Anyone watch Parenthood, the tv show?

<p>I love this show and I too have been avoiding this thread because I fear it will become addictive! As if my number of posts don’t already confirm that!</p>

<p>Joel and Julia - I agree that Zoe was coming to terms and how bittersweet that all was. She knows it also means saying goodbye to Julia and her family. She hadn’t even told either her Mother or sister she was pregnant! I thought the acting was terrific and I will be very disappointed if they change up Zoe’s entire character (as in who she is inside) by having her change her mind. But the struggle, the heartbreak? To not feel those things wouldnt be in her character as well. I couldn’t imagine her not connecting with her child to wish him well in life. But her goodbye to this family is forever… all of them.</p>

<p>I think Amber is a great actress, but could we please stop having her life fall apart every time she takes positive steps? I think Christina way overstepped her bounds by driving to sacramento. He’s not married and if our congress says anything it’s that politicians fall in love with their aides ALL THE TIME and still get easily elected.</p>

<p>Sell the business but leave Crosby a managing partner with a lot of autonomy. The problem with selling is that he’s also out of a job he loves. Where else to go for the rest of his life? I agree they have very different motivations for both getting in and staying in this business. But I will also tell you that some people can work for other people and some people just cannot. My H would never be a good worker bee and certainly never after he’d tasted being his own boss. He probably works harder this way, but he’s much, much happier. Some people just aren’t cut out for the politics of corporate america and that’s why they buy their own recording studio. </p>

<p>Graham - I do think she is insecure, but she was married to an alcoholic/drug addict for most of her young life. But honestly? I think she’s crazy not to try and make a plan to move to NYC. It’s not like she’d leave while Drew was in HS and he said they’d work together to make sure the kids were alright. I realize they have a very tight family, but giving it a year to figuring it out and then a year to see how it goes? That’s nothing in the grand scheme of a lifetime. But to never even try because your kids might want to snuggle for five minutes on a Sunday morning? That relationship doesn’t end just because you pick up a phone instead. I think regrets in life come from not striving to be all YOU were meant to be. Of course, I confess that maybe those are just my regrets.</p>

<p>Whoa… see? I love this show. I will try to never comment again. :)</p>

<p>Okay, so if you haven’t seen the show you might want to skip this post. </p>

<p>I could have easily lived without Billy. Also, without Drew and his girlfriend having sex during the wedding. I definitely could have lived without the brawl scene. I would die of humiliation if my boys did that in front of future in-laws. Or in fact ever. Leave it to Joe to be so gracious about Jasmine leaving him. I thought Sarah was finally being a grown up with Mark and think it might have been better to leave them broken up. Not sure how I feel about Adam turning down the deal. I was surprised the “sky baby” turned out to be so old. I was hoping it would be a baby. I’m wondering how the daughter will feel about a boy her age rather than a baby. All in all, it was a pretty good episode. Thoughts?</p>

<p>Well, I hated just about every scene. But I cried when the little boy got out of the van. He is a doll but so not right for the next step. A 2 or 3 yr old–Ok, but still am so surprised that Zoe really did take her baby. Again, really hated every scene tonight.</p>

<p>I Predict Drew’s girlfriend will get pregnant (or at least have a pregnancy scare). Joel and Julia will experience serious family growing pains as they try to incorporate the young boy (who obviously comes from a complicated and dysfunctional background) into their family (their daughter’s reactions to his presence may be the least of it). Zeke will have a health emergency centering around his heart problem. And I don’t think Sarah is finished with her ex-husband. </p>

<p>But, has there been any guarantee that NBC has renewed Parenthood for another season? I sure hope they will. I love this show.</p>

<p>Seems like every single kid in our newspaper’s “Saturday’s Child” who needs a family is recommended to be the youngest. I am surprised they would take a similar age little boy, it just deems ready to be an issue.</p>

<p>I agree with the above, there was a great deal of unnecessary junk- Drew & the sex, Amber always screwing up, etc. I also had shouted at the TV that Crosby should just get the job guarantee as well as the $. After telling Haddie not to worry about Cornell, he just changed it again!</p>

