cali1981

I didn't realize that. Maybe the writers can repair some of the damage they've done to the show's reputation by addressing the major flaws that have been evident this season. Maybe not though.

After cruising through the latest posts here, I've realized, like many of you, what the show's major flaw has been. In season 1, the Bravermans, while a bit overpowering, were, nevertheless somewhat grounded in reality. As the seasons have gone on, however, the Bravermans (all of the them) have become obnoxious, arrogant shits with an overwhelming sense of entitlement. From Zeke to poor shlemiel Crosby, they are self-centered boors who, as others have stated, handle external disagreements by bulldozing or out shouting those on the other side until they submit out of sheer exhaustion. IMHO, Kristina is the worst, even if she married into the clan. Her myopic view of her role and her son's behavior is abysmal and annoying to watch. Maybe Monica Potter is a good actress and perhaps it's the character she plays and the lines she has to read but I cringe whenever she occupies any portion of the screen. Once the shows says adios after tomorrow, I'll be interested to see what new roles Potter scores and how she plays those characters.

The Autism\Aspergers subject is not the only sensitive subject that Parenthood has not handled entirely well. There were aspects of Kristina's battle against cancer that were off the mark, something I know from hard, personal experience. I won't get into too much detail but I couldn't help but laugh at Kristina being wheeled into the Operating Room in full make up, no head cover and not one IV hooked up. That was mild compared to how some other things were portrayed. For all of very good and realistic issues that that the show has dealt with well, there have been others that were bungled in various ways. The situation with the Max, the school, Dylan and Kristina is clearly the most epic fail and the writers and show runners should be ashamed of themselves for airing such nonsense.

She's also putting other children at psychological and potentially physical risk. There have been so many examples of why Kristina is the last person on earth to be running this school but in the mythological Braverman galaxy, she's perfect for the job. I understand taking some dramatic license but the show has veered far off the track and, hopefully it's not influencing peoples' thoughts about Aspergers, special needs kids, charter schools and just plain old good parenting. Early in the show's run I can recall many in the know admiring how it handled the issue of Aspergers and autism. I wonder what they would say now.

Nah! What will die is inane, sloppy writing and an arrogant sense that the viewers will swallow whatever drek the production team is willing to put on the air. Good riddance!

After last night's horrific episode, it's definitely time for Parenthood to call it a day. Kristina makes me seriously ill and the whole charter school story arc seems like something in an alternate universe in which, as the article noted above says, someone with literally no background, training or qualifications in the general education field, let alone the special needs area is able to get a license from the State of California and the City of Berkeley to open and operate a charter school? Hogwash! In California, opening a charter school process is long and very expensive process which is closely regulated by the state. I don't even know where to start in regard to Max and his horrible behavior which Kristina and Adam not only do not try to modify but, as happened last night, actually encourage. Kristina's actions throughout (like having Dylan at the house constantly) have proven time and again that she's unfit to run a school of this kind. Are we to believe that none of the kids report to their parents anything about the Max-Kristina show? I agree with many of the prior comments about how in the real world, the hostile,aggressive and demeaning actions by Max would have, regardless of his having Aspergers, led to serious consequences in any normally run school. What the hell are the writers trying to prove? What point they trying to make, that anything goes because you're a "special" child? Whatever happened to Dr. Pelican, the renowned expert on Aspergers? Why hasn't he been a presence in Max's situation. If the Bravermans could somehow pony up enough money to get through the charter school creation process, surely they could find a way to afford the person who could make an impact on Max. Do they not have any health insurance? I doubt it. The show runners have really screwed this up and, even though I've watched the show from the beginning and have admired it, it's lurched from a pretty solid reality based foundation to insane flights of fancy. I'll miss certain aspects of the show after it closes out next week but I will not miss the Max-Kristine-Adam folie à trois that has dominated it down the home stretch.

Exactly! I find it bizarre that Christina has made no real effort to dig into Dylan's "family" life? A 10 year old would have sensed that Dylan's evasions about the parents didn't ring true. Someone must be paying her tuition bills (or maybe in the magic Braverman world nobody is). When do you figure that Christina will figure all of this out or that she has now assumed the role of Dylan's surrogate mother?

