Brothers & Sisters: Home Front

ORIGINAL EPISODES, SUNDAYS @ 10PM ON ABC

Best Writing. Best Acting. These two things make this the best quality television show currently airing. If only most shows could take a page out of this book and we might not have so many reality shows and wanna-be Emmy winners. The sad thing is that most of the time we get treated like dead-brained viewers that only understand simple words and simple jokes. The truth is that we're capable of complex drama, case-in-point "Brothers & Sisters" and "The West Wing." This is why I whole-heartedly recommend this show to anyone looking for superb writing, excellent acting, and an all around great hour of television.

In all honesty, this show is not perfect; but it's pretty close. My one criticism of this second season premiere episode is that the writer's need to hold up on the all out Walker-clan public displays of insanity. Granted one of the most popular and appealing aspects of this family is that they tend to get into massive screaming matches and fights in inappropriate public settings. However, it can get played out and the writers are walking dangerously close to that line. We've seen so many, that the effectiveness of these scenes are decreasing. If you use them sparingly though it can be a great way to endear the audience with the family. Maybe they only used it in the premiere given the hype of a new season, so I'm hoping we won't see one again for a while.

As for what was good about this episode, basically everything I said above. What stands out the most, as always, is the acting of Sally Field. The entire episode we saw her frantic and distant as she tried to distract herself from the reality of having a son in Iraq who she hasn't heard from in three weeks. Then, at the drop of a dime, she turns happy and jovial when she finds out Justin is alright and coming home. Unfortunately the happiness didn't last too long; Justin's convoy was hit by an IED and they don't know if he is among the dead. And with the drop of that very same dime, Sally becomes a crying mess (in the best and most tragic way) and I was in awe of how effective and majestically versatile she is as an actor. In that moment that she asked Kitty not to ask her to stop fixing up Justin's room I realized that this show is Sally Field; she sets the standard and everyone else follows. This is why "Brothers & Sisters" is a show that everyone should be watching.

The family's relationship with Rebecca has changed a lot since last season and it's good to see most of them embracing her as a true family member. Kitty and Rebecca have formed a solid bond in their longing for Justin to come home. It's great to see but I'm still worried about what Rebecca may do in the future. She secured her place in the family by suckering Joe into a mistake he probably wouldn't have made. We know she can be conniving and devilish, so what does she have in store later on?

Kevin is still Kevin and personally I don't like him. At times he's brilliant and funny but more often than not, incredibly selfish. It actually turns me off to his character and I usually can't wait for his scenes to be over. If only some humanity in the selfishness could come through I might like him more but it hardly ever does. When his boyfriend told him about being reassigned to Malaysia he didn't even give it a seconds thought before selfishly getting mad at him. Not only did he never consider what it means to his boyfriend but he completely failed to remember that he never made any significant commitment to him in the first place. In the end, he did and that's respectable. I think he'll have a lot of opportunity to grow this year and it would be nice to see him put some of that selfishness on the back table for a while so we can see more of what his character has to offer.

I completely agreed with McAllister that he shouldn't get military information on Justin for the Walker's when so many other families can't get it either. As a presidential candidate that would be overstepping the bounds but at the same time he's about to marry Kitty. That's a tough balancing act and his decision to tell them he was okay and coming home but nothing more was probably the right thing to do. As for next week's scenes where his advisor asks him to get out of the wedding, I'm wondering what Kitty did to bring this question about. I don't think he'll call it off because I hear he is a full cast member now. Although he could end up calling it off which would give the writers and opportunity to keep Kitty around the house while still keeping him running for President.

My favorite line of the night was when Holly and Nora were at the grave site. Holly asked if it would be an imposition if she came to Kitty's dinner that night and Nora responded, "It's an imposition that you're at my husband's grave site, a taco with my daughter on her birthday I think I can handle."

By the way, don't you all just hate those loud, obnoxious parties in restaurants that refuse to get up and let anyone else eat dinner? Man, I hate those parties...

Now, Joe. I really do not like this guy. Not only did he kiss his wife's half-sister. Not only does he have what appears to be make up sex with Sarah. But after she finally gets to a place where she's forgiven him and wants to give their marriage a shot, he tells her he wants a divorce. Why?! He never wanted one before and as far as I can tell she's a great mother and wife. So what could he possibly want a divorce for other than the fact that he's just a playboy and wants to be with more women? It makes no sense to me that he would have any reason to tear about the family. It should be a very interesting progression to watch as they go from married to divorced.

Please, please, please watch this show and give it a legitimate chance. You won't regret it, I promise.