Brothers & Sisters

The Walkers organize a 60th birthday party for Nora but of course things don't turn out as expected. The theme of the party gets mixed up and Sarah and Joe's sex tape ends up on Nora's birthday video. As Justin is released from rehab the party ends up being alcohol free and the siblings end up drinking in Kitty's closet. Really funny scenes there- the usual Walker family ironic humor. Loved it when Justin opens the door of the closet and says something like: "And I was the one who was in rehab." So funny.

Kitty asks Robert to the party as well and they also spend some time in that closet. I think it's actually my favorite scene from the whole episode when they both stand there with "I'm about to kiss you"-faces on. Well, it didn't happen but it's going to I'm sure. Nora's mum shows up for the party and we find out Nora's relationship with her is pretty complicated. It turns for the better in the end though but still for me this storyline could have been handled with a little more depth.

In the end Tommy, Kevin and Kitty all have flu and Kitty enjoys her role as a caretaking mother- the role she knows best.

This episode was so funny, with the Grandmother and her not knowing Kevin was gay but thinking Justin was. Then not knowing that Justin was in rehab....

And blurting out about the "Porn Video"....with Sarah and Joe...hahaha.



The party was medevil and funny...and McAlister comming too.



It was just a good episode with all of them getting drunk in Kitty's closet. And then getting Sarah's cold. It was sweet what Nora's Mum gave her for her birthday though. Looking through all her stuff for the oldest photo she had of her. Sweet little baby in the photo too. I loved this episode. It made me laugh heaps!!

Kitty (re Chad being closeted): "Is your little boyfriend in there?"

Kevin: "He's not my boyfriend".



Your 60th birthday only comes once to you in a lifetime and for the age conscious that's both good and bad but for Nora, it's less worrying about becoming older and more dealing with two parties that mark more than this particular landmark.



In fairness for neither party to yield results that aren't what you envisaged is bad luck but for Nora, she really should've seen some of the events coming and headed to Nova Scotia for this birthday.



The first party is lame and low key and opened the episode. Nora isn't the convincing of liars and her disappointment among the mundane effort from her loved ones is quite the feat. Heck, even when they somewhat rub salt into the wound, it's amazing that Nora is able to not express deep bitterness.



However with a small cake and perceptive comment from Saul that Nora is anything but low maintenance, it's soon established that Nora is being played. The crappy little get together is a smokescreen for a bigger do that you just know is going to be laced with some form of public humiliation. I'm half-tempted to keep a score card on when this lot embarrass each other and themselves.



In Sarah's house, everyone is going into meticulous depth of what's to be actually done and how importantly they can keep Nora away from the place until they land her with the surprise party of a lifetime. Kitty has the great pleasure of being a distraction while Tommy and Julia snares cakes and Justin and Sarah and Kevin are saddled with the heavy lifting.



It's great to finally see Sarah use some of that organisational savvy of hers for a plot that doesn't feel too laborious and given that Nora probably has the ability of smelling a rat at a hundred mile radius, at least Sarah is thinking of various ways to make this party a success.



As part of the celebrations each member of the family also has the privilege of doing a Video Testimonial which I happen to think is an excellent idea. My parents will be married for 40 years next December. Maybe it's a thing to consider.



Anyways despite being heavily opinionated, Sarah turns out to be a bit camera shy and Joe taking on the role of director does his best to try and get her to relax a bit and it turns out the best way of doing that is for Sarah and Joe to film themselves having sex. Hey if Ojai has any future financial problems, I can see a very lucrative solution right here.



Of course a little moment like that usually has to have some kind of public ovation and before Sarah gets the actual chance to confide in Kitty of her sexcapades, the video ends up in the testimonial packages which a stressed out Kevin ends up green lighting after being stuck with Sarah's chores after she falls sick the next morning. So instead of deafening his mother, Cooper might've just passed on what infected him in the previous episode.



Also because of Kevin's carelessness, Sarah and Joe's fun time got to be seen not only by the Walkers themselves but all of the guests at Nora's party and Sarah becomes privy to that, she freaks out a bit. It's a hilarious scene and it shows that Rachel Griffiths certainly has good comic timing as well. It's also something that needs to be used a bit more often too.