A lot of interesting viewpoints on last weeks show and the series generally. Whatever Julia's faults are, Joel absolutely blew up their marraige and acted like a horse's ass. With the series ending, it will be interesting to see how the writers resolve their situation if they do at all. I've watched Parenthood from day one and have alwways enjoyed it. One exception has been Monica Potter's portrayal of Christina. I don't know if it's the writing, the actor's interpretation of the writng or (most likely) both but I've always found Christina to be overbearing and histrionic. She suffers from acute tunnel vision at times and how Adam puts up with her as well and as consistently as he does is beyond me.

Cathy does bring in excellent guest choreographers who create some beautiful routines, in many cases, much better than some of the slop that Abby and Gianna put out there at times. Mysteriously, however, (or maybe not so mysterious, eh?) CADC always manages to lose to ALDC. What do you suppose those results would look like if these "competitions" were actually real?

Thanks for the link. Good for Chloe. The ad was as much a testiment to her looks as it was to her dancing and was just wonderful. If it's true that Abby Lard Ass did indeed make a horribly inappropriate comment about Chloe's eye and her appearance, it only proves that she knows as much about true beauty as she does about first class choreography, Nada!

It was Tom but I don't think that you saw him actually pointing it. Rather he was shown attaching a silencer to the gun so you knew that Harrison was a goner.

You bet. Joe Morton is one of our finest actors and when he does Eli Pope launching into one of his scathing soliloquies on any manner of subject it's like listening to a Shakesperian villian on a great stage. Just amazing stuff.

Absolutely! It was one of the funniest and raunchiest lines that I've ever heard on a primetime network show. I was surprised that it got by the network suits. Bellamy Young was brilliant last night. She was a melding of the old "I've got bigger cojones than you" Mellie and the new mother in grieving "I don;t give a flying f**k" Mellie. Her conversation with Fitz about when he sees Olivia was a classic. The more he denied it, the more she kept slamming it in his face. Well played Mellie, well played.

Absolutely. Maybe as a follow up Abby can have Nia and the girls recreate the version of Uncle Tom's Cabin from The King and I.

How about this scenario: two of the moms decide that, contract be damned, they've had enough and leave, risking a legal action for breach. The scumbag producers come after them in a lawsuit and the moms then proceed, through their lawyers, to claim that, for the allmighty dollar, the producers are not only aiding and abetting child abuse but are actively encouraging it. That might put the company and the network in a very tenuous postion public relation and image-wise. Do they then admit that the entire show is fake and staged or do they still come at the families with all guns blazing? The network might take a terrible PR beating if that happened.

Did you notice that during the preview tease for next week, Christi was on her phone asking someone if Abby went to the judges and told them that Chloe should not win?

I'vw always thought that Ricky would win so no surprise there. I had Jessica second until Valerie did the blindness routine with Zach. My feeling was that it cold push her just ahead of Jessica who, IMHO, is a superior dancer. Frankly once the winner is chosen, where the rest of the top four (or even top ten) actually finish means absolutely nothing. They will all have choreoraphers, poducers, agents, etc, contacting them as soon as the tour ends and will be professional dancers. That, after all, is the real reward for being on the show. It buys a degree of recogniton that is priceless. Jessica will have people banging on her door, as I suspect will Zach. Valerie will as well but I not certain which direction her professional career will go. As far as Ricky, who again IMHO, was the clear winner, is concerned I'm not sure that I can see him in a featured role in the revival of On the Town. I'm assuming that he will a member of the ensemble. It's not a bad payoiff however, and like Evan and Jess before him, perhaps Ricky can become a Broadway dancer if thats what he wants.

