Gilmore Girls Gazette: Parenthood Begins (Season 1 E1 “Pilot”)

I am all in again.

Oh I guess you are. Gillmore Girls Gazette with Amy Sugarman and Danielle Romo, an iHeartRadio podcast. Hell love everybody, Danielle here, we are finally here.

This is a big exciting day because how great is this show?

I mean, I mean, I don't have words.

Did you love it?

I l O V ed all capital.

And you've never seen this.

I've never seen one episode of the Parenthood.

Oh my god, you're gonna literally really love it. I mean truly love.

I have a lot of questions for you. But to bring everybody up to speed, we're talking about Parenthood. We are rewatching it because you voted for it. It was what you guys told us to rewatch. We were this or Mazel, And interestingly you all said this, which I love Mazel too. Mazel is amazing. But I'm really really happy. So did you get tear eyed?

It's my first I got tear eyed. I did not cry, but I got I definitely felt the feels I I I have. Like I'm a little bit speechless because I was expecting it a little bit based off of what you've been teasing. You know, It's like, get your tissues, YadA, YadA, YadA. But I wasn't expecting it to be this good, and I don't know why I loved it so much.

I know it's amazing right out the gate, which we'll we'll talk about. So, first couple of things for you, are you did you ever watch Friday Night Lights? No, so it is the same creator a producer of Friday Night Lights, Jason Cadams, I don't want to say his name wrong.

Also did Parenthood.

Now, for some reason, I can't remember which came first, so Jackie, you may need to help me with timelines a little bit here as we kind.

Of go over things. I think Friday Night Lights came first, and then Parenthood. I can't exactly remember.

Hood premiered March second, twenty ten, so literally fifteen years ago.

And it was shortly after Gilmore Girls ended, right, because Lauren in particular looks very similar to how she looked as Laura Lai when.

The show ended. I don't know if you.

Know it was a few years later, not very long.

So here's a little bit of an interesting story because the reason we're watching this and people may know this, but we're going to do some sort of background today so everybody can kind of know where we're at.

And maybe enjoy these facts.

So Lauren Graham was not originally cast in the role of Sarah Raverman. It was more Tyrney, who I know, more Tanny mostly from er.

People know from a million movies.

She'd done a million things terrible. She was diagnosed with cancer as they were.

Starting production of this show.

She is doing amazing just to you know, circle to that, but and continues to work and she's great.

I think she did the Affair. Somebody check that, but I.

Think she was on the Affair and was amazing. So that was many years after.

So they pushed production back. I think the show was originally going to air in the fall.

They had to push it back to mid season because of more a Tyranny. I think so Helen Howt was considered for the role. They eventually Lauren Graham got the part, and I think they had to reshoot almost all of the shows they had done, or at least parts because there's so many family scenes that obviously had to be re done. I think they were sort of knee deep into production when all this happened. So that is sort of an interesting how Lauren Graham came to be Sarah Braverman.

Did it captivate you immediately?

I captivated? It captivated me immediately. I found it interesting because, not knowing anything about the plot of Parenthood, I wasn't expecting it to be so about Peter Crass's character, Yeah, Adam Braverman, like he is at the center of the show as of now this first pilot episode, and I wasn't expecting that because look, granted, I know he you know, he was Lauren's longtime partner and whatnot, but like I don't really know much about him.

So that's interesting.

So Peter Kralo was coming off of Six Feet, which was a show I think it was like on HBO Showtime, but it was a very like award winning show, and he was sort of coming off the run of that. And even though this is truly an ensemble and it's about all the characters, especially in the beginning, all roads lead to Peter Krauso's character act.

He's very much the narrator. He is the one that patches together all the storylines.

Exactly, and you open on him, right, yeah.

So you really start with a close up of him and immediately you're like, all right, who's this guy? And you quickly learn because it's so smart.

How they do it.

He gets on the phone and then you know, I think he talks to his dad, who's cranking the cast is amazing.

Let's let's run to the cast really quick. So craigtie knowls them, plays like the patriarch of the Braverman family and.

He's from Coach and Poltergeist. So immediately and I think in the billing's Anne Craig t Nelson, right, so he gets sort of that special billing. Bonnie Badelia is the mom, and she'd spent in a million things.

But the thing that I just learned about her is her brother is McAuley and Kieran Culkin's.

