Hey, I’m back! Didja miss me? Due to server issues beyond my control, I was not able to get aboard this blog to post for the past week-plus, and you were probably not able to get here to see that I wasn’t here. But I’m back now, and you’re back, and let’s get back to Retcon Patrol! I’ll have something up later today (assuming the Internet gremlins cooperate.)
Tonight, on Brothers & Sisters, it’s trick or treat time — the treat is a re-run to help us with our Walker withdrawal, and the trick is it’s a traumatic episode that really didn’t amount to much in the scheme of Season 2 plotting.
The episode is “Domestic Issues,” which means we have another chance to watch Sarah get the crap beat out of her by Joe in custody court. Good times! Also in this episode, Tommy goes back on his word about that thing with Lena never happening again, and Kitty shares some news that inspires this brotherly exchange:
Kevin: Pregnant? She wouldn’t, not now.
Justin: I heard Mom talking to her on the phone, and Mom saw me, right off into the pantry.
Kevin: Oh my God. Did she go all the way in?
Justin: All the way in.
Kevin: I’m going to be an uncle again.
As befits those scary plot developments, it’s also Halloween, and while the clan gathering to watch Robert in the Republican presidential candidate debates probably doesn’t qualify as a full-out party, there are still some amusing moments. Also, as I recall, Travis was in fine form. To refresh your memory, check the posts written on its first airing:
I really loved this episode when it first aired. I thought it hit all the B&S marks for drama and humor and emotional complexity. But looking at it now … it really didn’t have as much plotline resonance as it seemed at the time. Sarah lost custody … but got it back again next episode. Kitty was pregnant … but miscarried next episode. Tommy had an affair … but had it cancelled out when his wife did, too. Was there anything that happened in this episode that was still an issue at season’s end? I suppose its legacy is that it marks the beginning of Kitty’s baby fever, and that has had some repercussions. Otherwise, though, it kind of put us through the wringer for nothing.
While I’m being nitpicky like that, I’ll also mention that the Retcon Patrol posts resume tomorrow with the first season’s second episode. Review the commentary on Episode 1, then continue on with me.
Tonight, Brothers & Sisters re-run season gets underway with the fourth episode from Season Two, “States of the Union.”
To refresh your memory, that’s the one where Nora and her daughters go on a spa trip, Sarah can’t quite allow herself to have a fling, Kitty’s upset about a prenuptial agreement she saw in Robert’s mail, Justin starts abusing his pain meds, Scotty sees Saul at Milo’s party, and, oh yeah, Tommy takes up with Lena (but if you’re like me, you’ll fast-forward through that part). For more details, check the posts written on its first airing:
Speaking of things we’ve already seen, starting tomorrow I’m going to be on Retcon Patrol, viewing the Season One DVDs in light of the Season Two developments, and pointing out all the places where things were not what they seemed — or, as may well be the case, as they were outright declared to be.
My plan is to blog about each of those original episodes over the course of several days, mentioning each moment of interest according to the time it appears on the DVD — kind of an extremely low-tech pop-up video, if you use your imagination. View along with me, and share your own observations in the comments. With any luck, there’ll be enough nitpicking and second-guessing and overanalyzing to see us all the way through the long idle summer.
And since it’s clear that the Brothers & Sisters writing staff doesn’t have time to do this sort of retroactive fact-checking, we can think of it as our contribution to the plotline health of the show. Yeah, that’s it.
And then, almost as soon as they returned, they were gone.
Tonight is the fourth episode of Brothers & Sisters since the post-writer’s-strike return, and the last one we’re going to get until fall — that is, if an actor’s strike doesn’t screw things up further.
What I’m feeling going into tonight’s episode is hope: Hope for the future of Kevin and Scotty, of course, as they tie whatever knot the state of California allows them to; but also hope that the Rebecca situation is settled amicably, hope that the Walkers find some way to foil Holly’s corporate takeover, hope that the threatened secret of William’s is interesting and worthwhile and not something we’re going to get a do-over on next season like Rebecca’s parentage, and hope that this season finale ends on as positive a note as last season’s.