Naturally Sarah caught in porn star moment has some ribbing from Tommy and Kevin in a scene where the three of them hid in Kitty's closet with a copious amount of wine to console the horror show that has been unfolding.



Sarah and Joe's film making is the least of Nora's concerns when her mother Ida shows up uninvited and blabs about the surprise party that's been thrown in her honour. If Kitty had issues with Nora, then Nora certainly has a good few issues with her mother, Ida.



Played by former Happy Days actress Marion Ross, Ida is a bit of a cantankerous woman who within seconds deflates Nora by criticising her love of kitchen gadgets and more shockingly had opted to go on a cruise instead of attending William's funeral. Saul seems somewhat determined to get them to talk to each other whereas Nora felt more at ease raiding the house for alcohol.



The issues on William's death are a justified thing with Nora but in Ida's defence, besides the remark on kitchen appliances, she doesn't exactly say that much to really get at Nora, although her shock at learning certain family secrets does little to put her in Nora's good books either.



I have to admit that I did laugh at some of Ida's reaction such as her assumption that Justin was more likely to be gay than Kevin and her stance on Sarah's video career but despite her hatred for William, she wasn't exactly jumping up and down and screaming 'I told you so' when Nora told her that William screwed around and was a philanderer.



There is a fabulous scene later between Nora and Ida where some of the issues between them do get resolved. Although you can understand why Nora and Ida don't see eye to eye, the show's attempts of not vilifying Ida either work brilliantly. Still while Nora might've let go of some of her anger, it didn't stop her from being happy that Ida left the next day either.



Then there's another thing, Nora's relationship with Saul, which really hasn't been as focused on as you would've expected earlier on in the series. Here Saul really does step up as big brother and fights Nora's corner against Ida and with any luck, the dynamic between these two will be explored a little more in upcoming instalments.



Speaking of exploring, Tommy found himself with the responsibility of having to be entrusted with Justin while he was released from rehab and then having to make sure the party was a dry event but alcohol wasn't much of a worry for Justin.



Not because he's being serious about turning his life around but because out of the people that he has hurt over the past few months, Tyler is the only one who hasn't gotten an apology until now and to be honest she's got plenty of reasons to be pissed with Justin.



The best thing about Justin is that when he catches up with his former flame he knows exactly what to say to her. Tyler isn't stupid to fall for lame excuses, so Justin trying to justify his action was never going to work. The truth and a sincere sounding apology on the other hand certainly made the impact on Tyler and it's great that she was the one to figure out about him spiralling because of the army letter.



Sadly any hopes for an emotional reunion between Justin and Tyler are crushed because while Tyler does forgive him, she's dating someone and trying to get support from drunken siblings is another thing Justin can't rely on. Well if it helps, he's the probably the sanest Walker in yet another episode.



Elsewhere Kitty did a decent job of distracting Nora but once again her storyline seemed more geared towards Robert as opposed to her family. Yes she and Kevin argued about Robert's politics but getting support from Nora almost seemed to drown that out by comparison.



Robert on the other hand was generous enough to give the Walkers his chef but also was more interested in trying to get closer to Kitty. Ignoring shoe metaphors and the "man fast" pact from last week, Kitty does seem to be getting closer and closer to giving into Robert and the sooner, the better in my book. Not only does the guy seem to genuinely care for her but he even brought her soup when she, Tommy and Kevin ended up getting struck by Sarah's illness and if Nora doesn't want to spearhead him, he has to be doing something right. Plus this teasing will end up getting tedious if dragged out too long. The last thing we need are allusions to lengthy "will they, won't they" twists that have haunted series like Friends, The West Wing, etc.



While Kitty might love Robert, Kevin has certainly made no bones on where he stands and while in principal he has the right to not be very receptive of Robert, he could've kept his hostilities in check during Nora's birthday and may be concentrated talking to people who didn't irritate him.



Having to do the grunt work for Sarah certainly brought out a far grumpier side to Kevin too as he **** about the package they got, the alcohol having to be hid, the video testimonials, enduring Ida and when being sick, how much of a jerk Robert still is. To sum up, Kevin complained a lot in this episode which sadly wasn't a good thing. Love the guy but you could've just had Kevin gagged for the amount of whining he did in this episode.



