Brothers & Sisters - "Moral Hazard" - 5/04/08
05-04-08, 02:47 PM
#2
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Was not happy with what they did with Rebecca last night but I don't think many are with the amount of mail that turned up at TVguide.com:
Sifting Through the Brothers & Sisters Blowback
Question: What are your thoughts on Brothers & Sisters, now that they "went there" by de-Walkering Rebecca? I am very disappointed in this turn of events. Sure, the speculation has been there ever since Ken Olin showed up, but I was hoping the show would just tease us with all of this doubt and then confirm that she is a Walker. Now, we're seeing the inevitable relationship with her and Justin. They dropped so many anvils during last Sunday's episode it was sickening. Did they do this just to bring these two together? Yes, they have some chemistry, but why do this at the cost of so much story and character development? This makes me miss Season 1 so much more, and to top it all off, they make Rebecca a liar again I know this is just one story line and the acting across the show still is phenomenal, but this is a bad move. — Larry B.
Matt Roush: I vented my spleen earlier this week in a Dispatch that pretty much agreed with this point of view, except I'm still trying to keep as open a mind as possible until I see just where they'll take the story. I just screened this Sunday's episode, a very full hour, and I recommend it to every Brothers & Sisters fan, including the many who are turned off by the "de-Walkering" of Rebecca. (Great phrase.) The episode directly confronts the awkwardness of the situation and takes some significant new twists, one comedic and the rest very dramatic. There's also great and moving moments for Kevin and Saul, and even the business subplot reaches a full boil. It's all pretty much must-see. But I'd be lying if I ignored the fact that the Rebecca/Justin story generated some of the most impassioned mail in a very busy mailbox this week. I'll share a sampling.
From Greg B. (obviously not Berlanti): "There is absolutely no way that I would be able to watch a Rebecca-Justin coupling based on the history that already exists between them. This kind of nonsensical romantic pairing reeks of glorifying youth at the expense of the other actors. If I wanted to watch One Tree Hill, I would be watching One Tree Hill." (A thought that makes yours truly shudder.)
Mardia invokes the dreaded "jump the shark" phrase, and adds, "I know all about the supposed non-sibling chemistry with Dave Annable and Emily VanCamp, but I honestly was never bothered by that — considering the circumstances of how they'd met and gotten to know each other, it made sense to me that Justin wouldn't relate to Rebecca the same way he did with the rest of his family. This, however, I am bothered by. It invalidates most of the first season, and despite the great acting opportunities this gives the cast members, I feel those opportunities could have been achieved using less sensationalistic writing. Emily van Camp is a fantastic actress, no one is in doubt of that, but this story line is pretty much indefensible. This is the kind of lame twist I expect from lesser shows, not from Brothers & Sisters."
And this from Joe: "I'm starting to think that the powers that be in TV land truly believe we only care about the next big shocking twist and that we don't care whether it makes a prior storyline — which we spent countless hours watching — basically meaningless, stripping it of almost all its dramatic significance and making it near impossible to re-watch and enjoy on the same level. I'm suddenly reminded of the infamous dream twist on Dallas that made almost an entire season basically meaningless. It's what's referred to in the comic-book community as retroactive continuity. It's a poor tool that doesn't belong in any good writer's arsenal. It makes it seem like the writers simply couldn't come up with any new original stories, so they just changed an old one via a twist. Is nothing sacred anymore? Or am I just sitting on a lonely rock somewhere with standards that are too high, doomed to be disappointed more and more often?"
And to show that my mail wasn't unanimously against the twist (though it was close), here's this from John M.: "Buffy dating Angel who's a hundred years her senior, Lost's Shannon sleeping with stepbrother Boone and Firefly's incestuous siblings Simon and River are all much more icky and taboo than not-siblings Justin and Rebecca. What has the general ABC and viewer reaction been to this story? Will the network give Justin/Rebecca a shot at being the sizzling soulmates they are?"
I can only speak to the reaction I'm getting, and it hasn't been pretty. While I'm with you on "soulmates," I part company on "sizzling." Hooking these two up sounds like Gizzie redux. But again, as I noted up top, stay tuned and we'll keep the discussion open.
