'Parenthood' review: Enter Ray Romano

Older brother and family rock Adam (Peter Krause) is sending overachieving daughter Haddie off to Cornell, while autism-spectrum son Max (Max Burkholder) is pitching fits. He's also shunning just-adopted cousin Victor (Xolo Mariduena), who's acting out himself, opening a tactical schism between lawyer younger sister Julia (Erika Christensen) and stay-at-home hubby Joel (Sam Jaeger). And younger brother Crosby (Dax Shepard) faces the big spirituality question, when Grandma starts son Jabbar (Tyree Brown) on a path of prayer.

It's less the Plot Events that ring true here than the well-played little side moments and background squabbles, the simmering resentments and recriminations, the emotional tugs-of-war. Even the babies behave naturally.

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While it's true the characters of "Parenthood" can be a bit overtly articulate, they're never less than recognizable. Next week's episode even nails the ache of getting dumped in high school, by hardly trying. Romano can relate, or at least his character can. While evoking many of the same insecurities he did in "Everybody Loves Raymond" and "Men of a Certain Age," he's now playing different notes on the scale, some of them quite deft. Our local comic has turned into quite the ace actor.