So Much To Say, So Little To Report

Thank you for all your comments.  It means a lot to hear all the familiar voices again, as well as some new ones, and to be reminded that as much as ever, there are those who watch our show with care and passion.

Let me address a couple of questions right off the bat.

1. I have no idea when the show is coming back on.  We are working furiously to do justice to the stories we've begun, and until we have a more solid sense of those it would be foolhardy to raise false hopes with hopeful speculation.   Rest assured that when we come back on the air, it will be with a bang, not a whimper, because the resolution to Season 2 is going to be fantastic.

2. Gossip.  There's simply nothing to say that wouldn't make someone, somewhere, mad.   Sorry.

3. We have a new intern, Cole, who's awesome.  You'll be hearing from him in these parts soon.

4.  Re the governor of Michigan -- while I can see how residents of Michigan might feel we California types don't know much about your state, and only refer to it for a quick fix of verisimilitude -- I assure you that not only do a few of us call your state home, but we're very aware of the identity of your governor.  But Brothers & Sisters has always taken pains, when referring to current political figures, to fictionalize them.  You'll notice that when our characters mention real-life political figures by name, they are always figures of the past.  So while Clinton may have been mentioned, and I think he was, around episode 106 or so, Robert McCallister's rivals for the Republican nomination are not named McCain or Romney; they are named Adamson and Burgess.  The rationale for making the Michigan governor a "he" was to clearly distinguish him from the real Gov. Granholm.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who you will never see endorsing Robert McCallister for president, either in real life or on our show.

That's all for now.  Expect me to stay in touch and feel free to harangue me if I don't.

Your pal
Dan 

 

Comments

[Andie]

This show makes my Sunday nights. I have been a fan since the first episode. I am so happy the writers were able to work something out.

I see I am not the only Kevin and Scotty fan here. I was heartbroken when they split up in the first season. I am so happy to see them back together again. They seem destined to be together.

It's time for Kevin to truly commit to a relationship. Please don't break he and Scotty up again?

Thank you.

[Kong Chang]

Glad you're back, Dan! Happy to see you weren't laid off or fired like the other writer's assistants have been.

I look forward to the next (4) episodes (starting April 20th) for this season and the 23 episodes for season 3!!!

And, please tell the writers that we need more Kevin & Scotty. Best gay couple since "Six Feet Under"'s David & Keith.

KC
Maintainer of Luke MacFarlane Online

[will]

We all LOVE YOU, Dan...

But one thing I really wish you would have addressed is the whole Kevin/Scotty/Jason issue...whether or not Kevin has "decided" indisputably & if he's decided that Scotty is "The One" - then how binding is the B&S commitment to Luke MacFarlane? meaning what type of contractual obligation - how many months - is Luke bound to? Is it revocable if we all decide that Scotty & Kevin are boring together, we made a mistake, that we want Eric back after all?

OK, fine. I'm bitchy & not coherent on this topic. I feel shafted. You guys are now unceremoniously dumping Eric a 2nd time, just as you dumped him off in Malaysia when he got the "Viva Laughlin" gig. I feel ripped off. I was hoping for this long Kevin/Jason courtship; the one we viewers apparently never got, missed out on, because of Eric's scheduling conflicts (like when you informed us through a short, staccato conversation in the Season 2 premiere that they'd been living together all summer, a relationship progression we never saw, and then you yanked the whole thing away and sent Jason off to Kuala Lumpur, or whichever outlandish city).

At any rate, sitting here feeling cheated. We missed out. What might have been... And now we're stranded with Scotty.

Well, at least you guys got rid of Lena. None too gracefully either. I thought Lena going from Tommy to Justin was desperate & tacky. I saw mental problems, which I'm not sure were strictly arising from the scripted situation or the actress's personality. But, lucky for us, there were no more straight Walker men for Lena to move to next.

[Elias]

Will, did you ever consider that maybe Eric has no interest in staying on?

Also, I'm very sad to see Robbie Baitz is gone. The show was better with him around.

[Kevin]

Hey Dan, thrilled to see that you are back and that "theoretical" didn't apply to you.

Will wrote:

"Is it revocable if we all decide that Scotty & Kevin are boring together, we made a mistake, that we want Eric back after all?"

Who is this "we" and "we all", will? Are you an executive producer on the show? Of course you aren't. You wouldn't have to ask those questions if you were. That
information will be provided if the producers decide it's prudent to do so, not because you feel entitled to answers.

There are a great many people who like Kevin with Scotty, myself among them. I think Luke and Matthew have great chemistry and a comfortable presence on screen. The characters of Kevin and Scotty have both grown a great deal this season. I would like to see them continue to grow together.

