Meet the Gallaghers is the very first episode of Shameless.
Synopsis[]
Eldest daughter Fiona runs the chaotic Gallagher household while dad Frank is busy drinking away the family's Giro check. When Fiona meets a handsome stranger, she thinks he's only interested in a one-night stand.
Plot[]
Phillip Gallagher enters Sheila Jackson's house to tutor her daughter, and his school mate Karen. During his Physics tips Karen climbs under the table and begins to give Lip oral sex, he stops her at first but when she admits she can't pay him for his tutoring he lets her continue. Later, changing his underwear at home Lip speaks to his older sister Fiona as she gets ready to go out to a night club and accidentally finds a folder hidden behind the dresser that is filled with gay pornography belonging to Lip's younger brother, Ian.
Fiona and her best friend Veronica Fisher are dancing at a night club when Fiona's handbag is snatched. Steve McBride, who had been trying to work up the courage to approach Fiona chases the mugger but the mugger gets away. He apologises to the women and offers to buy them a drink, but the bouncer refuses to let them back into the club and insults Fiona spurring Steve to punch him before the three run away laughing. Back at the Gallagher's house Steve meets the whole family and once everyone has gone to bed he and Fiona have sex on the kitchen floor. They are interrupted however by a knock at the door which turns out to be local PC Tony dropping off Fiona's drunk, unconscious father Frank.
Confused, Steve leaves the house while Fiona breaks down but the next day he comes to visit and though Fiona tries to give him the brush off, he stays persistent. Noticing the bad condition of the washing machine he pays for a new one to be delivered to the house. Lip reveals to Ian that he found his porn and knows he is gay but insists that he have oral sex from Karen to make sure. Karen's father Eddie catches them however and uses it as his excuse to leave his wife and daughter. Lip also discovers that Ian is in a relationship with his boss, married shop owner Kash Karib.
Steve and Fiona's first real date doesn't quite go as planned when after their meal Steve gets dressed as a valet so he can steal someone's car. Explaining to Fiona that he is actually a car thief and that is how he makes his living causes some problems.
Post Credit Scene
Lip leaves the bathroom and finds his father, Frank standing outside. Frank holds his hand with his finger's bent horizontal and tells him that he has a long way before he catches up with him, he then backs away into his bedroom as strange music plays and picks his coat up from the bed. He waves his coat like a flag and attempts to quickly put it on but can't get it on, the camera then cuts to Frank's various attempts to get his jacket on before he swears and falls back onto the bed.
Cast[]
Starring[]
- David Threlfall - Frank Gallagher
- Anne-Marie Duff - Fiona Gallagher
- James McAvoy - Steve McBride
- Maggie O'Neill - Sheila Jackson
- Maxine Peake - Veronica Fisher
- Dean Lennox Kelly - Kevin Ball
- Jody Latham - Phillip Gallagher
- Gerard Kearns - Ian Gallagher
- Rebecca Ryan - Debbie Gallagher
- Luke and Elliott Tittensor - Carl Gallagher
- Joseph Furnace - Liam Gallagher
- Rebecca Atkinson - Karen Jackson
- Chris Bisson - Kash Karib
- Kelli Hollis - Yvonne Karib
- Anthony Flanagan - Tony
Guest Stars[]
- Steve Pemberton - Eddie Jackson
- Danny Martelli - Bouncer/Jimmy Clifton
Notes[]
- Narrator: Frank Gallagher (only at the end)
- Fiona was 16 when her mother Monica left home.
- Liam Gallagher makes a cameo appearance.
- Unusually as he is the main character of the series, Frank Gallagher only appears in a few scenes, with the main plot centring on his eldest daughter. However, he would take centre role in Episode 2.