Review: Parenthood S01E01 - Pilot

Parenthood is a drama about family, about fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, brothers and sisters. And though this is certainly not an original set-up, the show that overcame the biggest obstacles to hit the air has (a little) more to offer.

Nora O'Brien, in who's memory the episode was credited, was an executive producer who died on set presumably due to a brain aneurysm. Lead star Maura Tierney discovered she had breast cancer, pushing back production to mid-season and leaving a vacant spot for Lauren Graham to fill. The heavily promoted new show certainly didn't have an easy start, but that shouldn't be an excuse that the end result balances between great potential and failed attempt to bring back old-fashioned family drama's.

Because Parenthood could exactly be that; the kind of television show an entire family could sit down for and enjoy. Opposed to Brothers & Sisters which focuses more on the women demo and takes on a little more crazy, soapy version of the American family, Parenthood feels more like a down-to-earth show that takes family the way it is; not always correct, not always right, but good enough to come home to. But that's not enough. There is still little to no humor on the show, and even with interesting story lines, there is something to say for the lack of originality. And then there's the danger of becoming nothing more than an average family, because in that case, viewers could just turn off the TV and look at each other.

So far, Parenthood got contemporary American family life right. A patriarch who doesn't know how else to raise kids but his own way, a daughter who chooses the parent who stays home over the one who works, teenagers who struggle with having only one parent to rely on. The big amount of characters allows these stories to be immediately introduced, but it doesn't always work. The problem with a big cast is that everybody needs some screen time in order to be remembered by the viewer, which allows less development for everybody and more chaos in the story. Which brings me to Lauren Graham.

Oh, Graham, you could make a crime procedural warm and sunny, which is why it's so sad to see you within a cast that is forced to stay absolutely serious. Graham is the only one who brings in the laughs, the awkward situations that family ensues or the heartfelt moments that make you connect. With an exciting cast that features Craig T. Nelson, Erika Christensen and Peter Krause, you might expect more. But Nelson is playing a flat, stubborn, grandpa, Christensen barely got enough story to go on and Krause was forced to be nothing more than a daddy's boy.

It might be harsh, but for a show that could be the amusing family drama that entire America sits down for, Parenthood is just not amusing enough. Too serious, too much and when it finds originality (with a kid that has Aspergers), it puts it in a box and let's the cliches work ("there is something wrong with him" is hardly enough for a viewer to care, in fact, which parent would say such a thing about their child?) But in it's defense, this was a re-shot pilot that was meant to premiere months ago with a slightly different cast. There is still time to fix this, but for now, characters need to diverse and audiences should be allowed to connect with them before watching they make decisions we won't like.