Parenthood - New TV Series on NBC (1 Viewer)

[Greg_S_H]

Quote:

And don't get me started on teases in newscasts!

"Are you in imminent danger of being killed even as we speak? Tune in after Idol to find out!"

 

[Citizen87645]

Back in the day when I had to get an East Coast feed to get the WB, the New York City newscast teasers were some of the most hilarious.

Great episode from Tuesday. I like how a set of issues gets resolved, which provides a sense of completeness to the episode, but that it's clear there will be things coming down the road. I suppose lately I have been noticing this more in real life - you address the problems that can be fixed and celebrate them when you succeed, but try to be aware of the bigger picture and prepared for future consequences.

As far as Sidney knowing the word "coup", I think she was just repeating what one of the adults said.

The kid casting - particularly the young ones - on the show is great. Not only are they incredibly cute, but very natural. I think my favorite is Sidney, but Jabar is pretty awesome too.

 

[Marty M]

Originally Posted by Patrick Sun

Not sure I like the younger brother or sister characters, but it is a full house of characters, that's for sure.

Their characters are pretty much based on the characters in the original movie. I am enjoying the show so far. If you compare it to the other TV show with a large family, Brothers & Sisters, I am definitely enjoying Parenthood more. Parenthood is a bit slower in plot, but more realistic slice of life story lines than the "crisis of the week" story lines on that other show.

 

[Greg_S_H]

For reasons I can't pinpoint, I wasn't crazy about this latest episode. I did like that Cros was using Jabar as a "chick magnet" and realized he was doing it and didn't like the realization.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

It wasn't my favorite either. The only storylines that really grabbed me were Crosby's and Adam's. I loved that it was important to Adam that Haddie respect Kristina. I loved that he finally let it all out, and I loved that he finally took a little while for himself. Jabar's mother has to realize that now that she's uncorked the lamp, there's no putting the genie back in the bottle. The scene on the docks at the end (which mirrored the scene from the pilot where Crosby first met Jabar) was a little heartbreaking as we got to see how attached Jabar had become to Crosby.

 

[Citizen87645]

I was fine with Sarah and Mark flirting, but when it came to them actually hooking up it seemed really off for me on a physical level. Graham is such a strong, womanly presence and Ritter just seemed like a kid next to her.

 

[mattCR]

Wow, I took his trip to the beach as being a total douche. My wife felt kind of the same. We're parents of autistic kids, so I get the issues. But when he goes off on her, and she started to cry, I kept thinking: You stupid moron, you're debating her on how hard this is for you, and she's the one who is home every day, all day, dealing with it. It just struck me as insanely crass and selfish, and I thought it was designed to be a counterpoint to his sister, normally the selfish one, taking one for her daughter.

A good moment where he took his daughter to the park to show her what her mom did before. Too bad he apparently didn't grasp that she had to give up almost all of her outside world to focus on the kids.. meanwhile, he still has all those social connections and life outside the home.

I thought that scene, between them in the kitchen was brutal and great. But somewhere down the line, he needs to get on board the train and realize he has to ride it out, however it goes, and suck it up.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I wonder if the show will go the easy route and have Crosby "lawyer up" with his sister in order to get structured visitation with Jabar?

For me, one of the frustrating parts of the entire plotline has been everyone's willingness to be okay with Jabar's mother's role in all this: keeping the kid's existence hidden from his father (and extended family) for five years and then being bitchy/offended when Crosby wants a paternity test, etc.

I'm still trying to figure out what's all the fuss about re: the "play date." The part about walking away from the pool while Jabar was there was definitely uncomfortable...but there was a guy there who I'm guessing was being paid for some life guard skills... I never got the sense he was "using Jabar" as a chick magnet.

It is sooooo strange that I'm watching this at the same time I am watching season one of Gilmore Girls. I keep turning to my wife saying that Lauren Graham has GOT to stop dating her fictional daughter's teachers. Sarah handled this situation so badly that while it was heartbreaking to see Amber skip her SATs, it wasn't all that surprising.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Just got the reply box bug.

I think from Dax's acting it was clear from the moment he saw that woman in the yoga class, he was wanting to hook up and when she suggested a play date, he was more excited for himself than Jabar. That was the main reason he was over there to begin with, but then his growing love for Jabar kicked in and he did the right thing and ended it. He should have told Jabar's mother, "We went to get sandwiches and it started to lead somewhere else, but I said, 'No, not with the kids down there.'" It's not the total truth, since he knew the snacks thing was a lie, but it amounts to the truth.