As for Jason, he has a higher calling than a relationship with Kevin. I have to agree with Kevin (from "Missionary Imposition") that his reason for not calling was the worst (not to mention quite selfish for a minister) excuse I have
ever heard. I sincerely hope Kevin and Jason are, and remain, history.

[Sylviane]

Kevin and Scotty are just the hottest!!! Don't change a single thing about them! The chemistry between Matthew and Luke is just great. There is this playful way they act together. I love them together on screen. But now that we have seen them 'cute', I'd like to see them 'hot'. Any chance you can write a scene that will get Luke out of his clothes? We've seen Matthew, Jason Lewis and Eric. Now it's Luke's turn. :-)

Forget about Jason... Alright he can stick around as Robert's brother, cause he is kinda hot, but Jason is now commited to God and I hope he'll do better in that relationship then he did in his commitment to Kevin.

But whether it will be Jason or Scotty (Scotty! Scotty!)the point is: I'm sort of sick and tired of investing my time trying to like someone only to see it go nowhere. Kevin is a wonderful character who deserves better than to be constantly hurt and dumped.
I 'fell in love' with Scotty by the end of 1.05 to see it go nowhere, I slowly got to like Chad, then he was gone. I was already more cautious about Jason, but warmed up to him, pfft he left and then his whole storyline just went flat and I really hated the way Kevin was hurt (And Matthew is SO GOOD at being hurt) and by consequence, I now dislike Jason and his lame excuse about missing Kevin too much. I understand what he meant, but it was still a stupid excuse from someone who just as incapable of sticking to a commitment as he accused his boyfriend of being.

Luckily there was Scotty, who immediately stole my heart again the moment he walked into Kevin's office. I really want this relationship to work, for a while at least, to see that Kevin learned from his experiences, that he got smarter. I want to believe that Kevin is sincere about Scotty.

Because, frankly, after everything he said to Scotty, to see it go nowhere (again!), will make me reconsider if I should remain interested in Kevin. And as he is, to me, the most interesting character on the show, (followed by Nora and Saul, who are also apparently going nowhere with their storylines)I am worried.

[Maria de Albuquerque]

I can not agree with you Will, Jason is so boring (I think the actor is beautiful, but this not enough to want him in the show!) I would send him and his brother to Malasia, Kitty needs to come back to the Walker family.
Kevin made the right choice, Scotty is wonderfull, they should move on, having a life as a couple, working and growing together. They are not teenagers, so they can not go on with doubts, and being voluble about their feelings. I would like to see more of Saul, Nora and Sarah, they are fantastic.
Matthew Rhys and Dave Annable were in Madrid, they should have come to Lisbon. In Portugal the show is on a public network, in Spain is on a cable network. In Portugal we see all shows in the original language, with subtitles. In Spain they "speek" in spanish, wich is hilarious (well I'm sorry I do not like the spanish language, it is to agressive). I rest my case!!!

[Lisa]

I too feel sad that Jason and Kevin are not together. They have the best Chemistry.
I hope there is still hope for them. They were only a couple for one episode. Jason was the only one he said I love you too and truly love. How can it have finish so fast?

I hope Eric winters stays on the show for a really long time.
Because of him I started watching the show.

[will]

Maria: I think it's great you see "Brothers & Sisters" in the original language & not dubbed.

I have to admit that a lot of the pleasure I get from the show comes from Matthew's line readings. Matthew is a Welsh actor who sounds nothing like Kevin in real life, but I love what he's doing with the role.

Matthew's Kevin sounds like a California surfer to me. I don't know how an actor like Matthew "studies" exactly to get his american accent down, but he sounds not only authentically american, but authentically Californian. There is an ever-so-slight slur to his diction. He sounds like a surfer; he sounds Californian and he sounds authentically gay. What's really great (for me anyway) is that Matthew isn't stereotyping any speech pattern or body movement. He's not signaling "GAY" to the audience. He is building a character that is simply a unique construction & freely alive. There is a sense of SHOWMANSHIP he brings to Kevin: Kevin is sarcastic; Kevin is self-conscious & priggish, yet borders on being "too much"; Matthew's Kevin is egotistical & individual; he's quick with the crack one-liner; he's spoiled & athletic & fussy & intimate & manly & unmanly all at the same time.

I think I'm safe in saying that Matthew exceeds the boundaries of the (sometimes) mediocre scripts he's given. Meaning, he pushes his character into the fore by the sheer force of personality & talent.

