Brothers & Sisters

Boy, was this an aptly titled episode. There was plenty of bad news to go around, from marital treachery to a deadly accident to, um, kind of a bad date. One of these things is not like the others, but apparently you just gotta have a C plot.

The bad news is, Joe kissed Rebecca. Yep, he did. The greasy-haired musician does not deny it, and Justin threatens to tell Sarah about it if Joe won’t, because he is now the Truth Police. The good news is, Joe seems to take his responsibility seriously, enlisting Kevin to babysit so that he can take Sarah camping and find a way to ‘fess up. Despite Sarah’s obvious lack of affection for roughing it, those two crazy kids spend some quality time and realize they still love each other.

The bad news is, Joe has enough nerve to go skinny-dipping on a public beach, but not enough nerve to tell Sarah he kissed her sister. Justin, on the other hand, is plenty free with the info, cluing in Kevin, who suggests Rebecca may be lying. Justin returns to Rebecca for more details, and Rebecca kicks him out for doubting her. And the worse news is, Holly overhears their argument, puts two and two together right quick, and delights in spilling the beans to Sarah.

The good news is, Sarah confronts Joe about it right away, and he finally comes clean. The bad news is, he’s a complete passive aggressive ass about it, twisting things around to make it all Sarah’s fault for, I don’t know, wanting a house and kids and a faithful husband.

The good news is, given what a jerk he’s been, I don’t feel too bad when he finally flashes back to the truth — that he did indeed kiss the girl, but she wasn’t exactly upset about it, staying put for a second kiss and clearly being pleased with herself. The bad news is, she’s now worked her way into the Walker home, moving in at Justin’s suggestion after fighting with Holly, who for all her “Keep your husband away from my little girl!” protestations to Sarah knows exactly what that child’s capable of.

The good news is, even as her sister’s marriage crumbles, Kitty’s love life’s looking up. She’s finally taking charge of her grumpy senator boyfriend, calling him on his bad attitude with the staff and forcing him to take a day off at his ranch. Since they’ll be driving to the hacienda, Kitty lets the beleaguered young speechwriter Robert’s been picking on take the helicopter home for a night off from senatorial abuse. The bad news is, she also sends the kid to his doom, because while she’s giving her guy a fireside massage, the chopper’s crashing in a fiery wreck.

The good news is, despite his reluctance to make political hay from a tragedy (and here the West Wing portion of my brain plays back Moira Kelly saying, “But it’s such good hay!”), the senator makes a speech that honors his staffer’s memory, makes the senator himself look wise and sensitive, and so moves Kitty that she proposes marriage. Neither one of them can quite believe that, but after he gets over looking stunned, Robert seems pleased, and although there’s no answer by episode’s end, it’s pretty likely there’ll be more good news soon.

The bad news is, Nora’s not looking so lucky in love. She failed her writing class with the lecherous professor, who offers to raise her grade if she’ll date him. The good news is, although she does go through with the date, she sees through his flirtatious act and cuts him off again, getting her grade without losing her virtue.

The bad news is, she buys his apology, and agrees to go out with him again in the future. And the worse news is, in an episode full of tragedy, heartbreak, deceit and emotion, we had to occasionally break for this really lame and unnecessary plotline.

The good news is, according to the promos, Nora looks poised to smack Holly in the puss with a cake. The bad news is, we have to wait a whole week for it.

Brothers and Sisters, ABC, recap, Bad News

Good news! Tonight’s “Bad News”! That’s the title of the new (hooray!) episode on tonight. Here’s how ABC describes it in a press release:

“Sarah finds it very difficult to get past her husband’s alleged indiscretions with another woman, and Kitty and Robert reach an impasse as the shock of the tragic accident sinks in, on Brothers & Sisters, SUNDAY, APRIL 29 (10:02-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network. Brothers & Sisters stars Calista Flockhart as Kitty, Rachel Griffiths as Sarah, Sally Field as Nora Holden, Ron Rifkin as Saul Holden, Patricia Wettig as Holly, Balthazar Getty as Thomas, Dave Annable as Justin, Matthew Rhys as Kevin, John Pyper-Ferguson as Joe, Sarah Jane Morris as Julia, Emily VanCamp as Rebecca Harper and Kerris Lilla Dorsey as Paige. Guest starring are Rob Lowe as Senator McCallister, Maxwell Perry Cotton as Cooper Whedon, Peter Coyote as Mark August, Paul Cassell as Gary Morris, Zeb Newman as Steve Cohen and Dele Ogundiranas the waitress.”

