Parenthood - Season 2 thread (1 Viewer)

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by Adam Lenhardt

It's bad enough that she's thinking it, it's much worse that she told it to her daughter and thereby undermined Joel's authority.

And don't think that won't come back to bite her, too. Some of the plot lines are starting to get a bit conventional this season.

 

[Greg_S_H]

They're only conventional if they end up where you think they will. There were plenty of times on Friday Night Lights where people rolled their eyes, only to have it go in a totally different direction.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon

If it were other characters, I'd groan, but both Crosby and Jasmine are immature in some pretty fundamental ways. I completely believed that they'd pull a stunt like that.


As for Julia and Joel, that instance was systematic of a much bigger problem in their marriage, which started with Joel finding himself unexpectedly unemployed and has been further complicated by Julia's personality.


I haven't watched "Friday Night Lights", but I agree with Greg. This show had a stellar first season. I'm willing to give the show the benefit of the doubt for now and see where it takes us.

 

[Greg_S_H]

I don't think we were supposed to take Julia's "love bubble" story as a negative. I think the audience was supposed to say, "Wow, she's really trying to get Syd to understand that she and Joel need alone time. She's figuring out she needs to be less selfish." That's how I took it, anyway. Also, I'm probably wrong, but I'm not sure the marriage lie will be that big a deal. I took that as them feeling they needed to lie about who they are, when the reality was that they both had something legitimate to offer the school.


Now, the big shocker will be if Zeek leaves Camille for Tony.

 

[mattCR]

Originally Posted by Mike Frezon


I think you'd be surprised how many lies we all basically take for granted because they are societally accepted. And it doesn't make them wrong to just say "well, that's what I chose to believe" even if by no measure of any standard could they be held up as "true".

I thought her story was one her husband would probably accept. Hell, I don't see it as much worse then telling the kid something like "you can ward away the boogie man with a night light". Come on. There is no boogie man. Kids get that. But sometimes explaining away dreams that way doesn't work so well. So, a "nightlight" as "protection" is completely ridiculous. But tons of parents do it.. because it's effective, it's a lie a kid can buy into.


Actually, I was waiting for Zeek to man up some and say something to the effect of: "I'm learning to love this ballroom dancing thing. I will do everything I can for you; but I can't be forever in the doghouse, let's still do this together"

 

[Mike Frezon]

Still watching tonight's episode on the DVR...but I had to run here quick and say...six words: Lauren Graham in a catwoman outfit.


'Nuff said...for now!

 

[mattCR]

Great episode; I was reminded how our oldest son has dressed up as a ladybug every single year for 7 years running; he can't change costumes, it freaks him out.


*shrug*


But, to be honest, as a fan of Mad Men, I do have difficulty seeing Peggy's potential lesbian lover from that show as a high schooler in this show *laugh* it is what it is


Good episode tonight.

 

[Greg_S_H]

How long would the sticker thing work with a kid like Max? Coming at it from a position of ignorance, it just seems he'd lose interest in stickers before long. I guess if part of the disorder is that the kid becomes obsessed with a routine, it could go on indefinitely.

 

[mattCR]

Originally Posted by Greg_S_H

How long would the sticker thing work with a kid like Max? Coming at it from a position of ignorance, it just seems he'd lose interest in stickers before long. I guess if part of the disorder is that the kid becomes obsessed with a routine, it could go on indefinitely.

A very long time. Surprisingly, stickers (literally) are used as an effective measure for a lot of autistic kids and it can last a very long time. Our son has had the exact same "reward" tool for 5 years; which is, after he gets so many "points" we make a rubber egg (yes, put an egg in vinegar for an extended period). Now, we've used different kinds of eggs at different points, but it's almost a guarantee once every two months or so, we're doing the rubber egg experiment.. and that has went on since he was in first grade.

In general, it doesn't take as big of a change.. Max (on the show) should be interested in changing the type or feel or look of the stickers he's recieving; maybe now he wants "puffy" stickers or only certain character stickers etc. etc. But it will likely be a good time before he changes from them being effective.

 

[mattCR]

Sorry, double post.. I posted and it said "unable to access" in a popup, so I submitted again. Weird.

 

[Citizen87645]

It took me a bit to realize where'd I'd seen her before.


Then there's Lafayette's boyfriend AKA Forklift Guy.

Originally Posted by mattCR


Good episode tonight.

/forum/thread/303728/parenthood-season-2-thread/30#post_3741409

 

[Greg_S_H]

David Mamet's daughter is 22, which is good. I couldn't help noticing her low-cut outfit and am glad she's not really a high-schooler. Thanks for the info on the stickers, Matt. I wish they'd have Adam ask Gabby about it, to explain onscreen for people like me. "How long will the stickers work? We did that kind of thing with Haddie and she lost interest fast." "It's not like that with Max." etc.

