Sam Jaeger

TV Review: Fourth Season of ‘Parenthood’ Begins Confidently

BrianTT — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 15:56:57 -0400

CHICAGO – There’s an easy-going confidence in the first two episodes of the new season of “Parenthood” that separates the best family dramas from pure cliche. The team behind this beloved series clearly has reached a point where they know these characters down to their cores. The best family dramas reach a point where the characters feel genuine enough that we look forward each week to seeing how they’re doing, like old friends who we only see every seven days. And that kind of desired familiarity takes a strong degree of confident writing because it requires character instead of manipulative drama. I’ve come to like the Bravermans. And that’s so important with a show like this one.

Television Rating: 4.0/5.0

It has been widely publicized that something major is going to happen to the Braverman family this season and that it starts in episode two. (Don’t worry — I won’t spoil it.) As I was watching “Left Field,” I had the striking realization that I was worried. Many of these characters have reached happy, stable places in their lives, some for the first time in years, and I thought to myself that I didn’t want something tragic to befall them even though I knew something was coming (if the stories hadn’t told me, the title kind of gives it away that something’s coming out of left field). Crafting characters that viewers can feel like they know and enjoy spending time with to the point that they worry about their fate is a notable accomplishment.

Parenthood
Photo credit: NBC

How’s everyone doing this year on “Parenthood”? There’s drama before that episode two twist but nothing too severe. In the premiere, Haddie (Sarah Ramos) is leaving home to go to school and Adam (Peter Krause), Kristina (Monica Potter), and Max (Max Burkholder) are dealing with it in their own unique ways. Adam seems to become more protective of Amber (Mae Whitman), who works at the studio with him while Kristina suffers some notable empty nest syndrome in episode two.

Parenthood
Photo credit: NBC

At the same time, Julia (Erika Christensen) and Joel (Sam Jaeger) are struggling with how to take care of their new son. They don’t want to be overly disciplinarian with him but they also need to be parents. Sarah (Lauren Graham) gets a job with a surly photographer (an effective Ray Romano, who fits in perfectly with this ensemble) while Crosby (Dax Shepard, quickly becoming my favorite actor on the show) struggles a bit with the practicalities of a stable relationship with Jasmine (Joy Bryant) like having syncing calendars and scheduling sex.

There have been times in the past when I felt like “Parenthood” was trying to hard to please, working with melodrama instead of relatable characters. There’s plenty of emotion in the first two episodes of the new season but I would argue that it’s never felt less forced or more believable. It’s almost as if the constant threat of cancellation has finally pushed the writing staff to the point where they don’t care any more other then to satisfy the characters and their fans. The show is never going to be a massive hit but I feel like now that perhaps NBC and the staff has realized that it could become an even better program. The cast is certainly up to the challenge. They’ve always been the greatest strength of this series. And it feels like season four could give them the best material they’ve had to work with to date.

“Parenthood” stars Peter Krause, Monica Potter, Lauren Graham, Dax Shepard, Erika Christensen, Joy Bryant, Sam Jaeger, Mae Whitman, Sarah Ramos, Max Burkholder, Miles Heizer, Bonnie Bedelia, and Craig T. Nelson. It returns on Tuesday, September 11, 2012 at 9pm CST on NBC.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

DVD Review: Strong Third Season of NBC Hit ‘Parenthood’

BrianTT — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 15:57:34 -0400

CHICAGO – The NBC family drama “Parenthood” has struggled to find a wide audience but the people that do watch it are remarkably loyal to the saga of the Bravermans. Their third season, which looked for some time like it could be their last, was recently released on DVD in advance of the fourth-season premiere on NBC on September 11, 2012.

DVD Rating: 3.5/5.0

With a strong ensemble, hearfelt writing, and quality production values, “Parenthood” is a very entertaining drama, even if the DVD release (and lack of a Blu-ray release) is a bit lackluster. The video transfer is adequate and there are some nice special features (including commentaries) but I can’t get over a 2012 TV show not being released in HD. Fans of this unlikely success deserve better.

