.gif)
Brothers (TV series)
Encyclopedia
Brothers is an American television sitcom
that originally aired on the cable network Showtime from July 13, 1984 to July 25, 1989, totaling 115 episodes. It was produced by Gary Nardino Productions, in association with two separate divisions of Paramount; first by the Paramount Video division (1984-1986) and by Paramount Television
(1987-1989). The show focuses on the three Waters brothers.
and NBC
, which both turned it down, due to their concern about how homosexuality
was going to be portrayed. The creative team refused to give up hope on the project, and the same was said for its three leads, which from the beginning were Robert Walden
(fresh off his Emmy Award
-winning role on CBS
' Lou Grant
), Paul Regina and Brandon Maggart
. As the producers tried to find a new outlet to pitch it to, development was put on hold, allowing Regina to co-star in CBS' short-lived Zorro and Son (1983), and Maggart to assume a role on NBC's Jennifer Slept Here
(1983-84).
Eventually, Lloyd and company were approached by Showtime, who at the time had successfully begun to venture into the new field of original pay-cable TV series. In 1983, the channel had been the first in history to revive a canceled network series for original cable broadcasts, with The Paper Chase
(which originally ran on CBS in 1978-79). Showtime's mission was to produce and pick up original programming that was outside the boundaries of standard network TV fare, and saw Brothers perfectly fitting that mold. Both parties struck a deal that had its cast paid at the same rate as network stars, with a full out 26-episode order from the start. Fortunately, Lloyd didn't have to scramble around to recast two of his stars, since Regina and Maggart both saw their series get canceled so his original choices were back in place. With the series' premiere in the summer of 1984, Showtime now boasted one more first - the first original situation comedy on cable TV.
Said Robert Walden of his experience working on Showtime, "There are fewer cooks in the kitchen, and the writers have more freedom. There's also something to be said for playing to 5 million or 6 million viewers instead of 30 million. You're reaching a higher common denominator." Since Nielsen Media Research
had not yet adapted its ratings system to measure audience levels on premium cable, Showtime relied on what it called "qualitative research" rather than sheer statistical reports. "We have research firms that do telephone interviews with our subscribers," explained Peter Chernin, a Showtime programming executive. "They call people and ask them how much they like particular shows. We also take into account the opinions of our local affiliates. All of them rated Brothers very highly."
Unlike the policies set at rival HBO, who had no intention of preparing any of their first forays into original series for syndication, Showtime had the market in mind as soon as they picked up Brothers. Since Brothers had such a successful first season by pay-cable standards, channel execs announced two unprecedented moves in the spring of 1985: not only would Brothers have a renewal for 50 more episodes, but the series would begin airing episodes simultaneously in broadcast syndication that November. Showtime giving the series such a large vote of confidence with two-season renewal was so history-making that never had a broadcast network given a series such an expansive episode order after its freshman year.
HBO criticized their competitor's decision over the early syndication airing of Brothers, stating that they would never engage in such a practice with any of their original series. They felt it would destroy subscription rates and revenue if the public could watch one of their series for free on a local broadcast station, rather than pay monthly to view it on HBO. Showtime later recanted their 1985 syndication rollout for Brothers, and then fought back by saying that their subscribers had a five-year head start on all their shows, which were all prepped for syndication and of which would enter it after those five years. Their defense also included the facts that the parent studios of their shows would continue to receive royalties from strong rerun performance in syndication, and that the latter market would attract higher-profile writers and directors to ensure a more quality production. The alternative, as Showtime put it, would be not prepping series for syndication and thus taking a gamble on a relatively unknown or untested creative team.
As premium cable found its way with successful original programming, HBO would follow suit in what Showtime realized all along concerning syndication, and both would find that concurrent airings of cable series on broadcast TV wasn't so risky. In 1988, Showtime made history once again when they struck a deal with the young Fox Broadcasting Company
to begin airing their Brothers stablemate, the smash hit It's Garry Shandling's Show
, on Sunday nights in order to raise Fox's profile among the broadcast networks. Not only did It's Garry Shandling's Show fulfill its mission for Fox, but it actually increased interest in Showtime, and subscription rates benefited.
, middle brother Joe (Robert Walden), a retired placekicker
for the Philadelphia Eagles
and owner of a sports bar called The Point After, and the youngest brother, Cliff (Paul Regina).
In the premiere episode, Cliff shocks his family when he runs away from the altar on his wedding day. Instead of getting married, Cliff reveals to his family that he is gay
.
The pilot and following episodes centered around the efforts of Joe and Lou coming to terms with Cliff's long-held secret of his true sexual orientation
, with both coping in their own unique way. Joe, who was definitely more sensible and open-minded, didn't see Cliff's sudden declaration of homosexuality robbing any aspect of their relationship. Lou assured his baby brother "Cliffie" that he loved and respected him no matter what, but was convinced early on that what Cliff was feeling was just a phase, and came up with numerous efforts to "cure" him of being gay. Cliff's relationship with the both of them was part brotherly, but also that of fathers and son, since Lou and Joe had almost 20 years on Cliff (their mother died when Cliff was an infant, followed a few years later by their dad; Lou and Joe raised Cliff for the majority of his youth). He was very much independent minded, and kidded around with his brothers in the usual way siblings do, but at times looked to them for guidance and was very much overprotected by Lou and Joe.
Cliff, earnest, bright and very much determined to lead a fulfilled life now that he truly found himself, took many a stand on same-sex issues and discussions; throughout the first season, whenever a situation or argument ensued regarding his decisions in life, Cliff gave heartfelt statements on how proud and secure he was being his true self, and that nothing anyone could do could possibly change his inner desires. When the series began, he was still in college, majoring in sports journalism, while working part time for Joe at The Point After. After Cliff's first failed attempt at marriage, he resumed splitting rent with Joe in his sleek uptown apartment.
