About
In a swanky New York City apartment tower, the earnest young handyman, who lives in the basement, loves the shy heiress who lives in the penthouse. Separating this couple, more than just 20 stories of plush co-ops, is a slew of oddball relatives and millions of dollars in social prestige.
Cast
Brian Van Holt
as Eamon McBride
Paget Brewster
as Allison Conklin
Swoosie Kurtz
as Effie Conklin
David Ogden Stiers
as Nicholas Conklin
Brian Doyle-Murray
as Finn McBride
John Livingston
as Nicky Conklin
Judy Greer
as Puff Conklin
Seasons
Episodes
Season 1
Pilot
On the day of her wedding to stuffy socialite Howard, Allison is reunited with her childhood sweetheart, Eamon, after she locks herself in her bathroom. Eamon's new job as the building superintendent is quite a reach from his former career in professional hockey. Since Allison is already suffering from pre-wedding jitters, the fact that she and Eamon wind up having sex in the shower doesn't help matters -- or Nicholas' weak heart. Though Nicholas will do anything to get rid of Eamon as he wants to see his daughter marry money, Effie wants her to find love and eventually leads Allison and Eamon to get Howard out of the picture before it's too late.
When WASPs Collide
Effie and Nicholas try to hide their embarrassment at what Allison has done. Allison, afraid of her parents' reactions, tries to hide Eamon from them, in hopes that they'll pretend nothing has happened. But after Allison witnesses Eamon and Finn have a brutal argument, it inspires her to persuade her family to be more open with each other. Unfortunately, the Conklins' past inability to deal honestly with problems brings years of pent-up hatred bubbling to the surface -- to the point where even Allison wonders if this is what she wants.
The Music Box
To Nicholas' dismay, Effie invites Finn up to their place for cocktails in an effort to get to know her daughter's boyfriend's father better. It's an evening that's uncomfortable for everybody. In reciprocation, Finn then invites the Conklins down to his place for drinks, which Nicholas grudgingly agrees to. Effie begs Nicholas to try to give Finn a chance, but her words fall on deaf ears after Nicholas discovers his long-lost music box amidst Finn's collection of junk. Nicholas accuses Finn of stealing it, and, despite Effie's protests, the two are soon at war.
Howard's End (a.k.a. Babe in the City)
Nicholas schemes to bring Allison and Howard back together, and he receives help from an unlikely place -- Allison -- after Eamon has a fight with her in regards to an expensive big screen TV she gave to Finn for his birthday. Feeling financially inadequate, Eamon takes the TV back to the store -- which of course ticks off Finn. Now that Howard's put his life back together courtesy his therapist, Allison makes up with him. In the platonic sense. Nicholas twists the truth around to Howard by saying that Allison still wants him and he should make a move on her. Meanwhile, Eamon tries to deliver an apology to Allison while she's in the middle of the fateful meeting, but Nicholas intercepts it. Effie finds out what Nicholas did, and threatens to make his life miserable if he doesn't fix things. So Nicholas puts together a romantic dinner for Allison and Eamon atop the roof in hopes they'll make up then - only to have Howard drop in on it to carry out Nicholas' former plan. In the end, Fin
A Night at the Opera
Effie takes Finn with her to the opera after her escort, Jerry, cancels. At the opera, she runs into her gossipy ""best friend,"" Kiki Farrington -- who is with Jerry. Finn foolishly blabs to a gossip columnist, leading to a tabloid story that the Conklins' marriage is on the rocks. Effie worries what Nicholas will think when he reads it, but when he just laughs the entire thing off, Effie fears he doesn't care about her anymore. Meanwhile, Allison is stunned when Eamon mentions marrying her in the future.
The Five Week Itch
After Allison's attempt at a cultural date bores Eamon to death, Nicholas reasserts his belief that Eamon is nothing more than her rebound guy. Allison furiously tries to prove her father wrong, but when she follows Puff's advice and plans a romantic evening with Eamon that he tries to back out of, Allison starts to wonder if Nicholas is right. Realizing he's hurt Allison's feelings, Eamon, meanwhile, seeks advice from Finn on how to make it up to her. After Nicholas talks about how he wishes Allison would get back together with Howard, Effie accidentally slips up that it was she who led Allison to jilt her ex-fiancé -- which, of course, infuriates Nicholas. Since Effie is equally infuriated by the way Nicholas treats Eamon, the two end up making a pact where she promises to stop meddling if he promises to stop criticizing Eamon.
Make Doom for Daddy
After Nicholas collapses, his doctor, Fielding, says it wasn't a fainting spell, but a stress episode. To find out what's causing it, Dr. Fielding hooks Nicholas up to a stress meter. The meter doesn't go off once during Nicholas' hectic day at work, but it beeps off the hook once Nicholas gets home. Fielding's studies conclude that the bulk of the stress is being caused by a combination of Eamon and Nicky. Worrying that a heart attack is next, Nicholas tries to cure his problem by spending time with Eamon and Nicky to get to know them better and, hopefully, find something to like about them. Easier said than done...
The Stepmummy
Effie's abusive socialite stepmother, Beverly, visits the Conklins. Though the rest of the family wants nothing to do with Beverly, Effie sucks up because she's hoping to inherit one of her many homes when the old bird kicks the bucket. But Beverly brings an abrupt halt to that dream when she announces that she's already left it to someone else -- her cats. So Effie throws her out. But when she discovers through Finn that Beverly is destitute and staying in a dumpy hotel in McBride-like poverty, Effie puts aside her greed and family differences, and tries to give her stepmummy a helping hand. Meanwhile, Nicholas takes Nicky to his old London tailor to buy him a suit, and, if all goes well, share some father/son time the way he and his father used to. There's just one problem: Nicky doesn't want to share some father/son time.
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