Parenthood: Season 3 was released on DVD on August 7, 2012
Photo credit: Universal

Synopsis:
Parenthood returns for its third season with 18 funny, surprising and always true-to-life episodes. Big changes and big decisions await the colorful Braverman family, from welcoming a new family member and celebrating a new business venture to dealing with family illness and preparing for the future. Starring a stellar ensemble cast and featuring guest stars including Jason Ritter (The Event), John Corbett (Sex and the City) and music sensation Cee Lo Green, Parenthood may be the toughest job you’ll ever love, but it’s a whole lot more fun with this family around…

Click here to buy “Parenthood: Season 3”

Special Features:
o Deleted Storyline - Drew Seeks Out Extracurricular Opportunities
o Deleted Scenes
o Audio Commentaries

“Parenthood: Season 3” stars Peter Krause, Monica Potter, Lauren Graham, Miles Heizer, Mae Whitman, Craig T. Nelson, Bonnie Bedelia, Erika Christensen, Sam Jaeger, Dax Shepard, Joy Bryant, Sarah Ramos, and Max Burkholder. It was executive produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer. It was released on August 7, 2012.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

TV Review: Comforting Family Drama of NBC’s ‘Parenthood’

BrianTT — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 13:55:35 -0400

CHICAGO – There’s something comforting about a family like the Bravermans. It’s a blend of perspective and identification that allows us to look at the clan at the center of a family drama like “Parenthood”. The show returns tonight on NBC at 9 p.m. CST (and the second season of which was just released by Universal on DVD), and both relate to their situation and be happy that our lives aren’t as complicated. With one of the strongest ensembles on television, “Parenthood” has developed a loyal audience for good reason. There are still frustrating flaws with the screenwriting and storytelling on this show, but I like that there’s always at least one family drama on the fall schedule. It’s a TV staple that will never go away.

TV Rating: 3.5/5.0

Executive produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard (who also produced and directed the film on which this dramedy is VERY loosely based), “Parenthood” started as an attempt on NBC’s part to craft a star-powered drama a la ABC’s reliable “Brothers & Sisters” (a show that became less reliable over the last couple years before a surprise cancellation). Turn up the star power, make four or five of the characters relatives, and give them all distinct arcs. The writing still underlines itself far too much for my tastes — subtlety is not the program’s strong suit — and I wish the dialogue wasn’t so predictable or cliched but the cast of “Parenthood” elevates the material. These are talented actors and actresses who know how to make characters likable enough that viewers want to spend time with them on a weekly basis. It’s nice to have them back.

Parenthood
Photo credit: NBC

“Parenthood” centers primarily around one family made up of two brothers and two sisters (along with their parents, children, and significant others). The quartet at the heart of “Parenthood” includes Adam (Peter Krause), Crosby (Dax Shepard), Sarah (Lauren Graham), and Julia (Erika Christensen). Of course, each has their own drama to bring to their supportive siblings for advice. Adam is unemployed and dealing with pending fatherhood with wife Kristina (Monica Potter) yet again. Crosby has split from his baby mama and is driven to open a new, risky business with his brother. Sarah is dealing with the drama associated with her daughter (Mae Whitman) leaving home. Finally, Julia wants to adopt a new baby so bad that she’s considering ordering more than a latte from the pregnant coffee girl at work.

Parenthood
Photo credit: Universal

Sound like enough plot for one series? “Parenthood” is one of those programs a bit weighed down by multiple speaking roles — we haven’t even gotten into the return of Jason Ritter as a suitor for Sarah or a high school party gone very wrong for Adam and Kristina’s daughter Haddie (Sarah Ramos). And Craig T. Nelson and Bonnie Bedelia continue to provide comedic and emotional relief on the periphery. It’s a CROWDED show. And the crowd leads to a bit of two-dimensionality in the characterizations. We can’t get too deep into any of the motivations or dilemmas because there’s simply not time before another character needs to take their turn. It leads to a season premiere script that feels disappointingly surface level. This is one of those shows in which people too often say exactly what they mean to their mother, spouse, or daughter. There’s no time for subtext.

Having said that, the ensemble do their best to find the little moments that add up in a show like “Parenthood.” The great Lauren Graham isn’t just the best actress on this program, she’s one of the best on TV. Krause and Potter have developed a nice, believable rhythm as husband and wife. And the young cast of “Parenthood,” especially Whitman and Ramos, do equal work to their more high-profile parents. I like this cast. They’re enjoyable enough to spend time with every week and that’s the ultimate test of a family drama — Are they a family with which you want to sit around the crowded dinner table? It’s nice to have a meal with the Bravermans.

Have more than one meal with the five-disc DVD set from Universal, complete with deleted scenes, audio commentaries, and a behind-the-scenes featurette. I keep waiting for that year when all current shows are available on Blu-ray along with DVD as I firmly believe that all shows should be available to fans in the same quality in which they originally watched it and even Hulu has HD streams that are better than standard DVD quality. “Parenthood: Season 2” should be on Blu-ray, but it’s a quality DVD release nonetheless. Catch up or prepare for the new season with this solid program, one that may never be great but that I expect will be good for years to come.