Philip Charles MacKenzie
played Cliff's out-and-proud new friend Donald Maltby, a successful writer/magazine editor whom Cliff sought out friendship with for advice and support in the time leading up to his coming out. During and after the fact, Donald continued to be Cliff's voice of reason as he learned to navigate his way around the LGBT
world. It was an otherwise unlikely friendship, but Donald's fey, queen-like behavior versus the masculinity of Cliff never got in the way, surprisingly. Donald's womanly flamboyance always unnerved Lou, and caused some mild, but humorous friction between them. However, Donald always managed to get the last laugh on Lou with his sharp humor. He lived in a cozy loft apartment which was another common setting for the stories. Cliff and Donald sometimes frequented The Velvet Spike, a local gay club/bar.
Other characters included Joe's teenage daughter Penny (Hallie Todd
), who was becoming independent at a faster rate than Joe anticipated; and The Point After waitress, Kelly Hall (Robin Riker
), who traded zingers with them all while acting as a mediator between the Waters brothers when necessary. Seen in sporadic guest appearances all through the series was Lou's long-time wife Flo (Carol Locatell
), who only showed up whenever she and Lou were having some sort of marriage dispute. These were usually worked out within the space of a single episode, but their "hot and cold" behavior became one of the show's key running gags. Lou and Flo had three kids--Bucky, Flo, Jr. and Louella--who were originally all referred to and never seen.
; Donald's coaching Joe into accurately convincing a former teammate that he was gay; and in the second season, when Cliff landed a regular boyfriend in well-to-do Winston Marsh III (guest star John Furey
), who shared a kiss with Cliff in front of his family, which gave them their first-ever chance of seeing Cliff show affection to another man.
Stereotypes of both sexualities, both positive and negative, were for the most part avoided, and if they appeared, were not emphasized at the expense of comedy so they would not detract from the meaningful, character-driven dialogue. While a steep gay slant in the stories was present, they were not depicted only from the gay point of view; all characters' points of view in stories which explored sexuality shared the spotlight from episode to episode, sometimes shifting back and forth within a single episode. The series, as a result, was recognized as being clever and complex in this regard.
However, after the first two seasons, the writers started to downplay the wall-to-wall gay stories in favor of ones that were neutral to homosexual/heterosexual overtones. Just as this took place, additional characters started entering their own long-term relationships, which were depicted in a more standard sitcom fashion without sexuality being the key topic in an episode. Also, with Brothers being a Showtime original series, the allowance of strong language was taken advantage of heavily during the first and second seasons. By season three, with Paramount Television serious about the show's future in reruns, the scripts were cleaned up as well over the concern that the constant editing of coarse dialogue (Joe's habitual exclaiming of "son of a bitch" and "fuck
" and "shit
" peppered in accordingly) would be bad for syndication and revenues.
), a very materialistic real estate agent who was not only content with the physical aspect of their relationship, but also out to reap the benefits of an ex-pro athlete's bank account. During their mating dance, Sam became another regular patron at The Point After, where at times she found herself in competition with Kelly over practically everything. Penny, who had rapidly matured from a gentle, innocent high school senior to a wild, vivacious party girl with a punk hairdo, began working as a performer at Girls, Girls, Girls & Beer, a local dance hall, during her sophomore year in college. Everyone else on the scene had mates that came and went, and Joe was no exception with Sam, as they were on-again, off-again for a while; while Sam chose not to play the field, Joe dated others. In the fourth season premiere, perky, cultured Ann Marie Wagner (guest star Judith-Marie Bergan) showed up, as a girlfriend of Joe's who had been with him for six months. Joe and Annie decided to get married during the course of the episode, but after much meddling from a jealous Sam, and a discouraging ceremony speech from Donald (who presided over the restaurant ceremony), the two called it off. A few episodes later, Joe went into overdrive dating both Annie and Sam, but felt guilty; when he went to break the news to Annie that he had been playing her, she revealed that she had been cheating too, so the two parted ways mutually, leaving Sam, who encouraged an open relationship, as Joe's only romantic focus.
In time, Joe and Sam discovered that they had a whole lot more in common beyond money and status, and love blossomed. Kelly and Sam even learned to put their feuding aside, forming sort of a "girls' club" together with Penny and Donald. Meanwhile, Cliff, who graduated from college early in the fourth season, was on the verge on launching his journalism career with a local newspaper when he had an epiphany-–that he suddenly had the affinity for cooking—and announced to everyone that he was enrolling in culinary school. Joe, Lou, and especially Donald tried to save him for turning down the offer to work at the paper, but in the end, decided to throw caution to the wind after tasting Cliff's impressive tomato sauce. Later that year, after dating many young men on the fast track, aspiring yuppie Penny fell for none other than Jim Grant (Tommy Hinkley
), a construction worker from Lou's company. Jim was actually from a very wealthy family, but loved the laborer's life better, resulting in his turning down the opportunity to helm his family's million-dollar enterprise in order to be truly happy. Their romance lasted a single season. It was also at this time that the youngest of Lou's kids, athletic teenage prodigy Louella (Yeardley Smith
), became a regular.