Which leads me to three questions: How come Desperate Housewives gets two of our minutes? How come Nora, Saul, Rebecca and Cooper get last names but Holly, the five siblings, and Paige don’t? And doesn’t Thomas for Balthazar Getty’s character seem kinda formal? I don’t think we’ve ever heard him called anything but Tommy.

In case ABC’s description doesn’t make you feel sufficiently excited about tonight’s outing, here’s Entertainment Weekly’s description:

“Fallout from the Joe/Rebecca face suckage! An unexplained accident involves McCallister and Kitty! More exclamation-mark-worthy happenings!”

I’m breathless just thinking about it!

_{Photo: ABC.com}

Brothers & Sisters, ABC, Bad News

I’ve been on vacation this past week, and although I managed to watch even the re-run of Brothers & Sisters on our hotel TV Sunday night, I didn’t catch all of the promo for this week because people were talking. The nerve! This is what comes of watching shows with non-fans instead of sitting alone, obsessively hitting the rewind button on the DVR so as to catch every important morsel. Should have set the machine to record it, even though it was a repeat. Instead, I’m here waiting impatiently for ABC to post the blasted promo on its site. By the time they do, it will almost be time for the actual episode, and what fun is that? I need a week to stew on things.

Since no one on YouTube has seen fit to post that promo and help me out, here’s another little video for a silly Saturday: A B&S promo from … the Netherlands, I assume? Can anyone translate the voice-over?

Brothers & Sisters, ABC, promo, Netherlands

More and more people seem to be appreciating Brothers & Sisters, and now People is, too. The celeb magazine has a short item on B&S in its “Picks & Pans” section, and while admitting he initially panned the show due to disdain for the acting styles of Sally Field and Calista Flockhart — “two fusspot actresses who might be expected to flutter at each other like moths in a mirror” — writer Tom Gliatto now admits it’s a pick.

“The show has developed into a solid soap that really catches fire,” he writes. “Special credit goes to two actors who surprise us by mining mature, wry humor from the show’s melodrama. Their names are, yes, Sally Field, facing the messiness of widowhood with sweetness and steel, and Calista Flockhart as her prominent conservative daughter.” Hey, Tom, thanks for noticing!

In a box below that mini-re-review is an even shorter item on Emily VanCamp, who is quoted as saying Rebecca is “turning me into a little bit more of a woman. … I never behave the way she does, and I don’t lead with my sexuality. I’m still that clumsy little girl at heart, and it’s helping me launch into my womanhood. Though I won’t be behaving like her anytime soon.”

Like how? Like kissing your half-brother-in-law and lying about it? Like making the whole thing up? Like being a little too flirty while practicing guitar, but never expecting a smooch? Like what, Rebecca, er, Emily? Sunday’s still days away, and we’re dying to know.

_{Photo: ABC.com}

Brothers & Sisters, ABC, People Magazine, Calista Flockhart, Sally Field, Emily VanCamp

An article in USA Today yesterday looked at ratings dips for erstwhile hits like Lost and ER and Desperate Housewives and wondered if the cause might be long breaks with no new episodes, or whether there was really no dip at all, just time-shifting facilitated by DVRs.

Nielsen is making plans to start recording recording stats, but advertisers may not care — they’re interested in live eyeballs, not ones who blink as the commercials fast-forward by. Still, it made me wonder: Would factoring in record-and-watch-whenever viewers boost the ratings of Brothers & Sisters, which aren’t bad but could be better?

Personally, I watch B&S “live” whenever possible, ’cause I couldn’t stand the suspense of knowing the Walkers were getting in trouble without me. I then generally watch it again on ABC.com to get down dialog highlights.

When do you watch it? Are you sitting with me at 10 p.m. Sunday nights, taking those commercials for the team? Or are you watching on your own schedule, and suspending your suspense? Share your viewing schedule in the comments.