Dax, which was a crazy fact that I was like, I never knew that until like two weeks ago, and that is totally interesting. Dax Shephard, this is Dax before he was the Dax of today. Right, there was no podcast. I don't think he was married to Kristen Bell. He was known for punkd.

I think at that point.

I think he had been on Punk and maybe had done sort of some movies. So then you see Erica Christensen, who is who I knew the Bestroom swim fan. Interestingly, the guy who plays her husband Sam, I.

Think he was right, Matail Right.

He's relatively unknown when he was on this, but now you.

Recognize him immediately because he's on Handmaid's Tale.

So Manica Potter, who plays Adam Braverman's wife, is I know her best because of con Air.

She was Nicholas Huge's wife and.

In the sort of courtyard. It's amazing.

We'll get it that.

All the performances are incredible.

May Whitman plays Lauren Graham's daughter, and you know her because you know her from Independence Day. She's the president's daughter. And also I loved her. She's a child after right, So she was in this movie One Fine Day with George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer and it's actually like a great wrong som But anyway, that's the thing about this cast, right, I don't know if you were doing that, Daniel, where like I know that person, I know that person. I know every single person on here.

It's amazing and not one of them bothered me.

Not so true, none of that. None then bother me.

And coming from Bunheads, where you know, we had our shared feelings. This this cast, every single every single scene that I saw, I was like, great, great dormances.

It's so well done.

The thing that is a big bummer about Parenthood, similar to you know other shows, is it.

Always was on the verge of being canceled, Like it never became a huge hit, but people loved it, right, It.

Was the people that were watching loved it. It just never became this huge, huge hit, and it was always like.

Is it going to come back? Is it going to come back?

I think it ended up going what seven is because seven years? How many seasons do they do?

We're going to need Jackie to tell us that.

Yeah, Jackie, can you let us know how many seasons? This show went?

Five years, twenty ten to twenty fifteen years. That's it, one hundred and three episodes.

It's still a lot.

But yeah, it was because it.

Was always all ways on the it was always on the edge of getting canceled. So anyway, all right, so we go back.

So we start with Adam Braberman. So what did you so coming from just watching.

It for the first time.

Danielle, Yeah, tell me what you who you're loving, who You're intrigued by the thing about the pilot. It's so brilliant, is you you know every character from the pilot. You know a lot about all of them right out the gate.

It's kind of wild.

And you're you're gonna you're you just asked me that question, and I'm immediately I said, in my head, I was starting to answer it, and then I realized, like as I was answering it, it's literally everyone so Adam Braberman I love. I'm very intrigued by him because of his whole storyline, right he has uh that weird, kind of toxic y relationship with his dad.

Except that it's also very amazing.

There's something. Yeah, No, it's amazing because they're so close.

There's some problems, there's some there's problems.

There's definitely problems. His wife I'm obsessed with. I think she is so awesome and so kind of brings him down because he's kind of, you can tell a little bit of a dreamer, not a dreamer, but an optimist. Like everything we are strong and we are fine, and nothing's going to get in our way, and she's kind of like the realist, like, hey, there's something, there's something wrong with our son.

Yeah, and he's not.

The actor who plays the young boy is so good, amazing. Now he is not aptisic in real life.

But he's so good.

And then the sister is played by Sarah Ramos, who interestingly is on Chicago med now playing and I think a.

Person on the spectrum.

Yeah, and the sun just so that we can give him his flowers. His name is Expert Holder. He was amazing and he plays Max ironically, he's like amazed.

He's just so good.

And the whole.

Family is that.

So that's only like totally intrigues me because there's a lot that's there, and you can tell that there's like a balancing act between you know, husband and wife but also like their son. So there's a lot there that I'm very intrigued by. And you know, we already kind of alluded to it, but we find out at the

Oh and the way they do it, it's so gritty and real. That's the thing about Parenthood that I think I love is that it's just so nuanced. It's so real, like you're not It's nothing like we complained about with Bunheads, where like so over the top.

There's nothing over the top.

You can relate to. Everyone can relate to one storyline that's.

In there, and then you immediately know Lauren Graham.

Yeah, and then so then Lauren Graham and May's relationship is really interesting because of the I mean, the dad and how he's kind of a not a loser, but you know what I mean, like just not present.

