Grandpa Zeke

Parenthood airs Tuesdays on NBC at 9pm

Everybody has one. That relative, you know the one- maybe a crazy uncle, a flamboyant brother, an overbearing mother. Well, I have Grandpa Zeke from Parenthood.  My Dad looks like, talks like, IS Zeke Braverman. Hell, he even calls himself Grandpa Zeke! But this is not a crazy, flamboyant, overbearing character situation- as colorful as Zeke may be, the comparison is a good one.   Zeke is quirky, old fashioned, slightly grumpy, narrow minded, outspoken, yet extremely lovable.

If you don't watch NBC's sleeper comedy/drama series, Parenthood, you're missing out. I love it not only for the fabulous cast (Craig T. Nelson! Lauren Graham! Peter Krauss! John Corbett! Mae Whitman! Bonnie Bedelia! Dax Shepherd! etc., etc., etc.), but for the Bay Area setting, the fact that it has the ability to make me laugh and cry in a single episode, and that it has actually made me and Mr. C pause the show and say, "what would we do in a situation like that?"

 Last night was one of those episodes...

Lauren Graham's character is pretty much a single mom to Amber, played by Mae Whitman (remember the heartbreaking little girl in the mid 90's movie "When a Man Loves a Woman"...it's her! All grown up!), a high school senior who recently received the big nasty rejection letter from UC Berkeley. In her disappointment, Amber kinda goes off the deep end getting stoned and screwing around with the shaggy valet at her aunt's law firm,  generally just giving off that "fuck you" vibe every time she rolls her bloodshot eyes under her heavy black glasses. Follow me?  Well, long story short, Amber goes for a joyride with this sleazy, suspicious valet and well, you guessed it, ends up in the hospital after he crashes the car leaving her with a messed up face and some cracked ribs. Yet even after all the drama, Amber is still despondent, acting like she could give a shit about her future.

This is the point where we hit PAUSE on the TV at home.

You see, watching Parenthood together is a typical Tuesday night at our house. Mr. C and I have actually argued about some of the topics on this show so heatedly that one of us has had to leave the room (me), allowing the mood to simmer so that we can continue watching the show the following night with a new perspective. Crazy, I know. But I digress- during last night's episode when Amber is still pissing and moaning about her non-existent future, I turn to Mr. C in a near panic.

"What in the world would we do if that happens to one of our boys!!!???"

Answer- Grandpa Zeke.

This dude never fails to bring it all back around. If you haven't seen the episode, I won't spoil it for you but let's just say Grandpa Z brought Amber to tears and cracked through her tough girl Goth exterior and snapped her back to the cool, brilliant kid she is. But to know Zeke is to love Zeke. His lessons can be a bit unorthodox, a little dated. Let's just say, a little "Zeke-ish". At this stage in his life he seems to learn just as much from his kids and grand kids as they do from him. His advice can be harsh, but caring; insensitive at times, but well intentioned; caustic, yet meaningful. 

 We love the fictional Zeke, but we love our real life Grandpa Z more, and we are counting on you. 

 Counting on you for some profound words when you know who tries to hijack Mr. C's car with a six pack of beer, five friends, and no drivers license. We will need you to be at the big game when the boys don't win and their hearts and egos are deflated. We will need you when our parenting skills fail us and the boys don't want our guidance or advice.  You will need to be the voice of reason, the soft place to fall, the Zeke that took Amber to see the destroyed car that could have destroyed her life.

Everyone should be so lucky to have their own Grandpa Zeke. 

Craig T. Nelson as Grandpa Zeke on NBC's Parenthood