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skibum
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27 Mar 2014, 4:22 pm

My husband is wondering if anyone knows if the character of Hank on Parenthood was always written as an Aspie from the start, from the initial introduction of his character on the show, or if he was just made Aspie when they revealed it in order to enrich the story line.


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Wind
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27 Mar 2014, 4:52 pm

Think you'd have to ask the writers :lol:


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27 Mar 2014, 5:38 pm

I don't know the answer to your question, but thank you for the opportunity to say that parenthood is my favorite TV show. plan to watch tonight.



skibum
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27 Mar 2014, 10:50 pm

Yes, Wind, I would love to be able to contact them and ask. I wonder if any of them are even members here. That would be cool.
Cathylynn, Parenthood is one of our absolute favorite shows as well. We never miss it. Tonight's episode was really good. Don't want to spoil it for anyone who has not seen it yet (sometimes we watch it on NBC.com after it airs if we miss it) but I really loved it. I was so happy for Max. :D


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27 Mar 2014, 10:53 pm

Is he the photographer played by Ray Romano?

I've only watched a handful of the new episodes. They're not always on at the same time every week.


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skibum
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27 Mar 2014, 11:21 pm

pensieve wrote:
Is he the photographer played by Ray Romano?

I've only watched a handful of the new episodes. They're not always on at the same time every week.
Hank is the character played by Ray Romano. Ray has really done an amazing job with that role as has Max Burkholder with his roll playing Max Braverman.


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pensieve
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27 Mar 2014, 11:25 pm

skibum wrote:
pensieve wrote:
Is he the photographer played by Ray Romano?

I've only watched a handful of the new episodes. They're not always on at the same time every week.
Hank is the character played by Ray Romano. Ray has really done an amazing job with that role as has Max Burkholder with his roll playing Max Braverman.


I was wondering if he had Asperger's syndrome from just watching one episode. They might have written it in later but they could have just written him that way all along. I love when writers do the latter. I like to be given clues and have my suspicions and then it's all revealed. I've been attempting to do that in my own writing.

I agree. Ray was fabulous and Max is just scarily accurate. I mean that in the way to say I can't believe he's just acting and not that the character scares me.


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skibum
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28 Mar 2014, 12:21 am

pensieve wrote:
skibum wrote:
pensieve wrote:
Is he the photographer played by Ray Romano?

I've only watched a handful of the new episodes. They're not always on at the same time every week.
Hank is the character played by Ray Romano. Ray has really done an amazing job with that role as has Max Burkholder with his roll playing Max Braverman.


I was wondering if he had Asperger's syndrome from just watching one episode. They might have written it in later but they could have just written him that way all along. I love when writers do the latter. I like to be given clues and have my suspicions and then it's all revealed. I've been attempting to do that in my own writing.

I agree. Ray was fabulous and Max is just scarily accurate. I mean that in the way to say I can't believe he's just acting and not that the character scares me.
It really is fabulous acting. I just looked at Alex Plank's interview with a few of the cast members of Parenthood during their first season. Max Burknolder was just a little guy when they started and he had very little knowledge about Autism. He really is a incredible young actor.

Pensieve, what kind of writing do you do?


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rapidroy
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28 Mar 2014, 12:52 am

I doubt Hank was created to have AS because Max Burkholder has the only one coached on how to act like he had AS, perhaps Ray did know and was trusted to learn how to act the traits on his own as acting an adult with mild AS I'm sure is easier then acting Max's role. I have only watched from the 5th episode of this season though.



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28 Mar 2014, 10:12 am

Gee, I don't think the character Hank represents us at all. He's way too extreme, and I never met an Aspie like that. Now, Max on the hand is spot on.



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28 Mar 2014, 4:31 pm

I both love and hate Parenthood. I like the aspie traits of Max's character, you are right that they did a goo job writing that. What I don't like is all the parents in that show letting their kids get away with murder and turning them all into spoiled brats. Some of the stuff Max does, he does because he can get away with it because he has AS. His parents once told him not to use his disability as an excuse, but the way they parent him, it feels like they're using it as an excuse for his bad behaviour and not punishing him for it. For instance, there are aspie meltdowns, and there are just temper tantrums, and an aspie can have either. A lot of Max's outbursts just feel like temper tantrums, like when he throws a fit because the TV was turned off. It's not just Max who displays these behaviours, Haddie and Amber do as well, and that definitely bugs me. Not to mention, the crowded, hectic environment they all live in is not ideal for an aspie; it annoys me the way everyone always talks over one another and they all wind up shouting. Of the meltdowns that are actually meltdowns, it's no surprise Max has so many of them; I'd snap too if I were raised in such a chaotic family.


