'Brothers & Sisters': Nora gets her groove back

Nora Walker got back in the saddle again on Sunday night's "Brothers & Sisters" -- and with a younger man to boot. However, one would think that she'd act more swept off her feet by Simon, the handsome, motorcycle-riding oncologist who volunteers at her cancer center, but the age difference was still an issue for her.

To be honest, I was relieved that it was an issue for Nora. In the age of "Cougar Town" and the various "Real Housewives," which depict mothers of a certain age proudly prowling for younger men, it was refreshing to see the insecurities behind such a pairing more realistically explored. Granted, Nora is a decade or so older than the women on those shows, which would justify her pause even more. As she mentions, she has five grown children and four grandchildren -- she's not trying to be one of those women attempting to squeeze into skinny jeans.

Nora's hesitation to flaunt her relationship in public did seem a tad irrational at first. Simon isn't a twentysomething loafing around looking for a sugar mama. He's 47, successful, worldly and quite the looker. After he finagled an invitation from her to the wine festival, he set some tongues wagging, particularly with Ojai's new board chair. Nora felt empowered initially and gave a rousing retort that made me say "Ahh snap!" But her confidence was quickly deflated when a photographer mistook Simon for her son during a photo op. Oops! By then, Simon's frustrations were apparent and he blamed Nora's fear of adventure and spontaneity on her sheltered life. I'm glad she later proved him wrong.

'Brothers & Sisters': Forging ahead

Sunday night's "Brothers & Sisters" was anything but uneventful. The episode offered some big reveals, but the focus on stories involving only the immediate Walker family members gave it a more intimate feel. One-on-one conversations -- notably those featuring Robert and Kevin and Nora and Sarah -- were shot close-up, with the camera vacillating between the two before holding still at one character while the other continued to talk. Those moments felt even more real and private, and they gave viewers a chance to really focus on the characters' subtle reactions. The episode also maintained a steady momentum, which had me looking forward to what the next few weeks will bring.

Now on to the revelations, starting with the biggest. Rebecca is pregnant! When the promos showed Justin confronting Rebecca about being pregnant, I figured it would be a tease, so I'm glad that they followed through with it. This piece of news will finally shake things up with Justin and Rebecca, who've been so uninteresting since they announced their engagement, by adding another layer to their mounting responsibilities. Plus, it means there'll be another big birth to look forward to at the end of the season. If you haven't let go of the creepiness factor that first haunted Justin and Rebecca's relationship, you should do so now.

'Brothers & Sisters': Gilles Marini reveals Luc Laurent's true agenda

As Sarah Walker's smoldering new French lover, Luc Laurent, Gilles Marini has singlehandedly injected some serious spice into Season 4 of "Brothers & Sisters." His appeal goes beyond his good looks -- viewers are as charmed by Luc's sweet and humble nature as they are with his dimples. More important, Luc presents a solid love interest for Sarah, a working mom and divorcée who is in desperate need of romance.

Fan response after Marini's first episodes has been so positive that the 33-year-old French actor, who first gained fame as Samantha's lusty neighbor in the "Sex and the City" movie and as a runner-up on "Dancing With the Stars," has been asked to appear on four additional episodes after his initial five. Starting on Nov. 18, Marini also will appear on two episodes of "Nip/Tuck," where he'll play guest-star Vanessa Redgrave's sinister husband. The devoted husband and father of two spoke recently about Luc's true intentions, his chemistry with costar Rachel Griffiths and how he feels about being a sex symbol.

How did you come upon this role on "Brothers & Sisters"?

While I was doing "Dancing With the Stars," I got a meeting with the people from "Brothers & Sisters." They talked to me for two hours and said they wanted to write a role for me. You don't really think too much -- you're going to be on that show. The opportunity is humongous. It was also great for me to show that, no matter what comes my way, I will be recognized as an actor. I knew it would be something amazing just because of the group I'd work with.

Had you watched the show before getting offered the part?

Yes, and every time I watch it, my daughter is around. Then my son comes around because he doesn't hear any noise other than the TV. It's the only show we watch at home where everybody shuts up. Every time Rob Lowe is on TV, my daughter stares at him. During the episode when he had a heart attack, she was crying and she was only 2 years old. I was telling the story to Ken Olin before I knew who he was. He thought it was so awesome, and next thing you know, he says, "Let's go have this meeting." I didn't know I was talking to him!