<p>Thinking about the different scenes/issues/future spins…it all seems trite.
The writers need to come up with some surprises. Like what if the new boy and the D like each other --rather than what we are expecting…</p>

<p>I really liked the episode! When the family was meeting to divvy up the wedding duties, I thought “how hokey that this huge family is so cutesy, laughing and happy a la Waltons” and then all hell broke loose. Loved it! I also thought the Billy character was hysterical (Sarah trying to blow him off) and loved Adam rescuing the best man toast. What still doesn’t sit right with me is Jazmin dumping Dr. Joe for Crosby. I’m trying to feel the love there but I just don’t.</p>

<p>I had to laugh when Billy made his appearance as it was another FNL actor showing up and this time really emulating his FNL persona. Last night’s Billy was so very similar to pre-fatherhood Billy Riggins. I know they had lots to do to finish up story lines, but there was no one comforting Joel & Julia but Camille and that seemed strange. After all, Zeke shows up to butt into far less significant issues in his kids’ lives.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>This is a boomerang family; nothing ever gets broken up and yet never gets reconciled, either. It keeps coming back where it left off. Nobody ever moves on, it seems. Maybe that’s the message.</p>

<p>I kind of liked that they had a no-drama sexual initiation scene. I will be horribly disappointed if it turns into a pregnancy scare, but then this show has been horribly disappointing me pretty regularly.</p>

<p>The high-spreed flip-floppies on:</p>

<p>-- Sarah and Mark
– selling the Luncheonette
– Julia and adoption
– Amber and Bobby
– Haddie and Cornell
– not to mention Jasmine and Crosby – would it really be a crime to have a functional divorced couple on TV?</p>

<p>have gotten really annoying.</p>

<p>I thought the brawl was completely realistic–Crosby and Adam always bring out the child in each other. </p>

<p>I knew Crosby and Jasmine were going to end up back together, because Jasmine was obviously still deeply attached to Crosby–she just needed time to get over the hurt. Dr. Joe was never more than her safety net, and I think deep down he knew it. </p>

<p>I had no problem with the sex scene. These are mature, responsible kids who have been going out for quite a while now and clearly trust each other. If there is such a thing as teenagers who should be having sex, they are pretty much the definition of it. And the script told us they were going to be careful about pregnancy with typical Parenthood subtlety. Actually I think it’s wonderful that a TV show is willing to tackle this subject with so little judgment or melodrama–but from this show I would expect no less.</p>

<p>The only scene that rang false to me was the scene where the kid was dropped off at Joel and Julia’s. I don’t know how that kind of “emergency adoption” works in real life, but it seemed totally unrealistic that the case worker would just drop the kid at the door and drive off. Wouldn’t she come in, help the kid get settled, sit with them for a while at least? It just seemed weird and unlike real life (and therefore, unlike Parenthood).</p>

<p>^^</p>

<p>My son thought it seemed really bizarre to show up in the night in a dark car like it was some kind of reverse kidnapping. And it seemed weird that the social worker gave them no more information than that the mother was incarcerated. I’d want to know for what and for how long and if there are any other family members who might step forward, etc. </p>

<p>My problem with the sex scene was that a) there was already too much crammed in this show and that b) I cannot believe two teens would choose to have their first time with sixty people around and all the commotion of a wedding and the possibility that anyone could come looking for them. Would Drew really want to do it with all of his aunts and uncles and cousins in spitting distance?</p>

<p>I think this was a very Braverman episode - messy, complicated and full of heart.</p>

<p>I’m glad Amber finally got the gumption to talk to Bobby and that it won’t be easy for either of them to go back to a work only relationship. </p>

<p>I think giving Julia and Joel an older child makes perfect television sense, as it would have been much less dramatic if they got a baby. Agree about the abrupt drop off, that seemed weird, I think “reverse kidnapping” is the perfect description.</p>

<p>I think the teen sex scene was awkward and agree about the bad timing. The chance of being caught was high. They live across the street from each other, it’s not like there isn’t a lot of alone time anyway. I disagree with you on this nightchef,

Haven’t they been dating for under a year and aren’t they HS juniors? </p>

<p>I liked Billy-the-jerk, he added some humor and I liked how Sarah dealt with him. I can’t quite see him as being Crosby’s friend. Crosby would have hung out with stoners, not frat boys.</p>

