Television series about wealthy families is nothing new. During the fifties most TV shows were about regular families that the people tuning in could identify with. Then, in 1978 ‘Dallas’ hit the air waves and everybody wanted to know about the fabulously rich people involved. This was followed fairly swiftly with ‘Dynasty’ in 1981 and the family shows turned its eye towards the privilege and empowered. In 2006 a new variation of the family oriented drama came to the tube, ‘Brothers and Sisters’. The family in question here, the Walkers, are wealthy but not so rich that they don’t have the more than occasional set of money troubles. They are also somewhat dysfunctional. This is not done to the point of making the series melodramatic although there are more than a few such moments to be found. The bottom line is this is an adult night time soap opera in the truest sense but the entertainment value comes from how it embraces this fact. What sets this series far above the ever growing pack of similar shows is the quality it presents to the audience. This is a cast any producer would give a limb to have. The writing is tight and manages to juggle the numerous plots and themes with skill and style. Each episode is directed more like a cinematic short than the typical TV episode. The ABC network has realized this and given it one of the most coveted time slots in their line up; right after their mega hit ‘Desperate Housewives’. Even without this illustrious lead in this series would certainly garner the audience and acclaim it so richly deserves. "Brothers and Sisters’ is a human drama about people that the viewers can grow to know and become involved in their lives. If you have not heard of this series now ABC through Paramount has released the second season on DVD so you have your chance to get ready before the start of the third. Unlike so many serialized dramas on TV this one is not about snotty little rich kids. It is about adults and targeted for an older audience.

The series is concerned with the Walker family in southern California. They are not super rich but reasonably comfortable thanks to the family owned business Ojai Foods, which was started by the late family patriarch William Walker (Tom Skerritt). At the start of the first season, episode one to be exact, William died and the rest of the season focused on how the family coped with their grief and the discovery of several of William’s many secrets. At the center of all the drama the family goes through is the mother, Nora (Sally Field). In this second season she finds herself in a set of circumstances that are completely unfamiliar to her. She has lived her life as a daughter, a wife and then a mother. In this season she discovers that she has to become her own woman. Nora has always been defined by the will and ambitions of others. In this season she begins to break free of the expectations of others. Nora is unfamiliar with such freedom and the adult children are more than a little bewildered but their mother’s new found independence. For example at one point she goes out with an old girlfriend and winds up getting busted for smoking pot. She also falls in love for the first time in decades with a political advisor, Isaac Marshall (Danny Glover) who is helping to run her son in law’s presidential campaign, More on this a little later. Fields is such an incredible actress that she takes this role to new heights rarely seen on television.

The eldest of the Walker children is Sarah (Rachel Griffiths). In this season she is divorced from her husband Joe (John Pyper-Ferguson) after he kissed the illegitimate daughter of William, Rebecca Harper (Emily VanCamp). She has born to William’s long time mistress Holly (Patricia Wettig). At the start of season two Sarah is still president of Ojai Foods and the company is facing a difficult financial spell. On the advice of her uncle Saul (Ron Rifkin) she hires a top gun business advisor, Graham Finch (Steven Weber). There is a major conflict of interest when his advice to open a venture in China falls through nearly bankrupting Ojai. The next in line is Kitty (Calista Flockhart) who is a right wing political commentator who in this season gets married to Senator Robert Mcallister (Rob Lowe) who is now running for president. The hectic demands of the campaign have been interfering with their plans to start a family. The eldest of the Walker sons is Tommy (Balthazar Getty). He has gotten over his resentment of his father for leaving the business to Sarah instead of him. He now is business partners with Holly in a new venture, Walker Landing wine distillery. She got the funds to start the business with money she inherited from William. Tommy almost ruins his marriage when he has a brief but torrid affair with his secretary Lena Branigan (Emily Rose). The next son is Kevin (Matthew Rhys) who is openly gay and a lawyer. He had a relationship with Mcallister’s reverend brother but is in love with Scotty (Luke Macfarlane). Kevin has a falling out with Kitty because of the anti-gay marriage stance of her republican husband. The youngest of the Walker clan is Justin (Jon Robin Baitz). He is a veteran of the war in Iraq where he was injured. The painful recovery is threatening his battle with drug abuse. During his recovery he becomes extremely close to Rebecca who he believes to be his half sister. Since this is a soap opera you know that some drama will come out of this especially when Justin begins to fall in love with her. He does have a brief fling with Lena who does seem to have a thing for Walker men. There is even a little drama that comes from kindly Uncle Saul. He is a confirmed bachelor who has to come to grips with the realization that he is gay.

While this series employs many of the time honored techniques of the soap opera it is far beyond that genre. For one thing it has a much deeper scope in the humanity of the characters. While soaps tend to place unrealistic people in ridiculous circumstances here we get down to earth plots. The scale is moved up for dramatic effect but things like family relationships, opposing political and moral viewpoints and financial difficulties are all things that anyone can identify with readily. The first season was typical introductory in nature. In this season the characters are all well developed and the writers were able to place them in more emotional story lines. There is a running gag that sounds corny but it works here. Every dinner party thrown by Nora is bound to wind up in a food fight. It is little family quirks like this that keeps the series grounded but letting the characters let loose every so often.

This is a quality series that you will enjoy. I don’t usually go for this type of show but last year when I had to review the first season I found myself hooked after the first episode. It has only improved with time and now is one of the not to miss shows on the air. ABC through Paramount has released the second season DVD box set and it is something you should get. The season was short due to the Writer’s Guild strike but they managed to get a full feeling season out. The DVD set includes some excellent extras including a very funny blooper reel and commentary tracks on selected episodes.