I think a part of the moodiness stemmed from his relationship with Chad. Scotty might have been undermining at times but at least Kevin didn't have to feel like he was hiding and because Chad believes that being gay is a career no-no.



The thing I do kinda like Chad and we did get a decent post sex scene between him and Kevin but I don't necessarily see this being a healthy relationship for either one of them, especially given how Kevin really isn't the type to conceal his relationship for anyone, including a person he's involved. Then again it might be a bit too early for Kevin to have found his "One" as such. Chad in some ways runs the risk of being a stop gap.



Also in "Something Ida This Way Comes"



More musical stuff this week when Kitty took Nora to see Wicked and Kevin once dated a flying monkey. ABC clearly have a musical agenda.



Kevin (re texting): "Nothing frantic about it. I have fast thumbs"

Sarah: "Great, I'll put you to use in the kitchen".



The episode's title is a play on the phrase "Something Wicked This Way Comes". Charmed have also done that.



Nora: "You know I like to cook"

Ida: "It's not cooking when you use all this stuff, it's cheating".



Julia: "Sarah this is so not your fault"

Kevin: "Yes it is your fault".



Kevin's apartment is seriously a bit too green. I don't remember it being like that in "Date Night".



Security Guard: "You won't even know we're here"

Kevin: "I doubt that".



Saul (to Nora): "Sarah deserves all the credit"

Kevin: "Oh what did I do all day?"



Robert got nicknamed "Senator Homophobe" by Kevin who also compared Ida to "Joan Crawford". Kevin can be a spit fire when ****



Kitty (to Robert): "Oh you should relax; you'll never get her vote"

Nora: "Oh I don't know, he's my favourite Republican since Abe Lincoln".



Nora (re Sarah/Joe's sex video): "Senator, please don't watch"

Robert: "Please I'm in politics, I've pretty much seen everything".



Robert's brother once cruised Chad in a gym. Kevin seemed pretty jealous when Chad revealed that.



Robert: "Hypothetically of course"

Kitty: "You'd be the first pair I'd try on".



Joe: "We were a team"

Sarah (shrieking): "It's not funny".



There was no Paige or Cooper in later scenes of the episode and Holly was missing for the second week in a row.



Ida: "I've never understood this family"

Nora: "That's because you never wanted to".



Chad (re Robert's brother): "He cruised me once at the gym"

Kevin: "It must be almost impossible for you to work out".



Standout music: "It All Began With A Song" by Nicole Gordon and "One" by Michael Meanwhile.



Kevin (re Robert, to Nora): "Big whoop! Maybe he'll use it in his next slogan – 'Vote Me and you get soup'".



Chronology: A week or two since "Sexual Politics".



Birthday episodes are usually fun on many shows and while this may not be Six Feet Under type hi jinks, there is plenty of chaos to admire in "Something Ida This Way Comes" and the more fun on this series, the better.

This has to be the funniest Brothers and Sisters episode yet. I was laughin all around with Sarah and her great humiliation, Nora and all her kids and their issues. I think Brothers and Sisters is developing quite well, after seeing this episode. It may not have started in the most brilliant way, but it is definetly turning into an audience favorite. This episode truly has a realness to it, because family are not at all perfect and do have complications. Things like the ones shown in Nora's birthday happen in true life and that just makes it funnier, it's relatable at the same time.

Okay, I gotta say this is gonna be one of the funnier episodes of the season. I think that everyone needed a break from the tearjerkers and this episode hit the mark. The opening scene with the fake birthday party for Nora was great. Crappy gifts and a store bought white coconut cake for Nora. Ha.. and she's such a good sport about it all. Then there's of course the tribute video. Joe and Sarah really give a star performance by showing off a little more than is anticipated. Ha.. that was just good. Then the whole theme for the party. Sarah thought she ordered the "midlevel" package and instead ordered the medieval package. I thought the whole coat of arms, the goblets, the wenches and the armor was a great little add for the show. And then there's of course the alcohol in the closet because Justin can't be at a place that serves alcohol since he's out of rehab. I especially liked Robert's remark about Kitty's family.. "It's like dinner theater.. or the circus." HA.. wonderful.



