*****

"The One That Got Away"
(Season 5, Episode 14)
(ABC, aired February 13, 2011, 10 pm ET)


Creator 
Jon Robin Baitz

Writers 
Gina Lucia Monreal and David Babcock

Director 
Michael Morris

Dave Annable (Justin Walker), Sally Field (Nora Walker),  
Calista Flockhart (Kitty McCallister), Rachel Griffiths 
(Sarah Walker), Luke MacFarlane (Scotty Wandell),
Gilles Marini (Luc Laurent), Ron Rifkin (Saul Holden), 
Mathew Rhys (Kevin Walker) 

Guest stars 
Richard Chamberlain (Jonathan Byrold),
 Baltazar Getty(Tommy Walker), Cara Buono (Rose),
Michael Gross (Edward LeMonde), Jeanette O'Connor(Shirley)

Original Music by 
Blake Neely

The Walkers’ plans to celebrate Valentine’s Day go horribly wrong when
Tommy tells Sarah about another secret that Nora has kept buried since
they were kids, and Saul’s (Ron Rifkin) hopes for a romantic evening with
Jonathan (Richard Chamberlain) are dashed by a visiting high profile
food critic (Michael Gross). 

Priceless scenes with Richard Chamberlain playing a double game to make Saul jealous:  few words and telling face expressions against a humorous background.















































A sweet and heartfelt dialogue between Jonathan and Saul ends with a kiss,
making the viewer wish this story line to continue!





























On the set



Waiting for the camera to roll....






"I play a gay food critic — something very different for me — and we're 
hoping it turns into something, because I'm part of a love triangle with
Ron Rifkin and Richard Chamberlain. It could be kind of fun," said 
Michael Gross. "Apparently I have a history with 
Richard Chamberlain's character," added Gross, who said
he had a blast shooting the role. "I got to spend a couple of days 
holding hands with Mr. Chamberlain.
My wife was excited too. She would have liked 
to have done that." 

Richard Chamberlain and Michael Gross  had already crossed paths in 1983. Both were featured in the movie "Cook and Peary: The Race to the Pole" in which Richard Chamberlain played the part of Frederik Cook and Michael Gross that of James Troth.

Older Gay Characters Finally Get Some Screen Time
on “Brothers & Sisters

You want to talk about media invisibility? Try finding a gay man on television who is over 50 - much less a couple of older gay men being in any way sexual or romantic. You might get better luck looking for a bisexual unicorn.

One of the very few TV exceptions has been Brothers & Sisters, which features the character of Saul, played by veteran actor Ron Rifkin, who is 71. While the ABC show deserves credit for simply including the character at all, Saul's been far-and-away the program's least developed "brother" or "sister", despite the surprising revelation in last spring's finale that he is HIV positive. 

Storylines involving Saul's previous love interests, played by Dave Foley, John Glover, and Stephen Collins, were mostly the blink-and-you-missed-it-variety. Last fall, Rifkin himself expressed frustration with the chartacter's lack of development, saying, "The character has become sort of peripheral over the last couple of years, and not as involved as he was the first two or three years. It's been a frustrating struggle for me. It's really been hard for me. And then, with the reveal of the AIDS thing, I thought, well... maybe they'll get into it, but it doesn't seem to be what they're interested in."

But last Sunday, in the show's Valentine's episode no less, Saul was given a major plot-line in a story involving an ex-fling, played by TV heartthrob (and recently real-life out gay man) Richard Chamberlain, age 76.

Saul and Chamberlain's character, Jonathan, rekindle a friendship that had long since lapsed; Jonathan, it turns out, may have been the one who inadvertently infected Saul with HIV back in the 1980s. 

But Saul has romantic feelings for Jonathan and is unsure if Jonathan shares them. When Jonathan turns out to know a gay food critic who is visiting Scotty's restaurant (Family Ties' Michael Gross), Saul presses him to pretend to respond
to his affection in order to win Scotty a better review. But Saul, who is acting
as waiter, is hit by a fit of unexpected jealousy, which leads him to sitcom
levels of sabotage. 

In the end, all is made right when Saul and Jonathan finally do express their
true feelings for each other. Even more remarkable, they share a full kiss and
then depart for Jonathan's apartment where the implication is they will do much more than kiss. 

It is hard to overstate how unusual this is in mainstream media, although, interestingly, the first gay couple to ever appear on series television was an older one, George and Gordon Norman Lear's short-lived  Hot L. Baltimore in 1975. But the squabbling characters were anything but romantic. 

