Kitty (Calista Flockhart), Sarah (Rachel Griffiths), Kevin (Matthew Rhys), Tommy (Balthazar Getty), and Justin (Dave Annable) are the adult children of Nora (Sally Field) and William Walker (Tom Skerritt). The Californian family owns fruit business Ojai Foods. Nora's brother Saul Holden (Ron Rifkin) is the financial officer. Kevin is a gay lawyer who eventually marries Scotty Wandell. Kitty is a conservative radio host who returns to LA to start a TV show. She leaves her new job for war hero Republican Senator Robert McCallister (Rob Lowe). Justin had gone to fight in Iraq following 9/11. Nora blames Kitty for Justin returning broken and drug-addicted. Sarah struggles with her marriage to Joe, her kids, and her work at the company. After William's sudden death, she and brother Tommy discover financial mishandling and his old affair with Holly Harper (Patricia Wettig) which seemingly produced love child Rebecca Harper (Emily VanCamp).
The first season is a bit unstable. William's shocking death is obviously planned. Skerritt is a great actor and a devastating lost. It would have been nice to have him built up the character for a few more episodes before his death. There are other changes that kept the show off-balanced. At first, Kitty has a great liberal foil but that large part of the show is abandoned to recruit TV star Rob Lowe. It's understandable but the show does suffer from instability in the first season.
The other big missed opportunity is the literal concentrating on the five siblings. There should be more on the next generation of siblings and cousins. The kids provide story potential and are arguably the best aspects of the fifth and last season. Paige has a couple of great traditional teen stories and there is the adoption of Olivia. More kids and more of their stories would have given the show character depth.
This is a dysfunctional but loving family. They are often self-sabotaging. They can't keep a secret. They argue all the time and have cross-talking phone calls. All of this arguing and melodrama do wear the show down a bit. It needs more uplifting moments. It needs more joy. That's not to say that this is a downer but it does need more of the higher notes. Overall, the great cast is compelling and the family's unbreakable bond is always at its center.
The first season is a bit unstable. William's shocking death is obviously planned. Skerritt is a great actor and a devastating lost. It would have been nice to have him built up the character for a few more episodes before his death. There are other changes that kept the show off-balanced. At first, Kitty has a great liberal foil but that large part of the show is abandoned to recruit TV star Rob Lowe. It's understandable but the show does suffer from instability in the first season.
The other big missed opportunity is the literal concentrating on the five siblings. There should be more on the next generation of siblings and cousins. The kids provide story potential and are arguably the best aspects of the fifth and last season. Paige has a couple of great traditional teen stories and there is the adoption of Olivia. More kids and more of their stories would have given the show character depth.
This is a dysfunctional but loving family. They are often self-sabotaging. They can't keep a secret. They argue all the time and have cross-talking phone calls. All of this arguing and melodrama do wear the show down a bit. It needs more uplifting moments. It needs more joy. That's not to say that this is a downer but it does need more of the higher notes. Overall, the great cast is compelling and the family's unbreakable bond is always at its center.