User reviews

When Brothers & Sisters first started, I was very fond of it. However, I don't consider Season 5 to be as good as the rest, the finale was good and the actors great but the written quality and story lines were not in general as compelling as they once were.

On the whole though, I like Brothers & Sisters very much. The production values and music are of top notch quality, the writing was both droll and touching, the story lines were thought-out and compelling and the characters were engaging.

Also there is some very good acting on this show, Callista Flockhart is very endearing, but in my mind the show belongs to Matthew Rhys and Sally Field who are both fantastic, and Rachel Griffiths too.

In conclusion, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Sally Field is a brilliant actor who has given us so many memorable movies and shows but her portrayal of the overbearing, meddling, mother is embarrassing.

Most parents goals are to raise their kids to be independent and self sufficient. This mother character is about 100 steps backward creating adults who are ever reliant on their mother for the rest of their life and incompetent when it comes to living independently in the world.

I had to tune out on several episodes when Nora went into crazy town.

The cast is amazing and I enjoyed the series but at times honestly found it hard to listen to Nora's ridiculous rants.

When Brothers & Sisters was about to premiere, I was eagerly anticipating it, though I had my doubts I was going to stick with it in the long term. However, that's totally not the case. This show shines as a crown jewel in this years television season.

The cast is wonderful and they all contribute such an amazing talent to making us feel as though the Walker's are truly brothers and sisters. The interactions between Kitty and Nora are always great to see, as are any scenes that Sally Field and Rachel Griffith's are in. They bring an amazing emotional depth to the story that definitely adds to the great writing that is turned out by the amazing writing staff.

Overall, this series has earned it's keep. I think I may have teared up once per episode so far. The family acts very much like a family through it's ups and downs, and it truly is moving. If you're looking for a new show that entertains you, moves you and brings you top notch acting, then Brothers & Sisters is definitely a show that you should be tuning into. You won't be disappointed.

This was an excellent family drama and should never have been canceled. Season 6 was set up to be great and then it was canceled. If Will and Grace could be brought back after all the years it was off the air, B & S could be brought back, too. Loved the natural chemistry between Nora and Brody. Bring the show back.

Brothers and Sisters is one of the finest TV dramas to come along in a very long time. The performances are superb from all involved, especially Sally Field, Racheal Griffiths and Matthew Rhys.

Each Sunday night I am treated to one of the finest hours on television. The mixture of humor, drama and that whole family dynamic is very intriguing. This show takes you through a whole host of emotions in one sitting as the story lines of each family member unfold in such a way, it leaves you craving for the next episode.

The gay storyline involving Kevin(Matthew Rhy) and Scotty(Luke Macfarlane) is outstanding. For once we have a complete and in-depth relationship between two men handled with maturity and intelligence. I'm so very pleased to see this on ABC network TV without much fuss being made. This is one of the finest gay story lines i've ever seen on TV.

Bravo to the writers, actors and all involved in producing one of the finest TV dramas in years.

I have finished watching the first episode and thought I would like to leave a slightly more favourable review than the previous poster. I like to give a show more of a chance to pique my interest than 5 minutes so I sat and watched the entire episode. There were the usual introductions to new characters... since it's a rather large ensemble depicting a family of adult children and two older parents there wasn't much room for in depth intros but it was adequate for a premiere episode.

The end of the show set the stage for the series. I will give it more time to develop. The family is centred around older parents and their children - 2 daughters (casting Calista Flockhart, 42, as the younger of the two sisters and much younger looking 38 year old Rachel Griffiths, 38, as the older sister was a little odd) and 3 brothers (one, seemingly, an Afghanistan war veteran, one a lawyer who does happen to be gay and the last a brother who is working at the family business). Something odd is afoot at the family business both on the financial side and the emotional side.

The demise of the patriarch (what a shame) at the end of the premiere episode will set the tone with, I believe, the sister from NYC (Flockhart) moving back to CA to start a new job on television and mending bridges with her mother and family.

