Parenthood: Season 4, Episode 1 “Family Portrait” (B+)
This show deserves enormous commendation for taking a very commonly-used plotline and turning it into an opportunity for development on a number of fronts. Mark’s eagerness to be in the family portrait despite his fiancé status was intriguing, and I especially liked seeing Joel, Jasmine, and Kristina object to his inclusion after their length wait times. The family portrait also provided an opportunity for Sarah to get herself a job, after demonstrating her social prowess and technical incompetence to Ray Romano’s Hank. It would be nice to see Sarah not engage in an office romance for once, and maybe she’ll just help Hank come out of his shell a bit. As expected, having Victor in the house isn’t going entirely smoothly for Julia and Joel, and Max’s frankness with him about his family status was unfortunate. Haddie’s preparation for college was filled with expected angst and blow-up conversations, but she managed to get sentimental at her final opportunity. Amber’s promiscuousness continues to get her into trouble, but it’s nice to see her explain to her overeager father that she’s an adult and should be treated as an employee rather than as his daughter. On a lighter note, it was extremely entertaining to watch Crosby debate over how to handle Jabar’s apparent interest in religion, and I enjoyed his conversation with his parents about their commune days and his ultimate sweet resolution. It’s wonderful to have this great family drama back on the air, and I look forward to another quality season.
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