The Best Show On Television Right Now Is Not Lost…
It’s Parenthood. Not that they are really comparable, but I’m now consistently finding myself looking more forward to the realistic interactions between siblings on Parenthood than the ridiculous, over-dramatized conversations between the crazy characters on Lost. Don’t get me wrong, I love Lost, I’ve always been a Lost evangelist, but this season my suspension of disbelief is getting so thin it’s about to snap. I’m glad it’s ending soon.
But this post isn’t about Lost or even the comparison of it to Parenthood. I just want to say how much I’m enjoying the show. I love the sibling interactions, I love the family dynamic, I love the conversations and the “real” moments that so many shows lack. These characters actually feel like they’ve known each other for years. I don’t know if every line of the show is scripted, but so much of it feels natural.
Of course this is Ron Howard and it’s inspired by his movie Parenthood, which I haven’t seen, which I won’t see (at least for now). Ron Howard has already proven his TV comedy chops with Arrested Development, which I think we can all agree is the greatest TV comedy of all time, so this show’s quality isn’t surprising. Although it still surprises me every week. I don’t know if I’ve become jaded or something, maybe television has trained me, but I’m just waiting for something overly-dramatic or over-the-top to happen and ruin it for me, but every week it continues to be grounded. My wife and I agree that it’s our favorite show. I know, shocker, two middle-class, educated white people with somewhat functional families like this show. But there it is.
Posted on April 22, 2010, in Pop Culture. Bookmark the permalink. 35 Comments.
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I LOVE Peter Krause, so it’s great having something lovely and real to watch him in (not to mention Monica Potter…). We’re big fans as well.
I love this show too. I want the Bravermans to adopt me. I especially like the relationship between Adam and Kristine. Their marriage seems very real. They have moments I can relate to. The only weak spot in the show, for me, is Julia. The character grates and the casting is a bit off.
Modern Family > Parenthood.
I gave the pilot about ten minutes before turning it off. You have me convinced to check it out again, but somehow I doubt I’ll like it.
I just get so tired of the same thing from Hollywood over and over again. A white suburban family drama. Yay.
I’m still not totally convinced, but the wife and I watched Episode 6 last night and it had more charm and funny and less annoying so I think I’ll stick with it for a few more episodes. Dax Shepard (Crosby) in particular worked well — I have had concerns about how his character has been used, but there was this almost improvisatory feel to his performance in that episode that moved the needle away from stereotyped, lame and annoying.
Of course, part of why we may view it favorably is nostalgia for Berkeley-Oakland-Emeryville.
Gabby,
Yes, Peter Krause is awesome. Perfectly cast, as is Monica Potter (as is most of the cast).
SG,
Nah. Modern Family is okay, it has its funny parts, but it’s too scripted, too sitcom-y to compete with the warmth and heart of Parenthood.
Susan,
It’s not for everyone. Like I said, I am the prime demographic and I’m okay with that.
WM,
Try to watch episodes 2-5, there is some really, really good, genuine stuff in there.
Hmmmm….
It didn’t really appeal to me so I haven’t checked it out, but maybe I’ll give it a try.
I like Modern Family and it’s good for some laughs but they really need to do away with the Full House endings.
As far as other new shows go…
I’m absolutely loving Justified right now. Good characters and writing. One of the cooler shows to come along in a while.
Community is still somewhat inconsistent but it hits more than misses. And when it hits, it’s very laugh out loud funny.
I wasn’t clear: I have watched episodes 1-6 so far. For some reason my Hulu subscription to it untethered itself and we didn’t discover it until last night so we’re playing catch up. If the latest episodes are anywhere near as good as Ep. 6, then I’ll be very pleased.
If you want a show that has the most realistic representation of marriage wait until a week from Firday when it returns. It’s called Friday Night Lights.
Tim, I thought you were going to say The Marriage Ref…
Modern Family and Parenthood are apples and oranges…
My hubby loves Friday Night Lights. Me, not so much.
Yeah people shouldn’t compare Modern Family and Parenthood. Other then the fact that they’re about families, they are nothing alike.
I like both Modern Family and Parenthood for completely different reasons. MF is not supposed to be that realistic. It’s similar to Arrested Development in that its primary purpose is comedy rather than realism. Parenthood has the opposite dynamic. Both are great at what they do.
I’m surprised that there is just now a series based on the movie Parenthood. I always thought the movie worked well as a series pilot. Why did it take so long to get the series? One interesting thing is that, because of the long break in time, none of the actors and few of the characters from the movie made it into the series. There is only the loosest possible connection between the two at this point. That’s probably a good thing. The current series is much better than the movie.
The first time they tried a series, it failed miserably…
They tried the same thing before? Never heard about that.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098887/
I was skeptical after the pilot. As the mom of kid with Aspergers, I was watching with a critical eye- yet I too find myself looking forward to it each week.
Then again, as a bay area native, there’s some nostalgia for home for me.
I love the movie Parenthood. It was difficult to watch the first episode of the series because I just kept comparing it. They have almost the same characters but of course played a little differently…..However, now I know these characters well so I’m not comparing and these characters have their own storyline and their own conversations. So good.
I think they do a good job of trying to portray real life. Lessons learned but maybe not tied up too neatly with a bow. I’m a definite fan.
I love it. I thought it would be a comedy like the movie, but it’s actually a pretty good mix. Maybe I relate because I have so many siblings and we’re all so diverse.
