Brothers & Sisters is the modern version of The Sullivans. It concerns a wealthy Pasadena family, headed up by matriarch Sally Field -Nora- who has five grown-up children: Sarah, Kitty, Tommy, Kevin and Justin. Nora used to be married to Tom Skerritt, but he died in the first episode, leaving his family to discover his many affairs and dodgy business dealings. The Walkers (for that is the family name) are always telling each other's secrets, and having indescribably dysfunctional dinner parties where they all get together and find yet another family skeleton to send tumbling out of the closet. When they're not being a family, they are each allowed to have partners, careers, children etc - as long as they understand that it's really about the family and don't try to move to Boston.
In this season, Sarah's been in Europe doing some business deal (having a baby in real life), Kitty's got Lymphoma, Tommy's in a commune in Mexico because he's evading the law, Kevin and his husband are thinking about adoption, and Justin the ex-junkie ex army medic has just started at med school so he can turn his life around and marry Rebecca of the one facial expression.
By any reasonable standard, it is by far the best programme on TV.
I laugh, I cry, I become angry and frustrated (and that's just at Rob Lowe's hair). It's a soap, of course, but a high-functioning one - a bit like Grey's Anatomy, but with a family instead of a hospital. It's generally well-written, none of the storylines is too preposterous - it all looks very good and sunny. Mainly, I suppose, I identify. Just a bit. My family is really nothing like the Walkers - but Kitty and Justin have a sweet relationship that always makes me think of my little brother; the siblings row and tease their mother (as well as worrying about her all the time) they way we all do; they might drive each other crazy, but at the end of the day they are always there. It's heart-warming stuff.
It's not a clever, or glamorous, choice. It's not cool. It's just triffic. Watch it.
"it all looks very good and sunny"
ReplyDelete...and it's all shot inside a vast windowless room. The sun always shines on tv!
i wish tom skerrit was still in it.
ReplyDeleteand it confuses me that arvin sloane is there.
but if you love it i will give it a try.
when you lend me the dvd box set.
x