A couple little things.

So the guy who plays the dad in this episode, May Whitman's dad, Sarah Braverman's sort of musician drug addict. The ex does not play him throughout the rest of the series. I don't know see that guy ever.

Again, I don't think we do it.

It's soon John Corbett from Sex and the City agent from Sex and the City.

Yes, they'll be playing the dad.

Why does that make me confused?

It's a little weird.

I actually didn't remember that somebody else plays the dad in the pilot, and that guy is like a recognizable sort of character actor. I also weirdly think that guy dated one of my friends or was married to one of my friends. Oh but he's I've seen him in a lot of shows, right. I think that originally when they did it, they just thought this was going to be a very one seen guy. But later John Corbett does do quite a number of episodes. So anyway, I digress on.

That, and then Okay, so I mean that's I cannot wait to see John Corbett.

As the Yeah, no, it's great, it's really it's really great. I can't The character's name is escaping me, but it'll come.

Yes, but Barreon hemes and he's you're correct, is only for this pilot, And John Cabbott shows up in season two, episode fifteen, and he does ten episodes.

Yeah.

The thing that was so amazing is there's a scene where main women's character in Sarah almost character get arrested and yeah, you have to go pick them up. And the performance by May Whitmen is so unbelievable.

Like Lauren Graham. They are great together.

Everything you sort of love about Lauren and alexis Lorlion Rory. You get why Lauren Graham loves May Whitman so much because they have also an amazing chemistry right from the start where Lauren sort of you know, tells May Whitman's characters She's upset with her, and she goes, you know, May Whitman's like, it wasn't my weed, kind of trying

You're just like they seeople are incredible.

Yeah, And the one thing that I liked about you know, you can fall into the trap of always having to play a mother daughter relation ship on screen just based off of how amazing Gilmore Girls was. You know, this is a mother daughter relationship, but there's there's so much different than Gilmour Girls. I think even just the type of person the character that May is playing is so different than Rory.

Oh my gosh, beyond and Lauren Graham is not Laura Laion. I agree, she's not so different that it feels uncomfortable, right, Like she she really is Sarah Braverman, but there's something about her that's so likable. I don't want to criticize the v sweet, right, but I believe Lauren Graham is Lorlai Gilmore, and I believe she is Sarah Braverman.

I just don't believe she is that person in the C suite.

Yeah, no, I understand that.

I get that, by the way, So I laughed, I ain't really I'm not gonna lie with because So she goes on to State with this guy from high school, and guys, we're not gonna go through it like scene by scene. We kind of want to give you broad strokes about the episodes and what we think, because you guys are.

Gonna want to watch it and just enjoy it.

So she goes on.

So her sister sets her up with the guy from high school who clearly was her like ext from high school, who was a honkin high school. I think it's Michael'malley.

Michael Malley, Yeah it is, which was so crazy.

I was like, oh my god, Michael Mallie. No, he's awesome.

He's awesome. But like the whole point of it is is that he's not as cute as he was in high school.

No, and she goes.

Outside and totally rips onto her sister, which the thing is about the siblings are totally real siblings who love each other and can't look like it is and like her saying like, I know you're sexier, exist attorney. It's so relatable, right, You're just like, oh my god, this is every sibling relationship.

But did did I patch it correctly? That they were previously engaged?

So? I think they were high school sweethearts and he just gave her a rank.

I don't think they.

Were engaged like a promise ring or whatever, some kind of like class ring or some type of deal. But it wasn't you know, some kind of deal, right, I think they but they weren't engaged. Dad When they're having Chinese food, and she breaks down and realizes, like.

It's almost like she's judging this guy.

For being a barista and being bald when he's so sweet. I love that they hook up, right, because you're like, yeah.

I get it, this is it. I like him.

I had to do I did do?

Now were you befuddled by the mysterious condoms.

In the desk.

No, no, not really, I honestly didn't even.

It's funny how Michael Maley's characters like is your dad having an affair? And like, obviously Sarah Braverman is also like what are these doing here? So you know, just a little something to kind of make us go, well, what is there something going on?

If you don't know about it?

Oh no, oh, I didn't even catch that. I'm going to rewatch it. Like it didn't clock for me. I just I think it.

Was like.

That's the interesting thing about Parenthood too, is it it's dense, Right, there's.