Completely agree. Leaving her technical dancing skills aside, Maddie, emotionally, is a one dimensional stick figure. Her facial expressions range from anguish to pathos and that's about it. Nia projects far more inner strength and self-awreness than Maddie and it's very clear that Dr. Holly and her hubby have brought this young lady up with values and a core that will serve her well no matter what she chooses to do as an adult. My guess is that Nia will be far more successful in life than Maddie who has been artificially pumped up by Melissa and Abby, both of whom could play the evil stepmother in a Disney movie. Melissa is reprehensible and she was indeed complicit in Mckenzie being thrown under the bus. Just disgraceful. Maybe it's just ror the show but Maddie does not appear, at times, to give a damn about protecting her kid sister if it stands in the way of getting yet another meaningless award. How much attention does this child need? Once again Melissa is the real culprit here. The values that she is instilling in Maddie appear to be polar opposites of those that Nia has been taught. I feel very sorry for this little girl, who, if she does actually make it to the professional dance level, is going to face harsh realities that she will not be prepared far courtesy of her dirtbag mother and teacher. Ava did look disturbingly thin. Her rib cage was very visible and it was not a flattering look. You have to speculate about her eating habits and the possibility of a potential disorder now or in the future. You really have to wonder about what some of the parents on this show are thinking about.

Christi may be a blowhard but I have yet to see her throw someone else's kid under the bus to advance her own kid. Given that, I have more respect for her than that bag of human pus Melissa and, at times Jill. Melissa is a working definition of "unfit parent" as I suspect Maddie and Mckenzie will realize as they get older. I feel very sorry for them. Their childhoods are being stolen from them by their fame whoring mother.

I'm with you in regard to Allison. She is a brilliant multi-genre dancer but I too wonder about thrusting her into a ballroom-centrc show like DWTS. It will interesting to say to the least but I wouldn't sell her short. If you saw her on SYTYCD last night you got a glimpse of her incredible talent and sheer beauty.

I still can't believe that Dr. Holly let the dog collar and barking go because Nia allegedly was OK with it. Er, Holly, that's why you're the adult mother and Nia is the child whose sense of judgement is not yet fully formed .Chloe got screwed again, so what else is new. Frankly, I'd rather watch Chloe than Maddie any day. Chloe looks more like a dancer in terms of her physical build and natural grace. Even if she benefited from the "Maddie Treatment", Kendell was really quite good in her solo and the group dance. Of course Abby will now return to short changing her whenever Maddie is around. Abby may be a primary example of someone who should not be allowed anywhere near children, let alone teaching them. She is really quite disgusting.

I finally saw about 20 minutes of this train wreck and found it disturbing on so many levels. The kid is a mouthy, sarcastic brat. The mother makes Mama Rose from Gypsy look passive and the father appears to be a moron. This show stinks of naked exploitation and Lifetime should be ashamed of itself.

From everything that I've read, Cathy is not to dingbat that the show makes her out to be. She was offered a role to play and did it, in her own words, "with gusto". The real villians here are Lifetime and the sleazy production company that runs the show. You do what you have to make a buck but doing it by encouraging the pyschological abuse of pre-teens is pretty appalling.

Cathy's duet definitely but the group results, even with Chloe's flop I could see. Cathy's group was graceful and beautiful but Abby's group was much more raw and compelling to me. Sometimes the darker, moody routines create a more dramatic image. Chloe has become a very powerful presence and when she and Maddie are on their game, the group routines are tought to beat. I believe that there is speculation that many of these competitions are by and large staged for the show which could influence how the scores come out. Abby has been banned by some of the legit dance competitions so take that for what it's worth. She has also been seen on camera allegedly trying to get scores changed to favor Maddie or others. It's hard to tell what's real and what's not.

Derek's greatest talent on DWTS is his unique ability to highlight his partner's strengths and cover her weaknesses when he creates his routines. Jennifer Gray clearly had dance training when she was younger but what Derek was able to get out her was seriously impressive. Same thing with Amber Riley who had done some choreography on Glee but nothing like DWTS demands. A lot of people (especially fans of Maks after this past season) grouse about Derek being "the face of DWTS" but that's the reality. For the show, he's the optimal packge of good looks, great dancing, superior choreography and a finely tuned sense of who his celeb partner is and what she can do. There's a clip on YouTube of Misty Copeland performing a routine with three male dancers that was choreographed by Derek. It's a beautiful piece of work and shows how good Derek has gotten at it.