Parenthood - Season 2

I'm a big fan of the show. It's a good change of pace from sci-fi, period pieces, and procedurals. Love watching the ensemble do their thing. They won't get the love that the cast of Mad Men or Modern Family or Glee get, but they're quality all the same.

Love the cast, but I can't watch this show. No one speaks in complete sentences, and they all constantly talk over each other. I have to leave the room when my wife watches it. I imagine the scripts are full of commas and ellipses.

I keep watching for Lauren Graham. And the show rewards my loyalty by putting her in a black dress and/or boots in every episode.

As for this week: Wow, they can say "asshole" on broadcast TV now?

This is actually one of the reasons I enjoy the show. The characters seem more human and flawed and thus compelling because they often don't have unbelievably witty lines spewing from their mouths ala the typical hour long drama. It gives the show a looser, more casual feel and you can't always predict how a particular character will handle a certain situation.

Lauren Graham is incredible in her role as a single mother learning to be both a parent and an adult. Props also go to Peter Krause, Mae Whitman, and Dax Shephard (he's come a long way since Punk'd!).

Right, so I made a conscious decision after last season to stop criticizing this show for the inauthenticity of its setting. Nothing looks like Berkeley, half the time it doesn't look East Bay at all, blah blah. This week I let the show's version of College Avenue just slide on by.

 

So what thanks do I get in the second half? An inaccuracy so obscure that I'm the only human being watching who could possibly notice it. See, Haddie and Amber are getting their 'movie night' story straight to cover for Haddie skipping out with AA guy. They name-check the UA 7, which is a real theatre and it is on Shattuck avenue. Fine. They rip on it for its ticket prices, and it actually is more expensive than the neighboring theatres, so fine.

 

But then they have to get cute and reference Michael Cera, which means the movie they saw was Scott Pilgrim because the only repertory screen left in Berkeley is the Pacific Film Archive. And of course, it's an in-joke for Mae Whitman who was in SP. BUT SCOTT PILGRIM DIDN'T PLAY AT THE UA! It opened around the corner at the California Theatre, and later it moved across the street to the Shattuck Cinema! And I know because I've worked at both those theatres and am still professionally connected to them! Don't make this personal, Parenthood.

*slowly backs out of the thread*

 

I don't get the Graham love.  Actually, I think her and Krause are two of the weaker performances on the show (especially their inability to hide their attraction during the Billy Baldwin storyline all the more creepy).  Bad performances aside, she isn't helped by the writing. The crying every fucking episode bullshit has to stop.

 

Dax is underrated and he dude playing Joel has something to do this year, which is nice.

Haven't missed an episode yet, but I usually catch it on Hulu.  I love it, and I think the whole cleansing the palate has alot to do with it.  I really like the cast, and now I'm attached to them.  You know, as much as you can be to TV characters.

I may have cried a little during last night's episode when Graham and Whitman were bonding/crying. It very much got to me.

 

I love love love the dialogue on this show. It reminds me a lot of Gilmore Girls, and I might be secretly hoping that Alexis Bledel guests at some point.

 

I'm also getting a kick out of the entire alcoholism plot. You know the one daughter is going to get her heart broken because she'd dating a teenager in AA. I really appreciated the scene with her and Whitman where she tries to warn her away from dating the guy. Very good. After The Good Wife it's my favorite show on Tuesday nights.

 

One thing though, I hate families having loud fights so at least once an episode I have to mute it and look away. That's not really a bad thing, just speaks to the authenticity of the primary relationships on the show.