Perhaps I’ve been spoiled by good TV, dramas like Mad Men that take time to delve into issues, that don’t just throw a bunch of stuff at the viewers like we need something new and shiny every five seconds and must hear from every character lest we forget that they’re on the show. But three episodes into the third season of Parenthood, I’ve become frustrated that the writers aren’t giving the characters time to develop their stories into something more than a shallow scene or two.
I’ve been eager for the writers to pick a couple of characters and devote an episode to their stories so that viewers can marinate in their issues, not make us simply sample their stories like we’re at a giant buffet table and expected to try 17 different items really quickly without taking the time to thoroughly enjoy and appreciate each one individually. Yes, slowing things down and narrowing the focus can be challenging to do when you have a sprawling cast, but honestly, we don’t need to hear from every character in every episode. There are big stories that haven’t been done as well as they could have because they’ve been watered down by other, extraneous threads that, honestly, could’ve waited for a less crowded episode to be introduced.
Take, for example, Crosby. The fact that he’s going into business with his brother and is trying to rope his brother-in-law into renovating the space for the recording studio is a huge deal with wide reaching repercussions. This affects three families on the show, including one in which the chief breadwinner has been unemployed for many months, has a daughter going to college in less than a year, a son with special needs and a daughter on the way. (FYI — I was left wanting more information when that if-we-have-a-girl-there’s-less-chance-of-Asperger’s thing was mentioned in passing.)
Why did we need to have all the drama about Jasmine and Dr. Joe flirting and Jabbar’s wheat allergy? It’s not that they should abandon these storylines, but why waste precious time on those right now when Crosby is gearing up to work with Adam and Joel? I’d much rather see more time invested in the tricky business situation than in the ongoing tension between the fact that Jasmine’s dating and Crosby’s ticked about it. Having a child with a food allergy is much more than simply an inconvenience. It requires a lifestyle change that should be allotted more time than a casual conversation when Jasmine hands Jabbar off to Crosby.
Then there’s the Sarah thing with Amber, which is just taking up time that could instead be used to explore what Sarah’s doing with her own life, things such as: does she really wants to become a professional writer, and does she has any plans to move out of Mom and Dad’s house any time soon? Seeing Sarah stalking Amber — showing up to Amber’s place of employment in the middle of a rush like an over-anxious teen who is pining for Amber’s attention– is demeaning to Sarah’s character. She deserves better material about what she’s doing with her life, instead of scene after scene of her looking like a mom who can’t let go. (Lorelai Gilmore would so not like what Sarah’s been doing.)
I would’ve liked to have see fewer of the Sarah harassing Amber scenes and more time spent on the Alex situation and how exactly Adam and Kristina decided to intercede on his behalf. (I still want to know why the fact that the Zach kid had a party where minors were illegally consuming alcohol hasn’t resulted in any charges against him or his parents.) This is an extremely complex story that involves class, poverty, race and privilege, and was powered not only by Adam and Kristina’s sense of what’s right, but also by their desire to make their daughter Haddie happy, which means making Alex happy.
I wanted to witness Adam and Kristina’s conversation about how to handle the situation. I wanted to see how Alex relayed the news that the charges had been dropped to Haddie because it required Adam’s intervention to save Alex, and now Alex owes Adam, even though it was drunk Haddie’s initial refusal to leave the party that started the whole thing.
Then there’s Joel and Julia who’ve been trying for a long time to have a second child and are now going the adoption route. While I’m glad that Julia had that scene with Zoe where they made up, I’ve been curious as to what’s going on in Julia’s home, how her daughter feels about all this, how Joel will handle a baby and his contract work. So much time was spent on the actions of the coffee cart woman that I think they’ve missed an opportunity to explore Julia’s family dynamics more fully.
It’s not that the performances that the cast have delivered haven’t been good — they have — it’s just that they’re focusing on too many things all at once. It’s a long season. You have twice the time the Mad Men folks do to tell your stories. It’s time to make good use of all those hours and of their characters.
Clacked by Meredith O'Brien 
on Sep 28, 2011 @ 11:52 EST5EDT
