This Sunday: Episode 306 – “Bakersfield”

Written by Molly Newman & Peter Calloway
Directed by Gloria Muzio

Nora, feeling that she must tell Ryan Lafferty’s family the truth, drags an unsuspecting Kitty along with her to Bakersfield.  Kevin and Tommy attempt to put aside their differences in order to attend Justin’s one year sober anniversary. Meanwhile, Sarah meets with two younger men about the possibility of joining their internet start-up company.

After Holly’s threat to Nora at the end of last week’s episode, the hunt for the latest Walker is on!  Expect to meet at least one member of the Lafferty family this week.

In other news, Brothers & Sisters has a Two Hour Special in the works.  It will be Episodes 316 and 317, which are currently being written and will air March 1st.  Both hours will be directed by the wonderful Ken Olin.

From Stage 6,
Cole Fowler

Comments

[Sylviane]

A 2-hour special? Sounds interesting.

I hope we will soon hear more about these episodes, so we can speculate on what will happen.

[Ziggy]

Sounds exciting! I can't waitttt!!!!! :)

[will]

author's note: The following comment is intended for HUMOROUS PURPOSES ONLY. Any fleeting resemblance to "fan fiction" is delusional. And, at any rate, these characters' names are SMITH. I hope this clears up any nascent confusion.

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More titles!

Ok. This next title may seem a bit rambling and loopy upon first inspection, but there are historical precedents that show I'm not a total nutcase.

"Kevin Takes Paige to the Mormon Kingdom of Deseret, Below Salt Lake (where he gets juiced and man-handled by a sexy bi-curious Mormon), and the Two Watch Skywriting While Sipping Lattes".

Now, I know, this may SEEM a strange episode title to the unaccustomed eye (especially compared to the more straightforward "Bakersfield") , but I am simply taking my cue from Voltaire and his chapter titles for Candide ("How Candide Was Brought Up in a Magnificent Castle and How He Was Driven Thence" --- "How the Portuguese Made a Superb Auto-De-Fe to Prevent Any Future Earthquakes, and How Candide Underwent Public Flagellation", etc.)

In this context, titles like "The Aphrodisiacal Stench of Mackerel and Gasoline", or "Julia's Three Days of Menstrual Flow"" do not seem unduly freaky or off the beaten track. I hope I am making my case.

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"Nosebleed in the Lasagna" --- In this episode, Kevin comes perilously close to sleeping with Kitty's adoption lady. Paige insults three family members in french. Tommy has a mid-life crisis and experiments with Zen Buddhism. Cooper gets into a fight with the school bully on the playground and bleeds into grandma Nora's freshly cooked pasta.

[Felix]

The whole Rebecca and Justin always in bed together thing is getting a little sickening...

[Loriebillryanjoy@aolcom]

Are you kdding me. Change the story line, do not break up Kitty and Rob Lowe. Make him fill the bill as a husband and a Senator. There must be a way.

[Trinity Yanson]

tonight's episode was okay but i'm kinda disappointed that there's no kevin/scotty again. is this gonna be the case,writers? we'll just see both of them every other episode while we see justin/rebecca all the time,it's beginning to feel irritating. i'm actually okay with the justin/rebecca storyline but enough of them already... everytime they're on they are either kissing,hugging,or having sex. why don't we see kevin/scotty do that? so much for all the talk about equality between straight and gays.

[maria de albuquerque]

the justecca love affair is too much. Stop pretending that they have an irresistible chemistry, because they haven't, actually!

For the rest it was good enough.

[Tori]

Seconding Trinity Yanson. The different treatment of K/S and J/R in the PDA-department is getting painfully obvious.
Are you chickening out on us? Come on! You don't have two fine men like Matthew Rhys and Luke MacFarlane on the show for nothing!

[Trinity Yanson]

thanks tori! i'm happy somebody agreed to me. i'm just frustrated i don't get to see my favorite characters kevin/scotty every sunday coz they're the only reson i tune in everytime.

[rosie]

What is up with the guy in the interview with Sarah being unhappy with her FDR answer to his question about which president she would like to have lunch with?

Also, I agree - enough with the rebecca/justin story line. Not interesting or appealing.