You are certainly surrounded by tremendous actors. Describe that first day on the set.

There was the table read at first. I was completely unnerved. I was sweating. I looked around, and there was Rob Lowe, Sally Field. I thought, "I'm going to faint here." It was honestly very tough for me. But they were all so sweet. They made me understand that it's a big family there, on and off the camera. On the first day of shooting, I thought, I can really do this for a couple of seasons for sure.

'Brothers & Sisters': Tommy's not-so-triumphant return

Tommy Walker dropped by unexpectedly on last night's "Brothers & Sisters," and like the rest of the Walker family, I initially wasn't sure how to feel about his return. I had gotten so used to watching the cast minus Balthazar Getty that his presence required some adjustment.

As expected, there was awkwardness and trepidation -- why did Tommy come back and would he be the same person? Turns out he came home to see Kitty and had definitely experienced some changes. Thanks to months of manual labor and a vegan diet at the Mexican commune, Tommy appeared svelte and very mellow. His snappy comebacks and his hotheaded combativeness were seemingly gone, replaced with a mole-cooking pacifist. It looked as though he had changed for the better, but Zen Tommy didn't feel real. Even his scene with Kitty at the grocery store, which was an opportunity for them to talk one-on-one, didn't feel genuine or loving. His chemistry with each of his family members was just off.

Leave it to Nora to unearth Tommy's true nature. After a phone chat with Julia, she learned that Tommy and Julia were getting a divorce and that her son hadn't seen nor talked to his daughter in months. It was a secret that Tommy hadn't planned on sharing and one that Nora didn't plan on hiding, so it naturally unleashed some pent-up rage at the dinner table. His time in Mexico hadn't helped Tommy confront his issues; it had only provided an outlet to escape from them.

'Brothers & Sisters': Gilles Marini is a good Luc charm

 I don't remember what exactly happened in last night's "Brothers & Sisters," and Gilles Marini is to blame.

As soon as his sultry bedroom eyes, thick, dark mane and dimples hit the screen, my mind went blank, and I, too, longed to pull up a poolside lounge chair to gawk along with the Walkers. I'll stop gushing now, but you get the gist. Marini as Luc, Sarah's cooking, dancing, swimming French lover, rightfully gave the show the sizzle it needed.

Luc's presence provided lightheartedness after a trio of serious, emotional episodes. From his dance lesson with Justin to that hilarious pool scene, which happily harked back to Marini's role in the "Sex and the City" movie, we once again saw comedy come out of the Walker house.

It was a hoot to see the female and gay Walkers indulge in their hot new house guest. Their wide-eyed stares mirrored mine. It was a fun way to establish a connection with the audience. My favorite moment was the tango scene. There was movement, music and this performance aspect that we hadn't seen before on the show. Who knew Rebecca was such a good dancer!

Unfortunately, that scene was also the catalyst for Scotty and Kevin's blowup.

After some considerable back-and-forth over whether they were ready to have a child, Kevin and Scotty reached a breaking point last night. Surrogacy has been their preference (although I would have loved for them to adopt and give the "Modern Family" guys a run for their money), but the cost alone was valid reason to put the decision on hold.

Money aside, Kevin and Scotty also had a few issues they needed to hash out, including their busy work schedules and frequent power struggles. The tango scene, in which neither was willing to relinquish control and follow the other, was the perfect metaphor for their relationship. Kevin is stubborn, unwilling to consider any viewpoint but his own, and Scotty fights for his beliefs, but they eventually do compromise in a real, believable way.

With the complexity of Scotty and Kevin's relationship as well as the weighty issue of two men raising a child, I was a little surprised that they handled the decision to choose the surrogate mom in such a casual way. A uterus in exchange for some money to start a handbag line? I understand that surrogacy is essentially a business transaction, but you'd think that someone who is a personal friend of the prospective parents would put some more thought into it. Birthing a child isn't exactly house sitting. Perhaps it was also the fact that Roxy Olin, the actress who plays the surrogate, Michelle, is concurrently playing herself on MTV's reality show "The City" that made that scene hard to digest.

