Why doesn't Liam tell Clarissa and Neil that his parents have forbidden him to go? I bet Neil will suddenly find he is upset about Alf not being there. And the one thing which may make his parents relent would be a mail from Neil asking Alf to come to his party.
He could even say, he's making plans to go without his parents knowing, but if they find out, he may not be able to make it. After all, does Liam really want to stand Neil up, if Doug's plan falls through? But I guess I'm expecting too much from Liam, he's actually not that bright, right?
It was good to see Tony and Sam take care of Neil. They can relate to him in quite another way, and Neil needs gay role models in his life. As well as father figures. Talking to Jim is a good idea too, once Tony has reassured his boyfriend that Neil no longer has a crush on him. By the way, is Neil still working in the sports store? We haven't heard about this for a while. The owner was a good ersatz-father too.