160 replies to this topic

[TWoP Dietrich]

TV Guide sez:

Episode Synopsis: Struggling single mom Sarah Braverman (Lauren Graham) uproots her kids to move back in with her parents (Craig T. Nelson, Bonnie Bedelia) in the opener of this comedy-drama about the challenges of raising kids. Sarah's three siblings are also facing their own set of problems, including career, medical and relationship woes.

[Cosmos2]

NBC has a winner! I loved it. Now I have something to watch besides "Community."

[Tasya]

I also loved it and I don't generally watch anything on NBC other than TBL. I cried so much, laughed so much; most of it really hit home. I think that anyone with a family will totally get the dynamics. I hope that the rest of the season maintains this level.

[emziez]

Well I'll be damned. I loved it too! What a sweet, lovely show. Nice ensemble with a special shoutout to Peter Krause, who I would watch in pretty much anything. I will be watching. I think it's a keeper indeed.

[krizmic]

Welcome home, Lauren Graham. I loved you on the big screen in movies like "Because I Said So." I even saw you sing and dance and blow me away on the Great White Way. But this is where you belong. And what a show...you get to laugh, you get to cry--so we get to laugh and we get to cry.

Brilliant cast. I think this can really work. The kids are great, the sibling relationships are already real (the only thing saving Brothers & Sisters right now is the chemistry, so it really is key). The kid who plays Max is fantastic. Love Peter Krause too--glad to see him in something lighter than 6FU.

[JennyLiz]

Welcome home, Lauren Graham.

Amen. I have such love for Lorelai Gilmore that I'm always wary of seeing LG in any other role, but she was amazing. That phone call about the "fat balding barista" cracked me up.

What a great show this is. I don't think it's in competition with Modern Family (something mentioned in an interview from the media thread), because they have completely different tones. This is way more serious than MF (IMO); however, it does have its great, light-hearted moments.

And I have to say I really love that they have a character with Asperger's. I work in the school system, and Asperger's/autism is so prevalent, it's good to see it represented.

Edited by JennyLiz, Mar 2, 2010 @ 11:35 PM.

[Tasya]

Not only do they have a character with Asperger he's believable. That is huge because it could come across really wrong to parents who's kids are really doing with these issues. Does anyone know if this child really has this condition? I would think not given the social issues people with Asperger's have but he's just so real that I wonder.

[heiskellch]

I got hooked on Gilmore Girls very late, when it was already in reruns, but I watched and loved every episode and really missed Lauren Graham. She was great. Like the show, and can see how it will possibly build. Not crazy about sperm donor girlfriend and think that Lauren Graham's rebel daughter was a bit over the top tough, but liked it. Can see how I could love it.

[naneki78]

Loved it, loved it and it did not disappoint. So I am now holding my breath, because after all it's on the "Now Being Cancelled" network.

[Bulldog]

I've got mixed feelings. I really, really liked Peter Krause and Lauren Graham. But everyone else was just meh.

The whole Max storyline felt a little too "afterschool special" for my tastes.

Nelson was the stereotypical overbearing father. Bedelia was not given nearly enough to do.

Mae Whitman has bugged every since Hope Floats (Did I just admit to watching that?)

Shepherd and Christensen were seriously miscast.

I'll probably give it another try, but I don't know if Graham and Krause are enough to get me to tune in every week.

And was the woman with no job or home really looking down on (initially) a guy who worked at a coffee shop?

[krizmic]

Also, are we predicting that the weed belonged to Adam and Kristina's daughter? Mae Whitman has always been great (so heartbreaking in When a Man Loves a Woman), and I'm enjoying her teenage angst. Loved her casually, then seriously, telling her mother that the shoes and the bag were bad.

[sloopster]

I've never seen Gilmore Girls so Lauren Graham is new to me. But she reminds me so much of JoBeth Williams from the original Poltergeist movie - except, wait, she was married to Craig T. Nelson in that movie, hey, wait a minute, oh, ok, it's not her, she hasn't been preserved in a vault somewhere so he's now her father. I'm going to have to work on that.

I understand Maura Tierney was originally to have her role. I could see her doing it too - that lovable oopsie thing. But this works really well.

I loved the movie so much, it's nice to see they've stayed true to the idea of a network of family but updated what needed to be updated. The Asperger's is a great touch, and yeah, that kid is great.

Nice to see Nate again.

Love the overly sophisticated troublemaker teenage daughter.

It's gonna take me a while to get the characters straight, but so far I'm really pleased, and I haven't watched a network show in years.

