Dealing With Life

Starring Lorraine Bracco as Pam Hennessy, a wife, mother, and best friend living in her Philadelphia hometown, where she works as a sex therapist. Pam and her loving second-husband, Jake Hennessy (Chris Meloni)-who works as a mechanic- are both divorced parents to their three children (two boys are hers, one girl is his): Matt Winston, 21 (Jake McDorman), Lizzy Hennessy, 19 (Ashley Tisdale), and Josh Winston, 16 (Jake Thomas). Pam and her ex-husband have been divorced for the past seven years, as where Jake and his ex-wife have been divorced for the past three years. Jake and Pam have been married for two years now; they met when Jake fixed Pam's car once and fell for each other at this time (while Jake was separated from his now-ex-wife at the time). Matt is a handsome, athletic college student attending a local community college, in hopes of being an EMT/Paramedic. Lizzy is a ditzy, gorgeous beauty school student who has her heart set on being the next celebrity hairstylist someday. Josh is your average male high school sophomore, he's big into cars, sports, girls, and being with his friends. Pam and Jake's kids surprisingly get along great together (even though, like most brothers, Pam's boys are a bit overprotective when it comes to their stepsister, much to her dismay). Also, Pam's real estate agent best friend, Suzanne Washington (Edie Falco) often drops by to chat it up with Pam, and sometimes even cause more drama in the Winston-Hennessy home. Suzanne is a man-hungry, sarcastic, and cyncial divorcee who is giving up on finding "Mr. Right" and is more content in finding "Mr. Right Now". And, Jake's longtime best friend and co-mechanic, Keith Foster (Woody Harrelson), who is a proud bachelor who enjoys hopping from bed to bed with an array of different beautiful girls each night, often stops by to hangout with Jake and Pam, and the kids.


CAST:
Lorraine Bracco as Pam (Winston) Hennessy
Christopher Meloni as Jake Hennessy
Jake McDorman as Matt Winston
Ashley Tisdale as Lizzy Hennessy
Jake Thomas as Josh Winston
Edie Falco as Suzanne Washington
Woody Harrelson as Keith Foster
Supporting Cast:
Caitlin Wachs as Stacy Monroe [Since 3rd Episode On]
Bug Hall as Sean Cavanaugh [Since 5th Episode On]
Mary-Kate Olsen as Claire Davenport [Since 6th Episode On]
Melanie Griffith as Marley Davenport [Since 6th Episode On]

Episodes

Ep1: Pilot Episode:
Pam and Jake celebrate their 2nd wedding anniversary by going out to a fancy Bed and Breakfast, owned by an eccentric elderly couple. Meanwhile back at home, Matt, Lizzy, and Josh are left home alone for the weekend, and decide to host "the greatest house party of the year" at their home. All is fun and games until a fight breaks out, the cops are called, and Suzanne's surprise arrival at the house (at the peak of the chaos).

Ep2: Brotherly Love:
Things get messy and awkward in the Winston-Hennessy family home when Matt overhears Josh and his buddies commenting about Matt's attractive girlfriend, Stacy (Caitlin Wachs) in a derogative way. After hearing this, Matt becomes enraged and furious with his brother and his buddies, which causes a big sibling rivalry as Matt defends Stacy. Meanwhile, Keith goes out on a date with a client of Pam's, a very attractive woman who is secretly into hardcore S&M---much to Keith's surprise.

Ep3: Remember This?:
After going to a Bob Dylan concert, Jake and Keith begin to remincise about their past (including high school buddies, high school girlfriends, high school pranks and antics, and other memories). Jake catchs some heat from Pam, who happens to walk into the room when Jake and Keith are "oh-so-fondly" remincising about Jake's gorgeous former high school girlfriend, "the beloved Amanda". Meanwhile, Suzanne comes to Lizzy and (Matt's girlfriend) Stacy (Caitlin Wachs) for dating advice when she is about to go out with a 25 year old hunk (Sean Faris)--who turns out to love that fact that Suzanne is much older than him, much to her surprise.

Ep4: The Amazing Elizabeth Grace:
Lizzy becomes the talk of the town when rumors are spread about her being pregnant with a high schooler's baby. Lizzy and the rest of the family is appaled by the false rumor, Josh finds out that the person responsible for the rumor being spread is one of his classmates. Josh surprises everyone when he "mans-up" and defends his stepsister's honor by giving a "stern talking" to the culprit, who ends up denying the rumors. Meanwhile, Keith gets a surprise visit from his overbearing widowed mother, Elaine (Dixie Carter) who wants nothing more than to have Keith settle down and start a family of his own.

