PARENTHOOD: 1.01 “The Pilot”
There was much ado about Parenthood. Seriously, if you didn’t see it coming, you clearly did not look at the Internet (well, at least TV sites) for the last year, and you didn’t watch NBC for the last few months. Especially not during the Olympics.
There were ads everywhere. Let’s just say that this was the show NBC has been banking on. It was originally slated for the fall, actually, but when Maura Tierney was unable to be a part of it anymore, they had to push it back and put Mercy in its place.
So did it live up to what NBC promised? That, I’m not sure. It was the long-awaited return of Lauren Graham (well, long-awaited for some), but really, it had a stellar cast. But my thought? I wish I didn’t know that Maura Tierney was originally the one in Graham’s role because this role was made for Maura Tierney.
I’m not saying that Graham didn’t do a good job. She did alright. But the problem was, both in her look and the way she portrayed Sarah, I just saw Lorelai Gilmore. Sure, she might not have talked as fast, but it was still there. Every line out of her mouth, I just envisioned Tierney saying it. And Tierney–imagination Tierney–was so much better. Tierney has the age. She has the look. She has the tone. I couldn’t see Graham angry or upset. She was just…Lorelai.
And my fear is that the show is really going to focus on her. I mean, she’s one of the main stars, right?
What I really want to see more of (and I’m sure we will) is her older brother, played by Peter Krause. Now that is a great storyline. As a child, how do you play a character that has aspergers? How do you even grasp that? But more so, as parents, how do you deal with it?
Well, that’s what this show is really going to show us, which hopefully it will do successfully. I’m completely enthralled by that storyline. Less so with everyone else. Is that wrong?
I suppose we just haven’t quite learned enough about the other characters yet to really be invested, but right now, it just sounds like another Brothers and Sisters, this time without as much melodrama. I’m not saying that I’m not going to give it a chance. I certainly am. I’ll watch it for another week, but it will certainly have to give me something unique–something that goes beyond its ABC competitor and Gilmore ancestry–to keep me going.
That’s pretty much the short and sweet of it. I’m not saying it was bad. It certainly has room to grow. We certainly got a decent start last night, at least with Krause’s storyline. But for a show that’s based in an advertising campaign that makes us feel like we understand parenthood, we need more that’s truly relatable, heartfelt, and new to keep it going. (I mean, do people really still get extended family together for softball games and dinners? Do children really land themselves in jail with no repurcussions? Can you relate to this version of parenthood yet?)
While I may mock NBC, I do have faith that this might be the show it wants it to be. I just wonder if losing Tierney really was the one thing the show couldn’t afford to lose.
I agree. There’s a certain level of hardened weariness that Tierney would’ve brought to the role that Lauren Graham doesn’t because she’s funny, ditzy, Lorelai. Now it’s almost if she’s our comedic relief role instead of another heavy character. That may not be a bad thing if the writers adjust to the fact that Graham is less serious than Tierney would’ve been (I assume the pilot script didn’t change much). I thought the pilot was decent, and I really like seeing Peter Krause on TV again. I’ll pretend DirtySexyMoney never happened.
I purposefully did not read your review until I watched it on my dvr tonight and I’m glad I did as I had no idea that this role was meant for Tierney. Thus, although I too saw lorelei, I did not imagine Abby Lockhart. I’m glad that they do have grahm, she adds that lightness I think this show needs to succeed. I too am a fan of Krause ever since the Sprots Night days. We are in the market for a new show since ugly betty is leaving. I hope this one works out. There are a lot of story lines going on though. I see them not getting as in depth into the stories as they could to make room for them all. I hope this isn’t the case.
Maura Tierney and Abby Lockhart are not the same person. Abby Lockhart is a character , Maura Tierney is an excellent actress who doesn’t play all her roles the same. That’s why you can’t see Abby here, she would not be a good actress if you saw Abby instead of the new character she’s performing. It is unfair that Ms Graham has been compared since the beggining to Ms Tierney in this role, as lots of promos were on the net from the pilot.
Is its innevitable,BUT!!!!!the role was not meant to be light and if the producers had to adjust to a lighter tone maybe is because Graham could not rise to the occasion.
I thought it was OK. NBC is praying for this so to be at least somewhat successful, after that steaming turd on Sunday called The Marriage Ref. I wonder how it did in the ratings.
Thing is, I love Graham, but I hope she doesn’t do it for this show. That is, I hope they don’t focus the show around Sarah because she’s probably the least interesting character. All of the other siblings have solid grounding that I’m at least a little into seeing through. Sarah’s – not at all. Especially after I saw next week’s promo where she’s interested in her daughter’s teacher (again, lack of originality) who is Jason Ritter. He rubs me not necessarily the wrong way, but never in a good way.
Most looking forward to Adam’s family story and the lawyer sister (erm, name escapes me).
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