It's your turn to weigh in. What did you think of Gilles Marini's performance? Were you as charmed with Luc as I was? What are your thoughts on how the show handled surrogacy? Sound off in the comments!

-- Enid Portuguez

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Vive l'amour

A good cry

Will Kitty's cancer boost the show?

Photo: Gilles Marini as Luc Laurent and Sally Field as Nora Walker on "Brothers & Sisters." Credit: ABC

'Brothers & Sisters': Vive l'amour

As the promos implied, last night's "Brothers & Sisters" was about love. Not just the gooey, romantic kind, which Justin and Rebecca have recently been oozing, but the enduring and sacrificial kind that we've been waiting for Robert and Kitty to manifest.

Kitty began chemotherapy and designated Sarah as her chemo buddy. This gave the two sisters (and the viewers) a perfect opportunity to catch up on Sarah's recent trip to France. She got right to the good part: She met a guy. En route to a work-related vineyard trip, she stopped at a roadside shack to ask for directions and its inhabitant was a smoldering artist played by "Dancing with the Stars" contestant Gilles Marini. According to Sarah, they spent a week making love, drinking wine and sketching pictures, but it ended when he was caught with another woman. Kitty recognized the story as the plot of one of Nora's favorite French films but thanked her sister for concocting a romance in order to distract her from her treatment's side-effects. We learn later that the story was in fact real; Sarah changed the ending so Kitty wouldn't know that the news of her illness was the reason she had to cut her love affair short. 

'Brothers & Sisters': A good cry

I'm willing to bet there weren't too many dry eyes after last night's episode of "Brothers & Sisters." I know I asked the show for more humor last week, but nothing beats an hour of pure heart.

Kitty received her CAT scan results and the prognosis was decent but not ideal. Her cancer had not spread to her bone marrow, but it had spread enough to warrant a Stage 3 diagnosis. She was given two treatment options: the traditional cocktail of chemotherapy and radiation at home in L.A., or participate in a non-FDA-approved clinical trial in Boston. Though the decision is ultimately Kitty's, Robert and Nora had conflicting opinions of which she should choose. Robert favored the clinical trial's more aggressive approach, while Nora insisted that a strong support system along with the traditional treatment was what Kitty needed most. It was only a matter of time before these two went head-to-head, and there was no better impetus than a threat to Kitty's physical well-being.

Robert and Nora's confrontations were surprisingly formidable. Nora packed the extra punch during their argument in Robert's office, but his late-night truce lifted the doubts I had about his commitment to Kitty. For once, he let down his guard and displayed fear, sympathy and vulnerability. But even as his eyes welled with tears, Robert remained poised and resolute about working with, not against, Nora. It was a great performance by Rob Lowe, who gave us new insight into Robert without compromising consistency.

'Brothers & Sisters': Will Kitty's cancer boost the show?

Yes, they went there. Taking a cue from fellow ABC drama "Grey's Anatomy," "Brothers & Sisters" gave one of its lead characters cancer.

Last night, Kitty got the news that she has non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the lymph nodes. It was brought on quite suddenly, and we were thankfully spared from anything overly dramatic such as hallucinations of past lovers. Like "Grey's," it seems the C-card was pulled to not only give Kitty the renewed perspective and purpose to either save or scrap her current situation, but to give the show's fourth season a much-needed boost.

Kitty and Robert's marriage is heading down the drain, and it's becoming increasingly more difficult to root for them as a couple. Nora really hasn't much to do; Tommy's gone; Sarah's still away; and frankly, Justin's and Rebecca's story just hasn't been doing it for me lately. Scotty and Kevin have baby issues that they'll continue to deal with, and Ryan is back with what looks like another shady secret, but all that is hardly enough to keep one from changing the channel.

The show needs something because unlike "Grey's," "Brothers & Sisters" doesn't have heart-pumping emergency room action to counterbalance the emotional drama. It must instead rely on the Walker family's humor and comedic timing, which once upon a time served as the show's driving force. The aggravating arguments and tense scenes were always equally balanced with one of the character's funny foibles or the siblings' quirky way of communicating. That comedic magic has been lacking for most of the third season — I don't quite remember the last time I was charmed by an episode, though I'm sure it involved Sarah —so the fourth desperately needs to lighten things up. Will Kitty getting cancer help achieve that? I'm not sure.