The pilot managed to introduce a large cast of complex characters while maintaining individuality and clarity--and the characters and their problems were interesting to boot! Calista Flockhart gets to use her very real acting ability portraying a character who has very little in common with Ally McBeal. Tom Skerritt and Sally Field are terrific as the parents, and each of the brothers and sisters has his or her own problems to deal with, and yet the story doesn't have the feel of a tear-jerking melodrama. The ending of this episode was a shocker, and it will be interesting to see if the writers can maintain the tension in future episodes.

I haven't reviewed anything on IMDb for a long while and I thought it's high time I returned with one of my reviews. Brothers and sisters was a show I wasn't exactly anticipating for a long time, I happened to be flicking through channels one night when the pilot was airing and there was nothing else on so I gave it a shot I instantly became hooked. It has to be said it is a flawed TV show, the show I feel is pretty repetitive. The first season was all about the illegitimate daughter of William Walker, Rebecca. The show prolonged it for a while and when it was revealed that she wasn't his daughter another illegitimate child pops out of the woodwork. Secondly I have never seen such an unlucky family, in almost every season a family member gets a deadly disease.In the latest season aired in the UK Kitty Walker is diagnosed with a disease and the family is forced to rally around her.

Enough of the negatives. On the plus side it does have Sally Field as the matriarch of the family. She is very endearing and always puts herself out for her family. The family member I can most relate to is the youngest offspring of William and Nora Walker, Justin. Like me he is deeply flawed and I think it would be fair to say he is the black sheep of the family. Despite the flaws he is an incredibly likable character. Whilst I do enjoy the show immensely, I am hoping it doesn't get recommissioned for another season and quit whilst they are ahead.

Not since Knots Landing have writers been able to introduce the television audience with characters that you want to get to know and want to follow. Desperate Housewives started out this way, but sadly lost it in season two, I hope they retain it back. The interaction of the siblings on B&S is fresh, interesting, real, and normally dysfunctional, and they admit it. This is The Waltons with Wine. They want to be perfect but they know their not and Sally Field ( THE BEST ACTRESS EVER ) just leads the pack great. She is a MOM all the way, and she puts her children first, even as they get older. I applaud ABC for listening to the fans and keeping the show, I also applaud the writers for great lines, humor and actually making the characters on this show believable....... I can honestly say that not since 1993 when Knots Landing went off the air, have I looked forward to an hour of sitting in front of the T.V.

I have to say, what happens in the first episode is good writing. The situation (I'm trying to not spoil) is a bit awkward but it's just such a good funny thing . That got me hooked. The problem was that after that episode none other was able to keep up.

The more I watched the more I came to realize, yes there is an overarching plot going on with certain events placed here and there but the character conflict can be summed up and AVOIDED if the main characters would subscribe to the following philosophy: STOP LYING TO EACH OTHER.

Every single bit of conflict comes from one character lying to another and in the end the truth always comes out anyways, so there's no point. All in all it just seems like lazy writing. This ended up being a show I would watch while doing something else, I didn't have to pay attention to what was really going on, just who was lying to who.

Just as a heads up, if you find a lot of conflict in your life because of lies you need to: A) Stop lying to people and then later telling them or someone else the truth. People can't actually keep secrets unless it will endanger them to tell the truth. B) Don't associate yourself with chronic liars. At the very least confront them about their lies one last time, tell them you've had enough and mean it!

I don't lie unless it's for a surprise party. My honesty gets me into a lot of trouble with girls who later tend to agree I was right. Guys tend not to care. Just be tactful.

..., except even more banal?

Another dysfunctional family apparently representing today's America, including a loony daughter as a conservative talk show pundit (gee, that's unique) although Flockhart's about 3 lbs heavier, but no less irritating than Ann Coulter.

There's no difference between this mob - their problems - and all the other sea of 'look at me' family-based reality programming TV. How it garnered Golden Globes and has survived three seasons, one can only wonder.