Sifting Through the Brothers & Sisters Blowback
Question: What are your thoughts on Brothers & Sisters, now that they "went there" by de-Walkering Rebecca? I am very disappointed in this turn of events. Sure, the speculation has been there ever since Ken Olin showed up, but I was hoping the show would just tease us with all of this doubt and then confirm that she is a Walker. Now, we're seeing the inevitable relationship with her and Justin. They dropped so many anvils during last Sunday's episode it was sickening. Did they do this just to bring these two together? Yes, they have some chemistry, but why do this at the cost of so much story and character development? This makes me miss Season 1 so much more, and to top it all off, they make Rebecca a liar again I know this is just one story line and the acting across the show still is phenomenal, but this is a bad move. — Larry B.
Matt Roush: I vented my spleen earlier this week in a Dispatch that pretty much agreed with this point of view, except I'm still trying to keep as open a mind as possible until I see just where they'll take the story. I just screened this Sunday's episode, a very full hour, and I recommend it to every Brothers & Sisters fan, including the many who are turned off by the "de-Walkering" of Rebecca. (Great phrase.) The episode directly confronts the awkwardness of the situation and takes some significant new twists, one comedic and the rest very dramatic. There's also great and moving moments for Kevin and Saul, and even the business subplot reaches a full boil. It's all pretty much must-see. But I'd be lying if I ignored the fact that the Rebecca/Justin story generated some of the most impassioned mail in a very busy mailbox this week. I'll share a sampling.
From Greg B. (obviously not Berlanti): "There is absolutely no way that I would be able to watch a Rebecca-Justin coupling based on the history that already exists between them. This kind of nonsensical romantic pairing reeks of glorifying youth at the expense of the other actors. If I wanted to watch One Tree Hill, I would be watching One Tree Hill." (A thought that makes yours truly shudder.)
Mardia invokes the dreaded "jump the shark" phrase, and adds, "I know all about the supposed non-sibling chemistry with Dave Annable and Emily VanCamp, but I honestly was never bothered by that — considering the circumstances of how they'd met and gotten to know each other, it made sense to me that Justin wouldn't relate to Rebecca the same way he did with the rest of his family. This, however, I am bothered by. It invalidates most of the first season, and despite the great acting opportunities this gives the cast members, I feel those opportunities could have been achieved using less sensationalistic writing. Emily van Camp is a fantastic actress, no one is in doubt of that, but this story line is pretty much indefensible. This is the kind of lame twist I expect from lesser shows, not from Brothers & Sisters."
And this from Joe: "I'm starting to think that the powers that be in TV land truly believe we only care about the next big shocking twist and that we don't care whether it makes a prior storyline — which we spent countless hours watching — basically meaningless, stripping it of almost all its dramatic significance and making it near impossible to re-watch and enjoy on the same level. I'm suddenly reminded of the infamous dream twist on Dallas that made almost an entire season basically meaningless. It's what's referred to in the comic-book community as retroactive continuity. It's a poor tool that doesn't belong in any good writer's arsenal. It makes it seem like the writers simply couldn't come up with any new original stories, so they just changed an old one via a twist. Is nothing sacred anymore? Or am I just sitting on a lonely rock somewhere with standards that are too high, doomed to be disappointed more and more often?"
And to show that my mail wasn't unanimously against the twist (though it was close), here's this from John M.: "Buffy dating Angel who's a hundred years her senior, Lost's Shannon sleeping with stepbrother Boone and Firefly's incestuous siblings Simon and River are all much more icky and taboo than not-siblings Justin and Rebecca. What has the general ABC and viewer reaction been to this story? Will the network give Justin/Rebecca a shot at being the sizzling soulmates they are?"
I can only speak to the reaction I'm getting, and it hasn't been pretty. While I'm with you on "soulmates," I part company on "sizzling." Hooking these two up sounds like Gizzie redux. But again, as I noted up top, stay tuned and we'll keep the discussion open.
05-04-08, 10:00 PM
#3
DVD Talk Hero
Thread Starter
The Kevin and Justin scene where Justin tells Kevin about his feelings for Rebecca was good, but the rest of this story has been an absolute trainwreck. The scene at the movies was squirm inducing, part of it I think is due to the fact David Annable can not act. Really wish they had never gone down this path.
05-05-08, 12:59 PM
#5
DVD Talk Hero
Justin's reaction to Rebecca's revelation was so poorly written.
"I've the hots for you, but you're my half-sister."
"I'm not really your half-sister."
"You lied to me?!?!?! You are just like your devious mother!!!! Go away!!!"
Geez... way to make it all about you, Justin.
"I've the hots for you, but you're my half-sister."
"I'm not really your half-sister."
"You lied to me?!?!?! You are just like your devious mother!!!! Go away!!!"
Geez... way to make it all about you, Justin.
