DVD B BROTHERS & SISTERS: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON

BROTHERS & SISTERS: THE COMPLETE THIRD SEASON

Written by TroyAnderson Aug 25th 2009 Hits: 156 Favorites

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THE PLOT THUS FAR

Brothers & Sisters returns for a third season following the California-based Walker family through the complicated maze of American life today. The compelling one hour drama series is about a collection of five enmeshed and somewhat damaged adult siblings and their strong but passionately devoted mother. Brothers & Sisters The Complete Third Season is the drama that every family can relate to, the truth of tfamily, they are real, warm and dysfunctional.

WHAT WE THOUGHT

Season 3 of ABC's terrific ensemble drama Brothers and Sisters finds the pampered Walker family of Pasadena in fine neurotic form. Happily, the art of deep in-person conversation (and confrontation) is alive and well among the Walkers and their extended family, which continues the welcome echoes of one of its ancestor shows, thirtysomething.As it turns out, the Walkers have a lot to talk about. The sharkish Holly (a fearless and delightful Patricia Wettig) is a much bigger character this season, and that raises Brothers and Sisters' complexity level accordingly. Holly, mistress of the late William Walker (Tom Skerritt, in flashbacks), is now running the Walker family business, Ojai Foods, which results in extreme tension for Walker's widow, Nora. Sally Field continues to bring great depth and nuance to her performance as Nora--a not-so-traditional housewife facing her late husband's betrayals (and the viewer learns of more this season), yet finding that adversity really does make her stronger.

The rest of the stellar ensemble includes Rob Lowe as the uber-ambitious senator husband of Kitty, played by Calista Flockhart, who shows welcome restraint. Sarah (Rachel Griffiths) contends with her new single life by plunging into a new startup venture--and finding she's pretty darn good at it. The three Walker brothers include Kevin (Matthew Rhys), Tommy (Balthazar Getty) and recovered junkie vet Justin (Dave Annable), the last of whom is delighted to discover that the comely Rebecca (Emily VanCamp) is not actually a blood relative. Much of season 3's sexiness comes from this new, hot couple. And there's drama with Tommy, too--which will change the Walkers' lives forever. The six-disc set is what such sets shouldBrothers and Sisters fan will not want to miss. These include deleted scenes, silly bloopers, and wonderful interviews with Field and Wettig, as well as a mini-doc on a real-life food and wine company based in Ojai, Calif. The whole experience adds up to some grand sibling revelry.

The writing has become more and more contrived and more like a soap opera, especially with the retcon of Rebecca and the introduction of Ryan. Initially, when they revealed that Rebecca wasn't really a Walker after all, I was willing to give the storyline as well as the Justin and Rebecca relationship and the introduction of Ryan a chance. However, I soon found Justin and Rebecca to be one of the most frustrating couples to ever watch on a TV show. Almost all of their storylines involve extremely juvenile fights and breakups followed by hasty reunions. To make matters worse, season three ended with Justin and Rebecca getting engaged after spending most of the season fighting and breaking up every other episode.

I feel like the writers of the show have become completely detached from their audience because it's clear that they no longer care about how the majority of the viewers feel about the storylines, they're just going to tell the storylines that they want to tell even if it causes them to alienate and lose viewers in the process. I know full well that this is the case with a lot of the viewer because I belong to a Brothers & Sisters forum and the majority of the members on the boards feel the same way about the show.

I feel like almost all of the members of the Walker family have become props for Holly, Rebecca and Robert's storylines. If you ask me, the producers might as well rename the show The Harpers & Robert McCallister because the show is supposed to be about the Walkers, but season three devoted a lot of screen time to Holly, Rebecca, Robert and David too when they aren't even Walkers.

The DVD sports several audio commentaries and featurettes. The biggest featurettes are a look at a real family winery that serves as the backbone of the show. Plus, you get bloopers and in-depth looks at the actors talking about the production. If that wasn't enough, there is the superior A/V Quality that helps this drama to stand above the rest. I'd recommend it for a rental.

RELEASE DATE: 09/01/09