Tim, I’m liking Justified as well, though the episode that took them to L.A. was lame. You have this great location that we rarely see on tv and you take us to California in the third episode?
I guess. But I loved when he shot those two thugs in the middle of the highway. That was awesome.
Overall, the stories haven’t been that great. The conflict in last week’s episode ended rather quickly and without much of a climax but I loved how they ended the episode. The reason I watch is because the characters and the dialogue are great.
I haven’t started watching it yet, but am looking forward to it once all the finales have aired.
The main draw for me is Lauren Graham, been missing her since Gilmore Girls. Nobody’s mentioned her specifically (unless it’s by character name, which I don’t know) How is she in the show?
Lauren Graham is awesome, but the whole cast is great. Craig T. Nelson is one of my favorites, as well.
I’ve always liked Craig T Nelson, but I can’t watch him anymore and not think of Mr. Incredible.
Tim (#8), I too am loving Justified. It just keeps getting better. I kind of expected the quality to peter out. But they’ve kept up the writing quality. Very good. It’s quickly become one of my favorite shows after not being sure what to make of it at first.
I’ve been catching up on Caprica as well. After the first five episodes I wasn’t sure I was going to continue. While it still has the kind of failings common to Moore (come on – have some sympathetic characters we can relate to) it’s really become more interesting as it’s gone more cyberpunk.
Jjohnsen, I suspect since prisoner transport is part of the mandate of the Marshals that they’ll be going to various locals fairly regularly. Plus while the pilot was filmed primarily in Penn. to “simulate” the greenery of Kentucky all the other episodes are shot in LA. They just have a second unit that took outdoor shots in Kentucky. Although I have to admit I haven’t seen a show in a long time that did the projected backdrop for car interior shots. It was a bit distracting in that last episode.
I really dug the LA episode though. It was one of the things I really like about the show. Taking archetypal westerns and twisting them a bit. That LA episode had all the highlights of a classic western. It wasn’t the best directed of the season by any means. But there was a lot to like about it.
It’s hard not to see her character as a little Lorelei-esque, but the whole cast is really good…
re: #27 Especially when they went down the whole dating-her-dauther’s-teacher route – couldn’t help but think of Max.
I like the show and agree that the cast is very good. It’s not my favorite thing on TV, though. But I’m still watching.
VERY hard not to think of Max. Exact conversation my sister and I had…
How is Modern Family less realistic than Parenthood? Yes, it’s more of a comedy, but it has a lot more in common with Parenthood than, say, old family sitcoms like The Cosby Show or Family Ties.
That said, I’m also a fan of Parenthood. In many ways it is just as funny as Modern Family.
But as good as Parenthood and Modern Family are, the best “family drama” on television is Men of a Certain Age. So glad TNT picked it up for a second season.
I’m also a fan of Justified, but I’m a few episodes behind.
As for the movie, Parenthood, I’d rank it next to Apollo 13, and ahead of Frost/Nixon, A Beautiful Mind, Splash, Cocoon, Cinderella Man, and Night Shift in the Ron Howard canon. I’ve watched the movie dozens of times and never tire of it. The characters in the TV show are 2010 updates of the same basic characters from the 1989 movie.
Anyone watching The Pacific or Treme on HBO?
Matt, I’m comparing Parenthood and Modern Family to a show like Arrested Development, where the emphasis is on laughs rather than on realistic portrayal of family life or characters.
The characters on Modern Family are all stereotypes to a certain extent. They’re not intended to be real people, or be convincing as real people. They are intended to be set ups for the jokes about family life, sort of like the characters in Arrested Development, who were even more cartoonish and less realistic than those in Modern Family.
Contrast that with Parenthood, where the characters are absolutely intended to be convincing as real people. Yes, there are funny moments, but the comedy is in service to the story about a real family rather than being the purpose of the show.
I was watching /the Pacific until I cancelled my cable. I’ll watch it when it comes out on DVD or is available online. I really liked the first couple episodes.
If Arrested Development is a 1, and Parenthood is a 10, (on some kind of “realistic portrayal of family life” scale), then Modern Family is a solid 8. Modern Family characters are no more stereotypical than Parenthood characters. I’ll only grant that Modern Family has a lighter, more comedic tone than Parenthood. Otherwise, the characters could easily walk on and off each other’s sets and perfectly blend in with the other families.
Seven episodes into The Pacific. It’s good, but probably not as good as Band of Bros. Still kind of premature to render a final verdict.
Matt, come on. Modern Family is not about realism. All the families live in very nice homes in So Cal on a single income. No one ever has money trouble. the worst problems are cute, funny ones that can be fixed hilariously in 22 minutes before the credits roll.
Every single character is a stereotype in a way, but the show uses the stereotypes to set up jokes at the expense of those stereotypes, like in this clip:
http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=10001275&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1"Some Asian Stereotype" from John 8Asians on Vimeo.Parenthood, on the other hand, is not primarily a comedy, it’s a family drama with some comedic elements. Th characters have real problems that survive the end of each episode, like how to deal with a child with Asperger’s. Can you imagine Modern Family with an autistic child? If they had one, it would be Luke and Alex would make her parents think Luke was autistic as a joke. there are no actual, realistic illnesses on Modern Family.
Paremthood is by far the best show. Great writers amd actors. I hope NBC realizes what a gem it is!
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