At any rate. I meant to say that it's a good thing you're not listening to a "dubbed" Kevin which would definately wash away the nuance & charm Matthew brings to the role. I feel like such a loser for typing here all afternoon about a freaking television character... but, there it is....

You writers had better take full advantage of this moment you have with Monsieur Rhys. This is a straight actor who has absolutely NO QUALMS with playing gay -- & playing gay physically. And he has a winning (underneath all the other stuff) personality. DON'T WASTE IT with soapy melodrama! Kick him a first-rate story. USE Matthew to bring unusual gay storylines ALIVE.

[sylviane]

Jason is not necessarily the 'only one' Kevin ever said 'I love you' to. It's the only time we got to SEE it. That is not the same.
He could have said the L-word to Scotty and/or Chad, as well. Besides, Kevin had boyfriends before meeting Scotty the first time. We know nothing about them.
Let's not put Jason on a pedestal over a few words, that Jason NEEDED to hear to believe in Kevin's love and commitment... after which he NEVER talked to Kevin again...
Besides, the words "I love you" are by no means a guarantee for eternal happiness.

[will]

JoAnne: I missed you. I MISSED you. I thought about you a couple times during the hiatus (I miss CeCe too.... where the heck is she?).

To gay posters: Sean Penn just started filming Gus Van Sant's movie "Milk" last month about gay San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk ("the first openly gay man elected to any substancial political office in the history of the planet" according to Time Magazine) who was assassinated in the late 70's by Dan White (the conservative anti-gay supervisor who shot both Milk & Mayor George Moscone; Dan White is the dude - an ex-firefighter - who's lawyer argued that his client had consumed "too many Twinkies" before the shootings, giving him a sugar rush, which became known as the "Twinkie Defense").

This thing looks truly awesome. The cast: James Franco as Harvey's lover Scottt Smith; Josh Brolin is playing Dan White; Emile Hirsch (who Sean Penn directed in his own film, "Into the Wild") plays gay activist Cleve Jones.

They are filming on location in the Castro....(giving the street & bars & neighborhood a 1978 makeover).... Anyway, I'm kind of excited about this one. All the elements seem right (Matt Damon was originally approached to play Dan White & THAT might have been interesting too). Dianne Feinstein, I believe, was on the S.F. Board of Supervisors along with Harvey & Dan White. Maybe Dianne will take a cameo & play herself (in soft focus of course).

[will]

"Compromises"

I hope Rebecca gets a decent storyline soon. Emily is so beautiful in a no-frills natural sort of way, and her acting is every bit as natural & unforced.

Oh. please! All of Scotty's "gay friends" at the bar are perfect stereotypes! Kevin says he is not a "karaoke type" & they all leer & roll their eyes in gay unison! Give me a break. Very heavy-handed.

The first scene with Kevin & Scotty is fine, but I wish the dialogue had more nuance or layers. Kevin is dressing for work, Scotty is looking at the morning paper & drinking coffee. That's a good set-up, but the dialogue should be more interesting, left-field, let their dialogue overlap. Earlier, when Sarah was shown at her desk, receiving divorce papers Kevin had sent, it's like the scene wanted to hit 2 notes...& they hit them, but these scenes should resemble life & in life we rarely hit the 1 note or 2 notes & then move on. I just would love the scenes to be more "FULL", more LIFE-like.

You know, I love just looking at Sally. She has aged gracefully & seems so relaxed in her own skin (talking to Saul, Nora says "No, Saul, it isn't. I am your sister. I love you in a very non-judgemental way. If there's ever anything you want to talk about..." Ever the P-Flag mom & sister).

I like when Kevin's neurotic. It's his most loveable aspect. In the morning, Scotty had called him "uptight". Now, in a scene with Sarah:

Kevin: Do you think I'm uptight?

Sarah: Yes.

Kevin: (neurotically) WHY, cause I wear a SUIT?

Sarah: Come on, Kevin, I'm not in the mood for one of your neurotic freak-outs.

I am charmed by Eric Winter. I can't decide if he has any great talent as an actor. Maybe time will tell. But he is talented enough & UNUSUAL looking enough to always hold my attention (Christian Bale has this effect on me too; there always seems to be something going on underneath his characters; there's a mystery that is part of him as an actor that I think Eric shares). With Scotty, I know what I'm getting. Scotty's Scotty (& Luke's a fine actor). But when I respond to Eric, he's holding something in reserve. Eric is like still waters running deep. There's something I can't penetrate which is very appealing to me. It's that sense of MYSTERY I want in the B&S dialogue. I want scenes that aren't so easily "consumed" on first hearing! Damnit! I'd like scenes that are a little more freaking complex! Stop spelling everything out for me like I'm a remedial reader! Damnit.

