Brotherly and Sisterly Love

I watched the last episode of the current series of American drama, Brothers and Sisters, this week and surprise surprise, was in floods of tears by the end of it.

I don’t know what it is about that show but it gets me every time. It must be a combination of Sally Field’s and Calista Flockhart’s big watery eyes locking and sharing an emotional moment practically every five minutes that does it.

As a mother and daughter pair – it could not be more perfectly cast. I loved Ally McBeal (Flockhart’s first slightly manic comedic role), an insane amount and needless to say once I started office life, was more than dismayed to learn not every company has unisex toilets where people break into Barry White at the flush of a loo - or a bar with Vonda Shepherd encouraging all employees to karaoke with her.

What’s more, the reappearance of Rachel Griffiths from my previous favourite American drama, Six Feet Under, is a joy.

Call me a soft touch but I find the family relationships in this programme, although totally contrived at times, convincing and heart-warming – making for addictive watching.

And what with a near bout of incest being thrown into the mix, it’s getting ever-so-slightly raunchier.

However Brookside still wins hands-down with its full-on incest tale of Nat and Georgia! Oh them were the days when TV knew how to really shock…