Movies / Home Theatre

Brothers & Sisters: The Complete Fourth Season

By Hervé St-Louis
September 28, 2010 - 21:29

Brothers and Sisters Season Four continues the insightful and well acted series from ABC Television that plays every Sunday night. This season, Kitty is diagnosed with cancer and goes through a arduous recovery process which affects all of her family, including the proposed wedding of younger brother Justin to Rebecca Harper. Meanwhile, brother Kevin and husband Scotty attempt fret over the surrogate mother that will carry their future child. But worse more troubles appear ahead as the Walker’s fruit and wine making business is affected direly by the recession and the sabotage of a former rival of the family patriarch. Will the Walkers’ business survive?

I never watched this series. I admit it’s not the type of things I watch on television. It’s very difficult for series like this one, as well-crafted as they are to find an audience it seems because most people my age spend more time in front of a computer rather than a TV tube.  Yet, Brothers and Sisters is what night time drama is at its best. A reflection of society, albeit one, as usual, that focuses on the upper middle class, yet sounds true enough for most viewers. This series will grow on you if you never watched it and thanks to the quick intro on the first disc, provided ingenuously by ABC, new viewers do not need to have watched all of the previous three seasons to enjoy this one.

I like the discovery of a new series which has its own traditions and culture because it’s like discovering a new universe, just like in a comic book. Here we have matriarch Nora, played skilfully by Sally Fields who just hovers strongly over her five children and often, makes matters in their lives worse. She should back off, but of course half of the drama is to watch the characters go into motions and initially hide secrets from one another, until they get revealed slowly to one member of the family, until they just spread like wild fire to all the others and create more moments of misunderstandings that eventually get resolved.

I guess that technique works to create drama. And drama, there is. Those characters get mad at one another and tell each other off so much, yet they genuinely love each other and are sticking their noses on other people’s business because they think that’s what families do. If I had a family like that, I’d get as far away from them as rebellious son Tommy Walker has. It was funny to see him trying to return to his family as a prodigal son, only to have them push him away because they so thoroughly drown him in their gossips and interferences. Yet, Tommy was there for them when the going got rough. The many other supporting characters, mostly the spouses were also great participants, although after a while, one began to find the cast too crowded.

The last episode of course ends in a shocker that just started again recently the last few weeks in the last season. I know Brothers and Sisters is not the stuff the usual comic book fan will go for. It’s a bit like  guilty pleasure. But at the same time, it features stories that are engaging and tearjerker material at times. The acting is good and strong. Give it a try.

Bonus Features:
• Bloopers
• Deleted Scenes
• Off The Clock: Spending quality time with the cast & crew at 3 events off-set: the show’s softball
team, their very own art show opening, and the Malibu Triathlon.
• The Red Carpet: Behind-the-Scene Red Carpet event at their Season 4 Premiere Party, as they are
surprised with insider questions and candid fun by our zany, “secret weapon” correspondent (who
knows all the dirt) – Dave Annable’s best friend & assistant, Scotty.
Brothers & Sisters: The Complete Fourth Season is priced at $45.99 SRP (US) and $54.99 SRP (CAN). 
 
DVD

Aspect Ratio:    Widescreen (1.78:1)
Languages:     English
Subtitles:      Spanish and French

Rating: 9.5 /10

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12