I got the original Pilot script of Parenthood yesterday and since I know a few people would like to read the differences between the script and the version that aired on NBC I decided to write a little report. It mainly focuses on Sarah since this is the character I’m most interested in. I thought I would find out that they changed her character the most since Maura Tierney stepped out of the role and Lauren Graham got the part but other than a few minor scenes there were no additional or rewritten scenes. But they left some, in my opinion, important scenes out which would have helped to slow down the pilot and clear some things up.

Network Draft January 23rd, 2009

72 pages long

The script starts with Sarah moving out of her apartment in Trenton, N.J. so there is no scene of Adam running down the street. Guess someone watched Six Feet Under and got inspired. Sarah isn’t talking to Adam on the phone either she’s only yelling at the moving men and Drew, who’s described as a 12 year old in an awkward pre-teen period of having recently discovered his penis. Sarah is introduced as 37, pretty but worn and constantly on edge from years of single parenting.

The scene after the phone call with Sarah storming into Damian’s apartment is only on page 6 after Adam, Julia and Crosby have been introduced and in the script Sarah enters the apartment with Drew in tow. The scene itself is pretty much the same except for Amber saying “she’s all bark and no bite” instead of “her bark is worse than her bite”. Drew is going after Sarah as well for moving them to Philadelphia (that’s where the Braverman’s are living instead of Berkeley) and on top of that the car isn’t running and Sarah and Amber have to push it. I liked the script version better because it’s more over the top with Drew being in Damian’s apartment and Amber’s “You couldn’t have parked downhill?” to Sarah. It makes it clearer in which bad condition Sarah’s life is compared to Adam’s. At least before we get to know about his son’s condition.

The scene with Adam and Zeek fixing the pipes isn’t in the script at all. There’s a talk between Adam and Max about him not wanting to play baseball in the script but the scene is much bigger in the aired version. Crosby’s introduction is pretty much the same in the script and screened pilot. Julia is first seen packing her car for a picnic and going to Chuck E Cheese where she meets Racquel whereas in the aired pilot we see that Fairyland scene with the Graham family taking pictures and Julia doesn’t get to know Racquel until episode two I think. It’s also clear that Julia is annoyed by Racquel and doesn’t like her at all from the very beginning especially when she finds emails from her on Joel’s computer. She calls Sarah and Kristina who read the emails and consider the possibility of Joel having an affair. I’m glad they left that storyline out of the pilot, the episode was crowded enough.

The first family dinner delivers some awkward moments when Zeek is claiming that Adam has done enough for his company to get his sister a job and when Julia’s getting a client call and mentions to him that he’s not interrupting anything important leaving Sarah irked and saying “some things never change”.

A great scene they left completely out, much to my dislike, is Sarah and Kristina watching Katie, Crosby’s girlfriend, playing twister with Sydney.

Sarah: “Her ass defies every law of physics.”

Sarah and Kristina both unconsciously reach down and feel their own asses.

Kristina: “I’ve gotta get back to Pilates.”

Drew can’t help but look up from his Nintendo and gawk. Sarah notices her son noticing Katie which provokes her to say:

Sarah: “He has pubic hair.”

Kristina: “I’m sorry?”

Sarah: “Drew. Pubic hair, wet dreams, morning wood. The whole nine yards.”

Kristina: Oh…

Sarah: “The only official information he has about what’s happening to his body is from Trenton public education system. He needs a male role model.”

Kristina: “He has one. Adam. Adam will take him out, just the two of them.”

They probably left this scene and the talk between Adam and Drew out and decided to make it a bigger storyline a few episodes later. But it’s a pity this little bonding between Kristina and Sarah got deleted.

The talk between Adam and Drew takes place in a restaurant called “Leo’s cheesesteaks”.

Adam: “So how was your first couple of days at school?”

Drew: “Alright”

Adam: “Have you met anyone yet?” 

Drew: “Yeah, I have three girlfriends and a golfing buddy.”

Adam smiles at Drew, but won’t let him get away with that shit.

Adam: “Drew, Philadelphia is a great city. There’s history, there’s culture, the people are great once you get to understand their idiosyncracies…”
Drew: “I hate Philadelphia. I’m only here because my mom forced us to move.”

Adam hits his breaking point.

Adam: “You know Drew, I know we don’t know each other all that well, but you’re my nephew. You’re blood. So I’m going to give you a piece of advice. You’re here. You might as well try to make it work. If you keep shrugging like that, here’s what’s going to happen. The world is going to shrug back at you. You don’t like your situation, do something about it. Don’t just sit around with an annoyed look on your face. Take action. And by the way, this cheesesteak isn’t okay. It’s the best fucking cheesesteak in the world.”

Adam takes a big, messy defiant bite of the cheesesteak. Drew meets Adam’s eyes, certainly a bit shocked by his candor.

Adam: “So, you have any question about sex?”

Drew: “What?”

Adam: “You know. Sex. Girls. Safe sex. Condoms. Masturbation. STDs. Anytime you want to jump in…”

Drew: “We learned that all in Health.”

