We know that Craig T. Nelson was the original choice to play Jay on 'Modern Family,' but why did he turn it down? Not for 'Parenthood,' as many have assumed.

It was all about the Benjamins, baby.

"I'm old enough to say it, I guess. [Money] was it," he told Access Hollywood."I really liked the script and I liked the people. I just said, 'You know what? I've been doing this too long.' We're in the middle of a cutback here, ladies and gentlemen, in Hollywood, and salaries have gone way, way down. ... I just felt disrespected to tell you the truth."

In other TV news ...

• Kevin McKidd revealed which songs will appear on the musical episode of 'Grey's Anatomy.' The actors will sing tunes made famous by the show, like The Fray's 'How to Save a Life' and Snow Patrol's 'Chasing Cars.' [TV Guide]

• 'American Idol' lost just 5 percent of its audience from last week during Wednesday's episode. That's good news, actually, because it retained far more of its audience from week to week than last year's edition. [TVLine]

• 'Lone Star' alums are slowly starting to find work again. The latest? Mark Deklin, who will play the new husband of Scott Caan's ex-wife on 'Hawaii Five-0.' [E! Online]

Countdown to Festivus on Dec. 23: On the eighth day of Festivus, TV gave us to ... eight elder statesmen (and women) reigning.

Like fine wine and George Clooney, the TV stars on our list of elder statesmen and women -- statespeople? -- have only gotten better with age. From Tom Selleck entering his fourth decade as one of TV land's sexiest men (and best mustaches) to Betty White entering her seventh decade as one of the tube's most beloved (and energetic) funny ladies, see our picks for TV's most enduring class acts.

'Parenthood' (Tue., 10PM ET on NBC) deals with family drama and generational conflict. Through all the dysfunction, one man is the rock-steady leader of the Braverman clan. That man is Adam Braverman -- father, husband, employee. But what happens when this "rock" finds himself in a very hard place?

[Warning: Spoiler alert.]

Adam (Peter Krause) is facing trouble at home and at work. He has a boss who doesn't respect him, a kid suffering from a developmental disorder, and an occasionally overbearing wife. Adam's eight-year-old son Max (Max Burkholder) has Asperger's syndrome -- a form of autism which makes it hard for him to interact socially.

When Adam and his dad (Craig T. Nelson) go to the supermarket, Max sees a stranger put seventeen items in the "10 Items or Less" checkout lane. Max starts patiently removing the seven extra items, one by one -- and over and over again. The annoyed stranger yells, complains, then snaps and calls Max a "retard." Which is when Adam also snaps -- and decides he's not gonna be a nice guy anymore.

Dressing up on Halloween can make you feel like a different person. If you pretend to be a vampire, or a cowboy, or a sexy nurse, then you take on that role for the night. On 'Parenthood' (Tue., 10PM ET on NBC), a couple plays dress-up for the evening. But then it leads to something real.

[Warning: Spoiler alert.]

After their son goes to bed, Crosby (Dax Shepard) and Jasmine (Joy Bryant) sneak downstairs to chomp on their kid's Halloween candy. They're still wearing their costumes: Crosby is daring stuntman Evel Knievel; Jasmine is Indian maiden Pocahontas.

The pair seems content, like they've recovered from their past history. Jasmine had a son with Crosby, but she kept this a secret for five years. She felt that Crosby was irresponsible and not ready for fatherhood. But now, the couple are back together again.

There's good parenting and then there's bad parenting. And then there's parenting that leads you directly into conflict with another family. All three of these options seem to be on the table during the season finale of 'Parenthood' (Tue., 10PM ET on NBC).

[Spoiler alert.].

(S01E08) "I am an irrational hardass with rage issues. Don't piss me off." - Zeek to Damien

First of all, a big Woot! that 'Parenthood' was picked up for a second season. That's awesome! And second, many thanks to Danny Gallagher for allowing me to take over the reviews on this show. Not only do I love it, but my daughter does, too, so it's always fun to watch stuff together.