There’s a new post up on the writer’s blog “Bloggers and Sisters,” but since there’s no new episode to dish about, there’s not much scoop to share. Instead, it mentions that shooting is almost over for the year, and with it blog posts on “Bloggers and Sisters.” Not that there’ve been all that many posts anyway, but the commenters won’t have those poor bloggers to kick around much longer.

On the upside, there are backstage photos promised for Thursdays to come, so that’s something to look forward to.

In other news, TV Guide’s Michael Ausiello offers this tiny spoiler for this Sunday’s episode, regarding Rebecca and Joe and what’s up with that: “We’ll find out what really went on between those two on April 29. (Spoilery hint: They’re both guilty, but one of them is guiltier.)” Which one do you think it is? I’m tilting toward Joe.

There’s lots of drama promised for next Sunday’s new episode, most of it surrounding Sarah and Joe’s marriage and Rebecca and Joe’s alleged kiss and the likelihood of Justin not being able to keep a secret for even so much as one episode. And so here’s a promo that has … well, absolutely nothing to do with any of that. It’s a little YouTube item about Kitty and Robert and a fireside massage. It advances no plot, but I guess it does rope in the viewers who just want to see Rob Lowe on the floor in front of a fire and let their imaginations run. For those folks: Enjoy.

Since “Sexual Politics” had its first showing fairly recently, you don’t have to wait for a recap here the day after the re-run. The following are already written and available for your recalling enjoyment:

• Recap: 1-12 “Sexual Politics”
• “Sexual Politics”: Memorable Lines
• Five Questions: “Sexual Politics”

Looking ahead, here’s what TV Guide has to say about next week’s all-new episode: “With her marriage already on the rocks, Sarah shouldn’t accuse Joe of straying until she’s got definitive proof. Otherwise, her suspicions are going to kill their union faster than you can say ‘trust issues.’ Meanwhile, a tragedy of a different kind sends Kitty and the Senator reeling.”

_{Photo: ABC.com}

Brothers and Sisters, ABC, Sexual Politics, recap, quotes

But it’s old to the rest of us. Tonight’s episode is a repeat of “Sexual Politics,” the episode that introduced us to Chad, the guitar mom, and Julia’s libido. Speaking of that guitar mom … do you suppose there’s a reason they’re re-running this episode now, with Joe in hot water over another guitar lesson? Or is this just a random annoying spitting out of old episodes? Ponder that while you watch this promo and get primed for some fine repeat viewing.

Brothers and Sisters, ABC, Sexual Politics

A while back I mused about how ill-defined the character of Uncle Saul is, and how unknowable he seemed to be. And now comes an end-of-season spoiler to shed some light on that. I’ll post it after the jump, so that those who wish to remain unspoiled can just die of unfulfilled curiosity.

(more…)

Real and pretend California Republican politicians came together recently when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger stopped by the Brothers & Sisters set to say thanks for actually filming an L.A.-set show in L.A. Or maybe he was really just there to express gratitude for the shout-out in “Three Parties” about the only Republican celebrity being busy running California. Either way, Bloggers & Sisters snapped some pics of the real-life California governor and the reel-life California senator chatting.

Other blog entries discuss Sunday’s episode and the GLAAD awards, and the fact that there is in fact no new episode this weekend, although that post does throw us a bone by listing the dates and titles of the remaining unbroken run of episodes.

Brothers and Sisters, ABC, Bloggers and Sisters, Arnold Schwarzenegger

Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund

April 16, 2007, will be remembered as one of the darkest days in the history of the Virginia Tech community and the world beyond.

To remember and honor the victims of those tragic events, the university has established the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund to aid in the healing process and generate financial support.

The fund will be used to cover expenses including but not limited to:

• Grief counseling
• Memorials
• Communication expenses
• Comfort expenses
• Incidental needs

If you plan to give, please click the link below:

After being sadly neglected by the Golden Globes and guild-awards givers earlier this year, Brothers & Sisters finally brought home a trophy at the GLAAD Media Awards, handed out Sunday, April 15 in Los Angeles.

The awards are given to “recognize and honor mainstream media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and the issues that affect their lives,� and Brothers & Sisters bested The L Word, Hex, The Sopranos, and South of Nowhere for the title of Outstanding Drama Series. Jon Robin Baitz (show creator) and Matthew Rhys (who plays gay brother Kevin) accepted the award, with Dave Annable, Balthazar Getty, Rachel Griffiths, Ron Rifkin and Patricia Wettig also onstage.