“Parenthood” returns on NBC on Tuesday, September 13th, 2011 at 9pm CST. It stars Peter Krause, Monica Potter, Lauren Graham, Miles Heizer, Mae Whitman, Craig T. Nelson, Bonnie Bedelia, Erika Christensen, Sam Jaeger, Dax Shepard, Joy Bryant, Sarah Ramos, and Max Burkholder. It was executive produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer. “Parenthood: Season 2” was released on DVD on August 30th, 2011.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

TV Review: Promising ‘Parenthood’ Features Spectacular Ensemble

BrianTT — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:03:05 -0500

CHICAGO – Like a lot of Hollywood depictions of family, “Parenthood” features a lot of yelling. For some reason, most writers think of raised voices when they think of the lives of parents and their children. We don’t all talk over each other during family dinners. Having said that, the unbelievably talented cast of “Parenthood” finds a way to sell the relative unbelievability of the first two episodes and should make this easy-if-not-appointment viewing for a network that could use even a modest hit.

TV Rating: 3.5/5.0

Executive produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard (who also produced and directed the film on which this dramedy is very loosely based), “Parenthood” is clearly an attempt on NBC’s part to find a star-powered family drama to compete with ABC’s popular “Brothers & Sisters” and it’s certainly as accomplished program as that effective ensemble show and hints at something much richer.

Parenthood
Photo credit: Art Streiber/NBC

Ultimately, “Parenthood” suffers from the problems that a lot of melodramatic shows with fifteen speaking roles do - an abundance of plot and a dearth of character. Feeling a need to push each character’s family drama forward a bit between every commercial break, “Parenthood” can often feel cluttered, rushed, and unfocused. Then again, so can actual parenthood, so perhaps the overcrowded nature of the show will be easily forgiven by parents with actually overcrowded lives.

Parenthood
Photo credit: Chris Haston/NBC

Like “Brothers & Sisters” (and countless other family dramas throughout the years), “Parenthood” centers primarily around one family made up of two brothers and two sisters. The bros are Adam (Peter Krause of “Six Feet Under”) and Crosby (Dax Shepard) while the sisters are Sarah (Lauren Graham) and Julia (Erika Christensen). Of course, all four siblings are at different stages of the title state of being.

Adam is the oldest sibling and the one who seems externally to have the most together with his lovely wife Kristina (Monica Potter) and two beautiful children (Sarah Ramos & Max Burkholder) but his worldview is shattered when he learns that his youngest son isn’t just eccentric but may have Asperger’s Syndrome.

Meanwhile, Sarah is a single mother trying to manage a move back near her family with her two children (Mae Whitman & Miles Heizer). Julia and Crosby have the youngest children with the former dealing with trying to handle both work and motherhood and the latter realizing that sometimes one can become a father when they least expect it. TV veterans Craig T. Nelson and Bonnie Bedelia star as the quartet’s parents.

The entire cast of “Parenthood” is impressive and very well-pedigreed but the ironic thing about the ensemble is that the easy stand out of the series, a very possible Emmy and Golden Globe winner, is Lauren Graham, an actress who wasn’t even cast in the original pilot when the show was scheduled to debut in the Fall. Maura Tierney, a talented actress in her own right, had to bow out of the series due to health concerns, but Graham feels like not only was she always a part of the series but that it was practically built around her.

Parenthood
Photo credit: Chris Haston/NBC

Don’t worry. This isn’t just a “Gilmore Girls” retread for Graham. Yes, the roles are similar but Graham brings a different energy to “Parenthood”. As Sarah develops a new life, knocking a first date scene out of the park and looking for a new job in episode two, she’s easily the character with the most interesting early arc. I think the show is merely average in a lot of ways but I will very likely keep watching mostly for the ways in which Graham makes it above average. I doubt I’ll be alone.

Of course, an ensemble show is only as good as its weakest cast member and Graham is surrounded by a number of talented stars, all of who could develop rich characters if given the time and care by the writers of “Parenthood”. Notable early stand-outs include the TV veterans - Nelson, Krause, Whitman, Potter.

The problem with “Parenthood” is as soon as something gets interesting, the writers move on to another plotline. The show needs to slow down and develop a more believable rhythm, one that doesn’t seem so eager to please with a quantity over quality dynamic. The cast is more than talented enough to truly deliver something NBC hasn’t had in years - a new hit. That would be a delivery any network executive parent would love.

‘Parenthood’ premieres on NBC on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010 at 9pm CST. It stars Peter Krause, Monica Potter, Lauren Graham, Miles Heizer, Mae Whitman, Craig T. Nelson, Bonnie Bedelia, Erika Christensen, Sam Jaeger, Dax Shepard, Joy Bryant, Sarah Ramos, and Max Burkholder. It was executive produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com