A lot happening. It's not dense in.

An annoying way, but you wouldn't want to be like doing emails while you're watching it because there's so much happening. I mean, this episode is jam packed. Like we meet Dax Shepherd's character. He's obviously got this relationship with this very beautiful, sort of successful woman and he's like they're sperm in the free.

Oh my god, I literally, I I mean it was hilarious because I think he it was not a wake up call for him, but kind of was where he was like, wait, what is this chick doing and then he was just like, yeah, I'll have a baby with you in three years and and I like their storyline. There is something really fun.

Then were you just so, how did you feel you see Joy Bryant's character and you meet Jabbar?

Remind me who Jabbar is?

Uh? Did you get to the end this is he did reveal where he finds out he's a dad.

Oh my god, no, I totally remember this. The names are just throwing me off. No, I totally remember that he finds out that he's a dad.

So the sort of I don't know, you call it a red herring.

Or the like sort of.

Is Jack Shepherd, you know, sort of has this relationship and he's sort of a floundering musician, but he had a really good guy and we realized that he had a baby with a past girlfriend five years earlier that he never knew about. And so he meets his kid, and don't you love how he comes to the dinner and says that Adam Ramerman, Like you can tell they all go to Adam, right, he is the guy, He's the big brother that runs the family, right, and he's like, we have.

A oh my god.

Yeah, So lovely because Max comes out and wants to go to his baseball game.

Well, that's that's important. We were bearing. We're bearing that story because throughout this entire show, obviously Adam and his dad have a very very special bond over baseball, and Adam is trying to have his son, who the one that they find out is autistic, play baseball, and the son's just not jiving with it. He's like, I what,

Lot which he got fired from that he rejected.

Yeah, and and this, and Max is like, hey, it's baseball time, like and they all like just stop what they're doing, and they're like it's basebook.

You know, like, oh my god, let's go now.

I couldn't.

So I love the outdoor sort of family meals that they have. They definitely have one at Zeke and I can't remember the mom's name, but Zeke's wife Bonnie Badelia, And I can't tell if they were at Zeke's again or if they were at house, yeah I can, or if they were at Adam's house that time. But anyway, they have these great family meals they do. It's like, did you kind of get the like, oh my gosh, this is the ultimate family, right.

It's messy, but these people love each other so much.

Yeah, I did feel that way, and I just I love that they're all like together, but they're there. Their lives cannot be more different. That's what makes it really really fun. It's because even like the mom and dad, like the you know, the the zel like their storyline is different than you know, Adam and his wife.

Well, and Erica Christiansen who is married to Jules. She's obviously the bread winner attorney and he's sort of more of the.

Stay at home dad.

And the daughter likes the dad, like the dad the cutter meat. She wants the dad, which is so relatable I think for a lot.

Of like work, Oh yeah, I mean, I I yeah, I mean my son is is is attached to my head. But John's always like, is there gonna be a day that the tale wants me to like serve him dinner? And I'm like, one day, but.

It isn't imagine it was, or imagine Mateo was like so connected to the nanny, you'd feel like.

Yeah, for sure. But it's just like it's one of those things that all these storylines are so different, then no matter what stage of life you're in, you can relate to one.

And it's you realize that Zeke craik ty Nilson, I mean, for all his faults, he is a great dad because when Adam Braverman says to him, something's wrong with my kid, and at first, you know, Grandpa's like no, no, no, and then he's like he says, I need your help, and you just feel it where he's like he's basically like in right. These people are. They have their ups and downs and that times they're so annoyed with each other, but they're so in right.

They're just yeah, they're going to be loyal.

And even with Lauren's character, you know, she was away for a minute and then she's now back living with her parents, and it was just one of those things that they're like, yeah, we'll take you in, you know, like they are definitely you can tell, for as much as they got going on and for how much drama they have in each of their own lives, that they that they are a family and that they love each other and they're going to stick by each other.

They live in Berkeley, So for anyone from like the Bay Area, northern California.

It's so cool they live in Berkeley. The house is very Berkeley. They're very berkeley Ish, right, Like.

You definitely get the sort of like hippie granola vibe from.

Zeke and the Camille yep, Camil, And I think we're to.

Understand that maybe uh Dax Shepherd's character lives in Tiberon.

That really looks Tibberoni to.