 

[mattCR]

I agree. I think small things like that would make more sense. Someone explained it to us originally that they believed some people got big into Stamp & Coin collecting in the past may have had some forms of autism that they were able to focus into those activities.

Stickers, though, is one of those things that a huge number of autism counselors do, and I have never been really sure of why it works so well, but it really does. Different designs, shapes, puffy, sparkly, shrink-e-dink kind.. it all works somehow.

 

[Derek Miner]

According to TVbythenumbers.com Parenthood had series low ratings this week.


A shame, because this show is currently the one that I most enjoy watching every week. The performances are just so warm, engaging and funny. The writing blows away just about everything on TV right now.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

It was nice to get an hour with this show where everything's going right for everybody, when there's such potential for it to go wrong. Zeek's reminiscence to Max encapsulated the theme of the episode: there may be hell behind us and hell ahead of us, but let's take this one night for us. One thing that I found fascinating about Max never having gone trick-r-treating is how much in denial Adam and Kristina had to have been in all of these years, since they were clearly adapting to and accommodating his Asperger's in pretty extreme ways long before they thought to put a name to what made him different. It was also nice to see him surprise them, since walking up to the haunted house clearly terrified the crap out of him, but he did it anyway. His issues haven't gone away, but Gaby has made progress helping him process those issues better. The fear didn't overload him like it would have at the beginning of the series. And what that means is that he has a positive association with something that scares him instead of just a lifetime of negative reinforcement. Meanwhile, Amber had a great moment with Sarah because she was demonstratively the one looking on aghast instead of the problem child at the center of the catastrophe. I love that we're seeing the dividends from everything we've experienced with these characters. I still think Sarah's better off with the forklift driver than the sleazy boss, even if the sleazy boss is willing to make an honest attempt at making monogamy work. The beauty queen costume with Sydney was classic. Joel knew exactly how that was going to play out, and he did his best to stay out of the crossfire: What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object?


P.S. I thought the neighbor was going to be pissed because his beloved dog got into the jack-o-lantern and chewed up the glow stick and died. So glad they didn't go there.


EDIT: P.P.S. Holy crap, Kelsey is played by the daughter of David Mamet and the granddaughter of Russel Crouse? Talk about being born into the business. She does a good job, and she's not Hollywood pretty but rather real high school pretty which helps, too. Unfortunately, the sexy Halloween costume is well within the usual for high school girls these days -- especially high school girls trying to impress the college boys they like at a frat party.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Julia's starting to get what we've all been seeing for a long time. If they transition to a two-income family, she's going to have to make major professional changes to meet Joel halfway. Crosby's starting to realize that proposing to Jasmine was more about doing the right thing for Jabar than doing the right thing for himself, but he's plunging in deeper anyway. Haddie can't get the volunteer coordinator out of her head, for a number of reasons. And Amber just lost her only friend because Kelsey's mom would rather blame her than look in the mirror. Even more heartbreaking than Amber's story was Adam's. The older I get, the more sleepless nights I seem to have. I can't imagine a bigger sleepless night than the day before you fire someone. And meanwhile, Gordon shows himself to be the prototypical face of this recession: while he forces Adam to make layoffs, he won't give up his chauffeured limousine down to L.A. Adam wants to spread the pain out in a way that will hurt more people but won't outright cripple anybody, and he refuses to consider it. His lifestyle won't change, even though the decisions that brought them to that point are largely his. Would dumping things like the limo solve the company's problems? No, but it might save a job or two. More importantly, it would send a message that he's sharing the pain of the downturn. Instead, he gets Adam's to do his dirty work.

 

[Greg_S_H]

Friday Night Lights is starting up tonight. I wonder if they are mostly done filming, or if Michael B. Jordan (the volunteer coordinator) will only appear a few times on Parenthood. He is the star quarterback on FNL.

 

[Qui-Gon John]

Why are they skipping a week before another new episode? Will Biggest Loser still be new next week? Did you read that Parenthood may be in danger of being cancelled. I saw this on a Yahoo Entertainment story.

 

[mattCR]

Originally Posted by Qui-Gon John

Why are they skipping a week before another new episode? Will Biggest Loser still be new next week? Did you read that Parenthood may be in danger of being cancelled. I saw this on a Yahoo Entertainment story.

Next Tuesday is midterm elections. No network will air programming. They will all be devoted to election returns.

 

[Qui-Gon John]

Ugh! They still do that? The outcome is the same. Why do the networks feel people need minute by minute feedback on the election progress.


I just went to NBC's site and on their schedule there, they show Biggest Loser for one hour, 8 to 9, then Election Coverage. I wonder how they're gonna work in the second hour, maybe the next night?