DVR Break-Up: Brothers & Sisters
It’s not an official break-up yet, but I may need some space, some time to figure out if this is what I really want.
The show isn’t bad; the acting is still top-notch, and the cast delivers at least one little heartbreaker per episode. But Brothers & Sisters has felt rudderless this season: spinning its wheels in plots nobody cares about (Nora’s McGuffi– er, “non-profit project”); losing the underpinnings of the characters (Kitty losing any smarts and self-possession because “daffy self-absorption” is easier to write; Nora whipsawing between saintly and cartoonishly clueless); refusing to confront the problems with the Tommy character for seasons on end, and then hustling Balthazar Getty off the show (…I presume) with an embezzlement plot that took forever to get going, but is now hurtling along at let’s-get-it-over-with/”and then Poochy went back to his home planet” speeds; it feels like the writers don’t know what to do with these people anymore. I have no problem with soapiness, but I don’t tune into B&S for that. I watch for the small character beats and the exploration of the emotional greys.
Nobody did those things better than B&S, but the writers’ room is over its collective head every time it gets into a business subplot, and it can’t seem to render happy couples, either. I’ve overlooked those things because it’s gotten so many things right in the past — how adult siblings speak to and think about each other; the void left by the patriarch, no matter what you find out about him later — but I get the sense that the network really pressured them to do the things they don’t tend to get right, to gin up some suds and attract new viewers.
I sympathize, but then, on Sunday, I had to watch this conversation:
Person A: I need to talk to you about something serious, and kind of bad, although you don’t know yet that it’s serious and kind of bad.
Person B: I need to talk to you too, about something good, although you don’t know that it’s good. But you go first.
Person A: No, you.
Person B: Okay, so this awesome thing or accomplishment happened, or I got some good news, or something! So I’m in a great mood, and a weight has been lifted, so you won’t want to talk about your thing because you feel too guilty about possibly bringing me down! Awesome. So…what was your thing?
Person A: Um…I’m going to pause for like two weeks…it was nothing, really. Forget it. Congratulations on your thing.
Person B: Thanks! I’m so psyched, I’m just going to totally forget that you were the one who initiated this conversation, and I won’t press you at all. Also, I’m electing not to notice that you look sad and are avoiding eye contact with me.
This is a soap opera conversation. I cannot stand it in a straight-ahead drama — people just do not behave this way, just forgetting that the other person in the conversation announced that s/he needed to talk about something — and of all shows to pull that shit, I never expected it from B&S. Everwood had a lot of the same problems, in that plots sometimes clanked, or situations didn’t seem set up well or fully thought through, but the characters (and by extension the actors) never got sold out like that, with empty BS dialogue that’s all about amping up a conflict and has nothing to do with how these people, or any other people, talk to each other. The shows had a good ear, and the shows’ fans watched for that. It wasn’t about whether, or when, Treat got over his wife’s death. It was about how.
It’s really disappointing. Rob Lowe acted his ass off in Sunday’s mega-sode; so did Calista Flockhart. So did Patricia Wettig, who got a long ton of exposition and filler-y “what does that mean” lines to dig through. But the problems in the Kitty/Robert marriage should have gotten foregrounded sooner; the writers should have had a better plan for the David character; and nobody gives a shit about Tommy anymore anyway, because the character’s an asshole and that’s how Getty is playing him. And he’s going to go to jail, and it’s not going to fix anything.
I’ll stick it out ’til the end of the season, but unless Jon Robin Baitz and ABC can smooch and make up, I think I’m done after that. Come on, Berlanti! You can doooo eeeeet!
Tags: Balthazar Getty Brothers & Sisters Calista Flockhart dial-a-cliche DVR Break-Up Everwood Greg Berlanti Jon Robin Baitz Patricia Wettig Product Break-Up Rob Lowe TV writing
I’m with you, though while the writing is a problem, I mostly can’t invest in these characters because they are such terrible people. They can’t have a meal without yelling at each other, they can’t keep confidences, they are terminally self-involved, they don’t seem to like each other but don’t hang out with anyone else. I feel sorry for all their spouses and partners. I think I watch because I like seeing them in pain. Yikes!
I’m not ready to dump it yet, but I can’t really dispute any of your charges either. I was thinking during Sunday’s episode that I couldn’t think of a single Tommy moment that Balthazar Getty didn’t play pissy. Like, okay, now he knows he’s getting the bum’s rush, so that would be why, but that doesn’t explain Seasons 1-3, other than that Getty is just a crappy actor. And not cute enough to get away with it. There. I said it.
@T-Bone: Seriously. And I don’t doubt for a second that wardrobe and hair have deliberately made him look even gackier lately now that he’s apparently an on-set problem child.
