photo: nbc
I Don’t Want To Do This Without You
Original Air Date: Sep 13, 2011
Karen Belgrad – Senior Editor
karenbelgrad@
thetwocentscorp.com
Welcome back for season three of Parenthood! Let’s first give special thanks to NBC for sticking by this quality family drama with a stellar cast.
If you don’t recall where we left off, check out our “Previously On…” piece to get all caught up! Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s dive right in to the current going-ons of our favorite family, the Bravermans.
Sarah/Amber- Sarah is turning forty and it’s not (cough) bothering her at all. What is bothering her is Amber’s declaration of independence. Amber is determined to move out and is over the moon over a decrepit loft that leaves Sarah with visible gag reflexes. I’m not sure where Amber is getting rent money from, but she is fashioning a new blonde, 80’s punk hair-do. I think I liked her old hair better. Amber declares she needs to move on after disappointing everyone and needs her space. Sarah’s also frazzled that Amber’s diploma is being held hostage by the school because of overdue library books. She causes a scene in the school library, but is calmed by Mark (returning guest star Jason Ritter) whom she thanks with a passionate kiss, to his surprise and her fluster.
At her 40th birthday party, the siblings gather and Amber arrives two hours late and goes to take off early to get her new loft keys. Sarah asks her to stay and have cake, but when Amber declines, Sarah launches into this season’s first impassioned speech about parenthood. She tells Amber that she’s sad her daughter is the first to leave (underlying message: leave home, not the party) and she’ll miss her. A wise Camille reminds Sarah that she too missed her mother’s 40th birthday, for a date. Mark shows up and gives Sarah the desired Amber diploma, which he stole.
Adam (with Crosby and Kristina): Adam’s been unemployed for months and is going stir crazy between boredom and Kristina’s harping. He’s so bored that he watches Charles in Charge and Knight Rider, makes paper clip guitar dudes, and rants at the very pregnant Kristina for accepting a permanent position at her job. He takes a job interview, but the position is far beneath his talents. Crosby suggests going into business together at an available recording studio, with Crosby handling the music while Adam handles the business aspects. Adam scoffs at the idea, but you can see the wheels turning. He apologizes to Kristina, who calls him out on his third beer (at Sarah’s party). As he visits the studio with Crosby, he reveals he’s been offered the menial job as well.
Crosby: Crosby and Jasmine aren’t back together, but are sharing parenting duties of Jabbar. When Crosby blows off a waitress (Sandy, played by actress Fiona Gubelmann) that he slept with, she stalker-ish-ly shows up at his house. Sandy deduces that he didn’t call because of Jabbar, so she introduces herself to Jabbar as Crosby’s “special friend.” Jasmine isn’t pleased to hear about the premature introduction, but reveals it’s OK for Crosby to date, because she is starting to date as well.
Haddie: Haddie and Alex are still going strong, but he opts out of attending a high school party with her to avoid the temptation of alcohol. At the party (which has tell-tale red Solo cups), Haddie cuts loose with some Jell-O shots. She’s drunk by the time Alex arrives to pick her up, he’s less than thrilled, and tells her it’s time to go home. The party’s host (Zack) intervenes and tries to stop Alex from taking Haddie home, so Alex punches him and ends up arrested. Now, call me crazy… but what underage drinking party calls the cops on itself to report a punch being thrown? Haddie calls Julia to bail him out. Julia says that Zack’s parents are pressing charges and Alex reveals that it isn’t his first offense. I certainly hope the parents face charges for underage drinking in their home!
Julia: Julia and Joel haven’t had any adoption interviews in six months. Julia notices the coffee (latte) girl at her work is pregnant. She finds out the girl is planning to give the baby up for adoption. I certainly hope this story is more interesting than it looks thus far.
And that’s it for the season premiere of Parenthood! What do you think about Adam and Crosby as business partners? Is this going to be another practically Drew-less season? Are we going to spend the entire year watching Jasmine and Crosby circle around each other? What would you like to see happen this year?
Line of the night:
Max: “I know there’s alcohol at high school parties. I watch Friday Night Lights.”
Well, you’ve got my TwoCents! So share your TwoCents, comments, and feedback below!
TheTwoCents 
I thought that was idiotic that he called the Police too. Wouldn’t he have been fined for under-aged drinking and for giving all those other kids alcohol? And what about his parents? They would have had a big fine too.
Agreed. There was a local case where the parents were held accountable (http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-deerfield_websep27,0,5643231.story), so that part rang a little false to me.
What song was playing during Sara’s bday party-they were all dancing to it?
Elvis Costello, Pump it up.
Shout out to Friday Night Lights – AWESOME!!!! Especially with “Alex” in the car.
Loved that line and the shout out, too. Made me smile that Max watches FNL.
And I agree with the above on the calling the cops on Alex at an underage party. Poor Alex getting a bad rap with Haddie’s friends.