-----------------------

Nora: Kitty, do you remember when you had the chicken pox?

Kitty: Yes. You made me chicken soup & you put cold compresses on my head & you rubbed calamine lotion all over my body.

Nora: Yes. But what you don't remember is when you had the chicken pox, Sarah had the chicken pox, and Tommy had the chicken pox and Kevin had the chicken pox. And I had a very bad cold. You're dad was out of town on business. Sweetheart, I'm saying this to you with as much love as I possibly can. Sometimes motherhood means sucking it up.... Kitty, suck it up.

This is beautiful dialogue.

---------------------------

Ken Olin brings a little of this (slight) weirdness, a character that's not a TV stock character. He smirks & growls & his body is slack & there is something very AUTHENTIC about his presence (he reminds me a little of Matthew in this regard; they both have believable, ideosyncratic speaking patterns). He whisks us out of TV-land & into a character who is living a life. Kudos, Ken! (btw, Ken & Patricia's son, Cliff, co-wrote this episode.)

There is something in me that REBELS when the entire gay bar starts dancing & clapping when Rachel sings Cher's "Believe" at karaoke. This is the kind of "fake inspiration" that sports movies are always foisting on us & fake fun that is packaged & canned. All the sudden every gay man turns into a queen & starts shaking it to Cher's "Believe", Ugh. (I don't like it when the people onscreen are having WAY more fun than I am in the audience either; I start getting bitchy)

[Jude]

Welcome back,you're back, oh thank the gods you're back! I was having to resort to pulling out the dusty PAL-converted VHS tapes of Matthew in "Shooters" for my "Rhys' Pieces" fix.

I wholeheartedly supported the Writers and did not purchase a single dvd during the strike, but... THANK THE GODS YOU'RE BACK!

[Colleen]

Welcome back! Another ERIC WINTER fan here!
Love his chemistry with Rob, Matthew (and Luke). Please can we see a bit more of the Reverend Ex's fire and brimstone? The McBrothers' last heart-to-heart seemed too rushed and lacking in comic relief.

[Sherri]

Yes. Keep Kevin with Scotty. They are great together. They always have been. Jason is just not right for Kevin. That is one thing Robert was right about.

[Colleen]

Thank you! for Karaoke Sarah and "Sometimes motherhood means sucking it up." My friends and I need that on T-shirts, right away. And wouldn't those look good in your online store?

Please tell me that my man ERIC WINTER has not left the building! He has a very natural chemistry with Rob, Calista and Matthew. Plus, I can see how it would move along some storylines to have various Walkers talk to someone who has taken a vow not to blab!

But I'm still on Team Scotty. Luke and Matthew really light up the screen!

[will]

OK. I believe I have fairly (& equitably) solved the Kevin/Jason/Scotty relationship-triangle dilemma.

All three can simply live like the mormons are living on HBO's "Big Love". "Brothers & Sisters" will introduce America to a NEW kind of hilarious gay american family. How can a self-centered, bitchy, caustic lawyer, a serious, moral, studdmuffin-man-of-God & a screwy, Cher-loving, light-hearted cater-waiter all achieve domestic bliss & tranquility with that crazy Walker family waltzing in & out of their lives? Tune in to Season 3 of "Brothers & Sisters"!

[Rain]

There's a lot of talk here concerning Kevin and Jason and Scotty, which is good. But I also hope to see more of the other gay character in the show: Saul's storyline seems to be developing at an excruciatingly slow pace lately so I hope his character is not being forgotten by the writers. I want to see how an older man like him deals with such a life-changing realization. I want to see him interacting with Kevin and Nora and the rest of the Walkers' tribe.

Ron Rifkin rocks!

[will]

Oh, why do I feel in the pit of my gut that Scotty is all wrong for Kevin?

I guess one of the reasons has to do with character & contrasts. There is a certain "personlity type" on B&S. Warm & caring & fuzzy & inoffensive & politically correct (exemplified, of course, by Nora & Sally Field, whom we all adore). There is not much, generally speaking, that comes out of Scotty's mouth that could not also come out of Nora's (minus the gay-related stuff, though Nora is sort of an honorary gay man).