But even moments where he’s supposed to be sympathetic/tender/whatever, he plays it like he just stepped in poo. Which, career-wise, he has.
I have to admit – I have never understood the appeal of this show. On paper, this is a show I should love, but when I tune in, I am consistently annoyed at the bunch of them. It seems like the reason they all are so up in each other’s lives is because no other person could STAND a single one of them long enough to establish a friendship. The only character on the show I like is Holly, I think because she verbalizes everything I’m feeling as a viewer!
I agree that the Kitty-Robert marital conflict bubbled up too quickly. I was so confused at the end of the ep when Kitty was saying, “It’s just you and me” to the baby. I wasn’t sure if she was saying she was going to divorce the Senator or if she was just sort of resigned to him not being around a lot.
I agree with the things you mentioned, but you missed what to me was the start of it all-the de-Walkering of Rebecca. Not quite jump the shark, because to me the show isn’t unwatchable-yet-but that was definitely the start of the slide. They scrapped the main arc of the first season, all to capitalize on the supposed chemistry between Dave Annable and Emily Van Camp. And that has accomplished what-even if you overlook the quasi-incest thing, as a couple Justin and Rebecca are totally unwatchable. They have had a fight, pouted, and made up EVERY. EPISODE. this season, except this past one where the fight lasted over two episodes. Big improvement, NOT. The relationship ruined both characters. Dave Annable and Emily VanCamp are both terrific actors, and neither one of them can do anything with material like the conversation you outlined above.
Also? The kid playing Ryan can’t act.
“And I don’t doubt for a second that wardrobe and hair have deliberately made him look even gackier lately now that he’s apparently an on-set problem child.”
Possible, but how do you explain Ryan’s hair?
So timely… I was just feeling this same thing.. but for other reasons. Because seriously, my family? The Walkers, live. Every family gathering starts off trying to ignore the moose on the table, only to devolve into yelling and hurling insults that, though heartfelt at the moment, never really get to the heart of the problem. Only for the family to either forget out the outbursts the next day or glibly shoo them off. Until the next family gathering/crisis. We even have our own Tommy who can never quite pull off sympathtic and we are just on pins and needles waiting until he’s shipped off to the pokey for something he vehemently believes was his moral right, but is clearley ethically/legally wrong to NORMAL PEOPLE!
So, perhaps I’m trying to say from MY perspective, the writers get it TOO real. And I go to bed Sunday nights angsty and envision playing the Holly and telling all my family members what I REALLY want to say to them, but only in my head. Because god almighty does my family need a Holly.
So I guess it would be nice to see a family that messed up right itself somehow… but the past few months seem to make that not happening and it gets more and more *just like* my real-life ridiculous family. Too close for comfort.
I will say, though, I love Scotty. He’s like my sousal equivalent – understands the absolute crazy of my family, but lets it roll off and comforts his spouse in an appropriate and normal way. Yay for Scotty!
but if you break up there will be no more reenactments of the badger song!
While I still love the show, I will completely agree it’s not up to the quality of Season 1 or even the first half of Season 2. And ferretrick, you’re dead on with the whole de-Walkering of Rebecca, because that was just ridiculous and the ramifications of it were, I think, a lot bigger than what the writers had intended, because, frankly, now that Rebecca’s no longer a Walker, Holly’s purpose on the show, and her connections to the Walkers, has grown a LOT shakier. There really isn’t that much of a point to her character any more, and I find it more and more unbelievable that the Walkers would interact with her in any capacity. So in order to bring Patricia Wettig in, they have to resort to all these business plots, and like Sars said, that really isn’t the show’s strong point.
However, there are still parts of the show I enjoy, such as the whole Kitty-Robert-Kevin storyline basically paralleling Nora-William-Saul, and the actors can, with the glaring exception of Getty, elevate a lot of what they’re given. Especially Rob Lowe. I mean, this week wasn’t perfect, but he was just riveting.
Sars, I’m stealing your bit of dialogue up there – my friends and I were recently discussing lazy writing cliches that we hate, and that demonstrates my least favourite perfectly.
I haven’t been watching B&S, but let me tell you, I hate that conversation too. Haaaate.
“I have to admit – I have never understood the appeal of this show. On paper, this is a show I should love, but when I tune in, I am consistently annoyed at the bunch of them. ”
Sharon said it. I should love this show, I adore ‘most everyone in it. In this, I just want to slap slap slap them!
(@Peach – you could be Holly!)
Since I missed season one, I kind of like the Justin/Rebecca pairing, but I agree that this season feels very disjointed and directionless. Their conversation, which Sars so eloquently pointed out, is ridiculous.
