This is purely rumor from my perspective, but my wife, the celebrity addict, told me that Ray Romano is going to be Sarah Braverman's new love interest. So that immediately made me think of losing the curiosity of the future perspective. In other words, most of the show, is what will happen next? I can say with 100% accuracy, Ray Romano will not be a staple and we can expect him to leave. Why even get vested in him?

It’s all speculation… let’s see what develops this year

Hmmmm, just found this from television Blend

Because NBC’s Parenthood produces less episodes than other dramas of its ilk—with only 15 episodes set for the upcoming season—it always seems like an extremely long period of time between batches of new episodes. Luckily, with new episodes finally on the way, NBC has put together a short, but intimate look into the fourth season of the critically acclaimed drama.

Interestingly, in the video, all of our favorite characters pop up, but the family branch involving Sarah and her son, Drew, really takes precedence. We already know Ray Romano is set for a multi-episode arc in the fall, and his potential interference into Sarah and Mark’s relationship manifests itself in the video through a simple conversation where Sarah goes to him, instead of her fiancé, for advice. There’s also a pretty suspect blanket being folded in the scene, leaving a lot of questions unanswered.

http://www.nbc.com/parenthood/video/Parenthood-Returns!/1412936

While things seem a little more settled in other branches of the Braverman clan, poor Drew looks like he is headed for heartbreak, which fans should have seen coming a mile away. It’s kind of a shame, because Amy was pretty likeable and her caring family introduced Drew to a substitute father figure during Season 3. We’ll have to wait and see exactly how these dramatic plotlines pan out when Parenthood airs next month.

Parenthood Season 4 premieres Tuesday, September 11 at 9 p.m. CT. 

and this little promo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBd2KQcJTN0

A nice return for Parenthood and it started off just as I thought it would....Amber making an assumption, jumping into the sack and hooking up with the singer of the band from the recording studio and thinking it was a relationship. I get why Adam would come to her defense and throw out the band when he learned that the singer had a girlfriend. It is noble, but it shows how dumb he can be running a business. At least talk to her before you fly off the handle to see how she feels about the whole situation.

I like how Mark took the bull by the horns and talked his way into the Family Portrait. Up till now, the house rules states that any 'outsider' that wants in has to be married first. But Mark's argument was compelling enough to get in regardless, much to the chagrin of the Joel who  had to marry to get in. Haha.  Drew needs to wise up. If a chick keeps postponing returning from whereever she was for another 3 days. Things are over. The exchange between him and Amy at the end was very awkward. They are done for sure.

I like the idea that Crosby is going to allow Jabar to discover religion on his own and not mandate that he be told what to believe based on what his grandmother believes. As for Ray Romano's part in the show as Hank, it wasn't as bad as I thought it could have been. The 'connection' albeit subtle, was handled in a way that you would not see coming.....on her part that is. But on his part you can see there was jealousy when he learned of Mark. Why? I don't have a clue. Hank and Sarah don't even know each other and yet here he is, making cracks about Mark to make himself look bigger.

The part with Julia telling Joel that she is "just waiting to fall in love (with Victor)" says a lot. I don't like the character. He's rude and nonchalant about getting a family to take care of him. So, I can see why Julia would say that. This is what you call good writing.

The return of Parenthood gets 4 Stars.

Learning that there is only 15 episodes this season gets 0 Stars. Boooooo!!!!

Added Episode 2: Left Field

What the heck. 2 episodes this week? Am I missing something here? Not sure if it's actually 2 in one week, but it sure feels like it.

Last night’s episode was good and bad. I think the writing nails it on the head on relationships and other times, makes no sense whatsoever. I get Zeek’s and Camille’s attempts at keeping Zeek’s heart condition under wraps. For one, that’s Zeeks character. The other is a paternal thing. No sense in upsetting the kids if there’s no value in it.

On the other hand, I don’t understand Kristina and Adam’s view of hiding the cancer. Not only does that not make sense in this context, but Parenthood is family and both Adam and Kristina and the rest of the brood, more than share their relationships with each other. My only guess is filler for the show and wait for the OHMYGAWD big reveal we see so often in other scenario’s with the clan. You have cancer, you share what you can for support. This is totally out of character, especially for Kristina.

I don’t know how much longer Mark is going to put up with Sarah. I think he’s starting to see the true Sarah who is very flighty, neurotic and a maintenance nightmare to be on the same page with her constantly. I have a love hate relationship with Sarah. I think she has a good heart, but mentally she’s a mess and her actions even worse.

Oh and Amber cried… though it was held back and made sense this time.

With the news that Kristina has a lump, this will jump start her arc as the main focus for what I'm guessing will be a season long arc and because of that, it kind of made all the other stories seem irrelevant....for the time being. Zeek getting arrested and then taking a driving test didn't matter. Max losing his vending machine at school didn't matter. Sarah convincing Hank to do the Wedding gig didn't matter. It's not to say the stories weren't any good, it's just that they kinda pale in comparison to the 'Big' story.

Having said that, there were some small moments in each of those stories that stood out for me. I really liked the scene where Amber confronts Adam about how he was treating her and subsequently clearing the air. I liked that Max announces he is running for Student Body President of his school, which means he will get a nice arc for future episode. And I liked the scene with Hank and Sarah at the end when they were toasting the married couple, thus igniting something that is leading somewhere dangerous. Overall, a solid episode.

Interesting observations. I kinda of agree with your thoughts on Kristina coming to terms with a major blow. I get the feeling they are going to 'hide' the news for as long as possible, for whatever reason. But what we have grown with Kristina is information, especially between family members... flows... quickly.

Yes there is that initial blow. There is than denial. She is carrying some bone crushing news and besides Adam, who we saw told to knock it off with the positive, Kristina is bearing a huge amount of weight. Her lonileness must be killing her... metaphorically. To me cancer news is like news of death to someone. Despite the agonizing crush of information, you don't keep it in. Your surround yourself with family support.

The cat is now out of the bag with Amber. I'll be disappointed if they pull a friends and let this hidden news linger through the season.