Brothers & Sisters

Dear old dad. Daddy. What a guy, that William Walker. Smooth talker. Peacemaker. Great hair, even when he’s dead in the water. Icon of business and marriage. Makes grown daughters melt into adoring children. Okay, sure, he has tense and secretive phone conversations, he hobnobs with mysterious blondes, he blames his brother-in-law for financial indiscretions that he knows more about than he’s telling. But you’ve got to give it to the guy — he knows when to make an exit.

At first, this pilot gives you the impression that the show’s going to be all about Kitty. The wayward daughter, the Republican radio host, come from NYC to LA to see about a TV show, and also see if her mother’s forgiven her yet. No, not so much. Mom’s willing to make tense happy talk and hug stiffly for the sake of Dad’s approval, but that shouldn’t be mistaken as actually indicating she’s happy Kitty’s there. Also not so happy she’s there is her controlling New York boyfriend, Jonathan, who makes it pretty clear that this whole being a TV star thing is way less worthy than accepting his engagement ring and going home to make babies like a good little Republican wife.

Happier that Kitty’s home are her four interfering siblings, who fall instantly into the sort of bitchy rapport viewers will come to know and love in episodes to come. Also happy to see her is the producer and co-host of the TV show, who do their best to inspire her to come out of her radio shell and really make a difference. ‘Cause, you know, high-minded discourse and inspiring beliefs are what point-counterpoint pundit shows are all about, people!

And it all seems so important, for about five minutes. But it doesn’t take long to realize that there are more interesting things going on in the Walkers’ lives than whether Kitty will choose the handsome rich guy or the star-making job. Things like sister Sarah’s business and personal travails — a job where she doesn’t get enough respect and a marriage where she doesn’t get enough touching; hyperactive kiddos; and an ex-co-worker for whom she had feelings enough to ditch her job and go to work in the family business, whatever she may say to the contrary.

There’s plenty of business intrigue set up here, too — is Uncle Saul lying about the accounts? is William lying about Saul lying about the accounts? where’s the pension money? who’s the broad in the short skirt? — and a clear indication that little brother Justin, who Served In Afghanistan, is spiraling out of control. There’s also a fair amount of forced banter about Kevin being the Gay Brother, and just in case you missed it, did we mention he’s gay, and hey, his mother would like him to bring home a nice guy for dinner, because he’s gay, don’t you know?

And then there’s brother Tommy and his wife, Julia, who … well, you know, they’re just about exactly as nondescript in this pilot as they will be throughout the rest of the season, but at least they get some lines.

By the end of the episode, Nora and Kitty have made a baby-step toward reconciliation, with Nora admitting she loves her daughter, albeit while making a face that looks like she bit into a lemon. We also find out that Nora blames Kitty for inspiring Justin to go Serve In Afghanistan. Despite her mother’s merely warmish embrace, Kitty’s leaning toward staying in L.A., taking the job, and ticking off the boyfriend, although any man who serves up an engagement ring in a martini is probably no loss. Sarah’s discovered her dad’s financial shenanigans just about in time to discover his dead body in the pool, felled by a heart attack while looking at the stars with his granddaughter. That death and its aftermath will spin this close-knit, touchy family into whole new directions, casting away some of these extra characters and plot points as if by centrifugal force.

Still, they do seem like folks you’d like to settle in and spend some time with, don’t they? And have a few drinks with, most certainly.

_{Photo: ABC.com}

Brothers and Sisters, ABC, pilot, Patriarchy, recap