It seems fitting that my 2000th post on the site would be a bit of a love letter to one of the best shows on TV – PARENTHOOD – which returns to NBC tonight at 10/9c for Season 5 on an all new night, with all new stories sure to make me laugh, cry, and fall a little bit more in love with everything about the show as time goes by.  

First, a recap of Season 4 – Monica Potter’s Kristina (I’m still mad at the Emmy folks for not nominating her, let alone not having her win, because GOD, she killed me last season) found out that she had breast cancer, and at the end of te season, found out that she was in remission, so over the course of the season, we got to see some gut-wrenching moments between her and Adam (Peter Krause), Haddie (guest star Sarah Ramos), and to a lesser degree, Max (Max Burkholder), as well as the extended family.  As for Sarah (Lauren Graham) – she and Mark (Jason Ritter) tried to make it work while she also fell into a relationship with Ray Romano’s Hank (who ended up in Minnesota even after Sarah chose him), while her kids dealt with some love and loss themselves.  Amber (Mae Whitman, the best crier on TV, hands down) fell in love with Ryan (Matt Lauria, who is perfect), only to realize it was moving a little too fast, though it seemed by the end of S4, they were reunited and feeling good, while Drew (Miles Heizer), oh Drew, was left to deal with the fact that his rekindled relationship with Amy had resulted in a surprise pregnancy that ended in abortion and heartbreak.  Still with me?  Zeek (Craig T Nelson) found purpose in mentoring veterans and Camille (Bonnie Bedelia) was woefully underused.  Joel (Sam Jaeger) decided it was time to get back to work, and Julia (Erika Christensen) decided to stay at home (after a mistake at work nearly cost her her job) with her two (awful) children Sydney (Savannah Paige Rae) and Victor (Xolo Mariduena).  And finally Jasmine (Joy Bryant) and Cosby (Dax Shepard, aka THE BEST THING EVER) raised Jabbar (Tyree Brown) and fought about Jasmine’s mother, only to realize a new baby was on the way.  Whew.  I’m exhausted, and that was literally only 15 episodes.  Can you imagine what stories they can possibly tell us in their new 22 episode 5th Season?

Well, if the season premiere is any indication, there is SO MUCH COMING.  We start the new season 8 months later – the Crosby/Jasmine baby is on its way, Kristina is still in remission and wants to get back to what she loves so much: politics, much to Adam’s chagrin. Sarah seems to have found another way to make money, this time as a building manager whose tenant (DROP DEAD DIVA’s Josh Stamberg) is a lot of fun. Drew isn’t keeping in touch with his mother like he should, so a great brother/sister scene between him and Amber sets everything right in the world (this small scene is a perfect example of what PHOOD does best – it’s quiet and small compared to the big dramas we see left and right, but it all makes sense).  Amber, meanwhile, has been dealing with having Ryan re-deployed and what it’s meant for their relationship (there’s tension that is killing me). Max has a new friend (a familiar face), Sydney and Victor aren’t trying to kill each other, and Nora’s getting cuter as the days go by!  But the big story so far, and one that the premiere has me so worried about and invested in, is that Joel has been working to sell a big account, and Julia is trying to get back into the work force, as well – but to Julia’s shock, the contractor Joel’s working with is the stunning Sonya Walger (LOST, Penny, my constant).  We’ve seen the jealousy play a part in their relationship before with Erinn Hayes’ horrid Racquel, but this time it feels like something else.

PARENTHOOD has consistently been that show that more people should be watching, and now, at the beginning of the season, there is no time like the present to get involved.  The show does a great job of re-introducing the characters, so you understand this world right away, and the premiere filled me with what can only be described as joy combined with apprehension, and then supported it with an uplifting feeling while also causing me all kinds of tension.  What other show does that????

To say anything more would be to ruin the joy of watching the episode play out, but I will leave you with this tidbit – if you were worried that I didn’t mention tears in my preview of tonight’s episode?  Fear not.  They showed up, and there were plenty of them!

Check out a gallery of pretty cast pictures, and some kind-of-spoilery episodic shots from tonight’s all new episode.