The fourth season finale saw The Point After get upgraded to a three-star establishment by a local Philadelphia food publication, and Joe quickly received an offer by another top restaurateur for a huge buyout of his place. During the celebration of the three-star news at Donald's, everyone was shocked at the offer given to Joe, and Kelly expressed her worry over losing her job. After a series of flashbacks chronicling memorable moments the cast had at The Point After, Joe ripped up the papers granting its sale, and it was assumed as the episode came to an end that the gang would remain intact. However, as the fifth season began in June 1988, Kelly was no longer around (Robin Riker-Hasley had left the series). At this time, Sam, whom Joe had still been going steady with, revealed she was pregnant. Joe didn't take the news too well at first, since new fatherhood wasn't exactly in his game plan. Sam was dead set against abortion
, and ended up giving Joe an ultimatum - either he opened up his mind to having a new family, or she left him to raise the child alone. Joe chose to stand by Sam, and the two rushed off to Las Vegas
to tie the knot. Through the next few months he had many adjustments to make, but when their daughter, whom they named Caroline, was born in the December 2, 1988 episode, Joe was more than ready to embrace her. Lou, Cliff and Penny all shared the designation of being Caroline's guardian, in case anything ever happened to her parents. Baby Caroline was played in her birth episode by boy and girl twins Charles and Cathryn Hacker, but for the remainder of the series, was played by Cathryn alone.
As Joe and Sam were busy adjusting to married life, as well as preparing to bring in the newest edition to the Waters family, Cliff found himself getting promoted to manager of The Point After while continuing in culinary school. On the side, he was gradually building his own catering business from scratch, at times joining his services in with the restaurants catering in order to turn over larger profits. Penny found a new love interest in Mike Chandler (Timothy Williams
), a suitor that Joe had an extremely hard time having around. Mike happened to be the lawyer hired by Penny's mother, Joe's ex-wife Janey, to retrieve part of Joe's pro football salary, that she had yet to receive as a part of her divorce settlement with him. During their legal dealings, Penny moved out of Janey's house when her mother remarried on a whim, and got her own studio apartment. She graduated from college the following spring, and was hired as a junior writer for a big-time advertising firm.
Other developments included Donald's close brush with a career in Hollywood
, when he was hired to meet with a veteran movie actress in hopes of writing her biography. After getting lost in all of Tinseltown's glitz and glamour, Donald decided on his own will that Philly was where he truly belonged, and hired a "stringer" writer to collaborate on the biography project so he could return home. In November 1988, Lou was promoted to project designer in the offices of the large corporation that now owned Santini Construction. He was bribed into taking the promotion to keep quiet about an increase in accidents happening down at the job sites, as a result of inferior conditions and materials the new company provided. Upon finding this out, Lou was faced with a moral dilemma, and ended up quitting after 28 years on the job. He worked many odd jobs to compensate for his loss of income, before Donald proposed a business deal in which he found homeowners who needed private renovating done by a craftsman of Lou's expertise. A local mansion renovation job put Lou on the map, allowing him to buy out Donald's share in the partnership so he could become a stand-alone private contractor. Also, after his own steady succession of casual intimate encounters and regular boyfriends, Cliff's valiant search for Mr. Right continued, with a lot of help and advice from his family and friends.
dealt with one of Joe's former teammates coming out, then feeling forced to admit that he was HIV
-positive. Bubba Dean (special guest star James Avery) actually revealed to Joe in a first season episode that he was gay and had been holding a long-time torch for him. Then in a second season appearance, out of his fear of potentially spreading the virus, Bubba drops the news of his HIV infection at a party thrown by Donald. Because HIV and AIDS
were not widely known to most Americans at the time, this episode had Joe learning about HIV and AIDS to better understand what his friend was going through so that he could offer support, as well as educating the public about HIV and AIDS and dispelling the myths about those who had contracted it and how it could be contracted.
Another episode in this category occurred in the second season, when Cliff learned that Claudia (guest star Wendie Jo Sperber
), his former fiancée whom he stood up at the altar in the pilot episode (although she was not seen in the pilot), was paying him a surprise visit after having spent a year being depressed - and obviously gaining a lot of weight as the result of it. Cliff hesitated in making contact with her, but due to everyone's prompting they finally met face to face, and had a lot of hard feelings to address.
Veteran actress Billie Bird
was the subject of a couple of two-parter episodes. Bird first appeared in the third season two-parter "Whose 'Golden Years' Is It Anyway?" (aired September 17 and 24, 1986), as Donald's Aunt Billie, who escapes to Philadelphia, and her nephew, when her family places her in a nursing home. Billie strikes up a friendship with Lou and ends up convincing him to keep her from being carted off back to the home; they promptly end up on the run without letting their family and friends know of their whereabouts. In the second part of this episode, an arrest warrant is brought out for Lou. Exactly a year later in season four, Aunt Billie shows up again in the two-parter "Las Vegas Serenade" (aired September 11 and 18, 1987), albeit through a VHS tape sent to Donald - her video will, which arrived with an urn of her ashes. Billie, in advance right before her death, set up an all-expenses paid trip to Las Vegas
which the entire cast embarked on, with the exception of Kelly (Robin Riker began her temporary leave of absence with this episode). Donald and the gang were instructed by Billie to spread her ashes into the courtyard of the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino
while in Vegas. The trip was shot on location, mostly at the latter resort, and featured cameo appearances by Paul Anka
and Jerry Lewis
.
The fifth season episode "L.A. Maltby" (aired September 1988), in which Donald travels out to Hollywood
for the job offer of a lifetime, was perceived to be an attempt at a Brothers spin-off starring Philip Charles MacKenzie, centering around Donald's new glitz-filled life and career on the West Coast. Since the Hollywood storyline concluded in the same episode, with Donald choosing to return to Philadelphia, it is presumed that removing such an integral character from Brothers would have hurt the show, which was already undergoing many changes that year (read above). Since it was announced several months later that production on the series would end after five seasons, it can also be figured that hiring a replacement comic foil, or "contrast"-type character to play off the show's leads, wouldn't have been worth casting, even for almost 20 more episodes of Brothers.
) serving as the season finale. Beginning in May 1985 and through the end of the 1987 season, Showtime usually ran new episodes of Brothers on a May to December season schedule, a common free-form timetable for any cable network. However, like any other American series (no matter network, cable, or syndicated), each season consisted of a 26 episode order.
