Oh Brother!
Posted on December 8, 2008
Did you see Brothers and Sisters on Sunday night? I was conflicted while watching the show. On one hand they were showing how a family can come together in times of need. The surviving IVF twin needed a liver transplant and the donor i.e., biological father, who no one knew until last night, was the only one who could provide the needed organ. It was very touching how the two brothers reconnected right after the surgeries were a success. There had been a tension between them because Thomas, the infertile brother, was jealous that one of this brothers (either Kevin or Justin) had the sperm that had created his child. And Kevin felt somewhat awkward because he always thought he was the one who had “fathered” Thomas’ child. Confused?
I loved the scene where Kitty was talking to Thomas about how she understood his perspective. Interesting how he didn’t think she’d “get it” even though she was going through infertility herself. One of the writers must have had or is struggling with infertility because they choose two members of the same family to have fertility issues, one male and one female. My guess is that most people watching the show don’t really “get it” or catch on to all of the medical issues addressed in this one short show. But I could be wrong.
However, I was a little irritated at the fact that it was the IVF twin who had medical complications. Wasn’t it enough that one of the twins didn’t survive their prematurity? Now they drag the other twin through a liver transplant. Are IVF babies broken from the start? Mine aren’t. What kind of message are they sending about infertility and fertility treatments to the viewers who know very little about these issues.
As the show ended, I looked at my hubby and said, “Wow, where is the shouting and conflict? It’s kind-of nice that they are all getting along in this epsiode.” I was then sorely disappointed at the previews for January where Kevin decides that the baby belongs to him because it was his sperm. Oh brother! Did they really need to make the issues of infertility so complex?
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I don’t watch this particular show but I am usually disappointed or frustrated by the way infertility themes are treated on television — and in the movies for that matter! Rarely, if ever, do they get it right…
Kelly,
I am a regular viewer of Brothers and Sisters and I saw the show you mentioned. Somehow I must have missed the previews. Normally I watch the previews but this time I missed them.
I totally agree with you that the notion of Kevin deciding he’s the father is completely ridiculous. It will be interesting to see the next episode. I hope that the clip you saw is not a sign that this will degenerate into some big mess. After all, Kevin’s character is an attorney. Can you imagine how terrible it would be if the writers had him fight for custody or something outrageous like that?
Let’s hope nothing like this happens!
Shows tend to pick the “juiciest” clip to grab viewers’ attention and get them to tune in next week. Unfortunately, that is not necessarily a good thing because a clip taken out context can be really misleading. There is no excuse for even a hint of the storyline you mentioned (Kevin making a stink about how he’s the father of Tommy’s baby). As if Tommy isn’t stressed enough!!
The whole point of the brothers donating the sperm was to help their brother. To depict one of those brothers later as even *thinking* about pulling “the father card” is terrible!
The whole issue is emotional enough without Hollywood putting this kind of spin on it.
Let’s hope Kevin’s character comes to his senses quickly!
Have there ever been cases in the whole world where there has been such a dispute in real life? Probably yes.
However, I would imagine this is very, very rare and it’s unfortunate that Brothers & Sisters, a show I have enjoyed in the past, would stoop to the “Kevin is the father” storyline to boost ratings.
Let’s hope they do a better job on the next episode than we are afraid they might!!
Jeanne