Brothers & Sisters

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.

TV Guide’s Ask Ausiello offered these spoilers in response to a question on whether Danny Glover’s Isaac will be back after the break:

I’m guessing he’s back since Nora decides to pack up and move away with him! (Note to self: Remember to check on Sally Field’s contract status.) In other B&S news, Rebecca gets a gift from maybe-daddy Ken Olin that prompts her to get a DNA test, and Rob Lowe’s presidential bid takes a dramatic turn.

That first item, about Nora’s move and Sally’s contract, has provoked some discussion in the comments on my Nora check-up. But I still think it’s just a great big tease. She might decide to move, she might pack some boxes, she might send her children into a panic, but unless there’s more backstage drama that we don’t know about, she’s not going anywhere.

I think there’s dramatic potential to Nora contemplating such a move, though. I’d be interested to see all those adult children who complain about her constant overinvolvement realize how much they depend on her — and it would be equally good for her to disengage from that a little bit, something she doesn’t need to move away to do. My only fear is that this will turn into another one of those low-suspense cliffhangers, like whether Justin would come back alive from war. I’d like to see this story resolved at the end of the season, and not hanging on over it.

As to Rebecca getting a DNA test — hallelujah! Like somebody asking a question on Lost, resolving a family mystery in a straightforward way is something you don’t see often enough on a family drama like this. Personally, I think Rebecca should have let Kevin bring that hair into the lab after her first Walker dinner party. But at least now, instead of skulking around and looking for clues and trying to trap Holly, she’s just going to get the darn test. I fervently hope it shows her to be William’s spawn, or else the writers have wasted a very large amount of our time. But either way, this “Are you my daddy?” business is a story that needs an ending, fast.

I’m assuming the dramatic turn Robert’s campaign takes leads to a full stop, but it will be interesting to see how that actually comes about, and what ramifications it has for future Robert/Kitty storylines. No matter what happens, I hope they find some kind of recurring role for Travis. That guy has grown on me; he started as just a ticked-off Kitty foil, but now he’s a snarky, sarcastic member of the family.

Speaking of Ausiello, check out this cute picture on his blog of him hanging out with beer-toting Matthew Rhys and Dave Annable. They look rested and ready to be back at work. And goodness knows, we’re ready to watch them.

Brothers and Sisters, ABC, spoilers