Ep5: Stress Of Work:
Suzanne is trying to sell a home that has been on the market for the past five years and still is having no progress in selling it, but after her boss (Dabney Coleman) informing her and co-workers that whoever eventually sells that house will get a raise. Suzanne competes like theres no tomorrow in hopes of selling that unsuccessful home in order to get the raise, and has to face her backstabbing nemesis/fellow real estate agent, Lisa (Lucy Liu). Meanwhile, Pam has to counsel a nymphomaniac 40-something lady, and a confident 19-year-old boy-Sean (Bug Hall) who wants to get a vascetomy (and was sent to see Pam for guidance). Meanwhile, Josh and his buddies don't see eye-to-eye with Matt and his buddies, once the boys and their friends "fight" over the use of the rec room in the Winston-Hennessy home.

Ep6: New Temptations Are Hard To Resist:
As Stacy's committed and faithful boyfriend, Matt knows he is doing wrong when he can't help "ogle" over the new 21-year-old pretty next-door neighbor, Claire (Mary-Kate Olsen). Lizzy and Josh walk in on Matt, open-jawed staring out the window at the new neighbor moving in, which Matt claims is nothing and they are overreacting. Meanwhile, Pam, Jake, Suzanne, and Keith all decide to go out for drinks one night, where Jake and the others are reunited with Jake's old high school flame, Amanda (Laura Leighton). But Pam is really pissed off when Jake and Keith (and even Suzanne) invite Amanda to join them, because Pam is intimidated by her hubby's ex-girlfriend's beauty and past history with Jake. Needless to say, but Jake gets an hearful on the drive home from Pam after the night is over.

Ep7: The Devil Disguised As A Damsel In Distress: Part One
Jake and Keith are thrilled to get a visit from Amanda (Laura Leighton)-who stops by the garage for lunch with the guys, where she ends up spilling her guts about her on-going messy divorce to her college flame, her daughter wanting to be with her dad and not Amanda, and her mom's battle with breast cancer which is taking a toll on her whole family. Jake and Keith begin to feel for Amanda emotionally, but just as things are starting too look more innocent for Amanda's arrival to the garage. The garage bell rings, Keith goes up to see who it is, and its Suzanne who is returning Jake's jacket from the night prior. When Suzanne and Keith head back to the office area, they are shockingly surprised to see Amanda eagerly seducing Jake. After Amanda scurries off, Suzanne and Keith demand answers (Suzanne's reason is out of respect of Pam, and Keith's reason is out of pure curiousity). Jake informs them that she seduced him and not the other way around. Soon after Suzanne left the garage, she called and told Pam, who immediately was pissed and went to go talk to Jake at the garage.
(Note: Matt, Lizzy, and Josh are not in this episode)

Ep8: Confrontations Lead To Hurt Feelings: Part Two
Pam arrives at the garage and storms into the office area to talk with Jake, who immediately explains the whole situation. Pam is irate (mostly at Amanda, but still disappointed that Jake didn't even seem bothered by the whole Amanda-seducing-him situation because "he didn't do anything"). Jake tries to go out of his way to show Pam how sorry he is, but ends up giving in to Pam's request in giving her some space for a little while. Jake decides to crash at Keith's apartment temporarily. Meanwhile, the three kids learn about Jake and Amanda and what happened. Lizzy, more than the boys, is upset with her dad and sets out to find Amanda herself and give her a piece of her mind. Matt and Josh don't agree with her idea to go talk to Amanda, and goes to inform Pam about Lizzy's plan. Pam and the two boys go after Lizzy, where they find her in the parking lot of Amanda's motel. Lizzy and Pam share a heart-to-heart, which makes Pam rethink her decision to gain space from Jake. In the last couple minutes, Pam and Jake reconcile and make up with each other.

Ep9: Distance Makes The Heart Grow Fonder?:
Stacy says her goodbyes to Matt and his family, as she boards a plane to Baltimore where she will be spending a month to be with her ailing grandmother, along with her mom. Meanwhile, Pam and Jake, along with the kids, Suzanne, and Keith, decide to host a dinner party with/for the new next-door neighbors: Marley Davenport (Melanie Griffith) and her daughter, Claire (Mary-Kate Olsen). Secretly, Matt can't help but substitute his sadness about Stacy's absense for his sudden attraction for Claire.

Ep10: Eating Alone:
Suzanne announces she is sick of eating alone in restaurants and public places and decides she needs to find a man to at least pose an her significant other in the public eye. Suzanne finds a companion in a not-so-flamboyantly gay co-worker/personal assistant at her real estate firm. Meanwhile, Lizzy learns about Matt's plans of hanging out with Claire and showing her around town, which sparks interest in Lizzy, who has a feeling that Matt has deeper feelings for Claire than just an innocent friendship.

