BROTHERS & SISTERS IS ONLINE

Let me just be honest.  I both loathe and am somewhat afraid of technology.  The modern conveniences that we have come to rely on-- microwave cooking, motorized vehicles, “science” -- all seem a bit crass, and, how can I say this… immoral.  Don’t even get me started on the evils of the information superhighway. 

So when I started here at Brothers & Sisters, I had been PROMISED by the good people at ABC that the dissemination of our show would be a throwback to a simpler time, a time without Tivo, or “webisodes” -- a time when people were actually forced to put their entire lives on hold every Sunday at 10pm and sit down to watch TV.  So what if a child had to get to the hospital, a dinner party, fatigue.  No!  You missed “Light the Lights,” there’d be nothing you could do. 

Our show’s reputation would not be sullied by having episodes “posted” willy-nilly on the interweb.  Furthermore, if you tried to Tivo B&S, we might just change up the title on you – again forcing a certain old-time commitment to this relationship. 

But alas, the dream is over. 

AS OF DECEMBER 25, 2006, ALL BROTHERS & SISTERS EPISODES WILL BE POSTED ONLINE AT ABC.COM.

Merry Christmas.

-- Ben

Loose Change:

Yesterday was gift-giving day around the office and the unrelenting wave of inter-executive obligatory generosity was like some bacchanalian consumerist orgy.  (Ipods, bicycles, pounds and pounds of foie gras.)  That said, we Assistants got some pretty great loot too, including a canvas tote bag from the cast with this hand-crafted note inside:  (uhhh... the pic will be posted tomorrow.)

Comments

[will]

Finally! Online episodes!
OK, I have my online "Brothers & Sisters" available now, online X-mas shopping (ho ho ho!), netflix, porn on demand thru my Time-Warner cable supplier (& what is up with Time-Warner anyway? Titles & titles of STRAIGHT porn! But no GAY porn on demand? Just those lousy "playgirl" videos? Gay men can't get aroused to that! Clearly this is discriminatory. Adelphia Cable had TONS of gay porn before going out of business...maybe Kevin Walker, Lawyer, can assist me in my T-W lawsuit!), online Vermont Teddy Bear gram delivery....Good to go! 'Tis the season!

[CeCe]

Trust me. I HAVE that old time commitment to this relationship. I absolutely DO put aside my Sunday nights for you and you alone. And I'm one of those people who tivos EVERYTHING. (Even B&S to watch again later). So I'm happy to see that you have decided to let technology into our relationship. Before you know it, you'll even be embracing the idea that people across the miles use technology to get online and "chat" and watch B&S together! But let's not rush into anything ... baby steps. :-D

OH, AND THANK YOU SO MUCH!

[Kong Chang]

Ah, finally! ABC has caved in to our demands! All right, Brothers & Sisters! We are finally getting what we want! :) Yay!

[will]

Ilovemylife: I KNOW your heart's in the right place. It ALWAYS is. I think it's pretty obvious if Scotty comes back, it won't be till next season. And I'm starting to feel a little idiotic with all this rampant Scotty longing & woozy Scotty wish-fulfillment. (I LOVE him, don't get me wrong! But I feel so silly wearing that heart on my sleeve!) AND I want to ENJOY Kevin's dumb, hopefully moving, adventures in the meanwhile - whatever happens!...one-night-stands....fling with soap opera guy...casual sex, & fumbling attempts at love & commitment (& learning about yourself along the way), WHATEVER. In a way I want too much from this show! I want to see a fully-realised, quirky, breathing (gay) man on my TV! Oh, & a quickie with Leonardo DiCaprio! (I wish. Kevin would enjoy this. I would LOVE to give Kevin a Christmas present of 30 minutes with Leo!) Inspire me!! And, yes, sorry for this constant barrage of sexual jokes-comments-theories. Guess who hasn't been laid in six weeks?! I have a lot of excess energy going into these blogs! Everyone, happy holidays! All the way to Rhode Island (Ilovemylife), all the way to Britain (Stevenscollege) & Michelle, you're in some snowing-like-mad, chilly place, didn't catch the state. But happy holidays. And everyone on the B&S lot.

[Janice]

Don't tease me, Ben, it's not nice! Ya'll are finally goin' 21st century on us?! I'm so proud. I can't wait to download all episodes of my new favorite show onto my computer which will then have no memory left, and I'll be forced to purchase one of those brand new iPod-video thingys to download the 2nd half of the season...thanks guys, you've already spent my Christmas money from mom.

[deborah]

Brothers and Sisters #1 show. Soon to be online is great as I do not have tivo nor cable. After the holidays, do you think you could get the family over here for dinner.

