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Parenthood - Season 4 thread (1 Viewer)

mattCR

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I have to admit, the end of last season was a huge turn off. I'm still not quite over it. I made it through the first ep.. I think the spark I had for this show is just gone; all the characters seemed really grating and the storylines were way too forced.
 

Adam Lenhardt

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Pretty solid premiere, I thought. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about Ray Romano's character, but he was a really nice pleasant surprise. A well-drawn character from his first scene, he brings something to the table that wasn't there before. As far as potential love interests for Sarah go, he's a better fit than Mark is. I really like Mark, but he needs someone that wants the same things out of life as he does.
I was able to enjoy the Crosby and Julia storylines as long as I didn't think too much about how we got to this point. I enjoyed how religion was handled; ostensibly it was about Jabar's faith, but it was really about Crosby's unsettled feelings about faith. His own parents are completely ambivalent; they have no strong religious convictions and couldn't care less whether their grandson does or not. If Crosby was genuinely agnostic, he probably wouldn't care so much either. But it made him defensive and picked a bit at a scab he didn't know he had. And while the journey there was rocky, he got there at the end. My own father is pretty ambivalent about faith; I honestly couldn't tell you whether he believes in God or not. When I was a little kid and the topic of God came up, he said something very similar to me. It wouldn't have done Jabar any good for Crosby to lie to him, but he didn't need to stomp out Jabar's faith either.
I think having a seven-year-old come into Julia and Joel's household was a much more fertile plot line than a baby adoption, because it really gets to the heart of, "What is family?" The stuff with the boy with Max and looking at Haddie's montage was very well done. The only thing that rubbed me the wrong way was Julia trying to get him to call them mom and dad. He was raised by his mother for seven years. She's incarcerated, but she's still his mom. Julia and Joel are his parents now, but "mom" to him is always going to mean someone different to him.
Amber's a better fit at the music studio than she was at the campaign headquarters, but Adam throwing out the paying customers was one of the big groan-worthy moments for me. Crosby's reaction in that instance was exactly right. That's all part of rock-n-roll. Amber's heart wasn't broken, she was having fun with a guy who turned out to be a pig. That killed the fun, but that's pretty much the extent of it for her. Adam can't sub in his niece for his daughter.
Poor Drew.
I loved all of the stuff with Haddie. It's a real shame Sarah Ramos been knocked down to guest star status, because she's a great actress playing a great character. The scene at the end where she runs out of the boarding line bawling rang 100 percent true to me. I was absolutely sobbing as my parents drove away when I was dropped off for college the first time. And I was only three and a half hours away, not across the country. And I love how comfortable they've become at being "that family" out in public. There's an acceptance there which really shows how far they've come from the first season as a family.
 

Mike Frezon

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Originally Posted by Adam Lenhardt /t/323682/parenthood-season-4-thread#post_3973583
For those who weren't completely turned off by the end of last season, the fourth season of "Parenthood" premieres tonight at 10 PM.


Well...I was completely turned off by the end of last season.

But, I was also excited when I heard season four began tonight. So, my wife and I were sure to watch tonight's premiere.

Unfortunately, the episode started with a recap of the end of last year and the first voice I heard was Jasmine's.

I have to admit that about halfway through tonight's episode (maybe at the Burger & Pie scene?) I turned to my wife and said that I'm really not sure I want to watch this show any more.

I KNOW I won't be happy with the resolution of the Jabar/God storyline. I have some interest in Haddie going off to Cornell (my daughter went to Cornell! Class of '07! Go Big Red!). It could be interesting...but I'm not sure how integral she'll remain to the show. The Ray Romano storyline...seems pretty obvious at the get-go. We'll see. I don't see anything good coming from the Joel & Julia/child storyline.

You know where I was last season. I WANT to like this show.

But the writers seem determined to take the easy way out whenever possible. To have yet another screaming contest between Haddie and Max broken up with Adam bursting into the room flailing his arms and shouting, "Hey! What's going on in here?!" is another bit of lazy writing--the type of writing into which this show has devolved.

What do you suppose will come of Mark worming his way into the family portrait against Camille's best judgment?
 