Alright, that’s a lot of hope. But it’s Mother’s Day. Not a day I want to be seething about stupid plot turnarounds and unecessary evils. Hope! There’s always hope. It springs eternal, don’t you know.
To get you into whatever mood you find appropriate for tonight, a few offerings from ABC:
+ The official press release description: “Prior Commitments - Kevin and Scotty make a commitment to be life partners, Saul finally deals with his identity in a public way, and the family discovers that William (guest starring Tom Skerritt) kept yet another painful secret from his family, on the season finale of “Brothers & Sisters,” SUNDAY, MAY 11 (10:02-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network. Guest starring are Tom Skerritt as William Walker, Luke MacFarlane as Scotty Wandell, Michael Adler as Doug Manning, Michael O’Keefe as Wally Wandell, Jayne Brook as Bertha Wandell and Parvesh Cheena as Jordan. ‘Prior Commitments’ was written by Greg Berlanti, Monica Owusu-Breen and Alison Schapker and directed by Ken Olin.” In other press release news, it looks like no B&S next Sunday, then a rerun of “States of the Union” on May 25.
+ From the writers: A Writer’s Room video for last week, in which Supervising Producer Sheri Cooper and Story Editor Jason Wilborn describe “Moral Hazard” as the episode in which every storyline explodes, and express a hope that the fans’ feeling of Justin-Rebecca yuckiness will soon die down and we’ll all jump onboard; and a Bloggers & Sisters entry on “Prior Commitments” that promises “the episode does what any finale should do — wrap up one box and hint that there’s another waiting behind it.”
+ A promo on the B&S homepage in which the ABC Voice of Dramatic Inevitability intones, “Sunday: A season finale event with a cliffhanger ending to an incredible season” while we hear snippets of dialog like “Kevin’s getting married!” “She deceived us!” and “Mom, we have something to tell you!” To which I’ll just comment that this sounds less like a hint that there’s another box than it does bashing us over the head with it. But I’m hopeful! Hopeful, yes indeed!
+ A preview that includes a scene with Kevin and Scotty discussing the fact that Scotty’s parents will not be attending their whatever-they-decide-to-call-it ceremony; and a scene in which Sarah accuses Holly of lying about Rebecca’s paternity so that William would leave her money, with the proof being the presence of that extra “R” at the end of his password. Which gives me a bad feeling about the nature of William’s alleged new secret. Hope … fading … must … stay … hopeful.
Assuming you haven’t abandoned all hope for the series, share your thoughts here on tonight’s episode, and I’ll be back during the week with a review, recap, memorable lines, and five questions.
My husband likes watching science fiction. And invariably, when I come in the room and find him in the middle of some episode of some space opera, I can tell which scene we’re in: The one in which the oxygen is running out, and the communication system is down, and the enemy is closing in, and the engine’s about to explode, and all hope is lost, and that bunch of regulars, by golly, this time, they’re all gonna die!
That’s sort of where we seem to be with the Walkers, now, isn’t it? The family business is going down! Rebecca has lost her family! Justin’s in love with his sister! All we need is a meteor hurtling toward Pasadena (or perhaps a massive fireball fueled by the heated wrath of fans) to complete the picture. The Walkers, woe is them!
We can only hope that, as with so many scenes of intergalactic doom, things get reconciled unexpectedly in a less than doomsday sort of way. I don’t suppose we can hope for a lab mix-up that wipes this whole de-Walkerizing subplot from the face of the planet, but some honesty from Rebecca and a resolution that relieves Dave Annable from doing the Puppy-Dog Eyes of Forbidden Love all the way into next season would be nice. Likewise, whatever is going to befall the family business, be it financial ruin or rescue by everybody’s worst enemy, let it happen in a fashion that does not necessitate a cliff-hanger.
