Brothers and Sisters – The Complete Second Season (ABC DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: C Episodes: C+
The
Walker family returns for an all new season on DVD with Brothers and Sisters: The Complete Second Season. The Pasadena, California set series once
again follows the daily lives of the Walkers after the untimely and surprising
death of the head of the family, William Walker. The death of William Walker not only opened
the emotional flood gates for the family, but also shockingly revealed many
secrets that lined Mr. Walker’s salty past and may spell trouble for the rest
of the family’s future.
The
Walker family in Season Two, mostly
under one roof again, continues to dig into William Walker’s tangled past, all
while trying to keep the family business afloat. Sex, lies, and embezzling plague the Walkers
lives. The once pristine family now
feels tattered and torn; attempting to do whatever it takes to hold the family
together.
The
entire all-star cast returns in Season
Two to bring the withering family tree to life. The ensemble of actors includes greats like
Sally Field, Rachel Griffiths, Mathew Rhys, and Calista Flockhart. Also the Second
Season adds a few great cast members like that of Rob Lowe and Maxwell
Perry Cotton to inject some extra spice into the series. From its basic premise the series seems like
it could be just as bland and uninteresting as the plethora of other series
that come and go each season, but Brothers
and Sisters brings something more to the family dinner table each episode
with its solid cast and charismatically interesting storylines.
The
series (even with the Writers’ Strike) has seemed to evolve over last season
into something more detailed and captivating.
The actors breathe life into each scene, with heartfelt emotion that is
intertwined with captivating back story.
The series feels real with the highs and lows the family experiences and
has a flow that is admirable. As the season
progresses fans will be interested to see what happens next and intently watch
as curiosity builds to see if the family will be able to hold it together. While other series floundered due to the
Writer’s Strike, Brothers and Sisters managed
to hold it together and deliver another solid season.
The
technical features this season are comparable to last season’s DVD
release. The picture is once again
presented in an anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 Widescreen that has a similar
quality that many recent series have had on DVD with good colors, solid blacks,
and a sufficient image depth; but are far from as good as they could be. The sound for this dialogue heavy series is
presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Mix that is heavy from the front
speakers. Whereas the sound quality is
not the most expansive, it is solid enough to get the job done in a crisp
manner.
The
extras do not hold a very good rewatchable quality, but there are plenty there
to satisfy fans of Brothers and Sisters. Extras include Bloopers, Deleted Scenes, a
featurette on Season Two’s Guest
Stars, and a “Behind-the-Scenes” featurette.
Overall,
this reviewer feels that Brothers and
Sisters at this point has planted deep roots with audiences across the
board and it definitely shows why. If
the cast and writers hold strong the series will only get better. This really is a family affair…
- Michael P. Dougherty II