Ep11: Things Can Come Back To Bite You Back:
Pam and Jake are introduced to Lizzy's new boyfriend, Sean (Bug Hall). Pam immediately recognized him as the 19-year-old client who wanted to get a vascetomy. Pam informs Jake, and both parents want to find out did he or didn't he actually go through the procedure...without wanting to be so blunt and asking him straight out. Meanwhile, Matt comes to a realization when he is out at the mall hanging out with Claire and recieves a phone call from Stacy on his cell, and he ignored it (and let voicemail get her call). Guilt begins to hit Matt, who feels torn between the love of his life (Stacy) and the intriguingly beautiful newbie (Claire).

Ep12: Gobble, Gobble:
It's Thanksgiving! The Winston-Hennessy clan open their home for a Thanksgiving feast for Suzanne, Pam's meddlesome mother-Ellen (Olympia Dukakis), Jake's always-bickering parents-Joe and Nancy, and Marley & Claire Davenport. During the hectic dinner: Jake's parents' bickering annoys everyone, Suzanne and Marley bond over a bottle of Peppermint Schnapps, Ellen gets on Pam's last nerves-leaving to Pam blowing up at her mom, Lizzy gets her cell phone taken away and refuses to eat until she has her cell back, and Josh ends up walking in on Matt and Claire making out upstairs in Matt's room (and is sworn to secrecy by Matt). Elsewhere, Keith is spending Thanksgiving with his new girlfriend, Shelly (Katherine Heigl), who's dad (Dennis Farina) is anything but pleased to find out his only daughter is dating a fortysomething mechanic.

Ep13: Bribery and Blackmail:
Josh blackmailing Matt, makes him resort to bribery just to keep his little brother's mouth shut and not have others find out about him making out with Claire. Meanwhile, Lizzy and Sean experience their first fight when Sean is caught checking out another girl/waitress. Also, Suzanne receives an invite to her ex-husband's second wedding, not to just another woman but THE other woman (his mistress). Suzanne at first isn't going to attend, but after talking with Pam and Marley, she decides she should go and make herself seem "better off" without him (i.e. looking fabulous, hunky arm candy, and confidence).

Ep14: Misconceptions and Other Mishaps:
Matt gets a call from Stacy, who informs him that she and her mom missed their flight back home and can't catch a flight back for another two weeks. Matt, still having feelings for Stacy, decides to use this two-week window to spend more time with Claire. Meanwhile, Pam gets roped into getting (sex) therapy to her boss (Stanley Tucci) and his wife (Shelley Long), and Pam begins to feel unbelievably awkward after learning her boss is impotent and that is the cause of their sexless marriage.

Ep15: Woos and Won'ts:
Matt begins to find himself wooing Claire by sending her a big boutique of flowers for her birthday. After seeing how happy Claire is by getting Matt's gift, Marley informs Pam and Jake about Matt's lovely, thoughtful gift-which makes Pam and Jake want to have a talk with Matt about him "cheating" on Stacy with Claire. Pam and Jake have a sit-down talk with Matt, who denies the fact that he is actually falling for Claire when in reality, he actually thinks he is--which complexes him. Elsewhere, Keith agrees to be Suzanne's arm candy date to her husband's wedding, yet still remaining "just friends".

Ep16: Reunited Again After 20 Years:
Jake is reunited with his beloved Mustang that he did in fact once owned back in high school. Jake is truly devastated to see how the current owner of his car has taken poor care of it. Without consulting Pam, Jake offers to buy back his old car from the current owner, who is an elderly couple who want to eagerly get rid of it. After learning that Jake bought back his beloved Mustang, the kids are estatic and Pam isn't too happy with Jake. Meanwhile, Suzanne and Keith attend her ex-husband, Ted (Barry Bostwick) and his new wife, Sheila (Heather Locklear)'s wedding, and end up having the time of their lives (and enjoying the aspect of an open bar). Also, Claire decides she wants to check out colleges on the East Coast. Claire books a flight and prepares to head out East for a few weeks to check out the Ivy League schools.

Ep17: Goodbye...and Well Hello:
Just as Matt bids farewell to Claire at the airport and she boards the plane, Matt bumps into another familiar face--Stacy! Matt and Stacy reunite once again, as Matt begins to be re-captivated by Stacy's beauty once again. Meanwhile, Matt and family invite Stacy and her mom, Betsy (Patricia Wettig) over for a welcome back dinner. Meanwhile, Jake, Keith, and Josh eagerly start to fix up and restore Jake's old Mustang into a beauty it once was.