Who can blame the reporter from San Francisco Weekly for honing in on Adam’s phoenix-like story? Here’s a straight-laced, khaki-wearing business guy who worked in the shoe business for 15 years, a father of three who was, like many, out of work for an extended period of time when his musical brother threw him a lifeline, turning him into an improbable recording studio proprietor. Surely that’s a more dramatic thread than the one offered by Crosby, a guy who has always known that he wanted to be in the music business and who looks like he’s in the music business as he preens for the benefit of the camera.
But as is the way of the Bravermans, the editor’s decision to put Adam on the cover and to focus heavily on his story, as opposed to his partnership with Crosby, spawned hostile friction between the brothers that spilled out into the open during a poker game which was already weighted with all kinds of subtext. Certainly it was understandable that Crosby would feel jealous about all the attention lavished upon Adam. However, given that Crosby still clings to his man-boy tendencies — including his inability to keep his emotions in check — he threw a temper tantrum, acting as though Adam had orchestrated a PR coup behind his back.
Seeing Adam enjoy his brief moment in the sun was too much for Crosby to bear. He just couldn’t swallow it down and let his ego take the hit. So after making a big, childish stink, Crosby opted to chase the vulnerable, painfully earnest cellist in order to make himself feel better, feel wanted and valued. There was a distinctly creepy, almost stalkerish tinge to the way in which he watched Lily play her cello after hours (and after he’d had a lot of beer) in The Luncheonette. Was his offer for Lily to use the shadowy studio space at night contingent on whether she flirts back with him?
While I’ve not been a fan of the Sarah-Mark story either, the territory they’re now exploring — whether Mark wants to have a child with Sarah — has potential. If Mark wants to have a baby with Sarah (who now seems on board with the idea), both of them have to recognize that they likely need to start trying immediately, meaning that they’d also have to make a decision about the level of commitment they’ll have with one another ASAP. They also have to keep in mind that obtaining medical assistance is a distinct possibility given that Sarah is 40+. The ob/gyn’s smackdown of Sarah’s “40 is the new 30″ quip was a harsh, biological reality check. Things could get really heavy, really quickly for this duo.
I’m less enamoured of the Zoe-Troy drama, as Zoe camps out at Julia and Joel’s as though she’s a college student home on break and Mom and Dad aren’t sure if they should ask where she’s going when she leaves at night. Even though both Zoe and her baby daddy have signed the adoption papers giving Julia and Joel custody of their unborn baby, this, by no means, feels like a done deal.
Then there’s Amber, who appears to be over her head as Kristina’s unqualified assistant at the city council campaign amidst a clutch of Ivy League grads who resent the overt nepotism. However, her down-to-earth, snarky attitude — as compared to the substance-less, yes-man behavior of the college grads — has caught the eye of the candidate himself, the unfortunately named Bob Little (who prefers “Bobby”), after Amber was brave enough to declare that Bobby’s ad stunk. Up until that point, the story had been a light, fish-out-of-water tale featuring comically over-sized eye wear. But the moment Bobby Little appeared in that coffee shop, there was something in the air that made me distinctly uncomfortable, the same feeling I experienced when Crosby spied on the cellist.
My plea to the Parenthood writers: Please don’t go to there. No Bobby-Amber sex scandal, I beg you.
Clacked by Meredith O'Brien 
on Jan 11, 2012 @ 11:28 EST5EDT
