SkullBunnie

One night, whist playing beer pong and Wii sports, a friend of mine made a remark about the new show “Parenthood”.  To paraphrase: “I don’t know what to think about it.  I mean, Ron Howard equals Arrested Development, but it just doesn’t look interesting”.  That comment stuck in my head because, when seeing  ads for the show, I realized that I couldn’t agree more.  In fact, I got confused from the ads, since I wasn’t sure who was who and none of the faces stood out as memorable.  In fact, the impression I got was that this was a show about a young family coming together and  I would have dismissed it, but for the glorious aura  that emanated at the simple mention of Ron Howard’s name.

Most of the die-hard fans of Arrested Development are waiting for another show to come out and sate the hunger for more ridiculous characters being punished for their own pride, idiocy, and selfishness.  It was a show that had great timing, an amazing cast, and wonderful writing.  And, while I’ve worn down my copies  so much that I might need a new 1st season  DVD, I still look for something new.  Seeing Ron Howard’s name on a new project made me wish for Parenthood to be the heir to the AD throne of comedy.  So, sitting down to enjoy something random on Hulu, I saw the pilot and figured that I would give it a shot.

It is not the heir.  It’s not even close to Arrested Development.  It’s not even the comedy that they advertised.

To summarize, the story is about the Bravermans: an extended family consisting of a couple, their four kids, and their 5 or 6 grandkids.  It Begins with Sarah ( played by Lauren Graham of Gilmore Girls fame), moving back home after splitting up with her (husband/boyfriend). Sarah’s kids accompany her in her move and include a trouble-making teenage daughter and an emo-nerd  son in his early-teens.  She’s coaxed back home by her brother (Peter Crause of Sports Night), who lives with the rest of their siblings near their parents homestead.  Her family consits of  a younger slacker brother, a cookie-cutter brother who has a nice little suburban life, and an overachieving sister, the contrasts between the different families cause some interesting interactions.

While there are the occasional Yuks here and there, it’s a drama first and foremost.  From run ins with the law, to kids with learning disabilities, the show is heavily focused on making you feel and less on making you laugh.  Sure, the humor is good when it comes along and does poke fun at a lot of the archetypes you see in large families, but it’s not worth wading through all the drama if that’s not what you’re looking for.

Now, surprisingly, I still enjoyed the show.  Craig T. Nelson, who plays the patriarch of this large clan, is perfect as the overbearing, competitive father figure who believes “everything in life is a war”.  Seeing Peter Crause on a TV series again is good, and he still has the great dialog-timing and turn-of-phrase that he had with Sports Night (just not as funny or as quick witted of a character).  The slacker brother (Played by Dax Shepard) is also pretty funny as a clueless, non-committal slouch who is just trying to chill out through life.

However, I feel like this has sappy undertones of being a WB drama.  For instance, we’ve seen several meals already where the family has dinner together as a huge group.  They seem to always be willing to help each other and are very communicative: something you’d almost never see in today’s society.  It does have this fairy-tale feel to this large group of family that “shares and cares”.  They are troubled and squabble, but there seems to be very little spark between them.  Seriously, when watching this show, I felt like I was going to see an “ABC Family” logo in the corner of the screen.

If you like family dramas, it’s a good watch.  Otherwise, stay far, far away.  Arrested Development’s successor has not yet arrived.