Brothers & Sisters

A month ago — a month! — when I started these character check-ups with a close-up on Nora, I failed to account for her many past love interests. Let’s correct that now with a look at the gentlemen and jerks with whom the widow Walker has been keeping company.

David
Nora’s contractor was sweet and on the spot to provide Nora’s first post-William romance. After a few dates, though, they ended things because Treat Williams went off to do another series Nora wasn’t ready to get involved. Prognosis: Seems like she might be ready now, and if she doesn’t move away with Isaac (as if), perhaps it’s time to bring David ’round again. I thought they were cute together, and unlike many of her other beaux, he’s not a complete jerk.

Marc
Speaking of complete jerks, Nora’s writing professor was a book you could judge by its cover — a sleazy older guy with a taste for coeds. Why Nora bought his bull for as long as she did is beyond me. Prognosis: It’s hard to think of anything at all redeeming about this professor storyline, unless it’s the fact that it precipitated a fairly hilarious food fight between Nora and Holly. Hope he’s off for a permanent sabbatical in the Land of Lost Love Interests. Or maybe Malaysia.

Stan
Despite the fact that he was played by Chevy Chase, Stan started out as a surprisingly promising character — Nora’s old high school boyfriend and official First Time, with whom she reunited on a whim. Inviting him to Kitty’s wedding turned out to be a mistake, though; he had an allergic reaction to Republicans that turned him into the sort of inconsiderate airhead you’d expect from a Chevy Chase character. Prognosis: It might have been fun to see Ida put Stan back in his place, but not fun enough to ever, ever bring him back. Ever.

Isaac
Nora’s current main squeeze is another smooth sweet-talking Republican who may be insufficiently concerned with ethics, just like the man she married. We’ve not seen much of their romance, but from all reports, they’ve been getting serious over the strike break. Though some disillusionment on Nora’s part was originally scheduled for the last aired episode, it never showed up. Prognosis: I don’t mind Isaac, though the whispery thing Danny Glover’s got going is a little disconcerting. But unless he’s going to pull up stakes and move to Pasadena, I don’t see much future for the two of them. Like Kitty and Robert moving to the White House, we know that the prospect of any Walker moving far from the family is gonna be a tease.

Justin’s Father
Oh, of course, it’s William, it’s got to be William, right? For it to be anybody other than William would just be too too soapy. But … with all the speculation in the air, we at least have to consider the possibility that there might be a long-ago love interest in Nora’s life with whom we have not yet reckoned. Prognosis: If Justin really was conceived in the Ojai house as Nora said, here’s what I’m wondering: Exactly how old was Tucker Booth at that time, and what was he up to?

Brothers and Sisters, ABC, Nora, Sally Field, Treat Williams, Chevy Chase, Peter Coyote, Danny Glove