Monsters of Television

“I’m going to sing now.”

“Adam, stop doing your Taxi Driver impression. No one is talking to you.”

I had a hard time picking out an opening quote for this episode. There were so many choice lines from Max’s celebrations of Haddie’s new hair color (“You look like a panther. Or a vampire from Twilight.”) to characters asserting series theme-summations (“You be a man, dad” or “I consider myself too big to fail”). One of the goals when writing television/film is to temper realistic dialogue with dramatic substance. If it’s all “realistic,” it might come off “banter-y” (and, at times, robbing the emotion of a scene). If it’s all dramatic, it turns out to be a Nic Cage flick. A balance is necessary and has been a goal for this show from the beginning.

We’ve discussed the “Robert Altman scenes” between siblings in this series, scenes where the characters (typically the adult Braverman siblings) talk over each other, have natural cadence, and laugh at each other (a crime many shows commit, especially sit-coms, where people will say something funny but no one will laugh diegetically). The comfortable, conversational tone between them is often tempered by dramatic, sometimes poignant, scenes from the characters when they’re without the other siblings. This is a balance the series has been hoping to hone throughout this half-slate and this season finale is the culmination of that practice, an execution of character and narrative that shows real potential for next season. Although, I’m not sure where next season is going.

I think they might be writing Julia off.

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“Fine. But I’m not saying ‘unconditionally.’”

Oh, Amber.

Earlier in the series, and really throughout, Zeek has acted as the purveyor of the mighty name Braverman, making sure that Jabbar is going to take the name, bucking his children up with phrases akin to, “Hey, come on. You’re a Braverman!” The last name which, let’s face it, sounds a little made up (apologies to any readers surnamed Braverman but, come on, it sounds like a cartoon hero’s alter-ego), is a source of pride for ol’ Zeek. He believes himself the patriarch of nobility (but hard-workin’ nobility). He has two markedly successful children, one who is wildly talented, just trying to get out of her own way, and, you know, Crosby, who’s cool (he might be successful, too, though it doesn’t seem like he ever works). The Bravermans breed pride which makes failure so hard to swallow for them.

Failure is the theme for this episode and not just for the main cast but for the children as well. It was a dangerous and, at times, horribly awkward, time to be a Braverman. Good thing Jabbar hasn’t taken the name yet.

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“Second base is reading Tennyson.”

This is the shot that’s going in all of Peter Krause’s future press materials.

Daughters are nothing but trouble. If you have one, you’d better lock her up in a tower because all they do is lie, cheat, and break vases. Sons, on the other hand, are honest and endearing. They may be a little troublesome but, as you know, boys will be boys.

At least that is the general sentiment of this episode. “Perchance to Dream” focuses almost exclusively on relationships with the daughter: mother vs daughter (Julia/Sydney), father vs daughter (Adam/Haddie), mother and daughter vs The World (Sarah/Amber), and, the happiest couple of the group, the couple without a daughter (Crosby/Jasmine).

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“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 »

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“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 »

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“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 »

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