'Huff' and 'Six Feet Under' were head and shoulders over this dreg.

I was pleasantly surprised to watch the premiere episode of Brothers & Sisters. It is such a refreshing change to watch a well written drama with talented actors instead of the all too common prime-time shows which consist of murders, blood, sex, violence & bad acting. I had really given up on prime time television. I am sickened by the amount of graphic violence that have become commonplace in television shows. That is not entertainment to me! I loved every minute of Brothers & Sisters & cannot wait to see next week's episode! The story line is realistic, yet still entertaining. During commercials my husband and I were excitedly discussing the characters and the story that was unfolding. Thank you for offering such a great program~I have been waiting for a show like this for years!

Why do the good,clean, family shows never make it past 5 years? If a show makes it this far, the viewer's are telling you that we're enjoying the programming and storyline of that show.

I feel the viewer's should get to VOTE to keep them on the air. Besides, we are the reason they made it this far.

It seems like there are to many shows with blood and murders in them. You can only watch so many of them. Then they start matching the news reports you see, which is very depressing.

Brothers & Sisters was a clean, family show. Every Sunday night at 9:00 PM my family knew it was time to be quiet or leave the room.

I wish you would reconsider "SAVING" this show for the Fall 2011-2012 season.

A Big disappointment to see it on the Cancelled list. :(

Rachel Griffiths and Sally Fields were the draw for me to watch this show. Calista was the negative...but despite her, I wanted to see what the show had to offer.

Rachel as the OLDER sister of Calista..pleassee! I loved her on "Six Feet Under" and find that she is underused and her character seems stressed. The fact that she leads the family company seems contrived with what decisions and lack of scenes she has.She is beautiful and is such a character actress, not relying on her beauty. I feel as if Calista is dominating the whole show with her line of suitors. I watch for tidbits that are thrown Rachel's way and it disturbs me her lines are so shallow and family life are secondary to everything else going on.

I think the show could be great if all the story lines didn't come back to Calista's character's views, feelings, love interests and political views. Give us a break and give equal time to the rest of the cast. Calista reminds me of Robin Williams or Jim Carrey giving interviews, too many facial expressions and cute antics!

Just excellent!!! I don't know why TV companies are trying to hide some talented actors just like Flockhart...She is an outstanding actress..and from her first 10 minutes of the show I knew I was going to love this show..with all of its relations and characters... This show is a breath-taker and I just love it...and I can't wait to see the more of it... we are all waiting... The characters and their problems were interesting to know! Calista Flockhart gets to use her very real acting ability portraying a character who has very little in common with Ally McBeal. Tom Skerritt and Sally Field are great as the parents, and each of the brothers and sisters has his or her own problems to deal with, and yet the story doesn't have the feel of a tear-jerking melodrama. The ending of this episode was a shocker, and it will be interesting to see if the writers can maintain the tension in future episodes

I think the show is over written but it's not terrible.

But this show is not a David Kelly show... I don't know why someone would make that assumption. It was created by John Robin Baitz.

I am only writing more because I am because forced to. I am sick of seeing shows about rich families grieving. And I'm sick of seeing gay character who spend so much time talking about the fact that they're gay or others making comments about it. God I can't believe I have to keep writing just to fill this comment length requirement. Right now I'm watching the news... I'm bored. I missed Ugly Betty... I'm really excited to see that show. It seems like a unique, fun show and I wish I had TIVO.

This show has me hooked!! It's an amazing balance of all the conflicts and joys within a family. It delves into diverse belief systems; political, social and religious, and how they affect this family's structure. There are times of division, and amazing times of solidarity, as if to say: We are family...we fight, we love, we are at polar opposites sometimes, but we are always together.

The cast is anchored by Sally Field (Thank goodness she is back!!) her talent is still amazing, and I just love to watch her!! Also at the forefront is Calista Flockhart...her life, love, career and even her place in this family, are at odds with each other.. and she portrays all the conflicting emotions seamlessly!!

