Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)"Brothers and Sisters" is a show created back in 2006 by Jon Robin Baitz (a writer who worked on "Alias" and "West Wing"). The series revolves around the Walker family, an upperclass family that owns a major company known as Ojai Foods.
But the family goes through major trials and tribulations in the first three seasons but with the fourth, the family faces a much greater challenge as a family member has cancer, the family business is quickly losing money and the Walker may never be the same after the season finale of season 4.
VIDEO:
"Brothers and Sisters - The Complete Fourth Season" is featured in Widescreen (1:78:1), enhanced for 16×9 televisions. There are a lot of outdoor and indoor shots and "Brothers and Sisters" does have quite a bit of grain but nothing too distracting. But for the most part, picture quality is satisfactory.
AUDIO:
"Brothers and Sisters - The Complete Fourth Season" is featured in Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, the show is mostly dialogue-based but there are quite a bit of music featured in the episodes, but the audio is pretty much front and center channel driven and audio is clear. There are no really need for major sound effects for "Brothers and Sisters" but for the most part, dialogue and background music are heard quite clearly.
My receiver setup preference was set to "Stereo on all Channels" for a much more immersive soundtrack.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
"Brothers and Sisters - The Complete Fourth Season" comes with the following special features:
DISC 1:
* Deleted Scenes - A total of four deleted scenes: Ryan steps up, taking a second, kitty's caught in the middle, a meeting of mothers.
DISC 2:
* Deleted Scenes - A total of six deleted scenes: what to do, advice from Tommy, phone connections, happy birthday mr. governor, official entry and going for it.
DISC 3:
* Deleted Scenes - Featuring a total of three deleted scenes: Justin's promise, being there, make a deal
DISC 4:
* Deleted Scenes - Featuring two deleted scenes: lost keys, next republic senator
DISC 5:
* Deleted Scenes - A total of three deleted scenes: tell me what happened?, second thoughts and mug shots.
DISC 6:
* The Red Carpet - (08:11) Featuring the red carpet premiere of the first episode of season 4 at the "Brothers & Sisters" premiere party.
* Off the Clock - (11:09) Behind-the-Scenes of what happens "Off-the-Clock" of "Brothers and Sisters". Featuring the crew of "Brothers and Sisters" and fun things that the cast take part in.
* Bloopers - (2:14) Featuring outtakes from the fourth season of "Brothers and Sisters".
* Deleted Scenes - A total of four deleted scenes which include what's going on?, hell of a backhand, Ojai Foods and like old times.
EXTRAS:
"Brothers and Sisters - The Complete Fourth Season" comes with a slip over case.
JUDGMENT CALL:
Heartfelt, humorous, dramatic and enjoyable, this is probably my favorite season of the popular ABC drama series yet.
I have to admit that many of my favorite drama series on television have somehow gone astray with the writing this year. And without mentioning any series, I will say that the "thinking outside of the box" has literally brought many quite a few of these once wonderful drama series to unusual lows with unrealistic, make-believe and idiotic storylines.
Unfortunately, this is not the case with "Brothers and Sisters". For this fourth season, writers for this season went for accessible storylines that people can relate to.
With the Walker family, everything that had to do with the characters are stories that people can relate to. With Nora, we see a single mother trying to get on with her life and start dating again, also having to deal with a mother who is suffering from Alzheimer's Disease via Dementia. With Kitty, having to face the reality that she may not be there for her young child because she is suffering from Lymphoma and having to deal with stage 3 cancer. With Kevin and Scotty, two gay men who want to adopt and are having problems. With Sarah, also a single mother testing out the dating scene but also having to deal with a daughter. Tommy who has to deal with divorce and custody issues. And then we have Justin and Rebecca who are stressed out because of their wedding, having to think of parenthood and even for Justin trying to get into medical school and realizing that he may have a learning disability.
And of course, it doesn't stop there. You have Holly, having to deal with losing her money to a Ponzi scheme, the reality that all that she had worked for is now gone and now finding herself in the worst position in her life and facing a future of being broke, starting over and even more which I don't want to spoil anyone one who hasn't seen the episodes yet.
And this is what makes the fourth season of "Brothers and Sisters" so believable and we can laugh during the jokes but when can also shed a tear when things get tough. We can sympathize with the characters and that is one thing that really distinguishes "Brothers and Sisters" from many other drama series as many of them have become so unbelievable that these one popular shows have lost its sparkle. Fortunately, "Brothers and Sisters" fared well and not only did it get people tearing over Kitty's battle with cancer but with a finale so shocking, no one expected the writers to really end it in this fashion. Definitely one of the most impressive and tragic season finales that I have ever seen.
I admit that the writers really pulled things off for the fourth season but it's going to be quite interesting to see how they can improve on the fifth.
Another reason why I enjoyed this season so much is how much time was given to characters such as Holly Harper, Rebecca Harper, David Caplan and Scotty Wandell. It was good for the series to explore the relationships other than Kitty and Robert and give more screen time to these characters and see how the Walker's have affected their relationships with these people. Rebecca has grown to a character I enjoy watching and I also feel that the writers have treated Kevin and Scotty's relationship was tastefully done. And also to see Holly in a new light and to see how her relationship with Nora is evolving.
Also, the introduction to new characters was well-done. At first, I thought they would treat the character of Luc Laurent as more of just utilizing his looks and overplay it but he has become a pretty cool character for the season and it's always good see Sarah not so neurotic or angsty all the time. Luc seems to have brought some stability with that character and I like that. Also, for the younger viewers, to see Roxy Olin of MTV's "The City" reality TV show on "Brothers and Sisters" was a bit surreal but the fact that both of her parents are on the series didn't surprise me.
As for this DVD set, although there are not as many special features compared to last season's DVD boxset, nor are there any commentary tracks, you do get a lot deleted scenes but also "The Red Carpet" featurette and also quite a few featurettes via the "Off the Clock" and bloopers included in this fourth season set. So, if that was my only nitpick of this DVD set, it was the lack of audio commentary.
Overall, "Brothers and Sisters - The Complete Fourth Season" is definitely my favorite season of the drama series yet. Well-written, well-acted and from beginning to end of this fourth season, viewers will be crying, laughing and then shocked by the season finale. It's that good!
Definitely recommended!
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Welcome the Walkers back into your home with the emotional fourth season of the warm and witty drama that explores the triumphs and tragedies of the American family. Featuring one of the most celebrated casts on television, including SallyField, Calista Flockhart, Rob Lowe, and Patricia Wettig, ABC’s Brothers And Sisters is “instantaneously seductive," raves the Wall Street Journal. No matter how much life changes, family stays the same. As new challenges arise for the Walkers, they learn to rely on one another more than ever before. Kitty’s personal revelation devastates the entire family, Nora begins a relationship with a younger man and Justin and Rebecca’s Malibu wedding doesn’t quite go as planned. Relive all the drama and every touching moment of Season Four, complete with never-before-seen bonus features available only on DVD!
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