One last thing... enough of Nora and the potential other children of her late husband. THat whole story line is BORING, BORING, BORING.

[Tate]

This show is falling fast.

The Kevin and Tommy fight is boring, mostly because Tommy is the most insignificant character to ever appear regularly on a television show.

When Rebecca and Justin were reminiscing during their sex scene, I was waiting for them to also mention that one year ago THEY WERE RELATED and now we have to see them bonking every week. It's disgusting.

I think I'm going to go watch my season 1 dvds and forget that the last two seasons ever happened.

[Calady]

I am so curious about next week's episode about Robert when Kevin asked him if he was having an affair. Makes you wonder if the story about his ex-wife and the babysitter was true after all. Don't break up Kitty and Robert - just add a bit of spice to keep it alive.
Hope Sarah finds a good male companion; Holly is always good. We don't see enough of her; Nora needs a man badly. Bring back her good old friend who went to Washington DC as a professor. He was great. Let her go there and show the scenes when she is there and hears more about Robert!!
I like to see more of Kevin and that he is bi sexual more than just one way. Tired of Justin and Rebecca. Does every season bring a potential new Walker?? Can we have some scenes with William Walker (like Desperate Housewives' Alice) talk to Nora in her sleep??
Get Saul more acting lines please. Tell Tommy to grow up and solve the financial crisis of the business and have him with Julia more.

[Hannah]

I disagree with some comments here, I think the J&R storyline is coming along nicely. I love all their scenes together. They do have an amazing amount of chemistry. I've always been a big fan of Emily's so I may be biased here, but u can never have too much Rebecca or Justin! Keep up the great work!

[Sylviane]

I agree with Trinity and Tori, but I fear that that is just the way it is and will continue to be. (sad sigh)

Maybe it is also why I have so much problems with Justin/Rebecca. It is really rubbing my nose in it, that they CAN be shown kissing, etc because they are straight, but my favorite couple can't be shown, doing the same things, because they are gay.

But I will go on enjoying every moment of Kevin/Scotty that we DO get to see, because they simply are, to me, the best couple on B&S.

I liked "Bakersfield".

I can so imagine Nora's angry yelling at William. It must have felt so good for her to get that out of her system.

I liked the Kevin/Tommy fight and the fact that there was no real 'winner' in this one. Justin trying to be the 'grown-up' one of the three brothers was a welcome change.

Finally! A Kevin/Rebecca scene again. See how well she can interact with the other Walkers as well? And not just with Justin. And, please, keep the pillow, I love that one!! It's one of those things that just catches my eye everytime I see it. It somehow BELONGS at Kevin's place.

I love how Sarah is taking charge of her life again. She's been adrift for too long. Her anger at being lied to was terrific and the groveling the blond (sorry, didn't get his name) had to do was great as well.

I was glad to see Saul show up in this episode as well. It seems he's been more on tv this season than the last, which is a good thing.

Missed Scotty. Missed Julia. But I doubt they would have added anything extra to this episode, so maybe it's for the best.

The Kitty/Nora argument was a bit off, but I guess that is has to do with the fact that it bothered me that Nora seemed to think it necessary to upset her daughter by comparing William and his cheating, with Robert's position.

Rather than calming Kitty down, she just made Kitty's discomfort even worse, pushing Kitty to the point that she had to defend her husband and her marriage.

And I'm not entirely sure if Robert is as happy with the child as Kitty is.

I'm looking forward to the next episode and the other part of the interview with Luke.

[wll]

I couldn't bring myself to post anything this episode. I began typing on Sunday night while watching, which began as follows (I retrieved it out of my deleted bin):
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When Justin walks into the bedroom towards Rebecca in bed near the start of "Bakersfield", he's in a silky-looking robe (her robe?). The lighting seems decadent. There seems to be more going on than meets the eye. For a brief second I think, impulsively, maybe Justin and Rebecca went to a swingers party and picked up another couple & brought them home (something "Boogie Night"-ish about the lurid lightening or that robe here? am I projecting?). Anyway. Then I realized nothing quite so sensual and experimental was going to take place --- just Justin and Rebecca talking --- business as usual. Not a whisper of authentic eroticism.
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Anyway, I typed for half an episode then junked the review.

