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BROTHERS & SISTERS - Four Flashbacks and a Wedding

The season 2 finale of Brothers & Sisters was like a two-hour episode scrunched into one hour.  They covered a lot of ground, tying up loose plot lines and dealing out an average of one shocking revelation every 4.8 minutes, while simultaneously dangling new story threads for next season.  If the Brothers & Sisters creators' goal was to leave us wanting more, then mission accomplished guys.

Kevin and Scotty tied the knot in a civil union ceremony with an excess of floral decorations courtesy of Nora.  That's what Nora should do in her spare time; she should do custom floral arrangements for weddings and events and stuff.  The ceremony was nicely handled - they kept the cheese to a minimum - and was a fitting end for the whole Kevin/Scotty storyline this season.

Saul finally came out of the closet to the Walker clan, much to almost everyone's surprise.  I wish they'd spent a little more time with Saul this episode.  Wouldn't Nora and Sarah still be P.O.'d at him for nearly running Ojai Foods into the ground?  Man, I sure would be.

Everyone finds out the Rebecca isn't really a Walker, and Sarah gets crazy mad at Holly, who she feels deceived the family in order to get her hands on Walker money.  I think she's right, I'm not digging Holly anymore.  Regarding Rebecca, of course all the Walkers go out of their way to let her know that she's still one of the family as far as they're concerned, which was kind of sweet.

My Tom Skerrit Radar was going crazy this episode, since Mr. Skerrit appeared in a number of flashbacks as patriarch William Walker - before he died, naturally.  Zombie William would be cool, but wouldn't really fit the Brothers & Sisters vibe.  Anyway, my Tom Skerrit Radar was working overtime.  You know, I also have James Spader Radar, but I call it my Spader-Sense.  Get it?  Little Spider-Man joke there for ya.*

The flashbacks in this episode pieced together to reveal another dark family secret.   Since Rebecca wasn't the Lost Walker Love Child, Kevin and Sarah discovered that it was a boy named Ryan.  But where is the L.W.L.C.?  We gotta wait until next season. 

Finally, the Justin/Rebecca storyline reached its climax as they both realized that since they're not brother and sister anymore it's totally not gross if they like each other.  In a nice quiet scene at the end of the show they sit on a bench in Griffith Park and kiss - and discover that it's nothing like kissing a sibling.  Ah, young love.

All in all, a great wrap up to a fantastic second season, but still I remain unsatisfied.  I want to know what's going on with the Lost Walker Love Child and I don't particularly want to wait until next season to find out.  I would guess that's the mark of a good TV show.

--Dave Campbell

*Sorry, terrible joke.

BROTHERS & SISTERS - When in doubt...

I was right!  Saul goes to jail this episode! 

And yet, I was so very wrong.  Saul goes to jail, but not for the reason I thought he would.  He gets picked up for a DUI after he smashes his car into an innocent tree.  The guy's not having a good week. 

I thought for sure that Saul would fall on his sword and confess to fraud, because that is in essence what he did when he went behind Sarah's back and signed the big international business deal that went south and is now dragging Ojai Foods under.  But no, Norah makes Sarah go to Tommy and Holly to ask Walker Landing to bail out the family company.  They agree, but Holly wants the two companies to merge, with her as CEO and Tommy and Sarah serving as co-presidents. 

I am not liking Holly much right now.  At first she was opposed to the idea, but when Rebecca reveals to Holly the results of the paternity test - that she's not a Walker - Holly changes her mind real quick.  She's going to get the merger signed before everyone finds out the news about Rebecca - which means that Holly has no real stake in the Walker fortune.  Ooh, they're not going to be happy when they find out...

In other news, Robert and Kitty are trying to solve their fertility problems the old fashioned way - a couple of glasses of white, some Marvin Gaye, soft lighting, etc. 

In a sweet scene, Kevin proposes to Scotty in a proper romantic fashion this time, so they'll be getting married next week - or civily united anyway. 

What else happens?  Ah yes.  Justin is having major issues and feeling very creepy for having a crush on his sister Rebecca, but finds out that guess what?  She's not his sister after all and he's not a creep.  Instead of making out with Rebecca, he freaks out on Rebecca though.  I know it must be confusing and upsetting, but my first instinct in a situation like that would be to kiss now and cry later.  When in doubt, make out.

That's my new motto:  "When in doubt, make out."  I'm getting a T-shirt with that on it.  Thanks Brothers & Sisters!

--Dave Campbell

BROTHERS & SISTERS - Is Saul going to jail?

  OMG, I just thought of something. 

Forgive me if this is totally obvious, but hear me out:  on this week's Brothers & Sisters, "Double Negative," Saul does a deal to aquire Golden Plum foods behind Sarah's back and against her wishes.  I'm economically challenged so I'm a little sketchy on the details - I imagine/hope they'll elaborate next week? - but Golden Plum filed for bankruptcy after the ink was dry on the deal, so Ojai Foods is on the hook for $20 million dollars.  As Sarah points out, they don't have that kind of money and this whole crisis could kill the company.

Earlier in the episode Saul, who was acting like a jerk, sarcastically suggests that Sarah have him arrested for fraud since he did the deal against her orders.  I think that may be where this whole thing is going:  in order for Saul to save the company he's invested his entire life in, he may have to take the fall and go to jail.  Of course, that would mean that Sarah would have to press charges... 