Me, maybe soft Thelido kind of just to cross one of the bridges in a really cool place where that's you see that, I mean, I think that was definitely shot up here. When he meets Shabbar for the first time, you get excited to like join these people, right the pilot is so well done that you learn who these people are.

And you're like, Okay, I want to learn more about all these.

People, I'm it exactly and you're and you're you're so in and you're so like you feel like you're part of the family in a weird way.

Do you have a favorite? Is there anyone who're sort of like really like?

I think I like them?

Okay, well it's a two part answer to this question. I think I relate to Adam Braverman's storyline the most, with you know, like navigating life with a young kid and like the obstacles that you have with that and being a parent and you know that kind of stuff. I'm I resonate with his storyline, but I'm very drawn to Doax's, like, very drawn. I think there's something super fascinating about his storyline. I love him. I haven't seen much of him as an actor, Like I haven't seen the party.

You look different, don't you think Like he's looks like a little bit different. Maybe it's the long hair, I don't know what, but maybe it's just because he's so much younger.

What year was this again? So fifteen years ago?

Yeah, twenty ten, And I haven't seen projects that he's acted. And I know he was an actor or is an actor, but this, I'm like, I'm very very drawn to his storyline. I think, I like, I'm very intrigued and excited to see how it all unfolds.

I just love it all, like it's so so good and it's so funny, little like pivots. Danielle and I met with two people from the show we won't name because I don't know if they want us to name them, but and they were talking about doing a Parenthood rewatch. And it's like, I feel like, I want the Cat to do a Parenthood rewatch.

I want all of them to do it though, because that's like the like I want the I want Lauren on it, I want DAGs, I want Yeah, Peter, I want all of them. One thing I do I did. I don't know if you really when you watched, I realized it. And then our our producer Jackie put on our rundown and and I'm like, oh, that's so sad. At the end it said like in you know, Loving Memory of Norah was that?

Who was that?

So she was an NBC executive who died on location.

Oh yeah, I kind of remember that. Do you know why or how?

So?

She she died after collapsing while on vacationion in Berkeley. She she had said that she felt dizzy and then she collapsed, and then when she was she was obviously taking the hospital, and she was pronounced that at the hospital. Oh my god, I know, but imagine that's so that's so tragic, traumatizing, so traumatizing, but oh my god, I can only imagine. But I saw that at the end, I was like, oh, no, I wonder you know what

Oh that's so sad. I didn't Yeah, I didn't know that.

I didn't know who that was.

And I'm glad you looked it up.

It's interesting that I don't mean to quickly pivot from that, but like you can tell, they shot a lot of it, sort of some of the exteriors up here. I think they shoot most of the show in LA but they do come up I think from time, or they did from time to time to do sort of the you know, exterior sort of Berkeley, San Francisco Bay area or in shot.

And that's so funny because it's like that's your hometown.

Well, it's so funny. I'm gonna watch it differently than the first time.

I don't.

I mean, obviously I.

Cared, but I definitely am sort of like looking like in that exterior where they talk about where they were, Monica Potter and Peter Krawsold talk about Max having autism. I don't know if that was La or Northern California. That looked a little bit more like that was maybe shot in La.

Amy, I have a question for you, sure about this? They have a scene in Oscars Hamburgers that's did you ever go there? Because that's a true iconic place in Berkeley.

No, no, but I I love that scene. And also I think it's hilarious that he's making fun of Adam for uh.

Having a veggie burger. But there are things like that.

I mean, I think they I remember blurbally, but I'll pay better attention as we rewatched where they shot up.

Here, does they need to take a field trip to Oscars?

For sure?

Wait, larious, Oscar.

It's shut down?

Where was it? Was it on Shattuck? Where was it?

We look up the address?

Let me see and I will say, if you want a great burger in Berkeley, go to Bongo Burger, which is like it's a great Burger. It's like a little there's a I think there's two locations, but one on Telegraph and one on North side. Berkeley is cool, right, I lived in Berkeley for a long time.

It's shatuck.

I said that, whoa, Berkeley is a cool, cool, cool town.

It really is. My mom grew up in Berkeley.

So the fact that they're from Berkeley, and like I said, they they they are real Berkeley like Seek especially and Camille and the house and the whole thing. So anyway, uh, I I don't know what else to ask Daniel, there's any other standouts or sort of like I'd love to have you rate it, like I'd love to know.