Adam: “Right, well. Good. Good.”

 
You gotta love the Braverman’s.

Amber hanging out with Haddie and her friends before they get arrested isn’t shown either in the screened pilot which would have been nice to see. I don’t like that Amber takes all the blame. In the script Haddie even tells her parents about what happened the night they got arrested at Sydney’s school play.

Haddie: “Can I talk to you for a second?”

Haddie looks to Amber. Haddie faces her Mom and Dad, this is the hardest thing she has ever done.

Haddie: “That whole thing that happened the other night wasn’t Amber’s fault. It was my fault. Amber didn’t even want to go to the park. I dragged everyone there because I’m totally into Evan Summerton. Totally. Amber had nothing to do with me smoking pot. She wasn’t smoking or drinking. I was. She tried to stop me. And I couldn’t tell you the truth because I feel like I’m supposed to be this perfect person to make up for all the weirdness around here. But it’s too much pressure. I’m not that person. And I can’t pretend to be anymore. Oh, yeah, full disclosure. This is mine.”

She hand them a bag of WEED.

Haddie: “Okay, I will give you some time to discuss my punishment.”

Haddie turns and walks into the auditorium trying to not shake. Adam and Kristina just look at each other.

Adam: “When it rains it pours.”

Crosby walks up late, sees the weed.

Crosby: “Cool. Where’d that come from?”

Sarah: “That will teach you to show up late.”

The weed leads to another great scene that got cut as well.

Everyone looks over to Crosby who is rolling Haddie’s pot into two joints.

Adam: “What are you doing?”

Crosby: “I think the most parental thing we can do right now is see exactly what kind of mischief Haddie has been getting herself involved in. From the look of things, I think it’s Columbian mischief. But there’s a slight possibility this could be Hawaiian mischief.”

Adam: “You are not smoking pot in this house.”

Sarah: “You really are turning into dad.”

Adam: “Who says I’m turning into Dad?”

Several: “Everyone.”

A joint is lit. It’s passed. Some smoke. Some don’t. Adam shakes his head, grows thoughtful, looks at Kristina, then he just says to everyone.

Adam: “Max is autistic. He’s got, what is that called…”

Kristina: “Aspergers.”

Everyone takes this in. Then Sarah reaches out and takes Kristina’s hand. Crosby puts an arm around Adam’s back. Julia takes his hand. Somehow a joint gets lit. Passed around. Adam doesn’t smoke, but he just sort of shakes his head, not judging it.

Kristina [to Sarah]: “I’m really sorry that I judged Amber like that.”

Sarah: “It’s okay.”

Kristina: “I’m glad you moved back.”

Sarah hearing this, fights emotion…

Sarah: “I’ve been waiting for someone to say that.”

Adam: “Dad said it.”

Crosby: “Like a thousand times.”

Julia: “You’re his little cutie-cutie.”

Sarah: “Oh my God, you’re still jealous of Daddy loving me more. You’re 32.”

Julia: “Old wounds, babe.”

Adam: “So Crosby, did you take care of that situation yet?”

Crosby: “Could you shut up?”

Julia: “What situation?”

Adam: “Crosby’s engaged.”

Julia: “You’re what?”

Sarah: “To the ass?”

Crosby [to Adam]: “Thank you.”

Adam: “But he also got a hot date set up with a hot dancer from NY.”

Crosby: “Shut up.”

Sarah: “What?!”

Kristina: “That is sick.”

Julia: “Men are jerks.”

Crosby: “Hey, I made the date weeks ago. It’s grand fathered in. And Katie and I aren’t even engaged. The only thing we know for sure is we’re going to pop a kid in three years.”

Sarah: “You are a blemish on this already screwed up family. At least I have one piece of good news. Sarah got laid.”

Julia and Kristina screech with delight!

Kristina: “What?! Was it Jim?”

Julia: “Or did the gas man drop by?”

Crosby: “Slut.”

Julia: “How was it?”

Adam: “Please, I don’t need to hear the details.”

Sarah: “Well, the parts all still work.”

And then BOOM! A knock on the door.

Julia: “It’s mom!”

Adam: “Damn!

Sarah: “Hide the shit, hide the shit.”

The drive with Sarah and Zeek to the police station is left out too which is a pity since I think it’s an important one with Sarah asking him about why he has condoms in his office drawer and her questioning if her plan to move to Berkeley has already failed.

Another scene that isn’t in the script is the one where Sarah takes advices from Amber for her date with Jim as well as her walking into the restaurant although the script is mentioning that she’s not a hundred percent used to heels. Sarah’s phone call to Julia is pretty much the same except for Sarah saying “For God’s sake, you’re married to a fucking Ken doll” which I found pretty funny. You can totally see the actor’s improvising a little bit, they’re basically saying what’s in the script but it’s not like Gilmore Girls style. And Lauren doesn't say "fuck" as much as the script suggests, she likes to substitute it with "freaking". Heh.

