Sibling Revelry!
Greetings, Brethren and Sisteren! Well, it’s like the proverb says; ‘family- can’t live with ’em, can’t embezzle millions of dollars out of ’em and then die of a convenient heart attack in the family pool before they can tear you a new one.’ But one new show is daring to fly in the face of the old proverb I made up just this second. So grab your favourite sibling in a great big hug (if you hate your litter-mates, make like Bette Davis and serve them a dead rat for their dinner instead); hide your piggy bank in a place the family patriarch never visits (perhaps his mother-in-law’s lingerie drawer?); get ready to come out of the closet at the Sunday family roast (wait ’til they’ve put down their cutlery) and prepare to put the fun in dysfunctional as we sit down to play not-so-happy-families with the Walker clan on BROTHERS AND SISTERS (Seven, Mondays-9:30pm).
Many people have compared this drama series about a clan’s struggle to make ends meet, both financially and morally speaking, to the great series of a few years back, SIX FEET UNDER. But really the resemblance is only superficial. Both shows feature a family seemingly entirely populated by resent-driven misfits, a struggling family business, a great, well developed gay brother as a main character, and, well, both star Australian ex-pat Rachel Griffiths. But the business in SIX FEET UNDER was a funeral home, and here it’s a bakery. So I guess one could say it’s like SIX FEET UNDER with stiffened yeast instead of stiffened bodies.
The premise of the show is that the Walker patriarch (played in what amounts to an extended cameo in the pilot and a few flashbacks by Tom Skerritt) has been cooking the books as well as low-fat gluten-free pumpkin brownies, and has bilked the family business out of millions. Just when the least whacko of his adult offspring discover his wonky dough-juggling, Papa Walker has a massive heart attack in the swimming pool (totally ruining his daughter’s birthday in the process, but hey- at least it was a family dinner and not a pool party). The remaining Walkers must then find a way to keep themselves in the bake-house and out of the poorhouse, whilst coping with their various dysfunctions, squabbles and romantic entanglements.
Included in the baker’s dozen on dramatic display are:
Matriarch Nora Holden-Walker (Sally Field) -Yes, *the* Sally Field, with Tom Skerritt croaking at the end of the first episode, they had to get an Oscar Winner in there somewhere. Ma Walker’s primary malfunction is an inability to love youngest daughter Kitty, which sounds bad until you realize Kitty is a young Republican played by Callista Flockheart (admittedly Calista Flockheart is 43, but that *is* young for a Republican). In a ballsy move the writers have made Kitty, an unlikable, right-wing, Dubya-defending, anorexic harpy, the main character on the show! She’s currently er…crossing the floor… with Senator Robert McCallister (Rob Lowe).
Tommy Walker (Balthazar Getty)- who so far seems pretty unremarkable (emphasis on the pretty) but I’m sure we’ll find out he’s a cross-dressing serial killer and jay-walker any episode now. Getty, as well as being gorgeous and a good actor, is heir to the multi-million dollar Getty Estate. Remind me to marry him as soon as it’s legal.
Sarah Walker is played by our own Rachel Griffiths, and is having marital problems when we first get to know her. Of course nothing that swapping which team she bats for wouldn’t fix… And finally and of most interest to us is Kevin Walker- who as of this writing is arguably the most believable and well-written gay character on television. As played by Welsh actor Matthew Rhys, Kevin is sexy, political, (he gets into nasty arguments over Kitty’s Republican fervor), Proud and unlike other sanitized sissies (cough, Will and Grace, cough), Kevin actually gets to touch men- he’s involved in a very physical relationship with a closeted soap actor (played by Jason Lewis of SEX & THE CITY) and is rumoured to soon be…polling Robe Lowe’s Senator character’s hot younger brother!
Grab the family and watch it!
