By Al Lowe
Would you like to hear the most frightening, horrible words in the life of a TWoP recapper? They are "Limited Commercial Interruption." It's enough to bring tears to my eyes. Why, NBC? WHY?
So, here we are at the premiere of "Parenthood," a television show based on a movie released 21 years ago. An iconic and memorable film, to be sure, but I mean, Road House was also a huge movie in 1989. I'm just saying. [It's also the second attempt at a show based on the film, while Road House has bupkus. Gyp! - Zach]
Sarah (played by my beloved Lauren Graham) is moving from Fresno back to her hometown with her two surly teenagers, Amber and Drew, to live near her family. This family includes her overwrought brother, Adam, and his own family, made up of his wife, daughter and supersensitive son, Max. Also on deck is another brother, Crosby, who is single and gross, and sister, Julia, who is married and successful. The cherry on top is their pushy father, who mysteriously keeps condoms in his desk drawer and thus, may be cheating on their sweet mom.
Adam's son, Max, has trouble dealing with his emotions. He hates playing baseball, but upon being forced by his father to play, he gets a surprising hit. When he is called out by the umpire, his father comes to his defense loudly and aggressively. When Max, who insists on wearing a pirate costume to school, has trouble using scissors in class and is taunted by a classmate, he lashes out aggressively. After being evaluated by his school, it appears Max may have Asperger's Syndrome.
Adam's daughter, Haddie, makes the serious mistake of inviting her cousin, Amber, to hang out. Much to Sarah's shame, the girls end up at the police station, arrested for pot possession. Sarah must follow up this embarrassing revelation with a blind date, arranged by Julia, with an ex who is now a dumpy, bald barista (and ends up being awesome). Sarah has a surprisingly great time, until she is busted by her son while she is trying to get busy with the barista. This causes Drew to run away back to Fresno to see his drug-addict musician father.
Meanwhile, Crosby, who is an idiot, is struggling to make a commitment to his equally dumb girlfriend who wants so badly to have a baby, she keeps Harvard sperm in her freezer, and yet is somehow held off from her plans to do so by Crosby's vague promises to maybe marry her sometime, maybe in three years or something, whatever. Turns out, Crosby already has a kid -- one that he did not know about -- with a dancer he used to know.
Y'all, just when I thought I was going to hate this show, it hooked me so hard my head spun around. Max returns to the hated baseball field, determined to support his team, and overly sentimental premise or not, I fell for it. Maybe it was the Dylan soundtrack. Maybe it was Lorelei Gilmore, back on my TV. Maybe it was the kid who plays Max who is illegally cute. Or maybe it's that five months ago my husband and I adopted our wonderful daughter, careening into parenthood, ourselves. Great. Now I'm crying again.
Discuss this episode in our forums, then see why vlogger Sean Crespo thinks this show is a bad idea. And check back soon for the full weecap!