The fifth season had its premiere moved up to June in 1988, and had its episodes spread out over the course of a year, with one or two new episodes airing each month. The pace of new episodes eased down during this season when Showtime announced that Brothers was ending its run in 1989; apparently, Showtime wanted a clear-cut five year run while giving viewers enough to a chance to bid farewell to the series. The 25th episode of the fifth season, "The Road Yet Taken", was finally reached on May 5, 1989, and was the final regular episode of Brothers. Then, a few weeks later on June 1, a retrospective farewell special, "I Remember But I Don't Like It" aired, which featured Lou and Donald reflecting back on how their association evolved over five seasons. Thirteen months after the final season began, and just a couple weeks beyond the fifth anniversary of its premiere, Showtime aired the last repeat telecast of Brothers on July 25, 1989.
For the majority of its original run, Brothers had aired Wednesday nights at 8/7c on Showtime, with episodes from its current season being repeated in various late night slots during the week on the premium cable network's schedule.
, Joe Diamond and Gloria Nissenson, with opening vocals performed by Barone.
As the title sequence opens, videotaped exterior scenes of Philadelphia are shown one at a time as the show's title is spelt out, one letter at a time, across the screen. The title formation is set on a half-circular curve. During this, lead singer Barone has a conversation with two other men in preparation for them to sing the theme song with him. Apparently, they are supposed to be posing as the Waters brothers, to give viewers the illusion that they, and not the hired singers, are the ones harmonizing the tune. Following this, a chorus of shoop-do-wahs serve as a bridge between the dialogue and the main part of the song.
The opening credits featured an artistic montage of actual photos from Walden, Regina, and Maggart's childhood and young adult years, along with 16mm film footage of young Paul Regina (labeled on a film strip in the sequence as "Cliff, age 4 yrs.") and CGI animation. This montage segued into a group photo of the Waters brothers in the current day, which in turn displayed singular portraits of them one at a time as their credits were given on screen. All cast member photos were set against a blue background. A time-lapsed animation version of the group photo then lifts up to reveal multiple photos of the brothers in various scenes from the show's set. From the pilot episode through the end of season three, Robin Riker and Hallie Todd's names were listed at the bottom of this section, while the pictures floated against a sky background.
The final part of the opening sequence is a videotaped scene of the Waters brothers, finishing their lip-syncing of the show's theme song in front of a candy store named "Babe's". For the first two seasons, "and Philip Charles MacKenzie as Donald" appeared during this scene, followed by creator and producer credits before the sequence faded. During the entire third season, a computerized blue background with a digital cut-out of MacKenzie appeared with his credit before cutting to the "Babe's" scene. Starting with the fourth season premiere, the photos of Robin Riker (now credited as Robin Riker-Hasley) and Hallie Todd were featured for the first time over the floating pictures animation, flipping up one at a time, until the last photo is that of MacKenzie, who now appears in a proper portrait. The last three cast portraits were set in blue backgrounds to match those of Walden, Regina, and Maggart's. Also, from this point on, creator and producing credits no longer appeared in the opening's last scene.
For the eleven episodes of Season 4 that Riker-Hasley did not appear in, her photo and credit were removed from the intro, with only Todd and MacKenzie showing up in the latter half. This short-lived version of the intro had the dark blue backgrounds removed from Todd and MacKenzie, revealing the natural light-blue backgrounds of their photos instead. For S4, Ep. 26, which was Riker-Hasley's return to the show, as well as her last appearance, the intro that was used in S4, Eps. 1-14 returned. In season five, after Riker-Hasley's departure, Mary Ann Pascal's photo was added into the sequence, between Todd and MacKenzie. The latter three cast photos in general were all new (with Todd's and MacKenzie's updated from the S4 versions), and featured more natural backgrounds in gray/light blue/white tones. They filled the entire screen, as the floating pictures animation was completely eliminated.
Three different credit fonts were utilized on Brothers simultaneously. The opening sequence used orange-gold hued Collegiate font for the title and credits; a font famously associated with sports teams (as well as colleges and universities), it was used to represent the show's underlying image of masculinity—brotherhood, The Point After, sports and Joe's past NFL glory. First and final scene production credits were set in Cooper Black
font, orange during the first 2.5 seasons, then in yellow from the middle of season three until the end (black shadowing was added at the start of season four). Closing credits all through the run appeared in thin yellow Helvetica
, and were carded in groups over scenes from the current episode. An instrumental cut of the opening theme, dominated by saxophone
, was used for the closing.
Upon the show's fall 1988 sale into syndication, the opening title sequence was truncated so that the only visuals featured in the first half were the title formation over the scenes of Philadelphia, the single photos of Walden, Regina and Maggart, and the time-lapsed group photo of the Waters brothers. For all episodes spanning seasons one through four, the latter half of the opening used in S4, Eps. 1-14 & 26 was used for Riker, Todd and MacKenzie's credits, when these three had photos featured in the blue background scheme. Riker's credit, with Hasley being added to her name in this version, provided an inconsistency with all episodes leading up to S4, as she did not add her married name on-screen until that point in 1987. The theme itself began from the "Gonna meet the family.." line, and ran up to "Where it counts, behind the scenes, we're brothers" line when the time-lapsed family photo was reached. During the last three cast photos and ending scene, the song picked up from the "Life is full of stress and strife.." line and ran through the end, unedited.
Situation comedy
A situation comedy, often shortened to sitcom, is a genre of comedy that features characters sharing the same common environment, such as a home or workplace, accompanied with jokes as part of the dialogue...
that originally aired on the cable network Showtime from July 13, 1984 to July 25, 1989, totaling 115 episodes. It was produced by Gary Nardino Productions, in association with two separate divisions of Paramount; first by the Paramount Video division (1984-1986) and by Paramount Television
Paramount Television
Paramount Television was an American television production/distribution company that was active from January 1, 1968 to August 27, 2006.Its successor is CBS Television Studios, formerly CBS Paramount Television...
