philip gets home.

"Take Me Out"
Air Date: 10/22/2003

When a client unexpectedly gives Philip tickets to a Red Sox game, Bobby sees it as an opportunity for family bonding and convinces Philip and Simon to invite Mace. But Mace's idea of how to watch a ballgame is quite different from Philip's and Simon's. Meanwhile, Liz tags along with the O'Neil women to a basement sale that's more like a battlefield.

"The Doctor is Out"
Air Date: 10/29/2003

Mace learns a lesson about stereotypes when he takes ill and is treated by a doctor who happens to be gay. Philip learns a similar lesson when his longtime friend and party planner, Joffrey, makes his own startling confession. Meanwhile, as their Halloween party approaches, Philip and Simon disagree about continuing their long-held traditions, and Liz wants to shed her "cute" image.

"Waking Uncle Paddy"
Air Date: 11/05/2003

When Uncle Paddy O'Neil passes away, Liz offers comfort and support to Bobby by attending the wake — even though she's never seen a dead body before. In her angst, she forgets to drop off the key to the bar for the fill-in bartender and calls upon Simon and Philip for help. Meanwhile, the O'Neils return from the wake to find Philip and Simon hosting a karaoke challenge, which infuriates Mace — until he sees the day's receipts.

"Swangate"
Air Date: 11/12/2003

Philip and Simon initially oppose State Senatorial candidate Charlie Carson's plans to tear down an historical theatre, while Mace supports the politician's plan to build a hotel in its place. But Mace questions his support when he learns that Carson supports gay marriage, which causes Philip and Simon to change their minds and support him. When a dead swan threatens to land the candidate in hot water, Philip and Mace try to help him resolve the messy situation, but soon regret their decision when an attractive, young intern pays the candidate a visit.

"Road Trippin'"
Air Date: 11/19/2003

In an effort to get their families to join in the celebration of their upcoming wedding, Bobby and Liz convince their folks that the other's family is throwing an engagement party. Instead of working together, the families get competitive and try to outdo each other — which causes Liz and Bobby to flee to Vermont in frustration. Afraid that the young couple has eloped, the parents embark on a road trip to stop them — but a road trip with Mace and Philip is anything but a smooth ride.

"Thanks, But No Thanks"
Air Date: 11/26/2003

Thanksgiving turns into a fiasco when Liz invites Mace's overbearing mother, Colleen, to the dinner. A web of deception begins when Mace tells the very conservative Colleen that Philip and Simon are Liz's uncles — instead of her dads. As luck would have it, Colleen is so charmed by Philip and Simon that she wants to introduce them up to her unmarried daughter. Meanwhile Philip spins a tale of his own when he tells his stuffy decorator that Liz's future in-laws are wealthy. But it all goes awry when the designer pays a surprise visit during dinner to meet Liz's future in-laws.

"Artistic Differences"
Air Date: 12/10/2003

When Audrey shows up with an unusual abstract painting that everyone agrees is awful, Mace sells the painting to Philip while she's away. Philip has good luck in selling the painting at his gallery, but when Audrey learns of the transaction, she's furious and demands that Mace and Philip get her painting back. What they have to do to get it back from the blind man who purchased it is anything but pretty.

"The Santa That Came to Dinner"
Air Date: 12/17/2003

Bobby and Liz's families are trying their best to blend their very different styles of celebrating Christmas when a Christmas Eve delivery to Philip and Simon's house injures "Santa" Mace. And Bobby feels pressure to compete with the lavish Christmas gifts that Philip and Simon have planned for Liz.

"What's Up?"
Air Date: 01/07/2004

Bobby is furious to learn that Liz has discussed their sex life with her dads. While Mace and Philip are pleased that the relationship could be in trouble, Simon and Audrey conspire to keep the couple together.

"Our Sauce, it is a Beauty"
Air Date: 01/14/2004

Philip hires Mace to pose as a typical American couch potato. But when he grows tired of eating chips and watching sitcoms while on display, it's left to a famous television personality to take his place (Ed McMahon). Meanwhile, Audrey and Simon become best buddies while working together to create a recipe for the perfect sauce.

"Ready, Aim, Sing"
Air Date: 01/21/2004

When Simon asks Audrey to make costumes for a small musical theater production benefiting gun control, Mace is furious to find out that she is involved with the show at all. But when both of the leads have to be replaced at the last minute, Audrey and Philip can only hope for the support of their own leading men.

"Tackleboxxx/The Love Below"
Air Date: 01/28/2004

Mace's longtime friend, Dan, visits for a planned fishing trip, but before the fishing fun can begin, the two men have old scores to settle. Meanwhile, Maddy has eyes for Simon's new teaching assistant but fears that he may be out of her league. Simon concocts a plan to make the seemingly unlikely love connection.