To get you an idea, Sarah talking to Jim on their date:

[original script]

"I’m just, I don’t know. You just kept this ring all the years and you’re funny and nice and I married a complete asshole with all kinds substance abuse issues. I’m such a fucking jerk. Oh God, I’m so sorry, this is morbidly embarrassing. You have to understand I’m out of practise with the whole dating thing. And even in my prime, I was really bad at it which I don’t have to tell you…"

[aired pilot]

"You just kept this all this time. That's so nice. You're so nice and funny. I married this guy who's, you know, like a tortured musician, and he has this drug problem. I was such a jerk to… I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I'm just, I'm not very good at the dating thing anymore, you know. And, I mean, let's face it, in my prime, I wasn't… I wasn't that good at it either."

By the way, Sarah climbing over the desk to get the condoms isn’t in the script at all. The script just says: Sarah goes to her father’s desk and takes out his sinful, extramarital Trojans, and rips one open. So I guess that was improvisation on Lauren’s behalf. Heh.

Before Drew discovers them in the kitchen there’s a little talk between Sarah and Jim.

Jim and Sarah lay naked in each other’s arms, breathing hard.

Sarah: “Wow, if we did this steady, I could save so much money on those spin classes.”

They lay there, she looks at him smiles.

Jim: “Listen, I want you to know that this is not my actual weight.”

Sarah: “It’s not?”

Jim: “I’m twenty pounds lighter than this. At least. I’ve just been badly deceived by this certain brand of protein bar. Turns out it’s got like four thousand calories per bite, and you really can’t blame me.”

She laughs, which makes him feel good.

Jim: “Hey, you think your dad still has that blackberry brandy?”

Sarah: “Let’s find out.”

Sarah’s “Hey honey, how was dinner with uncle Adam?” when Drew discovers them in the kitchen makes no sense since the scene was cut from the aired pilot and the dinner never happened. I will call that a continuity mistake.

The talk between Drew and Sarah when he reveals that he’s thinking about moving in with his dad actually doesn’t happen until the day after the kitchen scene.

Sarah: “About what happened last night.”

Drew: “It’s okay. I don’t want to…”

Sarah: “I know, I’m your mom, but I’m also a woman…oh God, delete, delete, delete. What I’m trying to say is that no matter what you saw last night, and no matter what permanent indelible mark it might have left on your memory, that I’m first and foremost your mother and that you and Amber are my number one priorities. Always.”

There’s a long beat, Drew seems thoughtful, then…

Drew: “I want to move back in with Dad.”

Sarah’s expression freezes. She is completely blindsided.

Sarah: “What?”

Drew: “Look, I’m glad you’re able to be with your brothers and sisters and your old boyfriends or whatever, but this isn’t home to me. I want to be back in Trenton. So I figure it makes sense.”

Sarah: “Drew, you don’t even know your father.”

Drew: “Yes, I do.”

I think this scene is too important to be cut out from the aired pilot. There was no talk between Sarah and Drew but I believe him walking in on his mother and her former boyfriend is just too important to ignore the scene completely like they did.

The gas station scene in the rain doesn’t happen at all in the script. Sarah takes Drew to Liberty Hall instead.

Drew: “Why are we here again?”

Sarah: “Well, it’s our nation’s history, and I thought you and I could have some special time together.” [he rolls his eyes] “Please don’t roll your eyes.”

Drew: “Can we go now?”

Sarah: “Yeah, sure.”

Drew starts to walk away and, then…

Sarah: “Drew. Your father isn’t the answer.”

Drew: “I told you I…”

Sarah: “I wish he was, honey. I do. It isn’t fair. You deserve a father. You deserve a great father. I shouldn’t have married him. I was young and in love and stupid and he was this amazing guitarist…and I should have listened to Grandma and Grandpa but instead I just wanted to prove them wrong. And I have been paying for that choice for a long time. And you have too. And I’m sorry Drew. I’m so sorry. But you can’t go on forever believing that your dad’s this cool, famous musician who played on three Jackson Browne records. It’s not enough. And it’s not enough for a father to take his son out to Phillies games three times a year and forget about him the rest of the days. It is not okay. I want you to know the truth. You’re old enough now. Look at you. You’re a young man now aren’t you? How did that happen? And for what it’s worth you’ll always have me. And I’m really sorry but that’s going to have to be enough.”

In a rare moment Drew falls into her arms. She holds him like she never wants to let go.

Sarah also apologizes to Amber for judging her regarding Haddie’s weed.

Sarah: “Listen, I just want to let you know I’m sorry. I blamed you for the whole thing with Haddie. And I shouldn’t have.”

Amber: “Good. Listen, I have good news. I decided not to move back to Trenton with Damien.”

Sarah: “That is so great.”

Amber: “He’s moving here. Turns out the music scene in Philly blows Trenton out of the water. The entire band’s coming.”

Sarah’s smile freezes.

The script ends with Max’s baseball game – just like the episode that aired.

That’s all folks.