Greg_S_H

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I have a hard time letting things go, but I find this family annoying to the point of being unwatchable now. I was pretty much ready to be done throughout the episode, but that part of me that can't give things up says maybe one more week. If it's still a chore to watch then, I have to bail.
 

KevinGress

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Since I only started watching last season I'm not as invested as the rest of you are, and so I didn't come into this season with dread. I appreciate Adam's review, so I'm going to just riff a little off of it.
I also liked Ray's character. We'll see where it goes, but it was a nice start.
A bit disappointed with Mark - his need to be in the picture shows a lot of selfishness and a bit of immaturity. Like was said, he'd be in the next year's picture (if they made it).
Agree - poor Drew. :)
"Adam throwing out the paying customers was one of the big groan-worthy moments for me." - I'm quoting because I'm sure a lot of people had the same reaction, and I did too, a little. What I find a little funny, after analyzing it is that many here were lambasting the politician last year but (I suspect) the same people are giving a pass to the musician. "That's all part of rock-n-roll"! Well, I'm sure many would say "That's all part of politics!" too. Now, what Adam did was unprofessional, but I respect it from a moral perspective. And I liked the conversation that he and Amber had later.
Jabar - I appreciate the balance the show tried to keep, and that it didn't put down faith; I was just disappointed with the Braverman characters and their reactions. I understand Crosby and Jasmine wanting to be the ones to talk to Jabar and I really liked the grandmother's response - "Just what DO you believe?". I doubt this plotline will go anywhere else, but if it does, I really hope they do some research and present Christianity (my assumption of the grandmother's faith) and faith in the proper context.
Julia - I agree with Adam that her pushing to be called 'mom' is wrong for the same reason. The solution would be to come up with another term that would reflect parental status without stripping his real mom's of hers.
For the most part I liked it. It'll be interesting to see where the 13 (right?) episodes go and if this will be it.
 

schan1269

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I haven't watched the premiere yet(On DVR)...
But I have been watching from the beginning. I get Mark, as I was Mark 15 years ago. My Sarah moment made it 3 years. Most women (that are newly single at Sarah's age) have a Mark moment as well. It represented an all too cliched moment where those end...but the reverse works. The reverse always works. I think if Mark stayed...that would be a bigger storyline lie or life. It sucks...you move on.
The Julia/Joel thing has been overblown. But it is overblown cause it is a 1 hour show. They have to "pack in" a weeks worth of what really happens in 5 minutes. This whole storyline is going to remain overblown...just the nature of TV.
I'll reserve argument on the rest for later. I've already seen blogosphere notes on Crosby/Jabar. There are always going to be twists on that simply because of the parents. Who knows where they will take this.
 

Mike Frezon

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schan1269 said:
. Who knows where they will take this.
Exactly my concern (about ANY of the plotlines).

In season 1, they would have done something smart and original. In season 3, it became clear that they had used all that up and were already taking on water and will inevitably sink the USS Braverman.
 

schan1269

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The one story line that deserves the whole "A stockbroker must have thought of it"...
Kinda like in the vein of the "live animated" commercials(forget who the ads are for)...
"I want serious advice. He tells me I should invest in a vineyard. A vineyard? Give me a break."
That whole commercial plotline sums up the whole...
"I lost my job, let's invest all our money into a recording studio."...
 

Mike Frezon

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Originally Posted by schan1269 /t/323682/parenthood-season-4-thread#post_3974011
The one story line that deserves the whole "A stockbroker must have thought of it"...
Kinda like in the vein of the "live animated" commercials(forget who the ads are for)...
"I want serious advice. He tells me I should invest in a vineyard. A vineyard? Give me a break."
That whole commercial plotline sums up the whole...
"I lost my job, let's invest all our money into a recording studio."...

And then throw out a paying client due to an emotional outburst...

The supposedly rational brother yells, "You don't have a daughter!" at the supposedly non-structured younger brother. Another shining example of writing prowess. Peter Krause deserves better.

Is he still dating Lauren Graham?
 

