Season One of Parenthood Wraps
Parenthood (NBC) (10pm)
There is a definite dearth of quality scripted drama on broadcast TV nowadays. Gone are the West Wings and ERs - hour long programs that became long term mainstays for their networks. While Parenthood is in no way close to being in the same league as those modern classics it does contain some compelling characters played by a top-notch cast, and writing that is a step above standard tube fare.
Parenthood aired its 13th and final episode (Lost and Found) of season one on Wednesday night. The show highlighted both the positives and negatives of a freshman season that has, at times, artfully walked the line between serious and more lightweight humor infused drama, but has also been hampered by some overly pat episodic conclusions that periodically undercut the edgier aspects of subtley developed familiar complications.
The cast, as noted, is a good one. Though Maura Tierney was forced to drop out for health reasons (necessitating the re-shooting of the pilot), Lauren Graham proved to be an adequate replacement as 40-ish single Mom/bartender Sarah Braverman, who returns to her childhood home with her two teenagers and hopes of making a new go of things. The Braverman siblings include uber responsible shoe company exec Adam (Six Feet Under’s Peter Krause); perfectionist corporate attorney Julia (Erika Christensen); and free spirited music producer Crosby (Dax Shepard).
This is a true ensemble, however, and parents Zeek (Craig T. Nelson) and Camille (Bonnie Bedilia); significant others Kristina (Monica Potter), Joel (Sam Jaeger), and Jasmine (Joy Bryant), and kids Amber (Mae Whitman) and Haddie (Sarah Ramos) all play prominent roles in the family dynamics that define the show. Issues include father Zeek’s financial woes; the surprise appearance of a son Jabaar (Tyree Brown), who Crosby didn’t know he had; Sarah’s affair with Amber’s teacher, Mark Cyr (Jason Ritter); Kristina’s issues with daughter Sydney’s (Savannah Paige Rae) friend’s catty mother, Racquel (Erinn Hayes); Adam and Kristina’s child Max’s (Max Burkholder) autism diagnosis; and a controversy between cousins Haddie and Amber having to do with a boy. Additional season guests include Mike O’Malley and Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights).
The family contretempts mostly seem true to life. When the show is cooking it even feels as if it could turn into something… well, more. But the final episode illustrates the essential dilemma. Audiences who have watched the likes of Weeds; Six Feet Under; The Sopranos; Dexter; Deadwood; Mad Men; and Breaking Bad have come to expect multi-faceted characters and psychologically complex, colorfully nuanced storylines. While one can understand the limits of network series, which don’t have as much freedom with language or sex, and also have imposed upon them the pressure to appeal quickly to wide reaching demographic categories, the show too often feels the need to make individual episodes and sub-plots work out neatly and happily.
This holds true in a final episode that begins with great promise. After amping up the drama with Amber running away from home; Crosby’s pain and confusion over dancer Jasmine’s sudden move to New York; and Zeek’s financial mess and continued quest to get his wife back, we get an ending that includes Zeek serenading his wife in front of the whole family and then all of them joyfully attending Sarah’s son Drew’s (Miles Heizer) high school baseball tryouts. While the scene with Zeek singing to his wife pulled at the heartstrings, at best it was a schmaltzy way to bring a complicated, ongoing plotline to conclusion. Immediately after the song Camille is seen attending the baseball tryouts with Zeek and the rest, something she had adamently stated minutes before wasn’t going to happen. And oh boy, the tryouts - a musical montage obviously harkening back to the first show of the season when the family attends Max’s little league game, but a serious mis-step nonetheless. First, baseball tryouts last multiple days; second, virtually no outsider attends them, let alone an entire cheering and shouting extended family. While this might seem a small quibble, show writers and producers should know better, especially with something as important as the wrap-up of your inaugural season.
Based on the film of the same name, the series was brought to the small screen by the team of Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, who know their way around audience pleasing/middle of the road material. One can only hope that the showrunners will build on its strengths and stay away from the cliched cloying moments that threaten to sink the Braverman ship.