But then of course the entire episode can't be silly. Nora's mother comes to the "surprise" party and ruins the surprise for Nora. She degrades Nora in front of all her guests as if it were nothing. Nora's mother didn't even come to William's funeral. I was so happy when Saul finally stood up for Nora and told his mother off. But then when Nora and her mother talk after the disaster she kind of settles things with her. Then there's the scene with Tyler and Justin. Justin goes off to meet with Tyler to apologize for being high the last time they were together. He tries to make amends but comes to find out that she's already dating someone else. She asks him what he plans on doing after rehab and he tells her that the army called him back. She finally puts two and two together and realizes that Justin got his notice to return that same day he got high. It was nice for her to get some closure and comes to serve as a way for her to get back together with Justin later.



Overall this episode was great and I'll watch it over and over again when the season comes out on DVD.

The interior life of the family is a small-screen staple, still a mite earnest this series seems to get better and better with each episode. This time it's matriarchs at 20 paces when Nora Walker's testy mother Ida comes to stay for a celebration to mark her daughters 60th birthday. Ida is played by one of TV's original supermothers, none other than Happy Days housewife Marion Ross, but she's traded in her smiley face for a perenninally sour expression. Ross plays it for pantomime but it's fun to see the over-controlling Nora squirming under a mother lode of disapproval. Nothing is sacred, "It's not cooking when you use all that fancy stuff," observes the senior matriarch as she takes a tour of the not-so-merry widow's overendowed kitchen. Heat, naturally, is generated. "She's here because she loves you." implores Nora's big brother, Saul, who once again is cast in the role of peacemaker, and down a generation, Kitty and the Senator continue to slow-burn the flame of a nascent, if predictable, political romance.

Amazing Episode For Brothers and Sisters. Nora has 60 years-old and I think that in the debut of the episode Brothers and Sisters have forgotten this anniversary and in reality no. Amazing Episode because so much humour in the dialogues and in the situation. The Mommy of Nora, The Sextape, Kevin and the actor, Kitty and McCallister, Sarah and his disease. The forty-two minutes of the episode are special. The last scene between Nora and his mom is beautiful. The last scene with Kitty, Tommy, and Kevin is so funny. Brothers and Sisters are Amazing. I love this show. Thank You ABC.

This was another great episode of Brothers & Sisters. I loved Kevin in this episode. The birthday party sequence was hilarious, especially how everyone was sneaking drinks of alcohol since they weren't able to have alcohol around Justin. I absolutely loved the part where everyone at the party saw the tape of Joe and Sarah having sex. That was hilarious! Calista Flockheart was great in this episode. Everyone in the cast, especially the actors who play the siblings did a great job of acting like they really are brothers and sisters. Although, they always do a great job of acting like they really are a family. I thought that Marion Ross was great as Nora's mother, Ida. All in all, this was another great episode of Brothers & Sisters.

Oh boy some party that was! :D I cannot believe that Joe and Sarah's sex tape got on Nora's birthday video. Ahaha I love the scene when Sarah, Kevin, and Tommy are in the closet drinking wine and then Justin walks in. Hahaha that was hilarious. I felt bad for Justin though that it didn't work out for him and Taylor. I guess the senator is a nice man after all (although I still liked Kitty better with Warren). I thought it was funny how Kevin, Tommy, and Kitty get sick in the end. I'm not liking how Chad is leading Kevin on and just using him for simple pleasure but not really attaching feelings just to hide it for his reputation. Kevin deserves better then that. Overall a silly and enjoyable episode as always.

I really loved this episode. The whole family came off as the most functional dis-functional family. Kevin and Chad's relationship really can't go anywhere so i say Kevin should dump Chad and get Scotty back! But that is just me. The drama in this episode is so invigorating. You can practically feel the tension between Nora and Ida. The feelings of extreme dislike coming from Kevin towards the senator is absolutely hilarious as the senator doesn't return those feelings. The lack of alcohol to calm some nerves just adds to the greatness of this episode. And then how everyone is in the closet getting drunk except for Justin, well, i won't say anything. One last thing, I loved the way Sarah and Joe matched in red.