[WindSprints]

I loved it. I thought it was a great mix of drama with a bit of humor thrown in. The cast clicked nicely together and I enjoyed the family dynamic. Peter Krause was wonderful, he was the main reason I tuned in. I never saw Lauren Graham in anything and constant the promos with her were getting on my last nerve. I was pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed her on the show. The storyline with Max was my favorite of the episode.

Does anyone know if this child really has this condition? I would think not given the social issues people with Asperger's have but he's just so real that I wonder.

I don't believe the actor has it. Jason Katims' son has Aspergers which is probably why its written so true to life.

[ImNotLeesa]

I was cautiously optimistic about this show, because of the cast and writer and director (cautious because I've been burned before) But, I think the show really delivered. Everyone seemed like fully formed characters, and they really gave a sense of the sibling dynamics....between the 3 siblings showing up at Adam's house, and Sarah and Julia going at it over the phone. Even when the transitions were choppy, the scenes and acting still pulled me in. See what happens when you have a really great cast?

It did seem like they packed maybe a bit too much into it? If they had saved the "two girls get arrested" scene or the "teen son runs to his father" scene or the "Crosby's already got a kid" scene for a later episode, I don't think I would have missed them.

Tasya, from what I've seen in interviews, the actor that plays Max does not have Aspergers, he's very good young actor. He's been on other shows playing much different characters. He really did a great job though: I almost lost it during the scene when he was at school struggling to cut a paper heart, getting so frustrated when he couldn't do it (symbolism maybe?)

All the kids, in fact, seemed like really strong performers...not just cast because they were Kute Kids, but because they're talented.

Edited by ImNotLeesa, Mar 2, 2010 @ 11:47 PM.

[Tasya]

Tasya, from what I've seen in interviews, the actor that plays Max does not have Aspergers, he's very good young actor. He's been on other shows playing much different characters. He really did a great job though: I almost lost it during the scene when he was at school struggling to cut a paper heart, getting so frustrated when he couldn't do it (symbolism maybe?)

I work at a special education school, so I will freely admit that the school scene tore me apart. When you see kids who really need help struggling so badly, well, it was tissue time. That scene and the one with the mom telling the dad and him trying desperately to deny it, wonderfully acted all around.

[JennyLiz]

It did seem like they packed maybe a bit too much into it? If they had saved the "two girls get arrested" scene or the "teen son runs to his father" scene or the "Crosby's already got a kid" scene for a later episode, I don't think I would have missed them.

I agree with all of this, but particularly the Crosby's Kid thing. I actually was astounded by the fact that he revealed he had a kid, then Max said he wanted to go to the game, and the whole kid thing was forgotten. (Not that I don't think Max wanting to play was important, just saying.)

Can't wait til next Tuesday!

[Cosmos2]

Lauren Graham looked so familiar to me that I'd swear I've seen her before. But when I looked her on up on IMDb there is nothing of hers that I've seen except for a "Seinfeld" episode where she a small part and I would not even remember her from that. Does she have a twin sister? I'm confused.

Edited by Cosmos2, Mar 3, 2010 @ 12:07 AM.

[ImNotLeesa]

A couple of random thoughts:

This is kind of episode related..I guess: Did anyone else think that Lauren Graham and Peter Krause looked really, really hot in the Nissan ad break spots? It was kind of striking to me.

I bet the producers are really glad that, if they had to choose a Japanese car company to sponsor the pilot, they went with Nissan and not Toyota.

I'm trying to figure out what all the characters do for a living. We know Julia's a lawyer and Crosby's a sound engineer, but what about everybody else?

Sarah: Unemployed, but what did she do before?
Adam: Something that involves charts and him having to wear a suit
Kristina: ?
Julia: Lawyer
Julia's husband: Stay at home father
Crosby: Sound engineer
Katy: Something music related, producer maybe?
Zeek and Camille: I thought that they were retired, but between Zeek's desk and the size of their house, they must do something to make a living, right?

[Grizzly]

The whole Max storyline felt a little too "afterschool special" for my tastes.

I have faith that they will be able to address the Asperger's issue without it becoming an "afterschool special". Firstly, Jason Kaims' son has Asperger's so I think he will be able to keep it grounded in reality. Also, going back to Katims' other show, in the pilot episode of FNL the team quarterback is paralysed. The reason I bring this up is because it is a story line that in other shows could easily turn into overblown melodrama. However, the truth is that, like Katim's son having Asperger's, the episode was based on a real life incident in which Peter Berg was attending a highschool football match where the quarterback was paralysed. Throughout FNL they were able to deal with it in a very realistic manner and showed how it affected everybody on the show, not just that character. There were no miracle cures (a la Kitty's cancer on Brother's and Sisters) nor miracle surgery (a la Peyton on Make It Or Break It). I guess what I am trying to say in a long winded manner, is that I think that because of Katim's personal experience with the condition and his history with a show like FNL, I am looking forward to seeing how this storyline develops. and don't see it becoming a big melodrama, although certainly something that will have an ongoing impact on many of the characters.