But I still like Kevin’s relationship with his husband (I always get their names mixed up), and the weird kid (Ryan?) with the even weirder hair is going to mess things up- it’s totally telegraphed. Also, I wonder how close in age Ryan is to Justin.
So much word.
For a while now, I have kept it on DVR because I have the room, and I keep watching because I’m often home when it is on anyway, but I have no attachment to it anymore. A few quality moments buried in all that mess do not warrant a commitment.
I can’t believe no one has mentioned the obnoxious, whiny, petulant mess that is the Kevin character. He is just such a complete ass about almost everything. Kevin annoys me so completely I fast forward whatever scene involves him delivering more than a line or two. In my dream world, the writers would gay up someone else, pair him with the adorable Scotty, and imprison Kevin right along with Tommy. In fact, get rid of Justin too because Annable can’t deliver a line without giving his eyebrows a rigorous workout and using only one side of his mouth.
I still like the show well enough, but I do agree that it has problems. I’m a little bummed that Kitty just seemed to be okay with Robert walking all over her and killing the story in the paper and I found it totally weird that Kevin was so emotional about the Senator’s collapse on Sunday. From the way the show has had them interact, his bawling “I can’t believe we almost lost him!” reaction felt a little out of place to me.
@girl: Yeah, that moment was way off for me, too. Kevin’s whole journey as Robert’s second-in-command isn’t working for me, because it seems like he only exists to be caught in the middle between Robert’s and Kitty’s interests. And the writers can’t seem to decide whether they want to make Robert an out-and-out ass, so they come up to that line and then pull back.
I don’t even watch this show at all but I’ve been enjoying reading about it here in the comments. And Sars, that example conversation is one of those TV cliches that ALWAYS annoys me. There are many variations of it and they are all totally unrealistic. Especially to me, someone who always insists on bad news first, and when someone says “I need to talk to you,” they are GOING to tell me what the hell it’s about, and right away, or I will spend every second between now and the conversation time freaking out. The other variation that really annoys me is the one where person A needs to tell person B something, but they don’t because of blah-blah-blah-bad-timing-cakes, and then the Not Telling and the subsequent mess that results is a far, far bigger deal than Telling would have been in the first place. Except that the TV people NEVER seem to see this coming. I feel like real people are usually smarter than that. Not always, but usually.
[…] 4, 2009 by girlonthepark This is a few days behind since the show aired on Sunday, but I read a blog entry about it today and it made me think about the episode again so I figured I’d write about it […]
I agree with ferretrick: I think the De-Walkering of Rebecca was the beginning of the end. I can’t help thinking that such a wild change in direction showed the writers’ lack of respect for the viewers, and the hamfisted dialogue the show more and more often resorts to (I wish your sample dialogue were even the tiniest bit exaggerated, but it’s not) shows a lack of respect for the cast. Rob Lowe and Calista Flockhart both did fine work, but I don’t think the show really knows what to do with either one of them; the “easier to write” option is the most often chosen, for pretty much everybody. And don’t even get me started on Kevin’s sudden teariness over Senator Can’tspellister.
I’m a huge B&S fan, but I agree the storytelling has been a little off this season. I used to love that most of the characters and storylines were at least somewhat realistic, and I agree that this show hits on the nose how adult siblings in a large family actually talk to and relate to each other. I love, love, love what they do with all the phone call montages because that is exactly how my family communicates.
This season they seem to have branched off into the soapy, I agree with everyone else that I think the de-Walkerization of Rebecca was a mistake. I mean, how many mistresses/illigitimate children are we supposed to believe one man could have? I know they wanted to take advantage of the chemisty between Rebecca and Justin, but their whole storyline is just kind of contrived, and it seems like Ryan was kind of hastily made up to fill the void left by Rebecca. Also, why is he always all sweaty? Is he on meth?
I wish they had allowed the relationship between Robert and Kevin to develop a little bit more. I could believe that Kevin would be so emotional about the heart attack if the writers had allowed Kevin to be anything other than a convenient way to illustrate Kitty and Robert’s marital troubles. That being said, I loved the way he played that scene with Scotty (and I love Scotty!), even though it was badly written, the way the emotions played across Matthew Rhys’s face was excellent. I also though Rob Lowe was riveting this week. I’m holding out hope that maybe things will get better!
Every time I hear anything about B&S these days, I’m happy with the route of denial I took: watching seasons 1-2 and pretending Everything Resolved Itself After That.
Now, if I could only take that route of denial with The L Word, instead of dragging myself through the completely RIDICULOUS course the final season (with a totally inexplicable poor man’s Bad Girls spin-off), I would be a much happier person.