To get you into the mood for tonight, a few offerings from ABC:
+ The official press release description: “In a surprising twist of fate for the Walkers, Holly becomes the only saving grace for Ojai Foods after a major international business deal goes bad. Meanwhile, Justin delivers some heartbreaking news about a family member, Saul makes a stunning confession and Kevin and Scotty share a life-changing moment, on “Brothers & Sisters,” SUNDAY, MAY 4 (10:02-11:00 p.m., ET). … Guest starring are Luke MacFarlane as Scotty Wandell, Justine Dorsey as Sophie McCallister, Max Burkholder as Jack McCallister, Matt Fletcher as the cashier, Tom Virtue as Dr. Bob Rosen and Paula Rhodes as the B-movie victim. “Moral Hazard” was written by Sherri Cooper-Landsman and Jason Wilborn and directed by Michael Morris.”
+ The preview on the B&S homepage, the same one, I think, that we saw at the end of last week’s episode. To recap: Kitty and Robert try making a baby the old-fashioned way; Sarah says they’re about to lose the family business; Nora says Sarah can’t make mistakes like this; Kevin says to Justin, “You have to stay away from her!”; Rebecca asks Justin if something’s wrong; Rebecca runs away from Justin looking upset; Rebecca tells Holly she’s incapable of loving anybody. And over all of this, the ABC Deep Voice of Dramatic Come-Ons intones, “When the passion is hot and the scandals are juicy, when the betrayal goes deep, and when the desires are forbidden, it’s just another night with the Walkers.” And a singer sings, “Here comes the rest of our lives.”
+ From the writers: A Writer’s Room video for last week, in which Supervising Producer Liz Tigelaar and Consulting Producer Josh Reims seem really pleased about this whole Rebecca paternity business; a Bloggers & Sisters entry that begins “Greetings lovers (and ex-lovers) of our show” and acknowledges that many fans are not so pleased about this whole Rebecca paternity business; and the return, against all that is good and decent, of the McCallister and Me blog, which by all rights should have died with the McCallister campaign. Instead, the blogger has switched from stalking the candidate to stalking Justin and Rebecca. Whatever.
Assuming you’re still watching the show, share your thoughts here on tonight’s episode, and I’ll be back during the week with a review, recap, memorable lines, and five questions.
Wish you could hang around the Brothers & Sisters set? Have lunch with Uncle Saul? Maybe grab a passing writer and slap some sense into him or her?
Can’t promise that last part, but Margie from Watching Battlestar Galactica wrote to let me know that CharityFolks.com is auctioning off a day on the B&S set, complete with a midday meal with Ron Rifkin. They did the same thing about a year-and-a-half ago; apparently Rifkin’s the only guy on the set who’s willing to lunch with nobodies.
Once again, the auction proceeds go to DreamYard & Urban Ecology Institute; once again, there are a crazy lot of rules pretty much limiting any likelihood that you’ll see anything juicy; and once again, they are using the same old old show logo, the one above, which has not been correct since they scrapped the first pilot. Does this set visit take place in a time warp, or what. Say hi to Betty Buckley!
The other thing that cracked me up about the auction page is this run-down of Rifkin’s resume: “Ron Rifkin is an actor and director who is featured in numerous television shows. Perhaps best know for the role of Arvin Sloane in Alias, opposite Jennifer Garner, Mr. Rifkin currently plays second-in-command businessman Saul Holden on Brothers & Sisters, opposite Sally Field. He also played Bonnie Franklin’s second boyfriend on One Day at a Time.” I mean, this guy’s got nearly 100 credits on his IMDb profile, not to mention a distinguished Broadway career, and the best they can do is “Bonnie Franklin’s second boyfriend”?
(Not surprisingly, this bio is lifted fairly directly from the actor’s Wikipedia entry, which must have been written by a One Day at a Time fan.)
Still, all kidding aside, it would be pretty cool to get a set visit, and surely someone among my readers has $2,000 burning a hole in his or her pocket to make it happen. Go, get Ron Rifkin to share his favorite credits over lunch, and report back!
There’s another new episode on tonight — hooray! — in which we, or at least Rebecca, will apparently discover the results of her paternity test — boo? hooray? hard to say. What does look like fun is the prospect of the Brothers Walker out surfing together. The sight of Kevin in a wetsuit on the beach seems as unlikely to me as the sight of Justin on a golf course, but this family’s full of surprises. Maybe too full.