© 2011 Brent Hartinger, AFTERELTON

***** 

 
"Thanks for the Memories"
(Season 5, Episode 12)
(ABC, aired January 9, 2011, 10 pm ET)

Creator 
Jon Robin Baitz

Writers
Cliff Olin and Bryan Studler

Director  Michael Meyers  

Dave Annable (Justin Walker), Sally Field (Nora Walker), Calista Flockhart (Kitty McCallister), Rachel Griffiths  (Sarah Walker), Luke MacFarlane (Scotty Wandell), Gilles Marini (Luc Laurent), Ron Rifkin (Saul Holden), Mathew Rhys (Kevin Walker), Patricia Wettig (Holly Harper)

Guest stars 
Richard Chamberlain (Jonathan Byrold)
Rob Kazinsky (Dr. Rick), Odette Yustman (Annie), Ryan Devlin (Seth), 
John Apicella (Frank), Ken Olin (David Caplan), 
Kerris Lilla Dorsey (Paige Whedon), Edwina Findley (Jill),
Isabelle Rae Thomas (Olivia)

Original Music by 
Blake Neely

 While walking down memory lane, Nora and Holly have a shocking revelation
about Nora's past that may help Holly make a decision about moving away
from California.  Meanwhile, just as Justin and Annie begin to get comfortable
in their relationship, in walks an old flame who makes  Justin jealous. 
Kevin and Scotty reconsider becoming  adoptive parents, and Saul finds
forgiveness in his heart for Jonathan.   

***** 

"Cold Turkey"
(Season 5, Episode 10)
(ABC, aired December 12, 2010, 10 pm ET)

Creator
Jon Robin Baitz

Writers
Geoffrey Nauffts and Stephen Tolkin

Director
Michael Morris

Dave Annable (Justin Walker), Sally Field (Nora Walker),
Calista Flockhart (Kitty McCallister), Rachel Griffiths  (Sarah Walker),  
Gilles Marini (Luc Laurent),  Ron Rifkin (Saul Holden),
Mathew Rhys (Kevin Walker),  Patricia Wettig (Holly Harper) 

Guest stars
Richard Chamberlain (Jonathan Byrold)  
John Terry (Dr. Karl West), Odette Yustman (Annie),
Ryan Devlin (Seth), John Apicella (Frank)

Original Music by  Blake Neely

The Walker siblings compete to prepare Christmas with all the hoopla of the family tradition while Nora is trying to enjoy a few days off alone with Karl. After an expected turn of events, it is easy to guess how the Walkers end up celebrating…
A bittersweet short scene between Saul and his one-off lover (Richard Chamberlain) reveals Saul’s pain for not being remembered by Jonathan who learns, to his sincere dismay, that he infected Saul with HIV.

Ron Rifkin (Saul) and  
Richard Chamberlain  (Jonathan)

Older actors bring talents to current series

Old actors don't die or even fade away these days.

 They find new lives on TV series in supporting roles. And the programs are all the better for it. 

It's not just Betty White ("Hot in Cleveland") who's stealing the spotlight, although she certainly was the television comeback story of 2010. 

A few years ago, the casting of Debbie Reynolds as the mother of Grace Adler (Debra Messing) on "Will & Grace" gave that comedy series a tremendous boost. She played a community-theater diva, and pilfered every scene she was in. Also on that series, the hilarious Lesley Ann Warren played the ditzy mistress of Will's father, augmenting the humor with her mere presence. 

Warren is back again in another series, this time on "Desperate Housewives"
as the mother of Susan (Teri Hatcher), and the casting is on-target. Two weeks ago, Valerie Harper showed up as Susan's aunt, Warren's character's sister -
another inspired choice. 

And Polly Bergen has a recurring role as the meddling mother of Felicity Huffman's Lynette Scavo. 

There's something these actors bring to current series that the regular cast cannot. First of all, they appeal to a different demographic, particularly as baby boomers age. There's something comforting about seeing old favorites work and thoroughly enjoying it. And their years of experience translate into fine performances. 

Right behind White in popularity is Cloris Leachman, whose role as the addled Maw Maw on Fox's "Raising Hope" is one of the show's funniest elements. 

Lately, Richard Chamberlain has had several appearances on "Brothers & Sisters," as the former gay lover of Ron Rifkin's character, Saul. It's a much darker role in that he's the man from whom Saul contracted HIV years earlier. And Chamberlain handles it with skill and dignity. 

Let's not forget that some of these older performers are also the stars of their shows. Sally Field - yes, that Sally Field, of "Gidget" and "Flying Nun" fame - is 64 and plays the widowed mother of five adult children, with her own love life and a successful career as a radio personality on "Brothers & Sisters." 

Talk about role models. 
© 2011 George Hatza, readingeagle.com

 

The series premiered on ABC on September 24, 2006 and airs in a regular Sunday evening timeslot.  It also has an extended international distribution.
The show is now in its fifth season.

The cast includes a plethora of award-winning actors, Sally Field,
Rachel Griffith, Calista Flockhart and Patricia Wettig.
Sally Field won the 2007 Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Nora Walker. Rachel Griffiths was also nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

 

Brothers & Sisters won four years in a row the GLAAD
Media Award for Outstanding Drama Series.
(Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation)

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