Review of Brothers and Sisters TV series
Brothers and Sisters TV series
American drama that’s not quite The West Wing or Studio 60 but it’s growing on me.
I started watching this a few weeks ago after we finished the House and Heroes series as I was at a loss of entertaining programs to watch.
It didn’t really grab me initially as it was too slick, had a ”seen it done before” feel about it, but I kept it set on the Sky plus box and have been watching it when I get time since.
Its a drama series about the Walker family (mother, 2 daughters and 3 sons). It starts with the death of the father, William. Sally Field plays Nora Walker, the mother. Usually I’m not particularly fond of her as an actress, as I find it difficult to believe that its not Sally Field on the screen rather than the character she’s playing, so that wasn’t a good start. But she’s grown on me in this. She’s a democrat and discovers after his death that her husband had been having an affair for most of their married life. Her inevitable encounter with his mistress is pretty predictable but her adaption to life without her husband and the “what am I going to do with the rest of my life” quandry can be amusing. Holly Harper, the mistress becomes part of the family business after William leaves her a large amount of land in his will, so there’s more interaction to come.
Rachel Griffiths plays the older one of her daughters and I have liked her since “6 Feet Under”. In this she’s managing the family business and has 2 kids. Her character so far has been disappointingly 1 dimensional. There’s hassle between herself and her stay at home husband and his older son from his first marriage.
The other sister, Kitty, is played by Calista Flockhart, who basically plays her Ally McBeal character again, except this time she’s a journalist/TV presenter who becomes advisor to a republican senator played by Rob Lowe.
Their relationship and the banter between them is probably the most entertaining part of the programme. There’s friction between republican Kitty and rest of her democratic family. It’s reminiscent of the west wing but just not really getting there. The older brother is not particularly interesting so far. The gay lawyer brother is definitely the other highlight of the show as the younger drug addict, ex army brother is a bit too stereotyped for my liking and not a particularly convincing actor.
Overall, its not a bad hour’s entertainment, I’ve definitely seen worse. Though at times it does get a bit too sugary sweet, happy clappy and predictable for my liking.
Update: On reflection, I think the problem is that there’s a lack of something. Maybe some sibling rivalry could jazz it up a bit. Who can forget JR and Bobby Ewing’s and even Cliff Barnes..??
Rated /5 on Sep 06 2007 by ManicMammy
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