Fri, Jan 20, 2006
Riley and Fran realize they don't have many common friends because of their generation gap, but find her friend Becca and his Danny ideal for a double date on their anniversary. When the girls overhear Riley saying he pretended the cool leather coat she gave him is too delicate for him to wear in construction, she's livid but decides to test him further by giving instead an indestructible watch. Meanwhile Josh has fixed his nasty sister Allison a date with hunky Cory, but she and her cahoot dump the lovely boy just because he's a freshman, hence 'social suicide for sophomores'...
Fri, Mar 24, 2006
Now Fran has dumped her true love Riley and thrown him out 'for his own good', both of them are miserable enough to become impossible to live with, Fran is filling the Reeves house with TV-sale appliances which do more harm then good. When dumb Becca turns out to be as good at singing ('The Way We Were', perfect for more waterworks from Fran) as Allison stinks at any form of performance, Josh decides to launch her at cousin Merrill's wedding to Riley's mate Danny. There the lovebirds face facts, Josh tells the true reason and conclusions are drawn...
Fri, Sep 23, 2005
After Fran embarrassed Josh by telling his former schoolmate Barry Regal, now in Wall Street, the med school drop-out is the video store's assistant-manager, everybody goes to the bar mitzvah of a certain Kenny Goldstein. Alas Fran's ex, Dr. Ted Reeves, is there too, badmouthing Fran and Josh and out-staging her hunk Riley with professional model and dancer Rachel Hunter. The united front gives Ted as good as it gets, but back home it hits Fran: so long after Ted's leaving, is he still a valid excuse for their own failures?
Fri, Sep 16, 2005
Unlike Fran, who still can't admit she needs glasses, Riley remembered it's the first anniversary of his moving in with the Reeves family. So she decides to cook lobster Tetrazzini and he serves it bare-chested, but just then Allison brings her friend Becca for dinner, who thinks Josh is sexy too. Worse next: Fran's nasty ex Ted Reeves, the kids' dad, who dropped by with daughter Allison's laptop. After the way Ted takes Ryan's seat, constantly belittles him and the others practically ignore him, Ryan is out of the mood and wonders if he has any place at all. However the blond hunk's role is soon remembered when everybody needs a savior...
Fri, Apr 15, 2005
Josh has accepted a job as video-store clerk. Fran was looking forward to a backpacking trip trough Europe with Riley, but then her ex, surgeon Ted Reeves, calls by, suddenly unconditionally supportive of Josh, and offers Riley months of construction work. Fran feels certain Ted does it all just to spite her and wants Riley to refuse the big job. Then she learns Ted's second wife Tiffany just dumped him and he still looks down on 'loser' Josh...
2005
Fran breaks her promise to Riley not to talk about their love life with 'girl-friends' by elaborating about it to their new, gay neighbor Greg. However in her eyes Riley is 'far more wrong' when she discovers he never canceled his old city apartment. So when picking up Josh from the dentist Fran takes the kids there to snoop. Realizing the place is too untidy to be a love-nest, Fran believes Josh's theory Riley just needs a 'man-cave', and arranges everything in her basement. Alas, she got the street wrong, so it must all go back when Riley recognizes nothing, and he had another reason for keeping the apartment...
Fri, Jan 13, 2006
Riley's mother Donna called five times before his naive kid sister Jenny arrives, and she sure is a pot-plant, still engaged to Jeremy, her first boy-friend ever since Kindergarten. Josh and Allison make fun of Jenny, Fran takes her shopping as the girlish daughter she never had, to be told her taste is too slutty. Fran sends Josh to show Jenny New York, but they only return after a night when they 'accidentally' got married as drunk wedding witnesses for a couple they just met in a bar. Riley and Fran blame each-other as bad examples. Choosing a legal reason for annulment is painful for poor 'crazy' Josh...
Fri, Apr 8, 2005
Without telling anyone, Fran has invited Riley's parents for dinner. Mother Donna Martin, the one who accepted and suggested this 'surprise', is shocked to find Fran much older, and turns very hostile, as Riley points out a nasty habit with every girl he ever dated. Father Tom Martin proves as nice as Riley, and seems the supportive, tolerant father of Fran's boy Josh's dreams, even a prank partner. The question whether her age is an issue for him makes Riley so nervous he cuts his finger badly. In hospital Fran reminisces about their short past, without age issues. In hospital Alison, nasty as always, now has to get her nose checked out, butchered with a mail-order piercing kit.
Fri, May 13, 2005
Fran is excited about her first Valentine's day with Riley Martin, but disappointed to hear he reserved at Antonio's, so she books at Carmella's instead, which ruins all his plans and breaks trust, so badly he cancels altogether because she took over once too often. Allison gets a cool handbag from a mystery admirer, and ma saw fitting wrapping paper in the Lombardis's trash can, so she hopes it's from 16 year-old Tony, whom she digs as a 'cotelet', alas... Josh was about to take Riley's advice to dump Lilly, whose excessive superlatives really get on his nerves, before Valentine's day, as doing that would make them seem to be going steady, but on Fran's advice she gets him tickets for the Nicks. Ever gentle Riley assures Josh his ma only meddles out of love, then draws his own conclusions.