Dax Shepard is one of the biggest surprises for me on the show. I first saw him on Punk'd, then knew him from Employee of the Month and Idiocracy. Needless to say, none of these are works of genius, or characters which required much depth. But holy cow does his character on Parenthood have depth. He plays the ugly duckling on the show. Really a great guy underneath, but he makes some bad decisions.
Peter Krause and Monica Potter play the parents of a young boy with Asperger's disease. They are one of the most believable parent couples I've ever seen on TV. The bring both the pride parents can have in the young ones they raise as well as the fear and confusion that comes with dealing with a child like that. And the young boy who plays the son, my gosh what an actor for that age. So committed. So effective.
The show not only focuses on families, but also on issues like race relationships, job crises, teenage issues like sex and drugs and alcohol, school things, etc. Nothing seems to be off-limits. It's almost like having a huge family of your own and there are no boundaries. They talk about what is on their minds, because they're all related and don't have to shy away from things that friends might have to.
Almost every week watching the show I laugh out loud at something that one of the characters does. At the same time, in almost every episode I get a bit choked up - not only because they show difficult situations, etc, but because they almost always somehow relate to my life (and I'm sure I'm not the only one). And in the end, no matter what is going on on the show, family always comes first - and this is something most of us can relate to in a huge way.
This is the type of show that has to be watched from the beginning, so if you haven't been watching - Netflix the first season and go from there.
Until the next episode...
Chris
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