The Marriage Ref and Parenthood

Is anyone else finding the new NBC 10 p.m. line-up to be great? Who am I kidding, you are all in grad school so none of you has time to obsess over TV like I do. It's ok, since you are all busy training to be lawyers and archivists I have taken it upon myself to watch enough TV for the four of us.

First off, I should clarify that there are really only two new NBC shows picked up as mid-season replacements for the Jay Leno show that I have actually felt compelled to watch. Parenthood is the first show, it is on Tuesday nights at 10 p.m. and Ron Howard is a co-executive producer for the show. I for one really like Ron Howard for reasons such as Arrested Development, so I was kind of excited/intrigued when NBC started toting a new Ron Howard show. Don't expect Arrested Development, this show is a family drama, not a comedy. I could give reasons for why I like it, but the more shallow reason is that the series takes place in Berkeley, CA. Now, obvi it doesn't film there or if it does it films in places of Berkeley I never explored, but the set still very much gives a Berkeley feel that I so long for. It also has a pretty recognizable cast, including Laura Graham (Gilmore Girls) and Mae Whitman (Arrested Development, State of Grace). Those are just my two favorites, there are tons more but I care to highlight the two I most enjoy seeing back on TV. In a nutsehll, the show is about parenthood (zing) and I would liken it to a less comedic but still enjoyable Modern Family. It depicts several styles of parenting and follows a family of four adult siblings and each of their expereinces/struggles in parenting.

Next is the Marriage Ref, on Thursday nights at 10 p.m. after the NBC two hours of comedy block containing Community, Parks and Recreation, The Office, and 30 Rock (all worth viewing). This show is hilarious. It is a kind of reality talk show, basically married couples share a current argument they are inbattled in, and after hearing both sides celebrity judges wieght out the issue, but the Marriage Ref will determine who is in the right and who is in the wrong. The arguments are so ridiculous, and the celeb panel is great at making the arguments ridiculously funny. I can't even really adequately explain the show, but I suppose Ricky Gervais did a great job summing it up when he said: "I feel like someone's put crack in my drank! What is going on? This is the weirdest show I've ever been on."