<p>Not sure how I feel about the Luncheonette. Seems like working out a deal so that Crosby still retained some control would have been a win-win situation. Adam is bound to resent Crosby now because he still needs money for the Cornell tuition. Upside, is that their profits may be so low this year that maybe they will qualify for need based aid for next year!</p>

<p>When the fight broke out, I expected that Zeke would have a heart attack. It seemed like it was supposed to build towards something, but then it didn’t.</p>

<p>So much about this show is so incredibly annoying. And the unfortunate thing is, it doesn’t have to be. It’s so frustrating to watch! My favorite part of the episode was bringing Billy (Riggins!) from FNL to play a similar character.</p>

<p>

“Under a year” is a pretty long time at that age. </p>

<p>I think them stealing away during the wedding made perfect sense–the chance of being caught was actually very low compared to most everyday situations, because everybody is completely focused on something else (and something conveniently noisy). </p>

<p>Agree that the little byplay with Billy and Sarah was cute and nicely done.</p>

<p>What was up with Haddie’s dress at the wedding? Between the bangs and sloppy ponytail and the tacky dress, she looked more like she was going to an Amish wedding.</p>

<p>Yes, Haddie looked out of place and her scene dancing with Adam seemed off to me.</p>

<p>I really enjoyed last night’s episode. Like a lot. I don’t exactly know why. It was written by Jason Katims (showrunner) and he does it so well. You could always tell on FNL when he wrote episodes (especially with the series finale). Max’s line of ‘You guys sound like you are fighting. Mom’s got some salsa in the kitchen’ might have been one of my favorite things.</p>

<p>The appearance of Billy Riggins as Billy the ■■■■■■■ (according to Zeke) was surprising and made me smile. If you go with his FNL character it reminded me of Billy before he got married or had kids. I love seeing actors from shows that the showrunners create do guest appearances. Crosby was wearing a Dillon Lions t-shirt a couple episodes ago too ;)</p>

<p>Katims had a hard thing to do - get all of these characters together and give then an ending that could either a) be the end of the show or b) be able to continue with it for another season. Most critics are hoping it is Option B. Parenthood is most likely going to get renewed - it doesn’t really compete with anything substantial in its time slot. It averages between 4-6 million people and being on NBC that is something for 10pm on a Tuesday night.</p>

<p>There are 16 series regulars on Parenthood. A cast of 16 is about 3 times the size of most casts when it isn’t an ensemble drama. It is hard to make every character have a conclusion in turn making the viewers happy. Everyone has a different opinion on how each character’s lives should play out. Sometimes I get frustrated with the show (Sarah and Mark are my current annoyance) but I think that is the point. We all get frustrated with our families. Sometimes we get mad at them and don’t talk to them, sometimes we use them for support in hard times, and sometimes families can band together and create a good result. </p>

<p>Lastly the people who run this show are some of the best in the business - Jason Katims, Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Tommy Schlamme. You cannot beat that. Hopefully in the next month or so NBC will renew it because we really do need to see where these character’s are going. Will Sarah and Mark stay together (depending on the guy who plays Mark and him being casted in a Pilot created by Katims)? Will Haddie still go to Cornell? Will Joel and Julia be able to adjust with Victor? Does Bob Little win the election (that could easily run into the next season)? Does Crosby and Adam have a hit on their hands? So many questions to be answered which is why this show needs to continue.</p>

<p>Loved Billy coming back. Was he supposed to be THE Billy from FNL?</p>

<p>I hate to say it as I have a junior ds, but I liked the sex scene between Drew and Amber. He’s such a sensitive guy that I’m sure he’d want it to be in a bed rather than a car, etc. I liked that it was no-nonsense.</p>

<p>Sarah and Mark? Meh.</p>

<p>Loved Amber.</p>

<p>Was surprised by the age of the kid. Really surprised. Not sure how that’s going to work AT ALL.</p>

<p>Really, all of the Adam flip-flops seem so out of character.</p>

<p>I kept getting distracted by Jasmine’s droopy boobs.</p>