Just take a look at what surrounds it......
Writer-Producer Dan Fogelman's intricate deft weaving together of a family's past and present stood out by itself, an oasis of heartfelt drama in a churning sea of Network forensic gore.....
Try to remember the last cascade of network promos you watched on an average night....for us, it plays out like an endless loop of autopsies, serial killers, shootouts, explosions, deadly fires, dire medical emergencies, terrorist plots, ripped apart rape victims and the standard superhero smackdowns consisting of one spandexed stuntman throwing another one up against cars and buildings. In most of these network shows, the greatest challenge for actors is having to crouch at the knees for long periods of time while they poke their surgical gloved fingers into the wounds of various corpses.....
So no wonder millions of viewers rushed to embrace "This Is us", with its gifted ensemble cast and superbly crafted scripts mixing equal parts of heartbreaking troubles, incisive wit and characters you immediately relate and warm to. And not an autopsy, explosion or serial killer in sight.
We're not blue-sky dreamers here....we're old enough and semi-wise enough to realize that cops, lawyers and assorted crime-fighters have been TV staples since television sets used to be 98% furniture and 2% picture tube. But good old fashioned drama also was also in the mix.....and these days, in this age of instant gratification, karate kicks, punchouts, car crashes and murder victims serve as far easier attention-grabbers for network shows.
When NBC execs finally stumbled over the zeitgeist at work here, they quickly renewed "This Is Us" for another two seasons. Inevitably, and for the BQ, not a bad thing, the networks will probably temper their great romance with dissected bodies and start slapping together some "This Is Us" wanna-be's and copycat series. Some will be okay, some not bad, some excruciating beyond words....let's just say, at this point, we''ll give them credit for trying.....
For now, we'll continue to stop in every Tuesday night to thoroughly immerse ourselves in "This Is Us"....and special praise for Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore as the parents of the show's diverse clan.....every week these two cut to the bone of their characters and well earn the heart tugs that Fogelman and his fellow writers create for them. (The casting of Moore is particularly brilliant, an enormously sympathetic actress not afraid to delve deeply into the flaws of the family matriarch. We're guessing multiple Emmy awards are in her future....)
No one had to guess about this show roaring out of the gate....and BQ gladly bestows a full 5 stars (*****), a FIND OF FINDS.
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