[will]

Hey. I was thinking about this the other day & just thought I'd THROW it out there. Am I mis-remembering episodes, or are no people of "color" represented on B&S? I am white and tend to, therefore, not notice when a show is as white as a 1970's sitcom like "The Brady Bunch". (& this show was VERY caucasion! I never noticed it growing up)) B&S is diverse in other areas...the gay character, the jewish thing are (admirably) presented... Sally Field's character is practically the poster child for tolerance & open-mindedness. Seems to me it wouldn't be out of character for her to have a latina or middle-eastern or asian... best friend. Something to shake up her hard-won victory over conventional thinking. And she's proven to be unconventional! Kevin's last boyfriend was white...the upcoming boyfriend (Jason Lewis) is white. Sarah married white, Tommy married white. Kitty dates white (twice now - thrice if Rob Lowe busts a move), Justin one-night-stands white, Norah married white & is now dating ultra-white Treat Williams - this is a very, very White friggin Christmas at the Walker household! And Justin and Sarah and Kevin have real funky sides! Being true to thier characters alone would demand they'd mix it up a little with the outside world. Let's shotput this show into a 21st century we can all recognize. These sibs are from Los Angeles, damn it! Not Bent Fork, Tennessee! (And look at "Grey's Anatomy", that beautiful cast diversity & balance...or "Survivor"...)

[Jude]

Ah, alas Ben, you're a man after my own heart and lack of techno-worship. But honestly, Baby's done a good, good thing. Still marveling at the wonders of the VCR, I tape each show to re-watch later, and having them available online will allow me to sneak in a few guilty pleasures during the office lunchtime. (No, Will, don't say it...)

And yes, Happy Holidays to all and thanks for a great show to watch and discuss. Can't wait to see the second half of the season! Happy Holidays to everyone involved with this intriguing show.

[Thanh]

Love the show. Look forward each week to tune it to see it. Finally, a show that examines the many facets of a family. Great great great.....

[Madison McGraw]

I'm glad it's going to be available online...that way when it's in reruns or knocked off for horrible holiday shows...I can tune in online and get a booster shot.
Hmmm, I save lives for a living and all I got was a 10.00 gift card for WaWa and a case of the craps from the roast beef at the staff party.

[Curt Collins]

yay about time!

[will]

I see blog is getting active again after X-mas (I mean HOLIDAY!) break? ABC finally axed "Day Break" & "Show Me the Money"?....saw that coming.
And "Ugly Betty" & "Brothers & Sisters" get invited back for another season!
This is very cool. Because I have PLANS for Kevin! (part of my sinister "gay agenda" - kidding!) Okay. Since Kevin has never gone through a "slutty" period per se (like WE all have)...& he's still "feeling his way" around identity & cultural issues, you should cram a lot of growing up into a short space. He has to go through some psychedelic tunnel of sexual awakening - a whole multi-episode complex of unusual (but REALISTIC!) encounters....before settling down into relationship stability. Remember Brenda?, Rachel Griffiths character's sexual odyssey on Season 2 of "Six Feet Under"? She had this whole bizzare freak flag/experimentation thing going on, & she got into some very weird sh** & let it all hang out (I was fearing for her sanity). Trippy yet exciting for the audience. Kev should have some kind of journey & discovery all his own (& not watered down please! You're on at 10:00PM, the anything goes timeslot. And anyway, it's a redemptive journey! not gratuitous.) Keep it real for us fans & keep us guessing. Don't give Kevin the same chick-flick boring romances that Kitty gets. I always go into stun-gun mode when Kitty & Jonathan...or Kitty & whoever...do their romance thing. I start to drift off, drift off...then SNAP back to reality. Keep Kevin on planet earth.

[Scott]

While I respect your views, Will, I would ask the writers to steer clear of giving Kevin an arc approaching Brenda's S2 Road to Debauchery.

For one, the writers have done an excellent job avoiding stereotypes with Kevin. He feels like an authentic person who, although openly gay, is not defined by his sexuality and has flaws that are unrelated to that aspect of his self. To write Kevin an arc like you describe would, in my view, perpetuate the stereotype that all gay men are promiscuous and incapable of commitment.

That's not to say that they need to find Kevin a permanent love interest this minute. To the contrary, I look forward to seeing Kevin learn some lessons in the relationship department before being ready to really settle down (though I do want that for him sooner than later).

However, I do think Kevin has reached the age and a point in his career where he's likely to want to find something stable. And I, for one, would applaud the show for depicting a long-term same-sex relationship.

