- Release Date: September 23rd, 2008
- Genre: Drama
- Price: $36.99 on Amazon (Buy It
)
- Run Time: 671 Minutes
- Publisher: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
- Starring: Sally Field, Rachel Griffiths, Emily VanCamp, Balthazar Getty, Calista Flockhart, Dave Annable, Ron Rifkin, Sarah Jane Morris, Matthew Rhys, Rob Lowe, Patricia Wettig
- Special Features: Guest Book, TV Diners, Open House, Bloopers and Outtakes, Audio Commentaries, Deleted Scenes
Story
More revelations about the Walker family are revealed in the second season of Brothers and Sisters (if you don’t want to be spoiled skip to the next paragraph). Kitty and Robert’s relationship strengthen as Robert’s run for the presidency continues and they think about having a child. Justin returns home from Iraq and isn’t the same as when he left. Rebecca gets used to being a Walker. Sarah has trouble at home and work. Tommy and Julia’s relationship hits some roadblocks. Kevin finally finds love. Finally Nora tries to keep the family together as another secret rocks the family at the end of the season.
For those of you who have never seen Brothers and Sisters before the best way to describe it is to call it an average character-driven drama. Pretty much the whole plot comes from the situations that the Walker’s get into on a daily basis. If this intrigues you I would recommend that you stop reading this review and check out the first season of the show since this is one of those shows that you really need to watch from the beginning to truly understand what is going on.
So you already know what I think of Brothers and Sisters. I think it is a pretty average character drama. Brothers and Sisters is far from bad but it just doesn’t have anything that really distinguishes it from other dramas. The show is lacking what is needed to take it above just an average drama. I don’t know exactly what it is missing but something is keeping it from being anything more an average drama in my opinion.
Acting
Overall the acting in Brothers and Sisters is pretty good. There really isn’t a low point. Sally Field is easily the star of the show though. She really keeps the show together and I think the show would be much worse without her in it. Combine the great regular cast with the very good guest stars this season and you have to say that the acting is one of the strong points of Brothers and Sisters.
Packaging
When you first look at the packaging for the second season of Brothers and Sisters you won’t find anything special. The packaging is pretty plain with just pictures of the cast. One thing does stick out though and is one of the more original inserts I have ever seen for a DVD set. In the DVD set you actually get an envelop filled with recipes from the show. Since I am not a cook I cannot guarantee that these are good recipes but they seem like they would be. You end up getting the following 10 recipes: Nora’s Mango Peach Salsa, Pumpkin Pie, Hollandaise Sauce-Walker Style, Lasagna, Paella, Sarah’s Strawberry Shortcake, Rebecca’s Pasta, Birthday Cake, Turkey Club, and William’s Famous Ojai Guacamole. It’s always nice to see when a DVD set takes that next step to be truly unique.
Special Features
Fans of Brothers and Sisters should be pretty pleased by the special features in this dvd set. They are a little boring though so if you are not a huge fan of the show you probably won’t enjoy them that much. Here are the special features you get in the second season of Brothers and Sisters:
- Guest Book-A special featurette that deals with all the guest stars this season. Brothers and Sisters had quite a few big guest stars this season so this is probably the best special feature in my opinion. (Around 12 Minutes).
- TV Diners-Talks about the food on the show. First the recipe cards and now this special feature. I really would like to know why there is an obsession with food on this show. (Around 10 Minutes)
- Open House-A look around the sets of the show. (Around 10 Minutes)
- Bloopers and Outtakes-You typical blooper reel.
- Audio Commentaries
- Deleted Scenes-Either 7 or 8 deleted scenes that didn’t make the final cut.
Final Thoughts
Overall I think that Brothers and Sisters is a very average drama. The show is just missing something that is really keeping it away from being a good drama in my opinion. If you like dramas you should like the show but you really need to start with the first season. If you are a big fan of the show I would recommend that you pick up the set since you get all the episodes, some neat recipe cards, and some pretty informative special features.
