"Brothers and Sisters" Big Event: Did ABC Deceive Viewers?

amp160amp160Television networks these days will do just about anything they can to attract viewers to their programming and given the intense competition they face from other media not to mention the chorus of irritating doomsayers who delight in bashing a medium that is still enjoyed on a daily basis by millions of people who can blame themamp160But I think they ought to draw the line at deliberately misleading their audience Nobody likes to be made to feel like a fool Case in point The marketing for last Sundayamp8217s twohour episode of ABCamp8217s Brothers and Sistersamp160Iamp8217m looking at the back cover for the February 16 March 1 double issue of TV Guide as I write this Itamp8217s a beautiful full page ad for the twohour Brothers and Sisters amp8220movie eventamp8221 as it is referred to across the top featuring the smiling faces of most of the showamp8217s accomplished cast members plus the following copy amp8220A joyous birth amp8230 A shocking death amp8230 A family shaken to its rootsamp8221 I was struck by the ad when this issue arrived at my home three weeks ago because it was my initial notification that something huge was going to happen on the show I must have missed the press release In the ad the images of series leads Sally Field Calista Flockhart and Rob Lowe are much larger than those of the rest of the cast My first thought the first time I saw it was amp8220Theyamp8217re killing off Rob Loweamp8221amp160The twohour Brothers and Sisters really would be a amp8220movie eventamp8221 I figured if a major character was going to bite the dust And the fact that the same character was set to become father to an adopted child in the same episode seemingly set the stage for what might have been a television classic one we might all be talking about years from nowamp160My mind raced forward Flockhartamp8217s character Kitty Walker would suddenly be a widowed single mom She would likely move in with her mother Nora Field an Emmy winner for the role ensuring renewed multigenerational conflicts for seasons to come After all Brothers and Sisters is never better than when two or more Walkers are gathered under the same roof getting in each otheramp8217s way quarreling like mad and swilling as much alcohol as they can handleamp160I chose not to watch this twohour amp8220movie eventamp8221 in advance on ABCamp8217s press Web site not because much of the video on it is dark and drab and not because I prefer to watch television shows on actual television screens but because Brothers and Sisters has since its premiere three seasons ago been a treasured Sunday night viewing ritual for me I wanted to experience the amp8220eventamp8221 at the same time as the rest of its audience including the two women I overheard excitedly talking about it at my local Stop ampamp Shop that very afternoon amp8220Rob Lowe is going to dieamp8221 one of them squealed perhaps sounding a little more excited than she should One of the women a cashier who mentioned that she usually works until 10 pm on Sunday said she had asked to leave at 8 pm that night so she could get home and settle in for her show It was clear that this amp8220eventamp8221 was the highlight of her weekendamp160I have to admit I was disappointed that Loweamp8217s character Sen Robert McCallister didnamp8217t buy the farm that night Yes it was a huge story surge for him His baby was born he declared himself a candidate for governor of California he suffered a heart attack and endured openheart surgery But he didnamp8217t die Not permanently anyway McCallisteramp8217s heart did briefly stop and I suppose that for those fleeting moments he was technically dead but come on As Monty Python might complain he did not cease to beamp160The ad on the back cover of TV Guide promised amp8220a shocking deathamp8221 not a amp8220quick bit of temporary deadnessamp8221 Television spots for the episode had also suggested that someone was going to buy the farm ABC didnamp8217t lie but any way the network chooses to spin it millions of fans myself included were deliberately misledamp160The point here is that Disney should not be so devious in the way it treats loyal viewers of any of its shows on any of its networks especially viewers of shows that seek to establish strong emotional connections with their audience as Brothers and Sisters so skillfully does People deserve more respect than that They do not need additional motivation to abandon television especially broadcast for other entertainment pursuitsamp160For what itamp8217s worth I thought the other storylines in the show provided greater drama than the misfortune of Mr McCallister The exposure of Tommy Walkeramp8217s illegal actions to seize control of his family business back from his late fatheramp8217s malicious mistress Holly William Walkeramp8217s illegitimate son Ryan arriving on Noraamp8217s doorstep Justin and Rebecca trying to hold their crumbling relationship together Nora preparing Kitty for the miracle of motherhood gay liberal Kevin realizing how much he has come to care for his stern conservative brotherinlaw Robert Much of this felt new to me whereas I have seen dozens of television characters suffer heart attacks especially during sweeps months and survive On the upside I forced myself to watch this coming Sundayamp8217s episode on ABCamp8217s press site and while all of these stories reach full boil Lowe absolutely nails his portrayal of a man deeply unsettled by an unexpected brush with his own mortalityamp160Maybe ABC should buy a clue from Fox which promoted the heck out of this weekamp8217s twohour 24 event without misleading anyone about anything Fox promised something much more than the usual 24 experience and damn did it deliver I couldnamp8217t turn away amp8211 even during the commercials amp8211 as the White House hostage crisis unfolded I think there were more onscreen deaths during those two hours of this one show than I have seen on all of primetime this season and every one of them was a punch to the gut This was a case of a program far exceeding the power of its own promotion

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"Brothers and Sisters" Big Event: Did ABC Deceive Viewers?

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