"Cross My Heart"
Air Date: 02/11/2004

When a TV show plans to air a "Where Are They Now?" special, the O'Neils discover that Simon used to be a member of an 80s one-hit-wonder boy band. Mace, desperate to become president of the local merchants association, promises that he can reunite the band for the Valentine's Day Winter Carnival. As Mace and Simon are consumed with the band's reunion, Audrey and Philip's Valentine's Day hopes are cast aside. And Bobby panics when he can't come up with an original plan for a special Valentine's Day with Liz.

A Long Day's Journey Into Leonards
Air Date: 2/18/2004

Pressured to set a date,Liz and Bobby go to a catering hall; Philip asks Mace to get him into a Eugene O'Neill club.

"Oscar Interruptus"
Air Date: 02/25/2004

Philip's plans to view the Oscars are spoiled when Mace accidentally breaks the remote control. Their desperate attempt to get the remote fixed lands them in the emergency room with a nurse (Louise Fletcher) who certainly wouldn't win any awards for her bedside manner. Meanwhile Simon teaches Audrey the fine art of "dissing celebrities" on the red carpet and, to her own amazement, she unleashes a hidden talent.

"Who's Camping Now?"
Air Date: 03/30/2004

Thinking that they're a little fragile for the wilderness, Mace is less than welcoming to Philip and Simon when they all attend Bobby's camping bachelor party. But a sexy park ranger (Brooke Burke) helps Philip and Simon even the score.

"Philip in a China Shop"
Air Date: 04/06/2004

A family outing to a department store to register for wedding gifts becomes traumatic for Philip when a piece of the china set is unavailable. But Dr. Bob, a famous television psychiatrist who's signing books nearby, comes to the rescue. Meanwhile, Bobby bonds with other fiancés who feel excluded from the gift registry process, and Mace and Simon's attempt to assemble a piece of furniture goes well — almost.

A Review from Variety

It's All Relative
(Series; ABC, Wed. Oct. 1; 8:30 p.m.)
By BRIAN LOWRY

Taped in Hollywood by Paramount Television and Touchstone Television. Executive producers, Anne Flett-Giordano, Chuck Ranberg, Craig Zadan, Neil Meron; producer, Tim Berry; director, Andy Cadiff; writers, Flett-Giordano, Ranberg;

Mace O'Neil - Lenny Clarke
Audrey - Harriet Sansom Harris
Bobby - Reid Scott
Liz - Maggie Lawson
Simon - Christopher Sieber
Philip - John Benjamin Hickey

After the summer of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy," TV's stereotyping of gays as prissy fashion snobs continues with "It's All Relative," another of this fall's Romeo & Juliet-inspired series, only in this case you'll want to swallow the poison. Although the producers contend that the image of loving gay parents amounts to progress, the show manages to commit two of the seven deadly sitcom sins -- it's not funny and is sparingly preachy. Even a decent lead-in from "My Wife and Kids" and marginal competition shouldn't be enough to save this series, which feels like a competitive gift to the second half-hour of NBC's "Ed" and the WB's "Smallville

While it's easy to dismiss this as "The Birdcage: The Series," "Relative" actually dabbles as much in class warfare as homophobia. Liz (Maggie Lawson) is a Harvard student who falls for Bobby (Reid Scott), a blue-collar Irish Catholic who works in his parents' bar. When Bobby's mother learns that Liz's adopted parents are gay men, she asks, "Whatever happened to that nice black girl you were dating?"

And she's the tolerant one compared to her husband Mace (the well-traveled Lenny Clarke), who refers to Liz's two dads (John Benjamin Hickey and Christopher Sieber) as a "freak show." Upon entering their immaculate home, he blusters, "Of course they have a nice place. That's what they're good at." Insert multiple exclamation points and laugh track here.

Yet in order to keep the insults flying both ways, Philip (Hickey), an art gallery owner, is every bit as disapproving of the O'Neils (yes, the O'Neils), seeing Bobby as beneath their daughter, who they took in when the girl was an infant. Although that scenario is built for comedic conflict -- think Archie Bunker trading barbs with George Jefferson -- the first two episodes seldom rise above the "Gays love show tunes" and "Irishmen drink beer" level; indeed, with references to "Funny Girl" and "West Side Story" in the pilot, they're on schedule to begin synergistically plugging Disney's "Aida" and "The Lion King" by the November sweeps.

