Carstairs Considers....: TV Show Review: This is Us

Monday, September 11, 2017

TV Show Review: This is Us - Season 1

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Strong writing, acting, characters

Cons: Any cons are minor overall

The Bottom Line:

Compelling drama

Characters that make you feel

Glad I changed my mind

“I Think I Skipped the Montage.”

I had no plans to start watching This is Us last fall despite being fans of several people in the cast. What I’d heard of the premise didn’t intrigue me at all. Then I started hearing that the show was going to make you cry each week. Sorry, but that’s a hard pass.

Then I went home for Thanksgiving and my brother and sister-in-law were raving about it. They praised it enough that I had to give it a chance. Before I knew it, I was hooked. We even got my parents watching it. That’s how good it is.

We meet our cast of characters on their 36th birthday. Jack’s (Milo Ventimiglia) wife Rebecca (Mandy Moore) goes into labor early with their triplets. In Los Angeles, Kevin (Justin Hartley) quits his job as the star of a successful sitcom after having a mini breakdown. His twin sister Kate (Chrissy Metz) finally decides to start losing weight and goes to a support group where she meets Toby (Chris Sullivan). And on the east coast, family man Randall (Sterling K. Brown) finally tracks down William (Ron Cephas Jones), his biological father who is in the final months of a fight against cancer.

I know what you’re thinking, this doesn’t sound like a show Mark would watch. Exactly why I was going to pass. And you can already see where the waterworks are going to come in, and you’d be right. Partially.

And here come the reasons why I fell in love with the show. While these characters face serious issues, the show itself is very life affirming. The tears might come from hurt, but they are much more likely to come from the healing these characters are experiencing. Make no mistake, they are deeply flawed. But they are growing and trying to improve their lives. That growth is very moving.

And funny. While the show isn’t a comedy, there are some very real and very funny moments in the course of this season. It’s life.

In case you were wondering, yes, all of these characters are connected, a connection that is clear by the end of the pilot episode. That connection proves to be very powerful.

I mentioned that these characters are flawed, but they are trying to be good people. That makes a refreshing change because there are no heroes or villains on the show. Instead, there are people who are trying to be there for each other. Yes, they make mistakes. But when they make mistakes, the show lets us see why they made those choices. It doesn’t shield them from the consequences of those choices, but it makes them relatable since we understand the reasoning behind their poor decisions.

So far, I’ve been praising the writers and how they are creating the characters and storylines of the show. I do have a few niggles with it here and there. The biggest, to me, is an obvious fixation on Jack and Rebecca. A couple of episodes focus on them to the exclusion of the rest of the cast. Don’t get them wrong, I love the characters, but I feel it when the rest of the cast isn’t around.

And the cast! There is not a weak link in the cast, including the impressive number of kids that show up. The writers put everyone through their paces each week, and everyone shines. Even when they have monologues, they hit each note and truly mesmerize.

The result? The show earns each heartfelt moment in each episode. I hate it when I feel like I’m being manipulated into feeling something, but I never feel that way here.

Season 1 consisted of eighteen episodes, and all are presented here in wide screen and full surround. Extras include “The After Show,” a few minute discussion of each episode with various members of the cast.

Yes, you’ll need to grab some Kleenex tissues when you sit down to watch season 1 of This is Us. But it is worth it. There’s a reason this show dominated the ratings. If you haven’t discovered it yet, fix that today. You’ll thank me later. And if you’ve already discovered these characters, you’ll want this set to enjoy visiting with them again.

Season 1 Episodes:

1. Pilot

2. The Big Three

3. Kyle

4. The Pool

5. The Game Plan

6. Career Day

7. The Best Washing Machine in the Whole World

8. Pilgrim Rick

9. The Trip

10. Last Christmas

11. The Right Thing to Do