Adam Lenhardt

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KevinGress said:
"Adam throwing out the paying customers was one of the big groan-worthy moments for me." - I'm quoting because I'm sure a lot of people had the same reaction, and I did too, a little. What I find a little funny, after analyzing it is that many here were lambasting the politician last year but (I suspect) the same people are giving a pass to the musician. "That's all part of rock-n-roll"! Well, I'm sure many would say "That's all part of politics!" too. Now, what Adam did was unprofessional, but I respect it from a moral perspective. And I liked the conversation that he and Amber had later.
The difference is that Amber was the politician's employee. He was in a position of responsibility over her. The musicians' relationship to Amber was purely transactional; they pay the Luncheonette money for recording time, the recording studio provides its services for said time. I doubt finding out that she was "the other woman" was a proud moment for Amber, but the experience didn't turn her whole world upside down like what happened with the politician.
Jabar - I appreciate the balance the show tried to keep, and that it didn't put down faith; I was just disappointed with the Braverman characters and their reactions. I understand Crosby and Jasmine wanting to be the ones to talk to Jabar and I really liked the grandmother's response - "Just what DO you believe?". I doubt this plotline will go anywhere else, but if it does, I really hope they do some research and present Christianity (my assumption of the grandmother's faith) and faith in the proper context.
They did a nice job of touching on the grandmother's side of things in the first couple seasons. The church is the center of Jasmine's mother's social world. While they didn't delve into it directly, I don't think anything about the storyline was a put down on Christianity, but rather a realization on Crosby's part of a gap in his own life.
For the most part I liked it. It'll be interesting to see where the 13 (right?) episodes go and if this will be it.
Actually 15 episodes this season. NBC seems to like to use the show a schedule plug. I'm still liking it enough to continue on, too. But there are certainly other shows that have come to make me feel like Matt, Mike and Greg have come to feel about this one ("Glee" comes to mind), and I certainly wouldn't blame them if they decided to jump ship.
 

Greg_S_H

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This is one of the few shows that you and I watch, and it's probably worth continuing to read your commentary, Adam. And I mean that. I actually really like Ray, so that might be enough to make it worthwhile.
 

Derek Miner

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I want to write more later, but in no way did I feel it was a chore to watch the season premiere of "Parenthood." The episode felt elegantly structured to give a sample of where everyone's life was at the moment, and nothing felt any where near as contrived as the rush of events they piled on at the end of the previous season. I like that it's not simple to make a judgement call about who is right or wrong in every development on the show. To me, that's good drama and a sign of smart writing.
 

ScottH

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Originally Posted by KevinGress /t/323682/parenthood-season-4-thread#post_3973908
A bit disappointed with Mark - his need to be in the picture shows a lot of selfishness and a bit of immaturity.

This was probably my biggest beef with the episode. And on top of that, are there any guys that would even really care about being in the picture?
 

mattCR

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Originally Posted by ScottH /t/323682/parenthood-season-4-thread#post_3974548

This was probably my biggest beef with the episode. And on top of that, are there any guys that would even really care about being in the picture?

In 15 years of marriage, I've spent a big slice of it avoiding those fiascos..
 

schan1269

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^^^
On the "fiasco front"...
One of my older brothers was a lifelong Marine(er, IS a lifelong Marine...you are "never" not a Marine...)
He showed up one year for the family photo, about a year removed from his divorce, with what we thought was a "very young date"...(not a surprise considering he never could "just date", married a handful of times)
He goes, "This is my daughter. She's lived out in San Diego since she was born..."
A niece none of use knew about...from back when we has an 18yo Marine grunt idiot...(the kids we do know about...9...5 of which have been in a "family photo")
He is the quintessential "cliche" of the American, been everywhere, serviceman...
 

Mike Frezon

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ScottH said:
This was probably my biggest beef with the episode. And on top of that, are there any guys that would even really care about being in the picture?
I'll eat my hat if all the time wasted on the plotline of Mark and the family photo isn't a set-up to a pending breakup between Mark and Sarah to "add" to the drama of the split.

Oh...Camille and Zeek knew...
 

Greg_S_H

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Maybe Mark shouldn't have cared, but I thought Camille was pretty petty. Sarah should have said, "No Mark, no me." It's obvious they're setting up a triangle with those two and Ray. It should just be Sarah's new job without that kind of needless angle.
While I'm discussing a bit, why have they made Amber this big guy magnet this season and last? She seems like the kind of gawky, dateless girl that Garafalo used to play to me.
 

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