(1987-1989). The show focuses on the three Waters brothers.
Development
David Lloyd, Greg Antonacci and Gary Nardino respectively created and developed Brothers in 1982, with the same format as what made it to the air. It was originally shopped around to broadcast networks ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
and NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, which both turned it down, due to their concern about how homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
was going to be portrayed. The creative team refused to give up hope on the project, and the same was said for its three leads, which from the beginning were Robert Walden
Robert Walden
Robert Walden is an American television and motion picture actor. He is best known for his role as Joe Rossi on Lou Grant for which he was nominated for an Emmy three times and his role as Joe Waters on Brothers...
(fresh off his Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
-winning role on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
' Lou Grant
Lou Grant (TV series)
Lou Grant is an American television drama series starring Ed Asner in the titular role as a newspaper editor. Unusual in American television, this drama series was a spinoff from a sitcom, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Aired from 1977 to 1982, Lou Grant won 13 Emmy Awards, including "Outstanding Drama...
), Paul Regina and Brandon Maggart
Brandon Maggart
Brandon Maggart is an American actor.Maggart was born Roscoe Maggart, Jr. in Carthage, Tennessee. His acting career began in the early 1950s, at first in local and regional theatre in Tennessee, which eventually branched out to New York's Broadway...
. As the producers tried to find a new outlet to pitch it to, development was put on hold, allowing Regina to co-star in CBS' short-lived Zorro and Son (1983), and Maggart to assume a role on NBC's Jennifer Slept Here
Jennifer Slept Here
Jennifer Slept Here is an American fantasy sitcom series that ran for one season on NBC from October 21, 1983 to September 5, 1984.-Overview:...
(1983-84).
Eventually, Lloyd and company were approached by Showtime, who at the time had successfully begun to venture into the new field of original pay-cable TV series. In 1983, the channel had been the first in history to revive a canceled network series for original cable broadcasts, with The Paper Chase
The Paper Chase (TV series)
The Paper Chase is a television series based on a 1970 novel by John Jay Osborn, Jr., as well as a 1973 film based on the novel. It follows the lives of law student James T. Hart and his classmates at Harvard Law School.-Production:...
(which originally ran on CBS in 1978-79). Showtime's mission was to produce and pick up original programming that was outside the boundaries of standard network TV fare, and saw Brothers perfectly fitting that mold. Both parties struck a deal that had its cast paid at the same rate as network stars, with a full out 26-episode order from the start. Fortunately, Lloyd didn't have to scramble around to recast two of his stars, since Regina and Maggart both saw their series get canceled so his original choices were back in place. With the series' premiere in the summer of 1984, Showtime now boasted one more first - the first original situation comedy on cable TV.
Said Robert Walden of his experience working on Showtime, "There are fewer cooks in the kitchen, and the writers have more freedom. There's also something to be said for playing to 5 million or 6 million viewers instead of 30 million. You're reaching a higher common denominator." Since Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Media Research is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre films and newspapers...
had not yet adapted its ratings system to measure audience levels on premium cable, Showtime relied on what it called "qualitative research" rather than sheer statistical reports. "We have research firms that do telephone interviews with our subscribers," explained Peter Chernin, a Showtime programming executive. "They call people and ask them how much they like particular shows. We also take into account the opinions of our local affiliates. All of them rated Brothers very highly."
Unlike the policies set at rival HBO, who had no intention of preparing any of their first forays into original series for syndication, Showtime had the market in mind as soon as they picked up Brothers. Since Brothers had such a successful first season by pay-cable standards, channel execs announced two unprecedented moves in the spring of 1985: not only would Brothers have a renewal for 50 more episodes, but the series would begin airing episodes simultaneously in broadcast syndication that November. Showtime giving the series such a large vote of confidence with two-season renewal was so history-making that never had a broadcast network given a series such an expansive episode order after its freshman year.
HBO criticized their competitor's decision over the early syndication airing of Brothers, stating that they would never engage in such a practice with any of their original series. They felt it would destroy subscription rates and revenue if the public could watch one of their series for free on a local broadcast station, rather than pay monthly to view it on HBO. Showtime later recanted their 1985 syndication rollout for Brothers, and then fought back by saying that their subscribers had a five-year head start on all their shows, which were all prepped for syndication and of which would enter it after those five years. Their defense also included the facts that the parent studios of their shows would continue to receive royalties from strong rerun performance in syndication, and that the latter market would attract higher-profile writers and directors to ensure a more quality production. The alternative, as Showtime put it, would be not prepping series for syndication and thus taking a gamble on a relatively unknown or untested creative team.
As premium cable found its way with successful original programming, HBO would follow suit in what Showtime realized all along concerning syndication, and both would find that concurrent airings of cable series on broadcast TV wasn't so risky. In 1988, Showtime made history once again when they struck a deal with the young Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
to begin airing their Brothers stablemate, the smash hit It's Garry Shandling's Show
It's Garry Shandling's Show
It's Garry Shandling's Show is an American sitcom which was initially broadcast on Showtime from 1986 to 1990. It was created by Garry Shandling and Alan Zweibel. The show is notable for its frequent use of breaking the fourth wall to allow characters to speak directly to the audience...
, on Sunday nights in order to raise Fox's profile among the broadcast networks. Not only did It's Garry Shandling's Show fulfill its mission for Fox, but it actually increased interest in Showtime, and subscription rates benefited.
Synopsis
Set in south Philadelphia, Brothers centered around the lives and relationships of the Waters brothers; oldest brother Lou (Brandon Maggart), a somewhat uncouth, but well-meaning construction foremanConstruction foreman
A construction foreman is the worker or tradesman who is in charge of a construction crew. While traditionally this role has been assumed by a senior male worker, the title in the modern sense is gender non-specific in intent...