[will]

Scott- OK. I get a little excited in the heat of typing. When all's said & done, I just want Kevin to stay an individual person that people remember. I don't want him having to carry the weight of the whole gay pride movement on his back. (And BTW, a "road to debauchery" actually sounds interesting to me if they could keep the commitment to character & detail & the whole superior script developments that were a hallmark of "Six Feet Under.") So many people talk about not wanting to "offend" middle America.

[Scott]

Will, I agree with you that Kevin should not have to carry the weight of the gay pride movement on his back. However, at the same time, I'm sure the writers are cognizant of the fact that Kevin is the first prominent gay character on a network TV drama. As with any minority group, because the representation on TV is much less, there does need to be an awareness of stereotypes and of any messages that are sent.

In addition, while I too adored Six Feet Under, the character of Brenda was a very emotionally troubled woman. Kevin is far and away more stable in that regard, and that is the main reason why such an arc would be a mistake: It wouldn't fit with the level-headed, grounded Kevin we've come to know.

[Bruin84]

Well, thank God for online episodes. I discovered this series just last week. Never saw it - never even heard of it. So ABC, you did a good thing to post these episodes. I'll watch now! Love the crisp writing and rich characters.

[will]

Is everyone still voting for People's Choice Award? I mean, it's REALLY time to kick "Ugly Betty's" ASS! This show has become such a darling of the media & I'm getting sick of the constant stream of publicity! Pictures of Ugly Betty in the LA Times "Calendar" section. So cute! People talk about how "cute" Ugly Betty is - just like they were referring to baby pictures or their cocker-spaniel. Jeez...enough already. Get to the People's Choice website.

[ilovemylife]

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

I was in heaven when I finally got to see missed episode “Patriarchy”. Some negative things that I read about it - just didn’t ring true with me. I really, really liked it. And it definitely filled me in. And my accidentally erased and never-seen-before scene in “An Act of Will” with Kevin and Scotty, where Scotty’s gaydar was tuned up and working like a charm, was fun. Now I understand things that before I only read about. When are we going to be able to buy this whole season on DVD? As soon as the season wraps I hope. Still voting every day. New ilovemylife posting up over at tvguide.com on Jan 1st.

Have a Happy 2007.

[will]

To my brothers & sisters & my "Brother & Sisters". My New Years resolutions:
1. Eat Less Animals... Not just red meat - not a HEALTH thing! An ANIMAL thing...they're people too. Jeez, I love El Pollo Loco though, & bacon cheesy hamburgers. This one'll be tough.
2. Expand my Interests & Broaden My Horizons... I'm gonna queue up some movies on netflix I would never think of watching. And learn accurately where all the countries are located on the map & find out a little about how others live. Try new food...watch straight or bi porn... One-night-stand with people I would never, EVER one-night-stand with (oh, wait, I do this anyway.)
3. Stop Worrying about the outside of the body so much (gym, mousse, finding the RIGHT pair of boxers, etc.) & pay more attention to what's going on inside. Google Buddhism, that's a start. Get a meditation CD that has different sounds...like rain, or birds chirping in the morning or ocean waves....meditate my way to happiness.

Here's hoping "Brothers & Sisters" has a fabulous & artistically satisfying New Year. And that episodes keep getting better & better & find larger audiences. (And I'm not just blowing smoke up your ass, I love this show.) Cheers, everybody!

[Kong Chang]

"Ugly Betty" and "Brothers & Sisters" are not even in the same category, Will. The only other drama B&S has to go against is "Heroes" which is their stiffest competition for PCA. But we'll see who'll win in about a week. I can't wait to see this show!

[will]

Kong Chang,
You're absolutely right. I think maybe psychologically I just wanted to get a dig in to "Ugly Betty". She's starting to backlash with me. I mean, she's successful, right? Assistant to the editor? Can't she now afford invisilyne braces & to throw out that damn neon Guadalahara poncho? Sometimes "cute" like "Ugly Betty" starts slowly working the nerves. But, hey! it's a frivolous comedy...

[Kong Chang]

I'm gonna pull a fanboy and ask again, when is Scotty coming back and when will Luke MacFarlane become a regular on the series? :)

[will]

How come in junior high - when I would sing songs from the Broadway cast album of "Dreamgirls" at recess or during baseball practice I would get ridiculed & laughed at & physically mauled...& NOW it's all the sudden COOL??! The times, they are a-changin'.

[LACalifornia]

Hey everyone... I love the show, and watch every episode. Now that they are online I am so happy. I was wondering, after the next two episodes, is that the end of the season? And will it be back next season? Please say it will

[LACalifornia]

Hey everyone... I love the show, and watch every episode. Now that they are online I am so happy. I was wondering, after the next two episodes, is that the end of the season? And will it be back next season? Please say it will