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28 Mar 2014, 4:38 pm

StarTrekker wrote:
I both love and hate Parenthood. I like the aspie traits of Max's character, you are right that they did a goo job writing that. What I don't like is all the parents in that show letting their kids get away with murder and turning them all into spoiled brats. Some of the stuff Max does, he does because he can get away with it because he has AS. His parents once told him not to use his disability as an excuse, but the way they parent him, it feels like they're using it as an excuse for his bad behaviour and not punishing him for it. For instance, there are aspie meltdowns, and there are just temper tantrums, and an aspie can have either. A lot of Max's outbursts just feel like temper tantrums, like when he throws a fit because the TV was turned off. It's not just Max who displays these behaviours, Haddie and Amber do as well, and that definitely bugs me. Not to mention, the crowded, hectic environment they all live in is not ideal for an aspie; it annoys me the way everyone always talks over one another and they all wind up shouting. Of the meltdowns that are actually meltdowns, it's no surprise Max has so many of them; I'd snap too if I were raised in such a chaotic family.


It really bothered me in that one episode when Max arrived at the studio and he was going to use the printer but the other woman (his aunt I think) was using it because she had a deadline and had to get done by a certain day so she couldn't let Max use it. Max got upset and had his episode and went home and refused to talk to her. The parents sided with him and said she was harsh with him. WTF. My parents wouldn't have done that and they would have sided with the other person. I didn't think she was harsh at all. Should she have stopped her work and let him do his thing? Then at the end things got worked out and she rented that machine for him to use and he said he was booked for next week. I wasn't sure if he did that as payback or if he was truly booked and he finally understood now why she didn't let him use it so he said the same to her because he was booked as well.


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skibum
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28 Mar 2014, 5:45 pm

That whole thing with the printer was beyond ridiculous and Max even said that it wasn't his day to be there and that his parents said that he could only be there if it was okay with Hank. I think Hank should have been firm with him and sent him home. He does get away with really spoiled behavior. I would have been spanked to no end if I had even hinted to act that disrespectfully. Aspie or not there is no excuse for behavior like that and Adam and Christina should have handled it very differently. Sarah was right and she should not have rented that printer for another week.

I actually kind of like that aspect of the show though because it shows that the parents are not perfect parents. It shows them as overwhelmed and making many mistakes just like real people do. I think that the kids are a little more spoiled than they should be, and Sidney is another little hotheaded spitfire who could use a can of whoop ass but even with the spoiled kids and not perfect parents I really love the show and that family.


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28 Mar 2014, 11:56 pm

Just because your parents would have spanked you for behaving that way doesn't mean they should have. When you take into account that a child has autism you really need to explain to them why their behaviour was bad and how the should respond. How many times to we as adults get called rude or selfish when we had no idea that we were? It's even worse with kids because of the lack of awareness.

When I was spanked I just thought my mum is mean and overreacts. And now I just remember her as someone who can't control their emotions.

I think the parents do let Max get away with a lot but they don't always explain things to him, and I think it is done to show them as flawed human beings.


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skibum
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29 Mar 2014, 1:21 am

pensieve wrote:
Just because your parents would have spanked you for behaving that way doesn't mean they should have. When you take into account that a child has autism you really need to explain to them why their behaviour was bad and how the should respond. How many times to we as adults get called rude or selfish when we had no idea that we were? It's even worse with kids because of the lack of awareness.

When I was spanked I just thought my mum is mean and overreacts. And now I just remember her as someone who can't control their emotions.

I think the parents do let Max get away with a lot but they don't always explain things to him, and I think it is done to show them as flawed human beings.
I don't think that parents should just spank without any explanations or teaching the children the reasons behind it. And my parents always made sure that we understood. And we did learn. I also know that there are many other ways to discipline and parents need to do what works best in each of their situations. But I know that my parents would have never let us get away with the stuff that the Braverman kids get away with.

But like we both mentioned, I love that they are portrayed as real people and not super parents.


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30 Mar 2014, 12:03 am

skibum wrote:
That whole thing with the printer was beyond ridiculous and Max even said that it wasn't his day to be there and that his parents said that he could only be there if it was okay with Hank. I think Hank should have been firm with him and sent him home. He does get away with really spoiled behavior. I would have been spanked to no end if I had even hinted to act that disrespectfully. Aspie or not there is no excuse for behavior like that and Adam and Christina should have handled it very differently. Sarah was right and she should not have rented that printer for another week.

Thanks for posting this, the scene was so ridiculous I thought I missed something. I know I could not have got away with half the things Max gets away with.