, middle brother Joe (Robert Walden), a retired placekicker
Placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...
for the Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
and owner of a sports bar called The Point After, and the youngest brother, Cliff (Paul Regina).
In the premiere episode, Cliff shocks his family when he runs away from the altar on his wedding day. Instead of getting married, Cliff reveals to his family that he is gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
.
The pilot and following episodes centered around the efforts of Joe and Lou coming to terms with Cliff's long-held secret of his true sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
, with both coping in their own unique way. Joe, who was definitely more sensible and open-minded, didn't see Cliff's sudden declaration of homosexuality robbing any aspect of their relationship. Lou assured his baby brother "Cliffie" that he loved and respected him no matter what, but was convinced early on that what Cliff was feeling was just a phase, and came up with numerous efforts to "cure" him of being gay. Cliff's relationship with the both of them was part brotherly, but also that of fathers and son, since Lou and Joe had almost 20 years on Cliff (their mother died when Cliff was an infant, followed a few years later by their dad; Lou and Joe raised Cliff for the majority of his youth). He was very much independent minded, and kidded around with his brothers in the usual way siblings do, but at times looked to them for guidance and was very much overprotected by Lou and Joe.
Cliff, earnest, bright and very much determined to lead a fulfilled life now that he truly found himself, took many a stand on same-sex issues and discussions; throughout the first season, whenever a situation or argument ensued regarding his decisions in life, Cliff gave heartfelt statements on how proud and secure he was being his true self, and that nothing anyone could do could possibly change his inner desires. When the series began, he was still in college, majoring in sports journalism, while working part time for Joe at The Point After. After Cliff's first failed attempt at marriage, he resumed splitting rent with Joe in his sleek uptown apartment.
Philip Charles MacKenzie
Philip Charles MacKenzie
Philip Charles MacKenzie is an American actor and television director. He is best known for his role as Donald Maltby on Brothers, and as Ted Nichols on Open House, which he worked on with his current wife Alison LaPlaca.-Career:...
played Cliff's out-and-proud new friend Donald Maltby, a successful writer/magazine editor whom Cliff sought out friendship with for advice and support in the time leading up to his coming out. During and after the fact, Donald continued to be Cliff's voice of reason as he learned to navigate his way around the LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
world. It was an otherwise unlikely friendship, but Donald's fey, queen-like behavior versus the masculinity of Cliff never got in the way, surprisingly. Donald's womanly flamboyance always unnerved Lou, and caused some mild, but humorous friction between them. However, Donald always managed to get the last laugh on Lou with his sharp humor. He lived in a cozy loft apartment which was another common setting for the stories. Cliff and Donald sometimes frequented The Velvet Spike, a local gay club/bar.
Other characters included Joe's teenage daughter Penny (Hallie Todd
Hallie Todd
Hallie Todd is an American actress, producer and writer, known for her roles as Penny Waters on Brothers and as Jo McGuire on Lizzie Mcguire.-Personal life:...
), who was becoming independent at a faster rate than Joe anticipated; and The Point After waitress, Kelly Hall (Robin Riker
Robin Riker
Robin Riker is an American actress. She has guest-starred in a number of notable television series, including The Rockford Files, M*A*S*H, The A-Team, Airwolf, Murder, She Wrote, Sliders, Malcolm in the Middle, Pyramid, Six Feet Under, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch among other...
), who traded zingers with them all while acting as a mediator between the Waters brothers when necessary. Seen in sporadic guest appearances all through the series was Lou's long-time wife Flo (Carol Locatell
Carol Locatell
Carol Locatell is an American actress who has starred in films, television and on Broadway. She is perhaps best known for her role in the 1985 horror movie Friday the 13th: A New Beginning as the foul-mouthed mean lady named Ethel....
), who only showed up whenever she and Lou were having some sort of marriage dispute. These were usually worked out within the space of a single episode, but their "hot and cold" behavior became one of the show's key running gags. Lou and Flo had three kids--Bucky, Flo, Jr. and Louella--who were originally all referred to and never seen.
Themes and evolution
Originally, the story lines on Brothers were permeated with exclusively gay themes, as Cliff and Donald's dating exploits were featured, along with the heterosexual characters' involvement in such stories. This sprung forth the show's knack for providing a blurred line of differences between the mating habits and culture of both sexualities. Examples of topical gay stories included Cliff's casual intimate encounters with men and the points he still wanted to learn; Lou and Donald's efforts to infiltrate crooked local police officers who refused to help Cliff, when he was attacked by two homophobesHomophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
; Donald's coaching Joe into accurately convincing a former teammate that he was gay; and in the second season, when Cliff landed a regular boyfriend in well-to-do Winston Marsh III (guest star John Furey
John Furey
John Furey is an American actor who has starred in film and on television. He is best known for his role in the 1981 horror film Friday the 13th Part 2 as Paul Holt. His most recent film is the 2005 movie The Galindez File....
), who shared a kiss with Cliff in front of his family, which gave them their first-ever chance of seeing Cliff show affection to another man.
Stereotypes of both sexualities, both positive and negative, were for the most part avoided, and if they appeared, were not emphasized at the expense of comedy so they would not detract from the meaningful, character-driven dialogue. While a steep gay slant in the stories was present, they were not depicted only from the gay point of view; all characters' points of view in stories which explored sexuality shared the spotlight from episode to episode, sometimes shifting back and forth within a single episode. The series, as a result, was recognized as being clever and complex in this regard.