What you Oh, I like, uh, this is a nine point seventy five.

Yeah, for me, it's a ten. It's a tent of a pilot. It's a tent.

It's like I'm not giving for a pilot for sure, Like it is definitely way high up there. I think I'm only docking point twenty five because I need to. I can't give a ten out of the out of the gate. Like I'm like, I gotta I gotta like keep it going.

It's interesting how I think something that's kind of interesting for me is Gilmour Girls was on for seven years, This was on for five.

And how amazing this is.

And yes, people obviously bring up Sarah Braverman to Lauren all the time, even yeah Alex Cooper did, but that she because she still is Laura LII. Right, You're like, okay, you still are a Laura Li But yet she played this.

Sarah Braverman and she's amazing in it. Like it's just weird.

How like she has this part which she's equally as good at, like honestly, and the character is equally as amazing.

How just she is more Lareli.

I don't know what makes one show become that, you know what I mean?

Am I making sense what I'm sort of saying.

Yeah, you totally makes sense. I will say, like I, you know, had my thoughts about butt heads and whatnot, and look whatever. It was an entertaining show, but at its core it did annoy me. And it was kind of like just it was it was homewark watching it.

I'm going to it's not this, It's not this, right, it's not Yeah, it was homemark watching it is a great way to describe it, because I last last night when I was watching this, I'm like, dang, I love this show.

Yeah, and it took everything in me. I watched this last week and it took everything in me to not watch the second episode.

I was like, do not.

Watch it, do not watch it, do not watch it. Like that is the effect Gomere Girls had on me, where I just kept wanting to watch.

I'm telling you, I get it.

I mean I and I'm not going to jump to the end, but I will just in this little tibo. I can't remember if I told you, Like I was so upset when this show ended, for many reasons which I will not reveal, Like I remember telling Ryan Seacrest about it and fully crying, like fully fully crying, and of course Ryan got out the camera, so there is footage of me just for breaking down.

But like, I really got connected to these characters, right, Like, yeah, you really really really like these people. For sure, there's not one of them. I think you said this is not one of them.

I don't like, yeah, I'm here, I'm here for it all.

You're even gonna like Seth the ex husband of Sarah Braverman, especially when it's John Corbett.

I just cannot believe it turns into John Corbett.

Oh yeah, John Corby being awesome.

I love John Corbett.

I did too, I just wouldn't expect him. I don't know.

I can't wait for it and just like that to come back.

I love John Corbett.

So I do give this a ten. I'm trying to think if there's anything else. Oh, you know, the Gilmour connections. Obviously, Peter Kraus and May Whitman were in a Year.

In the Life, obviously, Lauren.

There's a lot of others that pop up.

I think Rose Abdo's in parenthood.

Jason Ritter is definitely in parenthood. Who was he was in a Year in the Life. There's a few other sort of Gilmore Girls things that show up.

This is definitely a breath of fresh air in comparison to Bunheads. This is I am so happy you guys. I'm so happy that you voted for this.

Now I will say Mazel, Yes, it's great. Mazel is also really good. Like there's very little to criticize about Mazel, like there is Bunheads. It's totally different than this. So yeah, I mean this is you get the you get the Friday night light vibes, you get the this is us vibes. You get sort of what we got going here. I'd call it a drama with bits of comedy. It's definitely not even a dramaedy, right, It's like it's a drama.

Yeah, well, I mean the next episode, episode two, Man versus Possum. I love possums. I think they're so cute.

And that's the thing, there's always there's always like two bits.

Of comedy in the of them.

Anyway, I loved it. I'm so glad we're doing it. Hopefully you guys like how we're kind of doing it. We'll give us any notes of how you want us to talk about it.

But I think next week we'll dig.

Into the storylines too, because they're all so relatable. I mean, I think Erica Christiansen and Joel Sorry to blur the actors names of the characters and things. That is going to be my problem during this because I'm definitely gonna like to say the actor and like Monica Potter, Oh my gosh, you's so good a mes Yeah, no, it's just great. Just wait, it's crazy, all right? Next week more parenthood.

Hey everybody, and don't forget follow us on Instagram at I am all in podcast, and email us at Gilmore at iHeartRadio dot com.