Not only do they have a character with Asperger he's believable.

A couple of articles have come out about how autism and its subforms is protrayed on tv, and in one of them they talk about how originally Sarah Walker (Rachel Griffith's character on B&S) was supposed to have a son with Asperger's but they decided against it because they thought it would be too difficult for a young actor to portray it convincingly. Glad Parenthood has proven them wrong. The link is in the media thread.

Sarah: Unemployed, but what did she do before?

She has been working as a bar tender. Not sure if it was mentioned in the episode, but LG has said it in a couple of interviews.

Edited by Grizzly, Mar 3, 2010 @ 1:46 AM.

[naneki78]

Lauren Graham looked so familiar to me that I'd swear I've seen her before. But when I looked her on up on IMDb there is nothing of hers that I've seen except for a "Seinfeld" episode where she a small part and I would not even remember her from that. Does she have a twin sister? I'm confused.

Could be the many, many commercials NBC ran for the show, which featured her? Or maybe Gilmore Girls? I know a lot of people have said they never watched the show, but there were enough ads for it when it ran that the face might be familiar to them.

[wingsabre]

Overall I though the pilot was as good as a pilot could be. They had to introduce a lot of characters, but not make it feel like they're introducing them since families don't introduce themselves to each other halfway through life.

It looks very promising, and they did plant a lot of seeds to explore for the rest of the season. One thing I noticed is that I got a sense that it reminded me of Steel Magnolias. However, the males had larger roles in this show than that movie.

An additional thing that I liked was that there was limited commercial interruption. This should honestly be the new model for broadcast television. If they want to compete with cable, then they should establish contracts with certain advertisers, and air their shows with limited commercials.

[PreviouslyOnTV]

This show is rivaling Grey's Anatomy in tissues needed during viewing. Get used to those roles, actors. It is going to be a while. What I loved the most was the concept of there being no secrets between the siblings. In many shows, the youngest brother would keep his new son a secret from everyone. Here he runs straight to the older brother who must be his best friend. The grandparents have obviously raised four realists if nothing else. So refreshing to not have any initial drama or conflict based on hate, just the real problems that families face.

[OptimisticCynic]

I thought it was decent but a couple of things bugged me - one being the sperm container in her freezer. Do people really house these at home and can these be released from labs? Don't they have to be under very specific conditions/temperatures? All he had to do was find a piece of mail from the lab or something other than the cylinder but whatever.

The other was Sarah looking for jobs in the wanted ads in the newspaper. Seriously? It's 2010 - I realize the film is older but you could have her sitting out there with a lap top instead of the paper. Took me right out of the scene.

I loved GG but I'm not sold on LG simply because this character reminds me too much of Lorelai. I hope she mixes it up a little bit in her acting choices.

I guess I just had a different expectation of the show because of the involvement of Katims and was hoping to get a more realistic feel to the show a la FNL. Instead it just seems like a variation on Brothers and Sisters or a show of that nature. I admit the writing is better than B&S but I'd really like to see some interesting things like the Aspergers storyline. I enjoyed it I just don't care about the characters yet. And Dax Sheperd is completely miscast.

[Grizzly]

I thought it was decent but a couple of things bugged me - one being the sperm container in her freezer. Do people really house these at home and can these be released from labs? Don't they have to be under very specific conditions/temperatures? All he had to do was find a piece of mail from the lab or something other than the cylinder but whatever.

They do need to be stored under specific conditions. They are generally stored in small straws (or I have also seen some labs store them in small vials) and they are stored in liquid nitrogen which is -196 degrees Celsius, whereas a household freezer is generally set to -19 degrees Celsius. (Sorry, I'm a metric girl).

The other was Sarah looking for jobs in the wanted ads in the newspaper. Seriously? It's 2010 - I realize the film is older but you could have her sitting out there with a lap top instead of the paper. Took me right out of the scene.

Heh, I probably would have thought the same thing except that recently I was looking for a local contractor and found myself looking at the newspaper whereas normally I search for everything online. I realise that newspapers put their classifieds online, including job ads, but sometimes it's simpler, especially if you're looking for something local.