Executive producer-writers Anne Flett-Giordano and Chuck Ranberg are "Frasier" alumni, but other than having a knack for persnickety characters unafraid to ask for a Chardonnay that's "not too woody," they can't lift this material beyond the broadest of jokes and lowest of common denominators. Even in a second episode, where the characters take on a bit more shape, the plot involves a stunning woman who informs Liz she's going to steal Bobby from her -- the kind of dialogue one only hears on sitcom sets, invariably followed by a big "Ooooooo."

Lawson and Scott generate scant chemistry as the status-crossed lovers, while Clarke belts out every line as if he's about to have a stroke -- a little of which goes a long way. Harris, Hickey and Sieber are somewhat constrained by their roles, though a second-episode thread about Sieber's promiscuous past at least exhibits potential.

Even if the show benefits from initial curiosity, it's hard to imagine "It's All Relative" becoming the sitcom hit ABC needs, feeling rather like a visit from those relatives you can tolerate only if such encounters are few and far between.

A Review from The New York Times

TELEVISION REVIEW; Class-Blind Lovebirds And Hidebound Parents

By VIRGINIA HEFFERNAN
Published: October 1, 2003

The old Boston accent gets a workout in ''It's All Relative,'' a comedy of manners that pays tribute to that city's venerable (exhausted?) class conflict between proper WASP's and rowdy Irish Catholics. Mace (Lenny Clarke) and Audrey O'Neil (Harriet Sansom Harris), a middle-aged couple, drop R's with abandon. So does their daughter Maddy (Paige Moss), along with patrons of the Hub pub, which they own.

In the other corner, for the strong R's, are the Protestants, who here are so proper they're gay: Philip (John Benjamin Hickey), a gallery owner, and Simon (Christopher Sieber), a teacher. They live in a neat house and discuss sweetness and light. The no-R's collide with the R's when Bobby (Reid Scott), the O'Neils' bartender son, becomes engaged to Liz (Maggie Lawson), Philip and Simon's adopted daughter. (The producers have not yet given Philip, Simon and Liz last names.)

The lovebirds, who are affronted by their parents' narrow-mindedness, believe in class-blind love. Suitably, Bobby is bland, streetwise and handsome, while Liz is bland, officious and pretty.

Can't you see it all from here? Drunk jokes and snob jokes and gay jokes. Even accent jokes. When Bobby asks Liz how she likes Hahvahd, where she's a student, she says: ''There's no need to drop the R's. I go to Harvard.'' Audrey, who's passing by, says: ''Everybody knows that, deah. No need to keep rubbing our noses in it.''

Of course Mace wants Bobby to have a Catholic wife, a fertile one with straight parents. And Philip wants a classy guy for Liz, not the Irish kind who would ''run off to a life of lower-middle-class obscurity, where he and Sherry McSlutsky'' would ''swill their beer and rut like bison.''

All right, so the content of the whole series can't be guessed from the premise. There is certainly this odd dialogue. ''It's All Relative,'' in fact, appears to be on to something good in the O'Neils and Philip and Simon, all four idiosyncratic figures who provide the show's cheeriest moments.

''Did you tell me not to judge people prematurely?'' Liz asks plaintively, on learning of her fathers' disdain for Bobby.

''No,'' one dad answers. ''We told you not to judge a musical by the road company.''

It's hard to tell whether these lines work because they're funny or just because they deviate from the show's obvious setup. But more schematic sitcoms than ''It's All Relative'' have drawn audiences, and maybe this one will too -- especially if the Protestant-Catholic Pandora's box is really opened, allowing the witty gay guys and the witty bar-owners to have out their parochial prejudices and forget about their simpering, open-minded children.

IT'S ALL RELATIVE
ABC, tonight at 8:30, Eastern and Pacific times; 7:30, Central time.

Anne Flett-Giordano and Chuck Ranberg, executive producers and writers; Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, executive producers; produced by Paramount Television and Touchstone Television.

WITH: Reid Scott (Bobby O'Neil), Maggie Lawson (Liz), Lenny Clarke (Mace O'Neil), Harriet Sansom Harris (Audrey O'Neil), Paige Moss (Maddy), Christopher Sieber (Simon), and John Benjamin Hickey (Philip). Guests: Dennis Cockrum (Jack) and Jimmy Palumbo (Tony).

Correction: October 9, 2003, Thursday Because of an editing error, a television review of the ABC comedy ''It's All Relative'' on Oct. 1 misstated the name of the pub owned by two characters. It is O'Neil's, not the Hub.