At any rate, if you’re looking for some previews and promos to get you ready for tonight’s trip down Walker way, here’s what ABC has placed at your disposal:
+ A new Writer’s Room video, with David Marshall Grant and Molly Newman discussing “Separation Anxiety.” Sample revelation: Grant’s favorite quote from the episode was Isaac’s “Undecided voters tend to go with the incumbent”; Newman’s favorite was Justin’s “I live here, pant-load.”
+ The ABC B&S homepage also features two promos and a sneak peek. There’s also a silly little cross-promotional interview with Dave Annable and Chyler Leigh of Grey’s Anatomy, in which the two actors pretend to be interested in one another’s characters and experiences. Annable does come off as completely adorable, of course. As always.
+ The writer’s blog Bloggers and Sisters has a short preview of tonight’s episode, a long post about a set visit during the filming of the episode, and another long post about a table read for the first episode of next season.
+ The writers’ TV Guide blog and fake-paparazzi McCallister and Me blog … have not been updated since before the strike, actually. And I’m fine with that. Let the writers focus on writing episodes. (Would be nice if the music guide got an update, though. And the family tree, alas, may soon need one.)
Photo: ABC.com
Hey, wait, looks like there’s a Greg Berlanti production on ABC tonight at 10 p.m.! But … not Brothers & Sisters. Nope, it’s Eli Stone getting the Walker spot this Sunday, and though we certainly wish it well, and welcome it more than the newlyweds that have been squatting here for lo these many weeks, it kind of stinks that all the Desperate Housewives return attention and PR doesn’t benefit our show. Ah, well. Been there before, we have.
Next Sunday, though, next Sunday promises to return us to the Walkers’ world, and in preparation, the ABC site is fairly blooming with goodies for B&S fans. Like that nifty widget above, for predicting next showings and viewing videos and seeing still photos and getting news stories and, somehow, planting trees. You can grab a copy for your own blog or social network page, and provide ABC with some free advertising! Yay!
Also on the ABC site for the show are five upcoming-episode videos, including three promos, a video diary in which Rebecca reminds us of everything that’s happened over the past season-plus, and two sneak previews. One of those previews visits Robert and Kitty in the fertility specialist’s office, and the other finds the sibs gathered in the kitchen while Isaac and Nora think they’re having a romantic private dinner. Hey, you silly Walkers! We’ve missed ya!
There’s also two new posts on Bloggers & Sisters, including one in which an intern shares his mother’s theories about Rebecca’s parentage, and another in which writer Dan Silk responds to all the crabby comments he got last time he posted on the blog. Here’s my crabby comment: When he says, in reference to the next-to-last episode of the season, that “You will gasp with joy at every commercial break” … wouldn’t that mean the show is so awful we’ll be happy to have a break from it? Let’s hope that’s not what he meant.
For the moment, though, I’m just gasping with joy at the thought of having a new episode next week. Since I’ve finally run out of character check-ups, for this remaining little span of days I’m going to speculate on some plots I’d like to see over the next season or so. Come by and add your own creative brainstorming.
Including tonight, we have three more Walker-less Sundays before Brothers & Sisters comes back with its new exciting plotlines that promise to leave us dumbfounded. In the meantime, we’ll just have to settle for being dumbfounded by the very fact that a show like Here Comes the Newlyweds has taken over our 10 p.m. timeslot. Not for much longer, though, happily, as tonight represents the next-to-last outing. Just so you know what you’re missing (unless … no, no, surely you’re not watching it, are you?) here’s what an ABC press release has to say about tonight’s newlywed action:
“Here Come the In-Laws” - With just three couples left, the pressure is on to see who will win the jackpot — which is still climbing! The couples are surprised when their parents and in-laws come to visit them so they can spend quality time together, but some awkward moments occur. And the husbands get to know their fathers-in-law better while they build a soapbox racer together.
Hey, I don’t know about you, but I have enough awkward quality time with in-laws on my own without having to watch strangers go through it for money. And … soapbox racers? Really? Wouldn’t you really rather see the scene that would ensue if Tommy and Mr. Ridge had to do something that required the use of power tools? There go the in-laws!
