A soap opera with all the limitations that a soap opera brings to the table.
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 food comes into the picture more than once in ironically amusing ways.
Video:
"Brothers & Sisters" is presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio and "enhanced" for 16x9 televisions. The picture has a soft look to it, presumably intentional, with undersaturated colors. There's probably more slight graininess here than I've seen in other shows recently, but not enough to become a distraction.
Audio:
The audio is a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround with subtitles in French and Spanish. 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:
One nifty bonus feature is an envelope full of "Nora's Favorite Family Recipes": Mango Peach Salsa, Pumpkin Pie, Hollandaise Sauce, Lasagna, Paella, Strawberry Shortcake, Pasta, Birthday Cake, Turkey Club, and Guacamole. The envelope containing the sturdy 4x6" cards doubles as a contents menu, listing all five discs and what you can find on them (in abbreviated fashion).
Disc 1 contains the episodes "Home Front" (with commentary by executive producer Ken Olin and actors Wettig and Rhys), "An American Family," "History Repeating," and "States of the Union." Disc 2 has the episodes "Domestic Issues," "Two Places," "36 Hours" (with commentary by actors Annable, Morris, and VanCamp), and "Something New." Disc 3 offers "Holy Matrimony!" "The Feast of the Epiphany," "The Missionary Imposition," and "Compromises." Disc 4 has the episodes "Separation Anxiety," "Double Negative," "Moral Hazard," and "Prior Commitments" (with commentary by executive producer Monica Owusu-Breen and actors Rhys and Luke Macfarlane).
Disc 5 features 7 deleted scenes (no commentary), a "Guest Book" short clip montage of series guest stars, a blooper reel, and two short making-of features, "TV Dinners: Food from Season 2" and "Open House: Designing the Brothers & Sisters Set." The former zeroes in on the food that often takes center stage (the food is actually scripted), and the latter features a 360-degree camera that gives you a sense of the Walker family house and you hear how the furniture was mostly purchased. And you see how fake some of the Ojai Food Co. set is.
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 as I said, the ensemble is strong and Field does a fine job of anchoring the series. As I watched this 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.
Video:
"Brothers & Sisters" is presented in 1.78:1 aspect ratio and "enhanced" for 16x9 televisions. The picture has a soft look to it, presumably intentional, with undersaturated colors. There's probably more slight graininess here than I've seen in other shows recently, but not enough to become a distraction.
Audio:
The audio is a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround with subtitles in French and Spanish. 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:
One nifty bonus feature is an envelope full of "Nora's Favorite Family Recipes": Mango Peach Salsa, Pumpkin Pie, Hollandaise Sauce, Lasagna, Paella, Strawberry Shortcake, Pasta, Birthday Cake, Turkey Club, and Guacamole. The envelope containing the sturdy 4x6" cards doubles as a contents menu, listing all five discs and what you can find on them (in abbreviated fashion).
Disc 1 contains the episodes "Home Front" (with commentary by executive producer Ken Olin and actors Wettig and Rhys), "An American Family," "History Repeating," and "States of the Union." Disc 2 has the episodes "Domestic Issues," "Two Places," "36 Hours" (with commentary by actors Annable, Morris, and VanCamp), and "Something New." Disc 3 offers "Holy Matrimony!" "The Feast of the Epiphany," "The Missionary Imposition," and "Compromises." Disc 4 has the episodes "Separation Anxiety," "Double Negative," "Moral Hazard," and "Prior Commitments" (with commentary by executive producer Monica Owusu-Breen and actors Rhys and Luke Macfarlane).
Disc 5 features 7 deleted scenes (no commentary), a "Guest Book" short clip montage of series guest stars, a blooper reel, and two short making-of features, "TV Dinners: Food from Season 2" and "Open House: Designing the Brothers & Sisters Set." The former zeroes in on the food that often takes center stage (the food is actually scripted), and the latter features a 360-degree camera that gives you a sense of the Walker family house and you hear how the furniture was mostly purchased. And you see how fake some of the Ojai Food Co. set is.
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 as I said, the ensemble is strong and Field does a fine job of anchoring the series. As I watched this 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.
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[release]24813[/release]