However, after the first two seasons, the writers started to downplay the wall-to-wall gay stories in favor of ones that were neutral to homosexual/heterosexual overtones. Just as this took place, additional characters started entering their own long-term relationships, which were depicted in a more standard sitcom fashion without sexuality being the key topic in an episode. Also, with Brothers being a Showtime original series, the allowance of strong language was taken advantage of heavily during the first and second seasons. By season three, with Paramount Television serious about the show's future in reruns, the scripts were cleaned up as well over the concern that the constant editing of coarse dialogue (Joe's habitual exclaiming of "son of a bitch" and "fuck
Fuck
"Fuck" is an English word that is generally considered obscene which, in its most literal meaning, refers to the act of sexual intercourse. By extension it may be used to negatively characterize anything that can be dismissed, disdained, defiled, or destroyed."Fuck" can be used as a verb, adverb,...
" and "shit
Shit
Shit is usually considered vulgar and profane in Modern English. As a noun it refers to fecal matter and as a verb it means to defecate or defecate in; in the plural it means diarrhea...
" peppered in accordingly) would be bad for syndication and revenues.
Later seasons
At the start of the third season, Joe began dating a voluptuous beauty named Sam (Mary Ann PascalMary Ann Pascal
Mary Ann Pascal is an American actress known for her role as Samantha "Sam" Booke on the Showtime original comedy series Brothers.-Career:...
), a very materialistic real estate agent who was not only content with the physical aspect of their relationship, but also out to reap the benefits of an ex-pro athlete's bank account. During their mating dance, Sam became another regular patron at The Point After, where at times she found herself in competition with Kelly over practically everything. Penny, who had rapidly matured from a gentle, innocent high school senior to a wild, vivacious party girl with a punk hairdo, began working as a performer at Girls, Girls, Girls & Beer, a local dance hall, during her sophomore year in college. Everyone else on the scene had mates that came and went, and Joe was no exception with Sam, as they were on-again, off-again for a while; while Sam chose not to play the field, Joe dated others. In the fourth season premiere, perky, cultured Ann Marie Wagner (guest star Judith-Marie Bergan) showed up, as a girlfriend of Joe's who had been with him for six months. Joe and Annie decided to get married during the course of the episode, but after much meddling from a jealous Sam, and a discouraging ceremony speech from Donald (who presided over the restaurant ceremony), the two called it off. A few episodes later, Joe went into overdrive dating both Annie and Sam, but felt guilty; when he went to break the news to Annie that he had been playing her, she revealed that she had been cheating too, so the two parted ways mutually, leaving Sam, who encouraged an open relationship, as Joe's only romantic focus.
In time, Joe and Sam discovered that they had a whole lot more in common beyond money and status, and love blossomed. Kelly and Sam even learned to put their feuding aside, forming sort of a "girls' club" together with Penny and Donald. Meanwhile, Cliff, who graduated from college early in the fourth season, was on the verge on launching his journalism career with a local newspaper when he had an epiphany-–that he suddenly had the affinity for cooking—and announced to everyone that he was enrolling in culinary school. Joe, Lou, and especially Donald tried to save him for turning down the offer to work at the paper, but in the end, decided to throw caution to the wind after tasting Cliff's impressive tomato sauce. Later that year, after dating many young men on the fast track, aspiring yuppie Penny fell for none other than Jim Grant (Tommy Hinkley
Tommy Hinkley
-Life and career:Hinkley's on-screen career now spans more than 20 years, and since the beginning it has been supplemented by a heavy dose of television guest roles, and periodic regular turns on TV series, including the short-lived Showtime series Hard Knocks, that also featured Bill Maher...
), a construction worker from Lou's company. Jim was actually from a very wealthy family, but loved the laborer's life better, resulting in his turning down the opportunity to helm his family's million-dollar enterprise in order to be truly happy. Their romance lasted a single season. It was also at this time that the youngest of Lou's kids, athletic teenage prodigy Louella (Yeardley Smith
Yeardley Smith
Yeardley Smith is a French-born American actress, voice actress, writer and painter. She is best known for her long-running role as Lisa Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons....
), became a regular.
The fourth season finale saw The Point After get upgraded to a three-star establishment by a local Philadelphia food publication, and Joe quickly received an offer by another top restaurateur for a huge buyout of his place. During the celebration of the three-star news at Donald's, everyone was shocked at the offer given to Joe, and Kelly expressed her worry over losing her job. After a series of flashbacks chronicling memorable moments the cast had at The Point After, Joe ripped up the papers granting its sale, and it was assumed as the episode came to an end that the gang would remain intact. However, as the fifth season began in June 1988, Kelly was no longer around (Robin Riker-Hasley had left the series). At this time, Sam, whom Joe had still been going steady with, revealed she was pregnant. Joe didn't take the news too well at first, since new fatherhood wasn't exactly in his game plan. Sam was dead set against abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
, and ended up giving Joe an ultimatum - either he opened up his mind to having a new family, or she left him to raise the child alone. Joe chose to stand by Sam, and the two rushed off to Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
to tie the knot. Through the next few months he had many adjustments to make, but when their daughter, whom they named Caroline, was born in the December 2, 1988 episode, Joe was more than ready to embrace her. Lou, Cliff and Penny all shared the designation of being Caroline's guardian, in case anything ever happened to her parents. Baby Caroline was played in her birth episode by boy and girl twins Charles and Cathryn Hacker, but for the remainder of the series, was played by Cathryn alone.
As Joe and Sam were busy adjusting to married life, as well as preparing to bring in the newest edition to the Waters family, Cliff found himself getting promoted to manager of The Point After while continuing in culinary school. On the side, he was gradually building his own catering business from scratch, at times joining his services in with the restaurants catering in order to turn over larger profits. Penny found a new love interest in Mike Chandler (Timothy Williams
Timothy Williams
Timothy Williams is a bilingual British author who has written five novels in English featuring Commissario Piero Trotti, a character critics have referred to as a personification of modern Italy. Williams' books include Black August, which won a Crime Writers' Association award...
