Brothers & Sisters

At last! The time has finally come. Tonight, we’ll re-enter the Walker’s world and see what’s in store for us in Season 2. We’ve been primed with previews and specials and video viewings, and 10 p.m. cannot come soon enough.

While we count the hours and minutes, here’s a discussion topic: What stories are you most looking forward to this year? And what stories, if any, are you dreading?

Last season’s final episode, Matriarchy, set plenty of plots in motion, including Justin’s going to war, Rebecca’s confession that she was not an innocent in the Joe situation, Kevin meeting Jason, Saul being unsettled when an old friend declares he’s come out of the closet, the merging of Walker and McCallister clans, Julia’s depression and Tommy’s escaping from it. Combined with the Holly-Tommy business venture, Sarah and Joe’s split, McCallister’s presidential campaign, and the future arrival of Danny Glover as a love interest for Nora, it’s sounding like a busy year already. And there are sure to be complications that we, and maybe even the writers, don’t know about yet.

I’ll admit that the storyline I’m most anticipating is also the storyline I’m most dreading. It involves two actors who were severely underused last season, and will likely give them an opportunity to prove that they deserve screen time, or prove that less is more. That’s the Tommy and Julia story I’m hoping for/worrying about, and Balthazar Getty and Sarah Jane Morris who are going to have to sell it.

As someone who has two children with special needs, and writes on special-needs issues, I’m excited at the possible look at how a child’s challenges affect parents. I’ve read some good books lately about premature babies and the medical and emotional traumas they and their families face (I particularly recommend Alex: The Fathering of a Preemie), and there are good dramatic possibilities there.

What we’ve seen so far doesn’t encourage me that those possibilities are going to be well explored, though. Starting with twins and having one baby die sort of stacks the tragedy deck more than it really needed to be. Whereas many parents mourn the loss of a “perfect” child when a baby has special needs, these parents have a deceased child to mourn as well. I could have done without that baggage, and I still kind of resent the fact that the twins seem to have existed solely so one could die and there could still be living baby.

Then, too, the writers don’t have a great track record for dealing with children’s special needs. Paige’s diabetes was introduced for a dramatic storyline or two, but not really made a daily fact of life for her parents and extended family, as it surely would be. I’m afraid that the special-needs aspect of Tommy and Julia’s story will be buried under the more conventional soap-opera-y “Tommy follows in his father’s footsteps to be a workaholic jerk.”

Obviously, I’m fixated on my own special interests here, and there may be worthwhile places to take this couple’s story that has nothing to do with their child. But I’d sure like to avoid another marriage broken for the sake of great arguments and Emmy reels.

I’m also hoping that we don’t have a lot of artificial break-ups in the path of Kitty and Robert. If Rob Lowe’s a regular, and his character only exists in the family universe through his relationship with Kitty, it’s unlikely that they’ll split for good. But would it be such a drama-killer to have a smooth and happy relationship? I feel like Kitty’s foiling of the blackmailer without telling Robert is sitting out there like a land mine, and I’m not looking forward to any repercussions. I enjoy these two so much when they’re happy and bantering and flirting. Fighting, not so much.

As for the rest of the plots, they all sound good to me. I’m one of the few people, apparently, who does not hate Holly, and I won’t mind her being around — but I’d sure like them to find another note for her character. Another season as “thorn in the Walkers’ side” isn’t going to suit the character or the actress well. I think she can still create dramatic situations without being Snidely Whiplash.

How ’bout you? What’s tops on your wish list for this season? Which developments will make you hit the mute button? Share in the comments.