A Review from The Boston Globe

Stereotypes form one big shallow family
By Matthew Gilbert, Globe Staff, 10/1/2003

In July and August, the entertainment media made a big deal about gay men on TV, mostly because there was nothing else to write about. For the first summer in years, there was no reality ratings craze, and we were left to contemplate Bravo's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and how it signaled the changing face -- and wardrobe, and home design -- of prime time. Inflated evidence for this new queening of America included Bravo's cheesy gay-dating series "Boy Meets Boy" and a forthcoming ABC sitcom called "It's All Relative." A shrill "La Cage aux Folles"-like show featuring a pair of gay dads, "It's All Relative" arrives tonight at 8:30 on WCVB-TV (Channel 5).

In truth, TV has been a friendly place for gay men since the mid-1990s. "Will & Grace" is the most obvious and enduring example, but in recent years we've seen a string of gay-male-themed series (2001's "Some of My Best Friends"), gay secondary characters ("Dawson's Creek," "NYPD Blue"), and gay reality cast members. Gay men aren't new on TV, and like every other group represented there, they even have an established TV stereotype of their very own. Many seasons before Carson Kressley was fussing with vintage T-shirts and jeans on "Queer Eye," TV had already created a category for him.

The two dads on "It's All Relative" fit neatly into this stereotype. They're white, upscale, in good shape, a little prissy, and always at the ready with a show-tune lyric, a double entendre, and a snipe about fashion. Likable, superficial, they could easily fill in as a substitute for any member of the Fab Five. In tonight's premiere, you'll find Philip (John Benjamin Hickey) and Simon (Christopher Sieber) quoting lines from "Casablanca," quipping about what to wear to the symphony, and scenting their home with oranges.

Of course, they aren't the only stereotypes in "It's All Relative," which is set in Boston. The series is a culture-clash comedy built on one-dimensional characters doing battle with other one-dimensional characters on a single plane of comedy.

The premise of the show is that, like Dharma and Greg, engaged lovebirds Bobby and Liz come from opposite backgrounds. Her parents are the liberal gays, while his parents are Republican, working-class Irish who run a South Boston tavern. Bobby's father, Mace O'Neil (Lenny Clarke), is a bigot who gripes about the "fruit loops" his son is involved with, while Bobby's demure mother, Audrey (Harriet Sansom Harris), responds to the gay issue by asking, "Whatever happened to that nice black girl you were dating?" Clarke fits right in as the beer-drinking Southie dad; he brings his authentic Boston accent and a booming delivery to the script. Harris, though, has trouble mastering her local accent, with lines such as "You pushed him too faaah." Talk about a sheepish wife.

The show is basically a whole bunch of name-calling between the two sets of parents, as the gay men sharpen their cat claws and the O'Neils lob crude insults. Meanwhile, Bobby and Liz -- played with enormous blandness by Reid Scott and Maggie Lawson -- are stuck in the middle, trying to be happy and innocent despite all the mutual intolerance. Like us, they just want everyone to relax and take it down a notch.

It's All Relative

Starring: Lenny Clarke, Harriet Sansom Harris, Reid Scott, Maggie Lawson, Christopher Sieber, John Benjamin Hickey, Paige Moss

On: ABC (WCVB-TV, Channel 5)

Time: Tonight, 8:30-9

A Review from The Michigan Daily

ABC's 'It's All Relative' a relatively new sitcom

By Kevin Hollifield,
10/8/03

Take equal parts "All in the Family" and "Will & Grace," neglect quality and let the cliches fly. The result is ABC's "It's All Relative," the flavor of humor without the carbs of biting social commentary.

Lenny Clarke ("The Job") leads this no name cast as "Mace" O'Neil, a predictable, Irish-Catholic, bar-owning, Republican, poor man's Colin Quinn. His son Bobby (Reid Scott) is engaged to Liz (Maggie Lawson), who he met on a ski trip. He is a bartender who went to junior college; she goes to Harvard. Just for good measure, she has two gay fathers.

In the pilot, the parents of the two crazy lovebirds finally meet. Liz's dads go "undercover" to the O'Neils' bar as straight dock workers and the forced jokes fly. While this show is somewhat humorous, it is by no means appointment TV, just an amusing waste of a half hour.

In an effort to regain middle-American family ratings, ABC has countless interchangeable fighting in-law shows this season. Not to be outdone, "It's All Relative" offers several of the classic sitcom stereotypes: the slow-witted guy, the wife who continually puts her husband in his place, the effeminate homosexual and the wise-cracking sister.

The show is forced at times and may offend both sides of the ideological spectrum. Obviously ripping off Archie Bunker, both in characters and in title, "It's All Relative" works better than saying what it really is: "Thirty minutes till 'The Bachelor.'"

Rating: 3 stars

To watch some clips from It's All Relative go to http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=its+all+relative+tv+show&aq=f

For more on It's All Relative go to http://www.wchstv.com/abc/itsallrelative/

For a Website dedicated to Lenny Clarke go to http://lennyclarke.com/