Brothers & Sisters is an American TV show that first began airing it's first Season in 2006 and revolves around the trials and tribulations of an upper-middle class family named the Walkers. The cast involves some Amazing actors and actresses including Sally Field, Calista Flockhart, Rachel Griffifths and Matthew Rhys all giving exceptional performances. The show received rave reviews it's first year around for it's mix of incredible drama combined brilliantly with sharp wit including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama series for Sally Field and a GLAAD media award for Outstanding Drama Series. It's second season began airing in September 2007 and it is now gearing up for it's third season due to begin late September 2008. The DVD set that I will review for you today is for Season 1!
♥ Season 1 ♥
Season 1 of Brothers & Sisters has many, many story lines going on at the same time so it would be difficult and complicated to review it all in a couple of paragraphs so I will give you a quick dissection of each of the characters in the show and what they face in it's first season...So here we go!
>>> William Walker: The father of the family played by Tom Skeritt who unfortunately dies of a heart attack at the end of the first episode. He was the head of the family business 'Ojai Foods' which has now been handed down to his daughter, Sarah, after his death. He has left the business in trouble after some dodgy dealings which the family now have to deal with and try to recover from.
>>> Norah Walker: Norah
(Sally Field) is the Mom of the family; the glue that holds it all together. She is struggling to come to terms with the loss of her husband but also the fact that he had been having an affair with another woman, Holly Harper, for 15 years.
>>> Kitty Walker: Kitty (Calista Flockhart) worked in politics for a radio show until offered a job on a National TV show. She is forced to choose between her fiance and a life in New York with the Radio show or to move home and take a chance on the National TV show. The only problem is that Kitty and Norah have a lot of unresolved issues to work through...including their differing opinions on politics!
>>> Sarah Whedon: Sarah (Rachel Griffifths) is a Walker also, Norah's daughter but is married to her husband Joe. Sarah worked for Ojai foods when her father was alive but now she has been made President of the company and is desperately trying to save the business that her Dad left in such a mess. On top of this she is trying to save her failing marriage.
>>> Kevin Walker: Kevin (Matthew Rhys) is a successful lawyer and helps out the family with legal problems including Ojai foods. Kevin, Norah's son, is the gay character of the series and his main storylines involve his relationship and dating troubles.
>>> Justin Walker: Justin (David Annable), the youngest of the siblings has just come back from serving a term in Iraq. Now, without anywhere to go in life he has resorted to the use of drugs and promiscuous behavior to get by. Things take a turn for the worst for Justin when he is ordered to serve another term there.
>>> Tommy Walker: Tommy (Balthazar Getty), the oldest of the siblings doesn't have as much screen time as the other characters but he is prominent in the series nonetheless. The series begins with his disappointment of not being left President of Ojai foods after his fathers death. He also struggles to conceive a child with his wife, Julia, which they are desperate for.
And...
>>> Holly Harper: Holly (Patricia Wettig) is the ''other woman'' that Norah's late Husband William had been having an affair with for 15 years. After Williams death we see Holly struggling with loneliness and jealousy of the family she has always wanted which Norah has.
I don't know whether that was the best way to review the series but I think that gives you a good, clear and concise view of what Season 1 entails. The story lines may seem depressing and all doom and gloom reading it here but please don't get the wrong impression...It is an incredibly funny TV show that has me laughing out loud one minute and crying my eyes out the next because of how good the show is executed.
♥ DVD Extra's ♥
Okay let me admit to you guys that I haven't watched the Extras yet as I only got my box set today and am still watching all the episodes again! But I will update this review at a later date once I have viewed them so in the meantime here are the extras:
>>> Bonus Episode - State Of The Parties: I have seen this episode and it was originally intended to be the second episode which was changed. It has some great, decent parts in it but also some things which didn't work. It's just good to see the episode put in a different light and I enjoyed it. Whether I prefer it or not...I'm not sure! I like them both!
>>> Walker Family Tree - The story behind the making of the compelling new series!
>>> Behind The Scenes With The Brothers - Exclusive set tour with Balthazar, Dave and Matthew!
>>> The Family Business - Meet the Olins, a real family behind the success of this all-new, popular TV family.
>>> Bloopers, Deleted Scenes & Various Episode Audio Commentaries - I am looking forward to all of these, especially the episode commentaries!
♥ Visual, Audio & Subtitles/Languages ♥
The picture as I am watching it right this moment is clear, colorful, bright and sharp! It is presented in a widescreen format of 1:78:1 which is great for my TV! The sound is also crisp, clear and sharp presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 format! There are two other audio language options which are Italian and Spanish but there are numerous subtitled languages including Italian, Spanish, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Icelandic and Dutch!
♥ Price & Where To Buy? ♥
You can purchase the season and separate episodes off of UK iTunes store but it is pretty dear:
>>> Each episode costs £1.89 >>> Entire Season (if you download all at once) is a whopping £43.47!
So unless you're an iTunes obsessed fanatic then I suggest you go to:
>>> Play.com at a cost of £24.99 >>> HMV.com for an incredible price of £13.99!
Go to HMV.com!
♥ Conclusion ♥
Never in my lifetime have I gone out of my way to rent a DVD boxset of a TV series I have already watched two times through so I can watch it a third. I absolutely ADORE this show...more than I can put into words. It is intelligent, funny, heartbreaking, delicious, addictive and beautiful in every way! Whilst writing this review I was desperately awaiting the release of the Season 2 box set but as I was researching the price on iTunes for Season 1 I have just discovered that they have added Season 2 to buy! Now I know I just said that iTunes prices are extortionate but I am willing to pay it for this show and I'm not a huge fan of TV shows so that means a lot!
The acting is superb and the cast are outstanding. I do think that they have been incredibly lucky with the cast they have and without their talents combined it may not have worked with different actors. I will admit that this show is not the most popular compared to something like Desperate Housewives but it deserves to be. I think people are put off it slightly because the promotional for it makes it out to be an incredibly serious drama but that is combined with some brilliant comedy which people don't see and that is why you should give this show a chance.
So if you come across it or it sounds good to you then please go ahead and give it a chance!
Paris x
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
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I take it you are a fan then!! I started to watch it and enjoyed it, but then I missed almost all of the end of Series 1. I never seemed to get back into it again. From your review, id say it might be worth giving another go! x
silverstreak 16.09.2008 10:57
I watched the first few episodes and somehow didn't follow it through. I enjoyed it though and wouldn't mind catching up some time - thanks for the reminder.
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Sep 16th, 2008
very helpful by (100%):