-aivalee33

I love how the party ended for Nora's surprise party. Nora did a great job putting up with all the surprises. I thought the family handled great for Justin to come to the party, even I find it funny that they hide all the alcohol in Kitty's closet. I didn't like the way how scenario was done for Kevin and the other guy, it should have been more positive than making it difficult. I was impressed how Saul handled his mother, very straight forward. I was touched how Nora communicated with her mother at the end. It's a great show.

Easy to pick out great scenes, line and deliveries. Hard to fit it all, here. The first bedroom scene with Kevin and anyone this season was the opener and closer. I liked it. Need I say more? I loved how Matthew Rhys played out the scene as conductor of the Medieval set-up in the Walker house followed with Kevin opening the door to LA Mountie-type uniformed police security detail. Sally Field played Nora so true when she was surprised with her mother’s arrival and then got familiarly Ida-handled. High-healed Nora hiked her whole body up the pantry shelves to search for some booze while denying she was acting like a child to her brother. All the scenes in or about the closet were enjoyable. Loved the kitchen scene with Nora and wrapped-in-a-blanket-Kevin. It was intimate, supportive and funny. Then, in glides Saul to make it even better. Nora telling Saul how to load the dishwasher only to be told to “Shut Up” but meant in the nicest way! Tyler was beautiful in that dress while she learned why Justin slid back to his drug escape. Nora came in the bedroom to stop Ida from leaving. The ever-constant barbing from mother, Ida, slowed down enough to watch the adult mother and adult daughter find a piece of peace. Lying down, Ida placed a handkerchief over her eyes while she said what she couldn’t bring herself to say to her daughter eye to eye. This episode’s writing was stellar.

From the moment I saw the kids planning a party, you knew it'd be a disaster but the medieval theme and the security detail was still off the wall, as was the lack of alcohol. But it also led to some nice fun.



Marion Ross was a good choice for Ida, believable as Nora's mother and answering questions to how Nora ended up. The scene of her in the kitchen listening to everyone's secrets revealed was a comedic high ("You're not gay..Justin maybe.") but even better was Saul standing right up to her, letting her know how bad she was hurting people. That led to the nice bit of she and Nora connecting and realizing it's too late to mend things totally but they can understand each other a bit better.



While some of the stuff was off the wall (everyone in the closet, Sarah's video and all the kids ending up sick with Nora tending to them) we still got some moving moments. The best was Justin apologizing to his girlfriend who obviously felt sorry for judging him so fast. I hope they keep it up for a bit as I like her. There's also Kevin dealing with being the secret lover of the guy, trying to brush it off as nothing when it's clear he feels something for the man. We also have the continuing tension between Kevin and Kitty over the senator, a plot that could shift a bit with his discovery of the senator's gay brother.



Overall, a nice fun episode that shows the quirky style this show has done so well and hopefully can continue to do.

Very bittersweet but funny episode with Marion Ross aka Miss Cunningham from Happy Days. Nora's sixtieth birthday party doesn't turn out right and that the party turns out to be mainly a disaster. As the video party is ruined and Nora's mom comes in for a surprise visit. But still a very great show despite what happened.

Marion Ross guest stars and Nora and Saul's mother, an opinionated woman whom Nora obviously doesn't get along with. The ep begins with a lame birthday celebration for Nora's 60th. It's soon revealed that the siblings are planning, despite Nora's wishes, a surprise party. The surprise is ruined when Mother shows up on her doorstep. That's just the beginning of the domino effect of disasters that affect the party. More relationship drama also continued in this episode...how long will Kitty keep the Senator at bay? It's obvious there's a mutual attraction, but I have to say, that I enjoy that Kitty is choosing to stick to her "Man-fast". And how long can Kevin stay with the closeted soap star? He mentioned that it's funny that he's not the one experiencing the intimacy and commitment issues this time. This relationship can't go anywhere as long as Chad won't acknowledge his relationship with Kevin outside of the bedroom.