I thought Sarah handled the whole thing awfully. I guess she didn't believe Adam and for some reason, she did believe Amber when she protested her interest in the teacher. She should have sounded it out a little longer. Or, said something like, "I was interested in your teacher, but I now realize it's inappropriate and you don't have to worry about that."

 

[Mike Frezon]

Greg: How does Crosby's love for Jabar make it doing "the right thing" to end the relationship with that woman? This is what I'm totally not getting. Crosby is a single guy...playing the field. He's not involved with Jabar's mom. He doesn't even seem completely committed to Katie (or else he would have been comfortable telling her about Jabar and committing to having a kid). But, even if he was committed to Katie, SHE would be the reason for him to reject her advances--not Jabar or Jabar's mother. I still don't get what she was in a snit about.

In my mind, Sarah should have just kept her yap shut to Amber about ANY chance of a relationship she (Sarah) could have had with the teacher. Because Amber was going through a genuine crush in which she was interpreting the teacher's actions to be motivated by a special interest in her (Amber), it would still have killed her to think that her mother somehow came between her and the teacher.

 

[Greg_S_H]

It's because you don't agree that he was using Jabar as a "chick magnet." Jabar's mom thought that he was, and I agree that that's how it started out for him. And, there's nothing wrong with him starting a relationship with that woman, but it'd be better on his own time than to be doing it while he supposed to be spending time with Jabar. It would be kind of weird to be going at it when you can see your kid down there in the pool, and you're supposed to be there for him. Also, I think the reason he didn't tell Katie was because he knew she wanted a kid and he was afraid he'd kill his relationship with her if she found out he already had one. I think that relationship still has a chance, and I wish they'd catch up with what she's doing.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I see. It's because he asked for another day with Jabar to facilitate the play date...

I bet she woulda had Crosby over anyway...even without Jabar. She had "that look in her eyes!"

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Originally Posted by mattCR /forum/thread/298617/parenthood-new-tv-series-on-nbc/30#post_3681336

Jasmine is a single mother. At the end of the day, Jabar is her first and only priority. Until then, Crosby had been the fantasy of what a suddenly present absent father should be like. This was the first splash of reality onto the fantasy, and she overreacted. In her mind, Crosby is still an aquaintance of her and Jabar. Sooner or later she's going to have to realize that bringing Jabar's father into the mix means giving up some of her own authority and control.

 

[Qui-Gon John]

Anyone know why NBC dropped the encores of this show on the following Sat nights?

 

[Garrett Adams]

Pleased to see it is renewed for season 2.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Originally Posted by Garrett Adams /forum/thread/298617/parenthood-new-tv-series-on-nbc/30#post_3683051

 

[Greg_S_H]

That was a terrific episode. I know I said I wasn't entirely thrilled with last week's, but this show follows the Jason Katims pattern where individual episodes are largely irrelevant. It's not about the plot of the week. It's just one big tapestry. Sarah and Amber have a completely different relationship than Tami and Julie from Friday Night Lights, but their mother/daughter fights harken back to that show. Tami and Julie's fights were so realistic that I felt like it was something I shouldn't be watching--too raw. Too real. That's how the bedroom scene was tonight. It was heartbreaking for both Sarah and us to hear Amber say that hearing her mother call her life a mistake was calling her a mistake.

"Do you know how much we love you?" "As much as I love my beetles."

 

[mattCR]

Good ep. I enjoyed it. But they were way more restrained with Damien then anyone I know would have been.. I can picture my parents turning around after the shower scene, saying nothing, calling the cops and saying the simple words "Statutory Rape" and have his goofball ass hauled off

But I also thought the dialog this week was good, and the storyline with Crosby finally really clicked to me where a lot of the things that needed to be said between those characters came out.

 

[Marty M]

Originally Posted by Greg_S_H

That was a terrific episode. I know I said I wasn't entirely thrilled with last week's, but this show follows the Jason Katims pattern where individual episodes are largely irrelevant. It's not about the plot of the week. It's just one big tapestry. Sarah and Amber have a completely different relationship than Tami and Julie from Friday Night Lights, but their mother/daughter fights harken back to that show. Tami and Julie's fights were so realistic that I felt like it was something I shouldn't be watching--too raw. Too real. That's how the bedroom scene was tonight. It was heartbreaking for both Sarah and us to hear Amber say that hearing her mother call her life a mistake was calling her a mistake.

"Do you know how much we love you?" "As much as I love my beetles."

Great analysis of this series. I am really enjoying this show a lot. It is so much better than Brothers & Sisters where they have to manufacturer some "crisis of the week" to maintain any interest in the show. Parenthood shows us "slice of life" experiences and it is much more enjoyable.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by mattCR /forum/thread/298617/parenthood-new-tv-series-on-nbc/30#post_3683272