What About Brian: Complete Series

There is one thing about friends; your relationship with them tends to change as the years go by. A group of men who spent a good portion of their single years have to redefine how they relate once members of the group start to get married. So some this is a difficult period to cope with. This is especially true if you are the last member of your little cliché to take that long walk down the aisle. This is the focus of the series ‘What About Brian’. It goes into the social pressure that is placed on a single man among married friends. This series seemed to have everything going for it. It was created by Dana Stevens, screen writer for such films as ‘City of Angels’ and ‘Blink’. The executive producer was no less television luminary as J.J. Abrams, who created such massive television hits as ‘Lost’, ‘Alias’ and ‘Felicity’. ABC picked it up as a mid season replacement providing a meager five episodes (actually six but one was never aired). Although it was given a second season the planned full 22 episodes were scaled back to only nineteen. Ultimately the series met a premature demise after that. This is yet another addition to the unfortunately growing list of series of merit being murdered by the studio executives before they had a chance to find a place with the audience. The series was intelligently written, well directed and had an amazing cast. You might think that this is a good thing but looking over the list of other series doomed too soon, it would appear that some in the executive offices of the studio are not ready to commit to quality.

Brian Davis (Barry Watson) is a young man in his early thirties. He is handsome, has a substantial video game business and is intelligent. He also is the last of his group of friends to be married or in a committed relationship. For people in such a relationship a single friend is a man in dire need of rescue. His long time best friend is Adam Hillman (Matthew Davis) a lawyer who has recently gotten engaged to the beautiful girlfriend of several years, Marjorie Seaver (Sarah Lancaster). While this would be great news under most circumstances there is a hitch, Brian has had a big time crush on her for years. Actually, he finds it difficult to maintain a relationship with a woman because he uses Marjorie as the gold standard. Also in this little clique are Brian’s partner in Zap Monkey Video Games, Dave Greco (Rick Gomez), his wife Deena (Amanda Detmer), Brian’s older sister Nicole (Rosanna Arquette) and her husband Angelo (Raoul Bova). Not only are Brian’s friends married or engaged th). Not only are Brian’s friends married or engaged they have children. Dave and Deena have been married for over a decade with three children and Nicole, now in her forties; just recently married and is now pregnant. Brian is the self described seventh wheel of the group. This is painfully obvious at times like what is shown in one of the earliest scenes in the series. The group is going to the movies. Since parking is a problem Deena suggest they take their mini van but it only holds six. Brian is distanced from the group once again.

Brian gets called out constantly by Adam for his inability to commit. One case in the first episode is when Brian starts to date Karen (Amy Jo Johnson), real name Karen. He met her when he crashed his car into her while checking out a blond in the car next to him. Next thing he knows he is back at her place rolling around in her bed. As he tells his friends about her good qualities he is thinking about how she is moving too fast to commit and just how many things about her annoys him. For the members of the group there is a strange dynamic in how they see Brian. While they all want to set him up with the right woman they also are fast to use his single status to their own advantage. When Adam and Marjorie move in together Adam can’t get away from work so he calls on Brian to help in the move. This is very difficult for him since he secretly loves her but is too good a friend to decline. One Saturday all Brian wants to do is spend time with the latest Ms. Right Now, Lisa B. (Bre Blair), but his answering machine is full of requests for help from his friends. Dave and Deena are having a birthday party for one of their kids and need Brian to pitch in as entertainment dressed as a dinosaur (he couldn’t get a Barney outfit). Adam and Marjorie need Brian’s help with shopping for their china. The second season finds troubles in the marriage of Dave and Deena. It also escalates the romantic tension between Brian and Marjorie even though her wedding to Adam is rapidly approaching.

This series is an example of the talent and versatility that people like Dana Stevens and J.J. Abrams posses. The concept is strong and was able to resonate with a good portion of the American television audience. Most can either identify directly with Brian or at least his friends. The writing is incredibly crisp, the pacing is near perfect and the stories are realistic. The drama builds in a natural fashion drawing the audience in on an emotional level. The big thing here is that the characters are sympathetically written. You can form a bond with them because there are so well written.

Once again this is a stellar cast who should not worry about being out of work. Any project will be improved by including any member of this cast. Barry Watson is best known for his decade playing the minister’s son on the former WB staple, ‘7^th Heaven’. After taking some time off for his thankfully successful battle with cancer he is back in in the best acting form of his career. He makes Brian into a fully developed albeit flawed human being. He is caught between his best friend and the woman they both love, a tried and true formula for romantic drama. He also has a natural talent for comedy that comes up a lot with his attempts to relate to the girlfriend of the week. Adam could have very easily been played as a man too clueless to know what is going own with Brian and Marjorie. With Matthew Davis in the role he portrays his character as a man who is forced to deny what is happening to help preserve his world. It is refreshing to see a beautiful young actress that is not played just for her looks. Sarah Lancaster has the physical attributes but it is her ability to relate to her character that makes her a star in this series. She has depth to her performance that makes the audience want to have things somehow work out.

Buena Vista/Disney has made up for the premature cancellation of this series. The DVD set is the complete series and even a few well thought out extras. The first thing that struck me with this DVD is the video. The recent season box set has great anamorphic video but this one was exceptional. The color palette was brilliant, the colors jumped off the screen and struck me as being more vibrant than most shows. The Dolby 5.1 audio was full and rich. The channel separation was better than most shows manage. Selected episodes have a commentary track featuring series creator Dana Stevens. She has a bitter sweet look back at this series that helps the audience understand some of the travails in bringing a drama to life. There is the previously unseen sixth first season episode ‘What Happened in Las Vegas’ included in the mix. It also has an introduction by Ms Stevens. The cast and crew gather to provide a look back at the production of the series. There is also a ‘what if’ featurette that looks at what direction the series would have taken if afforded a chance at season three. If you missed this series the first time around get it now on DVD. It deserves a place of honor in your collection.

Posted 09/19/07