Eye on Queer TV
2003
It's All
Relative
ABC ~ Wednesdays 8:50/7:50c
About the
Show
When Bobby O'Neil (Reid Scott) gets engaged
to Liz (Maggie Lawson), the 'traditional' meeting
of the parents is anything but. Not since
Romeo declared his love for Juliet have two families
struggled harder to get along.
From
the writers of Frasier and the producers of Chicago comes this
original, sophisticated
comedy that explores modern love and
relationships, albeit with a Hatfield-McCoy twist!
Bobby works in the
Boston pub that his father, Mason "Mace" O'Neil (Lenny Clarke), owns
and operates, and where mom, Audrey (Harriet
Sansom Harris), helps out along with
Maddy (Paige Moss), Bobby's feisty sister.
They are a traditional, hardworking, close-knit Irish
Catholic family.
Liz attends Harvard,
is Protestant and knows a lot about art and culture. So, what's not to love
about a girl with these credentials? Well,
Liz has not one but TWO dads. She's been raised
since infancy by art gallery owner Philip
(John Benjamin Hickey) and his life partner,
Simon (Christopher Sieber), a school teacher.
How Mace, this stubborn, meat-and-potatoes Archie Bunker of the new
millennium, will find
anything in common with the well-heeled and
equally obstinate Philip is anybody's guess.
Audrey and Simon do what they can to keep
their spouses focused on the real issue —
that their kids have chosen to marry each
other. And at the risk of alienating this young
couple, they'd better find a way to blend
these two completely opposite families.
Meet the
Cast
Lenny Clarke
"Mace O'Neil"
Lenny Clarke was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, one of eight children.
He decided to pursue standup comedy one night when he was working as a janitor,
putting himself through college at University of Massachusetts/Boston. That
night he went to the Ding-Ho Restaurant in Cambridge and saw some comics
performing. Convinced he could do the same thing, he returned the next week and
— "The rest, as they say, is history!," he exclaims.
Clarke spent
several years as the regular host of open-mike nights there and has since
traveled the world as a standup. His gifted comedic abilities captured the
attention of the legendary Rodney Dangerfield who gave Clarke his first big
break on TV, casting him on the HBO special, Nothin' Goes Right, in 1988.
He and Dangerfield also worked together years later on Meet Wally Sparks.
After years of hard work, Clarke was "discovered" at the Montreal Comedy
Festival. His TV work includes the eponymous Lenny, which ran for 18
episodes, four-plus years on The John Larroquette Show, The Job,
hosting The Sunday Comics and guest appearances on Touched by an
Angel, Love Boat: The Next Wave, and numerous appearances on Comedy
Central.
Clarke's feature films include Stuck on You, Just
Another Story, Moonlight Mile, What's the Worst That Could
Happen?, Me, Myself and Irene, Rounders, There's Something
About Mary, Two if by Sea, Southie, Massholes and the
independent film Bluff.
There are numerous charities that are
close to Clarke's heart. Prompted by his sister's battle with MS, he works for
several charities related to that cause, as well as for the Genesis Fund, which
helps to prevent and treat birth defects.
He resides in Boston.
Harriet Sansom Harris
"Audrey O'Neil"
Harriet Sansom Harris won the 2002 Tony Award for
Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance as Mrs. Meers in Thoroughly
Modern Millie.
Additional stage credits include The Man Who Came
to Dinner, The Crucible, Hamlet and Macbeth, the
latter two for the New York Shakespeare Festival.
On television Sansom
Harris is perhaps best known for her recurring role as Agent Bebe Glazer on
Frasier. Other small screen credits include Six Feet Under, The
Beast, Union Square, The Five Mrs. Buchanans, Ally
McBeal, Ellen and The X-Files.
She also appeared in
the feature films Memento, Nurse Betty, Romeo and Juliet,
Quiz Show, Addams Family Values and Dottie Gets Spanked.
Sansom Harris is a member of The Acting Company and is a graduate of the
Juilliard School.
Reid Scott
"Bobby O'Neil"
Reid Scott grew up in upstate New York with his mom,
an elementary school art teacher, and dad, an attorney. He discovered his love
for acting when he reluctantly joined a 6th-grade drama club. During the process
he also discovered that he had a photographic memory quite helpful for an
aspiring actor — and that he had a slight stutter, but it seemed to disappear
when on stage. A summer theater program in Lake George, NY further cemented his
love for performing.
Scott attended the La Salle Military Academy at
which, despite it's being an all-boys school, he did more performing than ever
before. He performed in many Shakespearean plays, but it was his starring role
in the school's production of "Dead Poets Society" that sealed his future
profession.
Following a high school mentor, he attended Syracuse
University and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in acting, with an
emphasis on film and directing. Upon graduation, he headed to New York City and
worked as a bartender unsuccessfully. In fact Scott proudly declares that
he's been fired from some of the best bars in the city.
His career took
off after landing a small commercial and a brief part on All My Children.