Something so serious as a cancer story line can come off as either heart-tugging or downright depressing, and I hope the show aims for the former. First, Rachel Griffiths needs to come back from maternity leave and inject some spirit back into the show. Then we need to see the Walkers bond again. The focus has been so on their individual dramas that it'll be nice to witness the siblings share moments together that don't involve migraine-inducing arguments (we also have a reason for Nora to revisit her marijuana habit!). Justin's and Rebecca's impending wedding also has the potential for comedy, and even Kitty's treatment can be dealt with grace and humor.

Now that the show has led Kitty down an irreversible path, it has nowhere else to go but up. Bring the humor back, "Brothers & Sisters," and make us believe in the Walkers again.

Time for your thoughts, readers. What was your reaction to Kitty's diagnosis? Do you think the show needs to bring back the funny? Feel free to discuss in the comments.

— Enid Portuguez

Photo: Calista Flockhart as Kitty McAllister. Credit: ABC

'Brothers & Sisters': The rules of engagement

"Brothers & Sisters" returned for its fourth season last night and the tension was as thick as the L.A. smog. Did you really expect anything less from the Walker family?

The episode kicked off with the reminder that Justin and Rebecca were engaged (not to mention a big tease that only served as an excuse for a "48 hours earlier" flashback). However, all was not completely well with the happy couple. Justin, who at the end of last season announced he was going back to school to become a doctor, learned his first-term grades weren't up to par and his relation to the senator was the only thing keeping him in the program. This news sends him into a tailspin — he is, after all, the Prodigal Son who has yet to prove he can commit and succeed at something.

It's ironic that the opening scene showed Rebecca driving a car when she's often the one left in the backseat in her relationship with Justin. She's put her foot down before, but I can't say she's very convincing. I understand Rebecca's supposed to be the sweet, sensible rock in the relationship, but she comes off more as a perpetually pouting doormat than as a sensitive person driven by a quiet strength. I definitely sense a breakdown coming for her this season.

On the bright side, Justin and Rebecca's engagement ensures more entertaining showdowns between Nora and Holly. In my opinion, those two have the most fascinating and complex relationship on the show. They're inherent rivals in physicality (blond versus brunette, voluptuous versus petite) and circumstance (scorned wife versus scorned mistress), and, in their numerous conflicts, neither really emerges as the clear winner. Oftentimes, there's an element of spite and competitiveness in their interaction, but you also suspect they hold a bit of respect for each other for surviving this ordeal. Plus, Sally Field and Patricia Wettig know how to perform a good catfight.

'Brothers & Sisters': What happens in Mexico

Unlike others that have come before it, last night's "Brothers & Sisters" season finale didn't surprise us with shocking twists and revelations. Instead it reunited us with Tommy Walker and reinforced what we probably already knew, that Kitty and Robert still had work to do in terms of their marriage and that Ryan Lafferty wasn't going anywhere.

After enlisting Robert's help to locate Tommy, Nora finds herself in a small town in Mexico with nothing but a photo and the sheer determination to find her son. So what exactly has Tommy been doing for the last two months? He's been holed up at a "selfless service" commune fixing pipes and eating in silence. Call it his version of penance after his string of bad mistakes or a semi-effective way to escape his crazy family. Whatever his reasoning, it's not enough for his dear mother, who also convinces the rest of the Walker clan to cross the border for an intervention.

Once Hurricane Walker landed, there really wasn't a whole lot for Tommy to explain, though maybe it was because he couldn't get a word in edgewise. Tommy said very little — as he mentioned, he leaves the talking to the rest of the Walkers — but he did express his wish to remain in Mexico until he was ready to return (perhaps midway through Season 4 for another explosive two-hour episode?). Couldn't he have just gotten on the phone and told that to his worried mother? I suppose if he did, we wouldn't have been able to witness the silent cafeteria scene. It was a hilarious touch to have the family endure their first moments with Tommy in mandatory silence. Not only did they get to showcase their physical comedy skills, it also gave us a break from the bickering that came before it.