Brothers & Sisters – The Complete First Season
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: C Episodes: C+
I
expected another lame, tired, clichéd, predictable melodrama when Disney/ABC
delivered Brothers & Sisters as
a new series, especially with a cast that included Calista Flockhart, Sally
Field, Patricia Wettig and knowing how bad dramas have been since they started
going into decline in the 1980s. Note
that nighttime soap operas were far from the primary reason this happened. Instead, the show turns out to be a series
with something to offer. It has several
generations of the Walker family under one roof and goes on from there. The first 23 episodes of The Complete First Season turn out to be more watchable than
expected.
Of
course, this is nothing extraordinarily original, yet it is more intelligent
than much of what we have suffered through in prime time TV and that is not
even considering so-called “reality TV” that has made TV reach new lows. Simply put, it is ambitious enough to be
intelligent and somewhat honest about the same old storylines, though it helps
that they have at least some money. That
is not a cop out, but it would have been bolder if they had economic strife for
a change.
Predictably,
some of the characters do not get along, so they have to come to terms with
each other. That would be tired, but the
show tries to keep it real and moving.
That is half the battle won.
Though not a great show, the cast that additionally includes Ron Rifkin,
Balthazar Getty and Rachel Griffiths has some chemistry. Now that the show has survived, will it coast
or try to build up and take some risks?
We’ll see.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image has some of the usual depth, detail and
color limits we see in such series, but it is more on than off and much more
watchable than the terrible quality we have seen with similar recent shows. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is not bad, with
nicely recorded dialogue and good ambience, even when the surrounds are not too
active. The combination surpasses analog
broadcasts of the show.
Extras
include a bonus episode, audio commentary tracks on select shows, bloopers,
deleted scenes, Walker Family Tree
and two featurettes: The Family Business
and Behind The Scenes with The Brothers.
- Nicholas Sheffo