You know, as I was watching the two hour special episode, I kept thinking that this was a lot of Walker dysfunction for an evening, and I wasn’t sure that I wanted to keep watching. I agree that most of the Walkers are unlikeable, and the fact that they never seem to learn irks.
One thing I will say is that I actually like the Senator McAssister development. I have definitely known That Guy — the one who says he’s willing to support whatever his partner/spouse wants, but who always puts his ambition/success above everything, but refuses to acknowledge that it’s all about him, and hides his absolute single-mindedness to keep her around and because he genuinely believes that his goals should be that important to her, too. Kitty’s slow realization of this fact feels real to me, and I actually like the show’s portrayal of the conflicts that exist between two ambitious, high-achieving people. Tommy, however, is another story.
This episode did not make my decision easier. The “Robert tells the kids the truth” scene encapsulated everything that drives me bugfuck about the show but also what I love: 1) Robert speaks to his daughter, who is probably 10 or 11 by now, as though she’s 5, not in 5th grade, because TV makes no distinction between “barely post-toddler” and “almost a teenager”; 2) his children accept without complaint that a) he had a heart attack but is all fixed now and b) he “promises” he’s not going anywhere, as though these children do not have the internet; and then, just when my eyes are about to roll off to Staten Island, 3) Rob Lowe kills it with the crying. The CRY DROOL, people! That is a professional actor!
And don’t get me started on the handling of the case against Tommy, or the Rebecca/Justin/Ryan machinations, uch. But then: Ron Rifkin, killing it in that scene with Sally Field despite some really out-there dialogue.
May I just note that my mother, who lurves this show like she used to love “Knots Landing,” has taken to calling it “Drink Like a Walker,” too. (She heard that from me, who gladly gives the â„¢ to Glark et al. ) I predict she will dump it soon. I tuned out last season at the first hint of the yet-another-bastid-chile storyline. Plus, I just can’t abide Patricia Wettig; I still hold grievances against her from “thirtysomething.”
3) Rob Lowe kills it with the crying. The CRY DROOL, people! That is a professional actor!
I hear you. Oh, how I hear you! Can’t fault that guy for his commitment. Ron Rifkin and Sally Field were given dialogue in the scene you mention that was very nearly unplayable, and yet they played it like champs. I honestly can’t tell anymore whether Tommy’s toolacious feckitude (feckless toolatry?) is purely as written, or if Balthazar Getty is physically incapable of line readings that don’t make him sound snide, self-pitying and vain all at once. The writing on this show was almost never as honest as the cast made it feel, but now it really seems like any success the actors have is despite the writing, rather than abetted by it.
@Peach – “sousal equivalent” hee! I know you meant spousal there, but the other works so well with this show, given all the drinking going on. I know I always crave a glass of red whenever I watch it.
Also, there is a badger song? I feel like I missed something, somewhere.
I am so climbing on the “Tommy’s an ass” bandwagon, especially after watching Sunday’s ep. I can buy that, in the heat of the moment, he would accuse his mother of turning a blind eye to William’s shady actions because she enjoyed living well, but after Nora slapped him? The snide way he asked if she felt better? I mean, wow. That is NOT the way you speak to your mother, mister.
Why can’t Wettig deliver a single line in a non-stilted fashion? I hate her so much I want to throw my popcorn through the TV! It’s like her script comes to her with periods between every word. Gah!!!
THANK YOU Amy! I am off and on about this show. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it. But seriously. The Holly character is maddening. I honestly keep expecting to see her twirling a mustache and tying Nora to some railroad tracks. And the way she delivers her dialogue makes it worse. Every time I see her I scream a little inside.
I’ve always loved this show and i’m gonna keep watching it. but even i admit its pretty bad at the minute. I think dave annabelle would be a much better actor if he didn’t talk, he could just be the person who stands there and looks hot. I actually feel sorry for Scotties character because he’s gorgeous and really faithful and loving and supportive to Kevin and Kevin just gives scotty stone wall emotions about 90% of the time. I sense there’s gonna be marital problems between them in the near future. God I actually laughed in the double episode when Robert was crying because I couldn’t tell wether he was laughing or crying. And I dont get this week how Sarah has just ditched Greenatopia. I can understand the justifications that she made but its still a bit odd. I’m still confused about the Tommy situation I think it just seems a bit too rushed. Im not even gonna get started on the whole Ryan/Justin/Rebecca storyline.
I’m so happy two people have finally spelled it out. Patricia Wettig can’t act! Her line delivery is so unnatural and always spoken through annoying smile. It’s nepotism at its worst that Ken Olin hired his wife. She absolutely veritably sucks.