Is it wrong to want a CLASH of personalities? Some left-field sensibility that upsets the apple-cart known as "Brothers and Sisters"? Part of the reason I found Ken Olin so refreshing & charming & downright odd in "Compromises" is that he seemed to break the B&S "house-style" of acting. His acting went against the prevailing style. He was quirky in a non-scripted sort of way (trust me, Kitty can be pretty quirky...but it's all right there on paper, in the script; it's a flat sort of quirkiness like seltzer water with no bubbles).

Scotty (meaning Luke, I suppose), fit neatly & squarely into a "house-style" of acting, house-style of characterization that tends to flatten out mystery & kinks. What I've been looking for is something to take me off-guard - a storyline, acting choices, a crazy spin on the dialogue - something that takes me off the beaten path. Part of the reason I love watching Matthew is: the guy is impetuous. He's spontaneous. He's sudden & rash. B&S will ALWAYS be about family & familial interaction & "places in the heart", to use a Sally Field movie title. It has a core structure. But, I desperately need fresh oxygen in this fishbowl.

One reason I argue so passionately for Eric is HE OPENED UP THE DAMNED B&S storyline for me. That breath-taking lusty kiss in the pantry between Kevin & Jason last season (that entire pantry scene during Kitty's party) destoyed the "4th wall" that seperates the viewer from the action. It totally drew me in. Their dialogue richoceted around that pantry & had double meanings.

With Scotty, I feel it's one long episode of politically-correct gay role-modelling....Scotty is like the chick that wants to constantly talk about "relationship issues". There is (for this viewer anyway) a noticeable drop in temperature when Scotty & Kevin kiss. Scotty's sweet. He's inoffensive. He's almost pre-digested. And I was hoping for someone to shake up Kevin's world a little.

[Jake Lipson]

Hi

Good to have you guys back, and I love the show. But -- I'm going to be honest here -- I have not been loving this season as much as last year.

The season is not completely without merit (the entire season premire, Sarah and Joe's issues, Kitty's wedding) but a lot of it feels very repetative. Worse, I feel like it's all about the hookups now and not about the family interaction that made the show so special to in the first place. The hookups have always been a part of Brothers & Sisters, but not the whole, and what I respect so much about the show is that even though it might be a little soapy, it's a sophistocated, intelligent soap for adults. Please, PLEASE get back to that emphasis as soon as possible. In particular, the recent episodes with Cliff Olin as David are idnicitive of Rebecca not being a Walker, and it seems you guys want to hook her up with Justin. PLEASE do not do this -- it contradicts so much of Season 1 and its emotional impact and just cheapens the show to a level where I am not sure I could continue to watch. Yes, Dave Annable and Emily VanCamp have great on-screen chemistry -- as sibilings. Don't ruin it for the sake of a cheap plot twist stunt. I am 19 years old, right in the plum 18-49 age demographic ABC loves so much, and I cannot stand this. It's not making the show appeal more to the demos, it's turning me off. And a lot of others too from what I can tell.

Sorry to make this such a downbeat posting. I really, really, REALLY do love the show very much and am just nervous about it. I want to know its best days are ahead of it, not behind it in its freshman year.

The blog is so we can talk to you, hear your thoughts and interact with you. Please listen. Thanks.

Jake

[Adina]

I am so happy anout Kevin and Scotty. I am not a fan of the nora thing but I am happy for her she is finding some love. We need more julia and tommy action in the positive to rebuild who they are. I love the whole thing with ken Olin back it's nice to see the on screen chemistry with his real life wife. It's been years and being an old Thirty Something Fan I really enjoy them together. Get them back to gether on the show it would be nice.
Thank you for all your hard work. It's great to see you guys back!

[Kathleen]

I was so surprised and excited to see that Kevin and Scotty were back together! They are magnetic. Please give them a chance to work out this time. They could be the next David Fisher and Keith Charles. A complicated relationship that worked between two very different people.

[Hal]

Now that Lena has left (ending what was the worst storyline on tv this season) can we focus more on Nora and Saul please? Also, now that Mark Perry is on his merry way, can Jon Robin Baitz come back? PLEASE? I know, I know, he hates LA and the executives and blah blah blah but someone please convince him to come back? I thought part of the new writers' contract was that those "force majeured" (sp?)during the strike could be rehired???

[Wally]

Big fan of the show, and while I don't think you should indulge in "gossip", I also honestly think--given the posts by Mr. Jon Robin Baitz on The Huffington Post, and the public nature of the departure-that you owe it to those of us who read this blog to sincerely address how Mr. Baitz's departure is affecting your work. Thank you.

[Suzy]

I love Kevin Walker. I want to see him happy, and he seems to be happy with Scotty. They are really cute together. Time for Kevin to grow up and be serious about his relationship with Scotty.