The Three Strike Rule: “Brothers & Sisters” (ABC)
Monday, April 21st, 2008 by Scott Malchus
Brothers & Sisters, ABC’s latest hit family drama (Sundays at 10 pm), came back to the airwaves last night, and for some of us, it was a welcome return of quality television. It is rare that an adult drama like this one has managed to remain all-inclusive of its male and female characters. With strong, female leads like Rachel Griffiths (formerly of Six Feet Under), Calista Flockhart (Ally McBeal) and the incomparable Sally Field, it would have been quite easy for Brothers & Sisters to cater strictly to ABC’s female viewers (especially coming off Desperate Housewives). However, the producers have stayed true to the show’s original premise: a series centering on a large family as each member deals with the big family issues, as well as their own individual trials and tribulations.
For the most part, the show is not groundbreaking. Though thought-provoking on many levels, what we’re dealing with is the human heart and how people cope with the good times and bad. That said, the show has been brave in its honest portrayal of sibling Kevin’s slow emergence from the closet and his search for love and happiness. In fact, there’s more male kissing and bed-rolling on this show than any I can think of. Yet, the kissing and lovemaking is done in the same casual manner as you’d expect Flockhart and her onscreen beau, Rob Lowe, to hit the sack. In other words, the producers have wisely decided not to make it a BIG DEAL, and by doing so, allow each story to flow organically.
When it began airing back in the fall of 2006, Brothers & Sisters nearly failed the three strike rule. Its early episodes were downright painful to watch and the plots were so contrived, the writing so clichéd and full of holes, I often found myself yelling at the television when I wasn’t rolling my eyes and punching the couch in frustration. My thoughts were, “How can a show with much talent behind it suck so damn bad?” What kept me hoping would give this show life was the executive producer, Greg Berlanti. Berlanti is a television genius. (more…)



The most memorable television shows from my youth were Battle of the Planets
Beginning this week, the major television networks will begin rolling out new episodes of regular series that have been on extended hiatus since the writers strike began last winter.
In honor of the Three Strike Rule’s move to Mondays, I want to highlight the best series airing on Monday nights. No, I’m not talking about Heroes, which pretty much blew for the duration of its 13-episode run in the fall.
Hey everybody!
Try as I may, I’m not feeling the love that so many other critics have for Breaking Bad, AMC’s latest original dramatic series. In it, Bryan Cranston portrays Walter White, the mildest of mild-mannered high school chemistry teachers. Walter has a teenage son, a pregnant wife, and has recently learned he has lung cancer that will likely kill him within a year. The White family is far from wealthy; let’s face it, the guy’s a teacher. In the pilot, he’s also pulling down a second job at a shitty car wash (where he’s easily manipulated by his sleazebag boss) and the family is just making ends meet. Like I said, Walter’s wife, Skyler is expecting, and their teenage son, Walter, Jr. has cerebral palsy. Realizing that he has no money to leave to his family, Walter schemes to score a truckload of money by making crystal meth. Using his chemistry know-how, he teams up with a local dealer, Jesse (who used to be one of his students) and winds up cooking the purest meth crystals their small New Mexico city has ever seen.
Those of you who follow The Three Strike Rule know what a
FX recently released the first season of their original series,
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