For your Brothers & Sisters fix this week, you can now check out the extremely belated Writer’s Room videos for Episode 11, “The Missionary Imposition,” and Episode 12, “Compromises.” As with most of the “Writer’s Room” segments before them, they’re relatively free of interesting content, and the fact that these episodes were written pre-strike and filmed without the writers present does not help much at all. The writers do admit that it was difficult to scrunch the scripts in under tight deadlines and not be able to do anything during the actual shooting, but there’s not the kind of “Man, that scene between Robert and Jason was so lame, if we had seen how badly it played we would have tweaked it” scoop that we’d surely have wished.
Still, in the absence of actual new Walker mayhem to enjoy, it’ll have to do.
No, this isn’t another post about the fall-out from the Kevin-Jason breakup, and whether Robert and Kevin will ever be able to put their differences aside and be friendly brothers-in-law. This is about the Sexiest Stars 2008 poll on the TV Guide site. And the fact that the “Sexiest Siblings” category offers a vote-splitting impediment to Brothers & Sisters victory.
First on the ballot in that category is The Walkers. Yay! And second on the ballot? Robert and Jason McCallister. Yay, too! Great to see the show get more than one nomination in any poll, much less in the same category. But it creates a problem, because if B&S fans don’t unite behind one of these choices, it’s going to open the door for some other sibling group to sneak on through.
The other familial contenders are Juliet and Jeremy Darling from Dirty Sexy Money, Nathan and Lucas Scott from One Tree Hill; Michael Scofield and Lincoln Burrows from Prison Break; and Sam and Dean Winchester from Supernatural.
All those shows can muster up is two sexy contenders each. Ha! We see their sibling pair, and raise them a whole sexy family! That should be good for something, shouldn’t it?
The only other category of sexy that B&S is named in is “Sexiest Pout,” for which Calista Flockhart competes against Evangeline Lilly of Lost, Blake Lively of Gossip Girl, Lindsay Price of Lipstick Jungle, and Vanessa Williams of Ugly Betty.
I’m not sure Calista would be my pick to carry the pouting banner for the show — I’m kind of partial to that wounded look Matthew Rhys gets when Kevin’s pouting — but I’ll vote for her anyway. And I think I gotta go with the whole Walker clan over the extremely fetching McCallister boys; after all, Robert’s a brother-in-law, so that means he should count for the Walker team, too.
It would be nice to see B&S win one of these popularity contests somewhere along the line, wouldn’t it? Honor just to be nominated, yeah, sure, but winning’s good, too.
In case you haven’t been in on the mourning of the past few weeks, no, there is not a new episode of Brothers and Sisters on tonight, and no, nobody’s happy about it. But the strike time must be made up, and we must be made to wait, and April 20 is our target date to get back to the Walkers and away, far away, from programming like this, airing tonight in our 10 p.m. timeslot:
“No Honey, You’re Perfect” — As the competition heats up, the five remaining couples continue to compete for the life-changing jackpot. There is a relationship test to see how well the husbands know their wives’ physical flaws, and an experiment to show off the couples’ parenting skills by spending time with several playful, energetic children. Then the men go grocery shopping, with the women only allowed to describe in broad terms items on the list via cell phone, on Here Come the Newlyweds.
At times like this, I am reminded of the immortal words of Saul Holden, who said:
“I don’t hate golf. I loathe it, I despise it. I would rather spend all eternity at a dinner party seated next to Britney Spears than waste an afternoon lugging clubs around with a bunch of overfed, overprivileged Arnold Palmer wannabes.”
Substitute “reality TV” for “golf” and “Here Come the Newlyweds” for the wannabes, and that pretty much sums up my thoughts on ABC’s B&S replacement fare. Walkers, Walkers, hurry back!
The writers are back on PR duty, anyway. A new post is up at Bloggers and Sisters, but it raises as many questions as it answers, such as:
Another Sunday night, another week of missing the Walkers. There is no new episode of Brothers & Sisters on tonight, and no old episode, either. Instead, ABC would like us to watch this cross-promotional reality fiesta on Here Come the Newlyweds, the current inhabitant of our 10 p.m. slot:
“Take My Wife Please” — To see how well they can work together as a team, the couples get a tango lesson from “Dancing with the Stars” alumni Tony Dovolani and Elena Grinenko. Dance expert and “DWTS” judge Carrie Ann Inaba gives the couples their final scores.
