Paul Lazarus

A runaway farm boy takes up with an aging outlaw who is involved in a blood feud with his in-laws.

When the head of NASA's manned Mars mission discovers that the capsule meant to carry the astronauts will suffer a catastrophic failure, he forces them to participate in a hoax by broadcasting their 'Mission' from a studio built at an abandoned air force base. Over many months, the astronauts are forced to film broadcasts on their progress. They find out that they are to die upon re-entry. An investigative reporter gets wind that something is amiss...

Claudia is frustrated that her extra shifts at the restaurant are keeping her away from the family; Jimmy is being bullied at school.

When the Finnertys' sewer line breaks and the neighbors won't let them repair it, Sean has no choice but to call his mob-affiliated Uncle Sal for help.

Sean snoops through Lily's room and discovers a fake ID, but he and Claudia are hesitant about confronting their daughter because they know they were in her room "illegally."

Despite his protests, Sean and Claudia force Jimmy to attend a Ramones concert; Eddie is mooching off the Finnertys' groceries.

Claudia tries to bond with Lily by having a girls' weekend in Jersey, but it backfires when Lily runs into two slightly older cool girls from school, Mia and Cindy.

Claudia returns home from an overnight visit to her mother's to discover Sean has barricaded their daughter Lily in her bedroom after she and her friends went to Action Mountain, an amusement park in New Jersey, without Sean's permission.

Claudia and Sean return from Atlantic City to find the house trashed, their sons locked in the basement and Lily hauling trash bags full of beer bottles out to the curb.