(S01E06) "Wow, Crosby, you're a dad." - Zeek, after hearing about Crosby's son for the first time

I'll admit it. 'Parenthood' has been a hard show to read. It tries very hard to connect the audience with the human drama of the American family, but at the same time, it expects you to understand and appreciate every problem they come across.

It drags you through their cornfield of sadness and expects you to come out feeling as happy and reserved as the characters do in the end. It makes me wish life actually worked this way. Then it just makes me angrier.

(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.

(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.