Am I right?  Come on, I'm right.  Saul is going to fall on his sword and go to jail, it's the only way out of it.  I hope I'm wrong, but...

--Dave Campbell

BROTHERS & SISTERS - No, thank you!

The answer was “no” this week on Brothers & Sisters.  The episode, appropriately titled “Double Negative,” raised a bunch of questions, all of which were answered  with a simple “no.”

Let’s break it down in a SPOILERy way.  If you haven’t watched it yet, for God’s sake, stop reading this and watch the episode online here at ABC.com.  Then you can come back.  Please.  Anyway, here’s the breakdown:

Rebecca got the results of the test back!  Is she really a Walker?  NO.  Poor Rebecca is devastated; she’s been happy with the Walkers for the first time in her life and now she feels like if she tells them that she’s not William’s love child, she’ll be voted off Walker Island.  This greatly complicates her relationship with Justin, her brother-but-not-brother.  At least now it’s not creepy that he has a crush on her.

The Taylor campaign offered Robert the vice-president spot on the Republican ticket.  Will he accept?  NO.  Good for him – Congressman Taylor is a tool.  I’ve always wondered how difficult it must be for political rivals from the same party to bury the hatchet after a nasty campaign – I guess we’ll all find out in the real world soon enough, won’t we?  But in the Brothers & Sisters universe, Robert won’t play nice with the man who smeared him.  But at what cost, politically?

Are any of Kitty’s embryos viable?  NO.  Bummer!

Saul goes behind Sarah’s back and makes a risky business move.  Ojai Foods acquires Golden Plum despite Sarah’s objections.  Does the deal work out?  NO.  Huge disaster!  We’ll see just how huge next week.  Will Sarah ever trust Saul again?  NO.

Kevin decides that he and Scotty should apply for domestic partnership after Scotty is injured at work and racks up a huge medical bill because he’s uninsured.  Will Scotty accept Kevin’s rather pragmatic semi-proposal?  NO.  Scotty wants his wedding to be special, and you can’t blame the guy.  But hold up – if he got injured at work, shouldn’t L&I take care of the cost?  Maybe the labor laws are different in  California, I don’t know, but it seems like Scotty wouldn’t be stuck with such a huge medical bill for a work injury.

Will Nora undergo a massive renovation/redecoration project in order to snap herself out of a post-break up funk?  NO.  Phew.  The Walker house really didn’t need that indoor dog run with heated floors, even if it was going to be a lovely pink color.

So many questions, only one answer:  NO.  Sometimes “no” isn’t such a bad thing, though – particularly if it makes for some interesting TV viewing.

-Dave Campbell

BROTHERS & SISTERS - McCallister for... Vice President?

Man, I am bummed.  Robert McCallister (Rob Lowe) ended his presidential bid on this week's Brothers & Sisters.  He just didn't get enough votes in New York.  It looks like the Taylor campaign is courting him to run as vice president, but I don't think he's going to go for it. 

It's too bad, because I had all these McCallister campaign signs made up and now they're worthless...

Oh well.  Maybe in four years Rob Lowe will run again.

- Dave Campbell

BROTHERS & SISTERS - TV watching made easy

Brothers & Sisters is another ABC show that I had not watched prior to entering the high-stakes, high-stress world of professional TV watching. I take my trade seriously, though, and have made every effort to get up to speed on the comings and goings and couplings and dinner parties of the Walker clan. I’ve put season one of the show in my Netflix queue and have burned through the season 2 shows available for viewing on ABC.com. In short, I am a dedicated professional and will soon consider myself an expert on Brothers & Sisters.

It would really suck if I put all this energy into Brothers & Sisters and just ended up hating it. I mean, I can’t be expected to love every ABC show, can I? (Just kidding boss! I love all ABC programming.)But I will admit there are some shows I love a little bit more than others. After all, they can’t all be Dance War. Happily, I sincerely like Brothers & Sisters, and I’m totally not just saying that.

The acting and writing on Brothers & Sisters is consistently top notch, and that’s reason enough to watch. Sally Field rules as Nora the meddling matriarch of the Walkers. Field has always had such a charming, easy manner in front of the camera and it’s nice to see an actress of her caliber getting to sort of anchor a show like this. I like her, I really like her.  Welsh actor Mathew Rys, who plays the driven Kevin Walker, is really compelling - as is Balthazar Getty, who plays Tommy. Whoever cast those guys deserves a raise, because they both always deliver strong performances and have really created three-dimensional characters.  This season we also have Rob Lowe as Senator McCallister full-time as well as veteran actors Steven Weber and Danny Glover. It’s an embarrassment of actorly riches, and yes, I know that “actorly” is not a real word. 

So anyway, I’m stoked to see more new Brothers & Sisters episodes now that the Writer’s Strike is over and the natural order is slowly being restored to the TV Universe. I only ask that they keep writing nuanced, subtle, character-driven episodes, and that none of the characters get hit by a bus or anything now that I’m getting used to them. Seriously, Brothers & Sisters must have one of the most solid and capable casts on television and it’d be a shame to lose even one of the current ensemble.

However, if they could somehow work Dance War’s Bruno Tonioli into the mix? That would be perfect. But then, my idea of “perfect” is not the same as everyone else’s.

--Dave Campbell