Parenthood-the Tv show

Have you seen this show?  Parenthood? I never watched it before even though it had one of the Gilmore girls starring in it. I can’t believe I had missed this excellent show. Now I’m watching every episode from the beginning with Netflix. I have been obsessed with it. Every time I have a free hour the tv is on and I’m glued to it. It’s one of those shows that keeps getting better and better.
Here’s a little about the show.

Billed as a re-imagined and updated spin on the movie of the same name, the show follows several generations of the Braverman family. Sarah (Lauren Graham) kicks off the show by moving to Berkeley to be closer to the rest of the tribe. A single mother who isn’t exactly financially secure, the move offers stability (hopefully) for her two teen children. Sarah’s older brother, Adam (Peter Krause), is dealing with issues himself, because his “eccentric” son may have bigger problems than we thought, this apparently being the combo-spin on the kid who rammed walls with a bucket on his head and the one who was uber-tense.

Meanwhile, sister Julia (Erika Christensen) is the straight-laced Yin to Sarah’s easy-going Yang. A corporate attorney, Julia is having trouble coping with the tight-wire act that is having a successful career and being a mom. Especially when her adorable daughter looks to stay-at-home-dad for all those little “motherly” bits Julia wants to do.

We’ve also got younger brother Crosby, a commitment-phobe and generally slackerish sort, who can’t figure out what to do with the relationship he’s in. His life shoots to DEFCON 5 when his past shows up at his door, and he’s never going to be the same again.

Finally, patriarch Zeek (Craig T. Nelson) isn’t helping anyone with his over-the-top, everything’s-a-war attitude, and the response he’s most likely to get at any juncture is an eye-rolling, “Oh… come on, Dad,” as he pushes forward with his not-to-be-dismissed theories. After all, he raised four kids. And yet, it seems that there may be a great uncertainty hiding behind the bull that is Dad, and perhaps he is never more sure of himself than when he is really pretending to be sure of himself.

The show gets things right, and it’s good to know that Ron Howard mentions this, because it’s actually about parenthood. Don’t let that slide past you too quickly. Lauren Graham may play the central character (and I can’t imagine it without her), but it isn’t about her. It isn’t about this family either, though this is the one we’re using. It’s about parenthood. That simple and amazing transition of self-awareness that moves from “these are mine,” to “I am theirs,” parenthood (and no one involved with the show is responsible for this politically incorrect statement) is in fact the main part of personhood, and the staggering beauty of both adventures is that no one gets it right.

What is your favorite show?