On the plus side, we only have five more of these dismal Sunday nights, and then the Walkers come back on April 20. In the meantime, let’s huddle before our cold, dark TVs and tell spoiler stories. Click on the link below to continue, if you dare.
Hey, it’s Sunday! Is there a new episode of Brothers & Sisters on tonight?
Ha. You wish. No new episodes for us until April 20, courtesy of the writers strike.
Well, okay, then, how ’bout a re-run?
Nope, you’re forgetting: ABC hates us. That’s why they’ve programmed a reality show called Here Come the Newlyweds in the hallowed B&S slot for the next way-too-many weeks. Here’s the network’s description of this particular slice of reality:
“Hosted by comedian Pat Bullard, “Here Come the Newlyweds” is all about relationships, the differences between men and women, and the universal issues that every couple must face. The newlyweds are diverse, sexy and competitive, including such pairings as high school sweethearts, couples who fell in love at first sight, an arranged marriage, an interracial couple and two divorcees who are hoping the fourth time is the charm. In this six-episode show, each couple faces a variety of mental and physical challenges which will test the love and passion they have for one another as well as their competitive spirit. At the end of each episode, the field will be narrowed as the couples vote to send one couple home. The stakes get higher as the potential nest egg grows, until one couple ultimately wins the grand prize.”
Please join me in weeping.
Tonight begins our long drought of non-Walker Sunday evenings, as Brothers & Sisters is all out of new episodes thanks to the recently resolved writers strike. We’ll get new stuff again on April 20, giving us eight sad show-free Sundays to survive.
Sadder still, our Sunday-at-10 time slot is being given over to a (shudder) reality show — “Here Come the Newlyweds.” It looks like I’m going to be going to bed early on Sundays for a while.
Still, tonight, we can’t be too upset about losing our spot, because what’s taking it up is The Oscars, which narrowly escaped being a hollow star-free shell had the writers not gone back to work. And along with that comes the inevitable Barbara Walters special, which this year has a B&S connection ’cause Barbara will be interviewing Calista Flockhart’s boyfriend. That would be Harrison Ford, of course, and the segment will probably be more focused on his return as Indiana Jones than on his personal life, but it seems likely that Flockhart will get some sort of mention, if not an appearance.
Hey, it’s going to be a long eight weeks, you know? I’ll cling to any connections I can find.
Are you doing anything special for Oscar-viewing tonight? I have a couple of friends coming over for our traditional Oscar watch; in my younger, pre-children days, I used to have parties, but now I’m lucky if I can just stay awake ’til the end. You know who would have really great Oscar get-togethers, though? The Walkers. I’m going to think about them, tonight, gathered at Nora’s with their significant others and a couple of crates of wine, snarking about movies and hooting at acceptance speeches and critiquing the actresses’ dresses and hairstyles and facelifts. Good times! Wish we could be there.
We’ve got one more new pre-strike episode left before the break the production needs to catch up again, and it’s airing tonight. As we discussed a while back, “Compromises” is the one in which:
Now, in addition to that press release, there are three promos on the ABC site for our enjoyment and analysis. The first is just a quick ad; I think I saw that zip by the other night when we were fast-forwarding through commercials while watching Lost on DVR. Then there are two extended sneak peeks. The first teases the much-anticipated karaoke bar scene with Road Trip Sarah in full devil-may-care form and Kevin looking kind of morose and sorry for himself (isn’t this the way they always are when they drink too much?). It also includes some scene snippets indicating that in addition to help with finding closure, Sarah also needs Graham’s assistance in locating her undergarments.
ABC's Brothers & Sisters is all about the Walker family and their many, many secrets. Also, their complete inability to keep those secrets in any responsible fashion. Spilling secrets is what this site dedicated to the show is all about -- through episode recaps, character musings, spoilers, casting scoop, plot developments, news flashes, and all the good gossip about a beautiful bunch of actors. Don't keep it a secret -- stop by often, and spread the word!
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