On 'Parenthood' (Tue., 10PM ET on NBC) a father attends his son's birthday party, but things don't go exactly as planned. Absentee dad Crosby (Dax Shehard) shows up for son Jabbar's birthday. But Crosby has missed most of his kid's childhood, and his extended family is not exactly pleased when he arrives at the party.

Watch the video after the jump.

(S01E07) "Would you boys like to come over for a play date?" - Yoga girl to Crosby

I love 'Parenthood.' Yes, there's a lot of people to keep track of, but it's all good. The show has some great players, but really, all I need is Peter Krause and Lauren Graham. And Dax Shepard and Jason Ritter. He reminds me of his dad, which makes me both happy and sad, but mostly happy.

The kids on this show are awesome, too -- Max Burkholder, Mae Whitman, Tyree Brown ... ok, since I'm filling in for Danny, I'll stop crushing on all the actors and get to the review. Follow me after the jump.

The drama 'Parenthood' (Tue., 10PM ET on NBC) is all about family -- in case you couldn't have guessed that already from the title. But sometimes, parenthood can take many unusual forms. On the latest episode of the show, Crosby Braverman (Dax Shepard) introduces his son to his parents (played by Craig T. Nelson and Bonnie Bedelia). Things don't go necessarily as everyone might want, but that doesn't mean that things go badly.

Watch the video after the jump.

They never actually said the word on 'Seinfeld,' but it was all out in the open on 'Parenthood' (Tue., 10PM ET on NBC). Well, sort of.

"Under no circumstances are you to talk to Drew about the ...," said Sarah, with her dad Zeek ending the sentence, " ... masturbation."

It's just awkward all the way around, especially when Zeek actually did talk to Drew about it, while Drew was in the shower. "When it comes to testosterone, the Braverman men are blessed with an abundance of riches," yelled Zeek through the shower curtain.

Thanks, grandpa, good to know. Now please leave.

(S01E03) "You know Crosby, however hard you think it is having a kid, just double it." - Adam to Crosby as Crosby cleans kid puke out of his car

This week, things have slowed down a bit, compared to the land speed record that last week's episode achieved. And the show has started to grow on me a little bit.

It scored some great moments of sentiment and honest drama that were endearing and drew me a little closer to the characters, but it's still lacking in that other, all important area of the dramedy: the comedy.

(S01E02) "I can deal with anything: disease, illness, broken bone. Give me something I can fix, but I don't know how to deal with this. This is for life." - Adam to Kristina after learning that Max has Asperger's Syndrome

Ferris Bueller once said, "Life moves by pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

And while that bit of movie trivia is actually true (unlike say "Stupid is as stupid does" or "Pain don't hurt"), if actual life went at the speed that 'Parenthood' does, stopping to look at it would require some kind of anti-lock braking system.

(S01E01) There are moments in 'Parenthood' that are so uncomfortably realistic that you might think it's a re-telling of the PBS series 'The Loud Family.' Yes, it's that real in some ways, but is it entertaining and inviting? Would you want to keep up with the Bravermans week after week? That depends. The show offers promise, but it's a jell-o that's yet to be jelled.

It would be hard for any series to go wrong with Lauren Graham and Peter Krause and Craig T. Nelson top-lining the cast. They all acquit themselves well, although the characters are all under more pressure than a pressure cooking with a faulty lid. You just sense explosions around every corner. And that's the way it is with a lot of pilots, especially where there's so large a cast.

After what has been a long time coming, NBC's new version of 'Parenthood' is finally premiering tomorrow night. And if the anticipation wasn't already high, TV Squad received an unexpected, very nice little invitation to tune in from Opie himself. Or Richie Cunningham if you prefer.

Yes, that's right, Ron Howard, the executive producer of 'Parenthood,' did a handful of shout-outs to the media and we were included. Aren't we special?

Here's a play date you won't want to miss: NBC has just announced the premiere date for its new midseason drama series 'Parenthood.'

The one-hour dramedy, from the creative dream team of writer/producer Jason Katims ('Friday Night Lights') and producers Ron Howard and Brian Grazer ('Arrested Development') will debut in a post-'Chuck' slot on Monday, March 1 at 9PM (this is after both the 'Heroes' season finale on Feb. 8 and the Winter Olympics have aired).