It was a good night for ABC: The other television winners were Ugly Betty for Outstanding Comedy Series and the Grey’s Anatomy episode “Where the Boys Are” for Outstanding Individual Episode.

The awards will be broadcast on the Logo Network on Saturday, April 21. Meanwhile, enjoy the brief and slightly silly red-carpet interview with Patricia Wettig and Ron Rifkin at the end of this YouTube clip.

Brothers and Sisters, ABC, GLAAD, Jon Robin Baitz, Matthew Rhys

There’s a lot of gossip going around that Calista Flockhart and Harrison Ford got engaged on April Fool’s Day. And maybe that date should be a tip-off, because reps for both actors have denied that it’s true. But why should some wet-blanket official statement deny us the fun of believing tabloid reports, especially when the story is so cute?

According to a report in Grazia that’s been picked up by just about every gossip outlet from here to China, based on intelligence from an alleged “friend,” Ford “coached [Flockhart's son] Liam to run up to Calista and give her a rehearsed message - ‘Mr Ford is going to be my daddy.’ Calista just laughed but it was no joke. Harrison then told her he wanted to marry her. She’s thrilled about the proposal and so is Liam.”

So what’s the deal here. Did Calista say no? Was Harrison just playing an April Fool’s joke that got blown out of proportion? Did he see his name there at #4 on Forbes’s list of Most Expensive Celebrity Divorces and remember why he never wanted to get married again? Was the whole thing just made up to move gossip? Or is this one of those stories that will be denied right up to the point at which it’s officially announced?

Time will tell, I suppose. But if it gets Brothers & Sisters’ name in the paper, no publicity is bad publicity.

Brothers and Sisters, ABC, Harrison Ford, Calista Flockhart, engaged

Five questions from Sunday’s episode still rattling in my brain today.

1. Is Rebecca up to something? Honestly, it never occurred to me watching the episode that she might be lying. I thought Joe was very clearly putting the moves on her, laying on the “we’re both Walker outsiders” business pretty thick and intentionally invading her personal space. I bought her attempts to fit in at Game Night, and her reluctance to tattle to Justin. But I seem to be in the minority; many, many viewers, including commenters on this post, have their doubts about that girl, and over on the Television Without Pity message boards, they’re practically forming a lynch mob over her attempts to throw Game Night and wreak havoc in her mother’s footsteps. (By the way, how cool is it that there are now TWoP message boards for this show!) I don’t think there’s any way this plot line can turn out that I’m going to like, but we’ll see.

2. Has Kevin hit bottom yet? We love him, of course, but this Walker brother has been behaving pretty badly for the last few episodes. Granted, he didn’t know that he was making his anti-McCallister tirade to the senator’s own brother, but it was still pretty harsh stuff for a blind date, and he was completely tone deaf to Jason’s responses. Coming on the heels of his less-than-stellar ending with Chad, it’s making him start to look like a … heel. Lighten up, kid. We know you have it in you to be sweet, charming, and non-jerk-like.

3. What’s with all the “J” names? Justin, Julia and Joe seemed like just a little much, but now there’s Jason in the mix? Let’s hope Kitty’s old boyfriend Jonathan doesn’t come back.

4. What is it the senator sees in Kitty again? Boy, she just blew all that moral high ground she had going after their fight a couple of weeks back. It’s hard to see why such a well-spoken control freak would want to be linked to a flibbertygibbet who can’t get out a complete sentence without stumbles and head shakes and hand waves, and who blithely interferes in situations without at all thinking things through. Opposites attract, I guess, but if you look in the Successful Politicians manual, I think you’ll see a picture of Kitty with a line through it when you get to the section on Appropriate Political Wives.

5. Who eats turkey on Easter? It’s totally a ham holiday, people. And if you don’t dig pig, how about a roast, or even a chicken? Duck seems a mighty big way down the list. Unless that nefarious Rebecca, working together with the evil Joneses, conspired to steal every other animal product from every butcher shop in the greater Los Angeles area to stick the Walkers with duck-a-cide. She’s a bad seed, for sure.

Brothers and Sisters, ABC, Game Night, commentary