A chance encounter with a producer on city sidewalk led to a role in the play
Cargo. After a starring role in a pilot (which wasn't picked up), Scott
moved to the West Coast. Roles on American Dreams, That 70s Show,
and What I Like About You soon followed.
A versatile performer,
he plays guitar and drums and writes music. Scott lives in Los Angeles with his
girlfriend and two dogs, Bella and Dublin.
Paige Moss
"Maddy O'Neil"
Paige Moss was born in Bowie, Maryland and was raised by her mother in
Abilene, TX. From a very early age, she aspired to a political career. She was a
Senate page for Sen. Tim Worth (Colorado) at the age of 15 and interned for
Congressman Vic Fazio (California). Moss attended school at the Library of
Congress from 5:00-8:00 a.m. every morning and then walked to Capitol Hill to
work from 8:30 a.m. until sessions adjourned.
However, her political
aspirations were soon dampened and, in search of a new career, her thoughts
turned to acting. It was during her time as member of the debate team in high
school that she discovered her love for the craft.
Upon completion of
her term on Capitol Hill, Moss auditioned for the summer drama program at the
Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. It confirmed her love of performing.
She returned to her home to Abilene, Texas to complete her senior year
of high school, but found that she was only a couple of credits shy of a
diploma. Moss opted to earn a GED and enter college early. She was accepted at
George Mason University in Virginia, where she majored in Theater. Shortly
thereafter, she transferred to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los
Angeles.
Moss landed a recurring role on Beverly Hills 90210
playing a stalker. She guest starred in other television series, including
Seinfeld, ER and Chicago Hope. However she is most easily
identified for her recurring role as Veruka on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
She notes that Buffy fans still visit her personal website with avid
devotion.
Her feature film credits include Can't Hardly Wait and
Auggie Rose, as well as a few independent films.
Mosslives in
L.A. with her dog, Faux Pas, a Sheltie.
Maggie Lawson
"Liz"
Born and raised in Louisville, KY, Maggie Lawson is the middle of three
children. At age eight she began performing in local community and dinner
theater productions. Two years later, a role in a local commercial led to a
steady, six-year role as a TV personality who reported news to kids.
At
17 Lawson landed a recurring role on the sitcom Unhappily Ever After and,
shortly thereafter, landed a role in the feature film Pleasantville. In
2000 she had memorable twin roles as both a model and a nerdy student in the TV
movie Model Behavior, and she recently starred in the title role of
Nancy Drew for The Wonderful World of Disney.
In her spare
time, Lawson enjoys singing and playing the guitar. As a high school student,
she was chosen to sing the national anthem for former President Bush and the
First Lady at Cardinal Stadium. She is currently enrolled in college in Los
Angeles and keeps fit by horseback riding, skiing, taking long hikes and
practicing yoga.
John Benjamin Hickey
"Philip"
John Benjamin Hickey most recently appeared on Broadway in The
Crucible. His other theater credits include Cabaret, Love! Valour!
Compassion! and The Substance of Fire, which was performed at Lincoln
Center Theatre. He has also spent many summers at the venerated Williamstown
Theatre Festival, and recently made his directorial debut with Theresa Rebeck's
play, Bad Dates, at Playwrights Horizons in New York City.
Hickey's feature film credits include Changing Lanes, The
Anniversary Party, The Bone Collector, The Ice Storm and
Love! Valour! Compassion! On television he appeared in the telefilm Me
and My Shadows: Life with Judy Garland, in multiple episodes of Law &
Order and in Sex and the City, among many other series.
Hickey attended the Juilliard School.
Christopher Sieber
"Simon"
Christopher Sieber was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and grew up in the
small town of Wyoming, Minnesota. He attended nearby Forest Lake High School
and, after graduating, set out for New York to study acting at the American
Musical and Dramatic Academy.
Sieber's Broadway credits include, most
recently, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Into the Woods and Triumph
of Love. Other theater credits are Boys in the Band, A Christmas
Carol, and Pal Joey. He has also toured nationally in The Music of
Andrew Lloyd Webber and Meet Me in St. Louis. In regional theater,
he's been involved in a string of world premiere musicals, including Randy
Newman's Faust at La Jolla Playhouse, Bill C. Davis and Richard Adler's
Off-Key at the George Street Playhouse, and Larry Grossman's Paper
Moon at Papermill Playhouse.
He made his television debut as a
regular on the ABC series Two of A Kind in 1998. Other television credits
include, Sex and the City and Ed, and he has appeared in numerous
commercials, as well as in the daytime dramas All My Children and
Another World.
Sieber is actively involved in the charity
organization Broadway Cares-Equity Fights AIDS, and currently lives in northern
New Jersey.
Episodes
Pilot
Air Date:
10/01/2003
http://abc.go.com/primetime/itsallrelative/episodes/2003-04/1.htmlIn 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 http://abc.go.com/primetime/itsallrelative/episodes/2003-04/2.htmlWhen 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.
Photo Gallery
Episode 1
Close Window to Return to Eye on Queer
TV
