A Review of Brothers and Sisters on ABC: Righty Versus Lefties in Large California Family

It's early in the season, but ABC's "Brothers and Sisters" shows some promise of following in the footsteps of prime time soap operas like Picket Fences or Thirtysomething. It may never be Dallas, but the new show about a large California family, many of whom are involved in the family produce business, at least gave me several reasons to record another couple of episodes before I make my final decision.

1. Calista Flockhart. Ally McBeal fans will not see the quirky, comedic side of Calista in this series, but they will see that she can hold her own in drama as well as she did in comedy. Starring as a conservative talk show host in a family of liberals, she must struggle not only to keep her family ties strong, but also must make a difficult decision when she is forced to choose between an exciting new job in California or a fiancé in New York.

2. Sally Fields. Sally is one of those actresses who never seems to star in a bad movie or TV series. Or maybe it's that she can take a bad movie or TV series and turn it around. Her guest appearances as Abby's Mom on ER have been spectacular. Can she keep it up as Nora Walker on Brothers and Sisters? So far, we've learned that she has strong convictions - she has not spoken to her daughter Kitty (Flockhart) for three years, following a disagreement with Kitty over the war and her son Justin's decision to enlist and serve in Afghanistan. And it appears that Nora may now find herself a widow, if her husband does not recover from the apparent heart attack he suffered at the end of the first episode.

3. Lots of cute guys!! There are five Walker siblings - two girls and three boys. The three brothers are all cute and charming in their own ways - Tommy is a womanizer, Kevin is a gay lawyer and Justin is dealing with the effects of his tour of duty in the Middle East and addiction. Tommy is played by Balthazar Getty, who also starred in Alias. Dave Annable (from Reunion) is Justin, and Matthew Rhys (Love and other Disasters, and Titus) plays Kevin.

4. And talented women! Besides Flockhart and Fields, the cast also includes Rachel Griffiths as Sarah, who has returned to the family business in an effort to save her marriage to Joe (John Pyper-Ferguson), Sarah Jane Morris, who plays Tommy's wife, Julia; and Patricia Wettig as the apparent mistress of Walker patriarch William Walker (played by Tom Skerritt in what appears to be a one-episode performance).

5. Mystery and Suspense. What is with all the locked accounts on the books at the family business, which uncle Saul (Ron Rifkin) refuses to discuss with the Walker siblings? Who is the mysterious blonde that Justin sees talking to his dad at work? Will Kitty choose her boyfriend Jonathan or her job?

6. Politics. There is no doubt that politics will play a starring role in this show, with Kitty being the conservative in a family of liberals. Although her father and one brother seem to share her opinions on some issues, her mother will never see eye to eye with her youngest daughter.

Check out "Brothers and Sisters" for yourself. Can it succeed in its current time slot on Sunday, following Desperate Housewives? Can it succeed at all?