BROTHERS & SISTERS (TV SHOW) - DVD review

"Brothers & Sisters" is a soap opera with all the limitations that a soap opera brings to the table. It's not stylish, and it's not going to win any screenwriting prizes any time soon. But people who like soaps will say in response, "Yes, but it's a good soap opera."

And that it is, because "Brothers & Sisters" is well-cast and well-performed. The show earned Outstanding Casting nominations for the first two seasons and star Sally Field earned Outstanding Lead Actress nominations for the first three, winning for her Season 1 work. But it's not just Field. This show has star power, with Calista Flockhart, Rachel Griffiths, Matthew Rhys, Balthazar Getty, and Rob Lowe anchoring a talented ensemble cast. It's this generation's "Dallas," "Dynasty," or "Falcon Crest."

The series centers on the Walkers, an upper middle-class California family with grown siblings (it's hard to do the adult soap thing with little ones hanging around). The matriarch is Nora (Sally Field), who was traumatized more in season one by the revelation that her husband William had a woman on the side and a child by him than she was by his death. The trauma that launched the second season was the family's sendoff of a brother (Dave Annable) who's struggled with drug problems. And sister Kitty (Flockhart), who's an Ann Coulter type, was engaged to a Republican Senator (Lowe) with presidential aspirations. It's storylines like that which come right out of the headlines that make the show play to the masses. Luke Macfarlane, Sarah Jane Morris, Ron Rifkin, Emily VanCamp, and Patricia Wettig also star.

In Season 3, tensions boil at a family beach vacation in the season opener, then simmer around issues of trust fund access, social worker investigations, tell-all books, alcohol addiction, lost sons, conception problems and talk of adoption, and business risks that put the family's bread-and-butter fortune at risk. Throw in illnesses, infatuations, medical emergencies, Kitty's appearance on "Live with Regis & Kelly," and it's easy to see why people have warmed to this show. And as much as the first two seasons put me off, I have to say that as the show starts to embrace it's soap status rather than pretend it's serious drama, it starts to feel more comfortable and, yes, entertaining.

There's not nearly as much comic relief in this show as there is in "Private Practice," but it's also not as play-it-straight as "Dirty Sexy Money." Mostly it stays the course for standard-issue soap operas, with some scenes that will make you smile just a bit. Nora inherited her husbands Ojai Food Co. business, and the family winery and food continue to come into the picture.

This season, Ryan confesses a secret, Kitty does the celebrity book tour, Tommy has legal problems, Justin and Rebecca have troubles, Robert and Kitty's relationship is strained, Julia makes a life-changing decision, Holly and Sarah look for balance in their lives after Sarah makes a huge career change, and Kevin and Scotty entertain a rather shocking proposal. A baby is born, a life is threatened, and secrets threaten to destroy the whole family. So what else would you expect from a nighttime soap opera?

I'll say again that this isn't my cup of anything, but I do appreciate the level of performances, the production values, and the ways in which this season especially the producers have tried to integrate elements of "real life" to bolster the illusion that this family matters. For an ensemble show, though, Field continues to hold court, not just as the family matriarch but as the cast's big Oscar-winner. Flockhart steps it up this season too, and their two characters rise to the surface of this little family stew. Sometimes that's all it takes for fans, is a storyline or character to carry you through a show. And "Brothers & Sisters" offers multiple points of entry. The other thing about this season is that the show has definitely gone the tonal way of "Desperate Housewives," and it helps tremendously to get that little twinkle in the eye or wink-wink that makes the soaper seem as if it's not taking itself too seriously.

Twenty-four episodes are presented on six single-sided discs that are housed in overlapping fashion on a tri-fold case. I will say a word about the case, though. The plastic nubs that grab the disc center don't seem to be long enough, and so the discs tend to pop off more easily than usual.

Video:
"Brothers & Sisters" is presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio and "enhanced" for 16x9 televisions. Season 3 isn't as soft-looking as the others, though there's still a slight layer of grain throughout--not enough to be a distraction, however. It's a pretty standard-looking picture for a contemporary TV show. Nothing awful, but nothing extraordinary either.

Audio:
The audio is a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround in English, with subtitles in French, Spanish, and Chinese. At times, the sounds coming from effects speakers or even the front mains could be startling, which may or may not be a good thing. For me, it pulled me out of the show's flow, but others may appreciate the zesty and aggressive channeling we encounter here at times.

Extras:
In "The Mothers of Brothers & Sisters" the cast talks about the roles that their own mothers play/ed in their lives. "The Ojai Experience" is a behind-the-scenes tour of a real family winery in Ojai, California, with a little interplay between truth and fiction providing the interest. Members of the cast put in an appearance. But my guess is that fans will most like a brief "In-Between Scenes" look at the antics and ways in which the cast releases tension. Deleted scenes are included on several of the discs.

Disc four features an audio commentary by Lowe, Rhys, and executive producer Monica Owusu-Breen on "Troubled Waters, Pt. 1," while Disc five has the same three commenting on Pt. 2 and Disc six has Owusu-Breen joined by fellow executive producer Alison Schapker for a commentary on "Mexico."

Fans will be grateful, but the bonus features are pretty standard.

Bottom Line:
"Brothers & Sisters" is a soap opera, and there will be a large segment of the viewing public that won't give this a second look because of that. But Season 3 moves closer to the "Desperate Housewives" model, and that lighter, self-aware tone combined with a winning ensemble cast makes a world of difference. As I watched this semi-serious soaper, I couldn't help thinking of Field's versatility, doing it straight some 15 years after she did it tongue-in-cheek in "Soapdish," and almost 20 years after she and another great ensemble cast gave us the weepy but honest-feeling "Steel Magnolias." While I wouldn't put "Brothers & Sisters" in that league, Field's performance and those of her co-stars are certainly as good.