Forever young

Day 428

Only one more day of work and I finally get a day off. I also only work for a few hours tomorrow, so I'll have plenty of time tomorrow afternoon to. . .come home and play Final Fantasy XIV all night. Argh! I know what I'm doing is bad, but I can't help it. I'm still enjoying the game right now and I'm eager to see all the abilities and places I can unlock as I progress. The story itself is not awe-inspiring, but the graphics, the style, and the interface are all wonderful. I'm still too early in (because MMOs are glacially paced) to determine whether the combat is as satisfying as I'd prefer, but I have high hopes. 

I wish that I had the ability to discuss critically other things that I spend my time on. I've been watching the show Parenthood a lot over the past several days, for instance, but I'm not sure how to begin to discuss it. I'm on season 3 now and I've decided I like it a lot. It's a show that features a lot of familiar faces for me but beyond that it's just a really great show that focuses really heavily on interpersonal relationships. As I've discussed recently, this is just the kind of thing that I am into. I tend to enjoy a lot of shows that feature ensemble casts like that. Mae Whitman in particular is incredibly adorable--she's evidently the same age as me, which is pretty interesting. I of course recognize her from Arrested Development and the Scott Pilgrim film. 

Whitman is far from the only familiar face on display in Parenthood, though. Adam Braverman, one of the leading roles, is played by none other than Peter Krause, who I recognize most as Nate Fisher from Six Feet Under, a series I'm quite fond of and have watched multiple times. It's also an ensemble drama, although its subject matter is decidedly darker than Parenthood's--no small surprise considering it was an HBO show. I really enjoy his performance on both shows. Adam is a responsible and driven family man, whereas Nate is an aimless, conflicted guy coming to terms with being in his mid-30s. 

Of course, there's also Lauren Graham who was best known for her longtime role on Gilmore Girls. I've never watched the show, but I like her a lot and enjoy her performance on Parenthood because her character is so neurotic and self-defeating but creative and smart. These qualities, positive and negative, are reflected by her daughter, played by Whitman. The patriarch of the Braverman family is played by Craig T. Nelson, who I recognize most from the TV series Coach. I used to really like that show even though I'm not at all interested in sports. I'm pretty impressed with the subtlety and nuance of his performance on Parenthood. His appearance on the show almost seems like a parallel to Ed O'Neill's appearance on Modern Family--two 90s sitcom leads (with O'Neill playing the part of Al Bundy on Married With Children) playing the role of grandfather on family-oriented 2010s shows. I've not seen Modern Family but I may give it a try one of these days.

Dax Shepard is also on the show as the irresponsible Braverman brother--and I am vaguely familiar with him from a couple of films, but I can't recall which ones. He does a good job in his role but I have to wonder if he wasn't a little typecast in this case. Still, he certainly does fit the part. The show in general can be very melodramatic but I still enjoy it a lot. I'm not particularly interested in family dynamics per se, but I do enjoy shows that feature a lot of character interaction--and that's pretty much all this is about.