There is not too much in this episode that ignites the imagination, that triggers (awakens?) the visceral . Maybe a good healthy interesting threesome or couples thing could awaken these characters, help them discover who they are. Whatever little is being explored is not enough.

Really disappointed with the half-baked cheesy fight scene between the boys which didn't add up to anything memorable. Wasted opportunity. Brothers can really end up bonding when the underlying animosity pushes them to slug it out. It has the potential of fleshing out, adding interest & empathy to, Tommy & Kevin's relationship, giving them a shared history. What we got wasn't "serious" or comic or any singular vision at all that added up to something special . No visible tone. The moment just sort of jerked around and thudded (I actually heard a "thud" in my head, similar to that silent sound that happens when a comic in a club on Saturday night bombs). These actors were shafted by a partial idea.

And Nora indulgently shouting "I hate you, William Walker!" out into nature, into the abyss. We've done this before. She tossed her wedding ring into water in either season 1 or 2, can't remember which. There've been numerous recriminations. I suppose I'm open for more -- just more artfully done than "I hate you, William Walker!"

Not everything was flat. When Sarah confronts the surfer-turned-"green"-entrepreneur guy at her front door, things perked up a bit. He was passionate (almost getting down on his knees), Sarah was skeptical, the kids were running around getting ready for something. Some kind of buzz started. There was a crackle and hum to the scene. It worked.

I got that crackle and hum in "Everything Must Go" when Robert, Kevin and Kitty bantered and bullsh*tted about the proposed job offer to Kevin.

I really could use a lot more of this buzz and crackle and hum that energizes a scene. When you don't have interest in analyzing because the scene suddenly envelops you, sucks you in. I wish I felt more immersed in - as opposed to staring at - the action --- when the synergy between actor and actor - and actor and script - and director and actor and script just TAKES OFF, glides, hits the lift off point and purrs - and everything comes beautifully together.

[Mel]

I was also wondering if Robert was as excited about the baby as Kitty and I think revisiting the babysitter affair is interesting. I am also interested to see how kevin and robert end up getting along.

Sara and the new business bring in new interesting charactors and new plot twists, I think. However Justin/Rebecca and Tommy/Julia need new story lines.

Def need more Kevin and Scotty, I really like Scotty's character especially. I hear this season he has some success in his job, so that will probably bring some other plot twist.

Still one of my fav. shows. Looking forward to see where they take us next week.

[Tori]

To be fair - if we really go down that road and start comparing Rebecca and Justin with Kevin and Scotty - K/S do get the more quality scenes.

Scenes that have substance when it comes to their relationship and I find that way more satisfying that watching them having a sex-marathon. I love that Kevin and Scotty seem to be lovers and friends
.
So if given the choice I take their chaste but quality-wise rich relationship overt that of R/J any time. But still, form the sex-POV, there is a quite upsetting discrepancy. A discrepancy I would not have expected from this show since especially in s1 they never shied away from showing Kevin's sex life. Granted, we never saw him having sex in the shower with his lover in question but still we got the notion that he was not spending his night playing Scrabble with his men.

Relationship-wise, I couldn't be happier with Kevin and Scotty and looking at Rebecca and Justin I'm thankful that I don't have to put up with the Dawson's Creek storylines. As much as I love Dave Annable.

Matthew Rhys and Luke MacFarlane are magic on screen and as long as they're not messing with that I'm willing to go through every Illegitimate Child of the Season. And the sex-marathons of Justin and Rebecca.

On another note, I really love what Balthazar Getty is dong with Tommy. He is a fine actor and I understand that Tommy is torn between running the firm and simultaneously hating the fact that he hurt Kevin (and Sarah). Great job. He is a wonderful subtle actor.

[beamergirl]

Am I the only one that heard the f--- word on the previews for next week. I certainly hope I was mistaken. I have closed my eyes with the gay relationship and understand that everyone has their own thing. However, I will not tolerate that offensive language when it is not needed.
It does nothing to enhace a dialogue and only turns people off by seeing how far you can push the envelope.
Please do not let this happen.

[Mim]

What does Justin do all day? He should get a job and become independent.

[Isa]

Oh don't listen to all the J&R haters - those two have absolutely AMAZING chemistry!

Justin&Rebecca belong togehter - and their storyline is getting better and better!