Each cast member lends a very realistic and emotional performance that leaves you feeling like they are truly a family. Whoever did the casting job on this, just did a great job!!

I am so glad that this show was picked up thru the season..I just hope it stays there! ABC has a bad habit of canceling it's most promising shows without much time to prove itself. Let's hope they don't do that with this little gem!!

First of all, I agree it's a great show. I love it, the writers do a great job in building convincing human characters. The story is plausible, with the right touch of humor, drama, suspense, etc. It is odd, however, to notice the amount of alcohol-drinking in every episode o the show. Anyone remembers how the tobacco industry used to pay producers in the 60s and 70s to include scenes with people smoking in glamorous situations? I am terribly reminded of the tobacco lobby when I see that the Walkers always have to drink copious amounts of wine, vodka, beer, tequila, even a "South African Surprise" from Chevy Chase to Nora Walker in an episode. If you consider the whole plot, all the story lines, the show is very realistic. But even though I don't live in the USA now, I have lived for years in Atlanta, GA, and I can't believe the Walkers'drinking habits are the normal, or average, for Americans. Actually, I think to be "cool" these days in the US you adopt healthful habits, with a daily glass of wine, yes, but the Walkers drink a whole bottle every day... or so it seems. I think first of all it is paid merchandising for the Wine and Spirits Industry, they are probably taking on a big chunk of the costs for the show. Just like the tobacco industry in the 60s. Second, I think the whole drinking habit is portrayed in the show as very "cool", very normal, and this is a bad example to youngsters in the US and in the World. Notice how every single time two of the Walkers want to relax they drink. If they want to get closer to someone, they drink. If they want to have fun, they drink. Jeez, can't you have fun and get close to someone you love without alcohol? Of course you can. Viewers should be aware that not everything you see in a show is "coincidence" - much o it is paid and hidden advertising, and to do this the producers are hiding from the viewers the fact that they are being paid to advertise something. There should be a regulation making it compulsory for producers to disclose paid merchandising in scenes. And if fellow-viewers agree with me, let's campaign for Br. & Sis. to reduce the amount of wine and drinks. Other than that, I still like the show, and will continue to watch it, but with a critical eye.

Wow! I couldn't wait for the commercials to be over! I think this "is" my NEW favorite show! I can't wait for next week. Wonderful Acting and Writing! Make sure you turn in next week to watch. The hour went too fast. Sally Field is AMAZING! As well as Calista. A few new folks that mix well with those two ladies. Highly recommend. It's a breath of fresh air watching a new show like Brothers and Sisters. I'm from a family of 7 kids. So it's neat to see all the dynamics. The show has already surprised me by the first night's ending... Again, I almost can't wait for next week. Great show to watch after Desperate Housewives. I hope this one sticks around. I think it will. There's a big fan over here!

The premise of the Show is interesting and the ensemble cast is great! I truly liked the first three seasons which were well acted, well scripted and interesting! Towards the end of the third season it started to slip, the scripts got a little sloppier and many factual errors occurred. From then on it went downhill fast as though we entered Soap Opera territory with ridiculous plots and subplots, important characters just eclipsed and ridiculous plot lines exploding everywhere.. the only thing we were spared were the aliens.. I still don't understand how there was a fourth and fifth season and it was torture to see it through! It is the difference between a network show and a cable show! A network show does not know when to call it quits.

My wife and I watched this show after several people recommended it to us. I was not the least bit impressed. The writing and dialogue on this show are awful. Predictable outcomes to every situation leave you wondering what the characters are thinking (if I saw it coming, why didn't they?). Nothing that happens in this show warrants its 60 minute running time. A waste of good talents from actors who have proved themselves in film and TV careers before coming to this show. It will likely be cancelled due to lack of interest, but develop an eager fan base consisting predominantly of women who just want to watch something "smarter" than Desperate Housewives.