Picture on a Wall

"Parenthood"
Tuesdays, 10pm (check local listings)
NBC

Have you ever had a fight with your brother or sister? Or how about your parents? Or your children? If you haven’t that means that you have no family at all in any capacity and you are a recluse that never has any actual human interaction. That’s okay. I don’t judge. But if you do have any kind of family, and that includes your close friends that you call family, then you can relate to the new NBC show “Parenthood.” It takes you into the lives of the Braverman family. The character single mom Sarah moves with her two children back to live with her parents when she falls on hard times. Upon moving home she is thrust back into the lives of her siblings and their families.

In this family you have father and mother, Zeek & Camille respectively, who are dealing with private issues that they are keeping from the kids. There is Sarah’s sister, Julia, who seemingly has it all together with her career as a lawyer and her stay at home husband, Joel, and their young daughter. Next you have younger brother Crosby who learns from a past girlfriend that they have a five year old son she never told him about. He now has to deal with being a father. Last you have the oldest child Adam. Adam has his wife, Kristina, teenage daughter, Haddie, and young son, Max, who they just learned has Asperger’s syndrome.

Each part of the family has its trials and tribulations but the way they come together to help each other is pretty inspiring. What some other shows about a family get wrong is that they either give you too many unbelievable situations or they try too hard to be “real.” “Parenthood” is one of those rare shows that falls in the middle and is actually “real.” I didn’t think I was going to like this show. When watching the previews I thought it was going to be one of those shows that make me want to roll my eyes for an extended period of time and that all of the funny moments they touted were going to be limited to the ones you saw in the commercials.

I was pleasantly surprised when I left it on one night because there was nothing else worth watching and found that it wasn’t completely awful. It was actually pretty good. The actors on the show were perfectly cast. Each one, right down to the young boy who plays Crosby’s five year old son, plays their characters perfectly. While sometimes you may wonder if these things really happen to families and if they do they can’t all happen to siblings around the same time. Well, of course that is the unrealistic point of all television shows. They only have but so much time to sell you on the show and keep you watching so they throw a lot at you at once. I can look past that when the show is well written and superbly acted; which this one is.

I really enjoy watching this family cope with teens having sex, Asperger’s syndrome, single parenthood, cheating spouses, busy lives, faking orgasms, becoming a parent, starting over, and just about anything else you can think of. I would recommend “Parenthood” to just about anybody. I have found that if my mother has approved a show I’m watching, and actually likes it herself, then it must be good for everyone.

I give this show four and a half frames. I'm leaving the half for the potential this show has to grow.


Here is a two minute replay from the most recent episode titled "Rubber Band Ball."


Head over to the forum at www.j1studios.com to discuss how you feel about this show or any other shows that are centered around family dynamics.

Until next time kids, this has been Hava.