Full Synopsis
Sometimes life's greatest lessons are learned in the most unlikely places and from the most unlikely people. One man is about to discover that the only way to save his life is to trust a family he didn't even know he had.
Dr. Jerry Lipman (Emmy and Golden-Globe nominee Paul Reiser, Mad About You) is a fastidious New York City psychiatrist and, according to his best friend Howard (Emmy nominee George Wendt, Alice in Wonderland), an incorrigible ladies man with the world seemingly at his feet. However, his life is unexpectedly turned upside down when he finds out that he's dying of leukaemia. His best chance for survival is a bone marrow transplant from a sibling, so Jerry, an only child, thinks he's been handed a death sentence. That is, until his mother, Esther (Emmy nominee, Golden Globe, and Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis, And Never Let Her Go), confesses that 40 years ago, unable to bear children of their own, Jerry's parents adopted him from an unwed teen mother in Liverpool, England. Reeling from this revelation, but encouraged by the possibility that he may have siblings, Jerry flies to England in search of his birth mother.
What Jerry unearths when he arrives at Sheila Fitzpatrick's (Oscar nominee Julie Walters, Billy Elliot) doorstep is far more than he bargained for. Sheila is a tough, loving woman haunted by the circumstances that led her to give up her baby so many years ago, but thrilled to be reunited with her long lost son. Jerry discovers that he has two brothers, Frank (Tony Maudsley, Sleepy Hollow), a humble, henpecked husband, and Derek (Ian Puleston-Davies, The Politician's Wife), a down-at-his-heels loser--one of whom may hold the key to Jerry's survival. What Jerry doesn't plan on are his deepening feelings for Derek's brash, long-suffering ex-wife Maureen (Amy Robbins, Casualty) and her two young children or the way in which the quirky Fitzpatrick family embraces him. With time running out and things getting more complicated by the minute, Jerry's journey of self-discovery becomes a desperate fight to save his life.
Dr. Jerry Lipman (Emmy and Golden-Globe nominee Paul Reiser, Mad About You) is a fastidious New York City psychiatrist and, according to his best friend Howard (Emmy nominee George Wendt, Alice in Wonderland), an incorrigible ladies man with the world seemingly at his feet. However, his life is unexpectedly turned upside down when he finds out that he's dying of leukaemia. His best chance for survival is a bone marrow transplant from a sibling, so Jerry, an only child, thinks he's been handed a death sentence. That is, until his mother, Esther (Emmy nominee, Golden Globe, and Oscar winner Olympia Dukakis, And Never Let Her Go), confesses that 40 years ago, unable to bear children of their own, Jerry's parents adopted him from an unwed teen mother in Liverpool, England. Reeling from this revelation, but encouraged by the possibility that he may have siblings, Jerry flies to England in search of his birth mother.
What Jerry unearths when he arrives at Sheila Fitzpatrick's (Oscar nominee Julie Walters, Billy Elliot) doorstep is far more than he bargained for. Sheila is a tough, loving woman haunted by the circumstances that led her to give up her baby so many years ago, but thrilled to be reunited with her long lost son. Jerry discovers that he has two brothers, Frank (Tony Maudsley, Sleepy Hollow), a humble, henpecked husband, and Derek (Ian Puleston-Davies, The Politician's Wife), a down-at-his-heels loser--one of whom may hold the key to Jerry's survival. What Jerry doesn't plan on are his deepening feelings for Derek's brash, long-suffering ex-wife Maureen (Amy Robbins, Casualty) and her two young children or the way in which the quirky Fitzpatrick family embraces him. With time running out and things getting more complicated by the minute, Jerry's journey of self-discovery becomes a desperate fight to save his life.
Programme Information
Format:
SD
Aspect Ratio:
Episodes:
1
Duration:
120 Mins
Year of Production:
2001
Category:
TV Movies
Genre(s):
Drama
