Monsters of Television

“You seduced me with The Sound and The Fury.”

Yeah. That totally just happened.

Nate and Lorelai will forever haunt this series.

It’s getting to a point where I have to wonder if it’s just that I’ve pigeon-holed Peter Krause and Lauren Graham into their past roles or if the writers are consciously meta-writing to call attention to it for avid television viewers. I’m starting to think the latter because, a lot of times, the show will take a device from a previous show and turn it around. Little bits such as discussing how Sarah Braverman flirts with a “hair flip” (Lorelai Gilmore calls attention to her “hair twirl”) to major plotlines from both Gilmore Girls and Six Feet Under.

Ladies first.

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“In this family, we don’t expect people to help us.“

So perhaps I was just feeling particularly cantankerous last night, but “The Deep End of the Pool” was not very good. Perhaps the novelty of the show is wearing off. Perhaps I’m (already) tired of feeling like Krause and Graham are shouldering much of the compelling work by themselves while everyone else plays around in the shallow end.

Some of it is the acting but most of it is the writing. Most of it, actually might be that the show’s two weakest storylines, belonging to Crosby and Julia, were featured this week and still offered very little reason to become invested in those stories and characters. Read more »

“You can be the best!”

Now that everyone is introduced, the show can settle into a groove that allows characters and stories the chance to breathe, maybe not focus on everyone very closely, while developing the stories laid out in the pilot. And by and large the show does that. The upside of the multiple storyline aspect is that it makes it easier to see which ones are and aren’t working, and then I can pretend like the latter ones don’t exist, making my job hobby a lot easier.

This episode finds the Bravermans figuring out what to do next now that their family is reunited in one geographical space, each with conflicts to overcome (finding a job, coping with kids who have different and specific needs, and in Zeek’s case, chopping wood and being a busy-body) and how they can do it and still remain a family. Read more »

“It’s my team.”

Being able to tell you why I enjoyed Parenthood is a tricky thing. I can’t really compare it to anything in particular, though it thankfully avoids stringing out the “reveal” that these people are all related (yes, I’m talking to you Modern Family). It could be that I’ve just been starved for something to watch on Tuesday nights. It could be that I hadn’t seen a Thomas Schlamme directed episode of television in a while and was enjoying his smart and considerate work.

But it probably has a lot more to do with the acting. With a cast led by Peter Krause and Lauren Graham, Parenthood‘s actors manages to easily shift between serious and funny without feeling like there’s a tonal whiplash issue that can plague other shows that attempt it. Read more »