[chants]

I loved everything about the pilot. I have been heavily spoiled and have seen quite a few of the scenes already, but not put together as a whole episode, and I was very happy with how it came out.

Lauren was my draw for this show, and I also love Peter Krause. I think the whole cast did a great job and the all seem believeable to me as a family.

I just know this show will get better every week. I could have easily watched for several more hours tonight.

I too thought the sperm in the freezer was not realistic since lab deep freezers are much much colder than any conventional household freezer would be.

[zelmia]

They had to introduce a lot of characters, but not make it feel like they're introducing them since families don't introduce themselves to each other halfway through life.

This makes me laugh, but I agree completely. The hardest part of a pilot episode is introducing the characters to us without having them introduce themselves to each other - unless, obviously, this is story appropriate.

I actually thought the parents of the Asberger's kid seemed kind of overly dramatic about it. I would have thought they would be relieved that whatever was "wrong" with their son finally had a name put on it - and as such they could now deal with it accordingly. Instead they were all doom and gloom about it, as if he had been diagnosed with leukemia or something.

I also didn't really buy that the entire family went racing off to a little league game on a moment's notice. I mean, yes, okay the grandparents and maybe the aunts and uncles. But I just don't believe all those teenagers didn't have something else they would rather have been doing.

Speaking of the little league, I could believe they would ask him to step down as coach after his behaviour. But to tell Peter Krause that he couldn't come to the games?? I don't think so. And I double didn't buy "the umpire is threatening to sue". I know we live in a litigious society, but those little league umpires get training in how to deal with just that sort of thing. It's not as if PK threw a punch at him or something.

The looking for a job in the newspaper didn't bother me. Some people are just like that. I mean, this is a woman who still drives a Chevette(!)

Edited by zelmia, Mar 3, 2010 @ 4:59 AM.

[catswiskers]

Lets start with the good parts:
1) it is realistic that all the women over 35 in SoCal have their faces frozen by botox. Now, from a spectator point of view, having to go through nearly 50 minutes of constipated squinting from Laura Graham, and Peter Krause's wife is annoying.
2) The lawyer sister, Mike O'Maley, the poet/barista, and Bonnie Bedelia deserve a heartfelt thanks for being immune to the overacting bug that has bitten the rest of the cast. Maybe they are the only ones aware of how bad the show is and are trying to get by unnoticed. Either way, thanks.

Has for the bad parts, they are so many, that the hour of my life that the show took is enough time wasted on this trite heap of bad acted cliches. Not wasting any more time with it.

Edited by catswiskers, Mar 3, 2010 @ 6:06 AM.

[Cosmos2]

The show has enough of a comedy element so I can accept the story about the umpire suing without asking any questions about it. The part that was hilarious was watching the interactions between the characters when they talked about it. It was all beautifully directed and acted with great location shots, although admittedly the basic idea behind it was not terribly original.

I'm also assuming the sperm in the freezer wasn't real because it was treated more like comedy. Aren't those things actually done anonymously? You might know something about the man's characteristics, such as he was a good athlete or had a high IQ, but certainly not the name. Having him Google to discover the guy was a bad bowler and the confrontation about it were funny.

In other words, I could believe the umpire sued because that seemed part of the comedy, while on the other hand I could not believe the sperm existed because that also seemed part of the comedy.

[simply]

Zelmia:I actually thought the parents of the Asberger's kid seemed kind of overly dramatic about it. I would have thought they would be relieved that whatever was "wrong" with their son finally had a name put on it - and as such they could now deal with it accordingly. Instead they were all doom and gloom about it, as if he had been diagnosed with leukemia or something.

My take was that the parents were blind to anything being truly "wrong" with their son. Instead, they saw several separate and unrelated incidents (i.e. the pirate suit, fear of flame) that taken in isolation, merely indicate they have an unique yet average boy. Taken together, they can no longer deny that he's got a problem more significant than a series of odd behaviors. Part of the shock stems from all the signs being present all along, and yet the parents missed them. The second part comes from the unknown impact this will have on their family, perhaps for years and decades into the future. Many of the dreams they had for their son may no longer be possible.

Edited by simply, Mar 3, 2010 @ 6:13 AM.

[Cosmos2]

I just figured out why Lauren Graham looked familiar to me. She reminded me of Rita Wilson who played Frasier's mother Hester on "Frasier" and also a character who looked Frasier's mother. Wilson and Graham don't look exactly the same, but there was enough resemblance to convince me that I knew Graham from someplace.

Edited by Cosmos2, Mar 3, 2010 @ 7:11 AM.