), a suitor that Joe had an extremely hard time having around. Mike happened to be the lawyer hired by Penny's mother, Joe's ex-wife Janey, to retrieve part of Joe's pro football salary, that she had yet to receive as a part of her divorce settlement with him. During their legal dealings, Penny moved out of Janey's house when her mother remarried on a whim, and got her own studio apartment. She graduated from college the following spring, and was hired as a junior writer for a big-time advertising firm.
Other developments included Donald's close brush with a career in Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
, when he was hired to meet with a veteran movie actress in hopes of writing her biography. After getting lost in all of Tinseltown's glitz and glamour, Donald decided on his own will that Philly was where he truly belonged, and hired a "stringer" writer to collaborate on the biography project so he could return home. In November 1988, Lou was promoted to project designer in the offices of the large corporation that now owned Santini Construction. He was bribed into taking the promotion to keep quiet about an increase in accidents happening down at the job sites, as a result of inferior conditions and materials the new company provided. Upon finding this out, Lou was faced with a moral dilemma, and ended up quitting after 28 years on the job. He worked many odd jobs to compensate for his loss of income, before Donald proposed a business deal in which he found homeowners who needed private renovating done by a craftsman of Lou's expertise. A local mansion renovation job put Lou on the map, allowing him to buy out Donald's share in the partnership so he could become a stand-alone private contractor. Also, after his own steady succession of casual intimate encounters and regular boyfriends, Cliff's valiant search for Mr. Right continued, with a lot of help and advice from his family and friends.
Very special episodes
A couple of special episodesVery special episode
"Very special episode" is an advertising term originally used in American television commercials to refer to an episode of a sitcom or television drama that deals with a serious or controversial social issue...
dealt with one of Joe's former teammates coming out, then feeling forced to admit that he was HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
-positive. Bubba Dean (special guest star James Avery) actually revealed to Joe in a first season episode that he was gay and had been holding a long-time torch for him. Then in a second season appearance, out of his fear of potentially spreading the virus, Bubba drops the news of his HIV infection at a party thrown by Donald. Because HIV and AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
were not widely known to most Americans at the time, this episode had Joe learning about HIV and AIDS to better understand what his friend was going through so that he could offer support, as well as educating the public about HIV and AIDS and dispelling the myths about those who had contracted it and how it could be contracted.
Another episode in this category occurred in the second season, when Cliff learned that Claudia (guest star Wendie Jo Sperber
Wendie Jo Sperber
Wendie Jo Sperber was an American actress, best known for her performances in the films I Wanna Hold Your Hand , Bachelor Party and Back to the Future as well as the television sitcom Bosom Buddies .-Life:Sperber was born in Hollywood and aimed for a performing-arts career from high school onward...
), his former fiancée whom he stood up at the altar in the pilot episode (although she was not seen in the pilot), was paying him a surprise visit after having spent a year being depressed - and obviously gaining a lot of weight as the result of it. Cliff hesitated in making contact with her, but due to everyone's prompting they finally met face to face, and had a lot of hard feelings to address.
Veteran actress Billie Bird
Billie Bird
Billie Bird was an American actress and comedienne.-Early life:Born Berniece Bird in Pocatello, Idaho, Bird was discovered at the age of eight while living at an orphanage...
was the subject of a couple of two-parter episodes. Bird first appeared in the third season two-parter "Whose 'Golden Years' Is It Anyway?" (aired September 17 and 24, 1986), as Donald's Aunt Billie, who escapes to Philadelphia, and her nephew, when her family places her in a nursing home. Billie strikes up a friendship with Lou and ends up convincing him to keep her from being carted off back to the home; they promptly end up on the run without letting their family and friends know of their whereabouts. In the second part of this episode, an arrest warrant is brought out for Lou. Exactly a year later in season four, Aunt Billie shows up again in the two-parter "Las Vegas Serenade" (aired September 11 and 18, 1987), albeit through a VHS tape sent to Donald - her video will, which arrived with an urn of her ashes. Billie, in advance right before her death, set up an all-expenses paid trip to Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
which the entire cast embarked on, with the exception of Kelly (Robin Riker began her temporary leave of absence with this episode). Donald and the gang were instructed by Billie to spread her ashes into the courtyard of the Golden Nugget Hotel & Casino
Golden Nugget Las Vegas
The Golden Nugget Las Vegas is a luxury casino-hotel located in Las Vegas, Nevada on the Fremont Street Experience. The property is owned and operated by Landry's Restaurants....
while in Vegas. The trip was shot on location, mostly at the latter resort, and featured cameo appearances by Paul Anka
Paul Anka
Paul Albert Anka, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor.Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s with hit songs like "Diana'", "Lonely Boy", and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder"...
and Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis is an American comedian, actor, singer, film producer, screenwriter and film director. He is best known for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio. He was originally paired up with Dean Martin in 1946, forming the famed comedy team of Martin and Lewis...
.
The fifth season episode "L.A. Maltby" (aired September 1988), in which Donald travels out to Hollywood
Hollywood, Los Angeles, California
Hollywood is a famous district in Los Angeles, California, United States situated west-northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Due to its fame and cultural identity as the historical center of movie studios and movie stars, the word Hollywood is often used as a metonym of American cinema...
for the job offer of a lifetime, was perceived to be an attempt at a Brothers spin-off starring Philip Charles MacKenzie, centering around Donald's new glitz-filled life and career on the West Coast. Since the Hollywood storyline concluded in the same episode, with Donald choosing to return to Philadelphia, it is presumed that removing such an integral character from Brothers would have hurt the show, which was already undergoing many changes that year (read above). Since it was announced several months later that production on the series would end after five seasons, it can also be figured that hiring a replacement comic foil, or "contrast"-type character to play off the show's leads, wouldn't have been worth casting, even for almost 20 more episodes of Brothers.
Scheduling
After premiering in July 1984, Brothers completed the run of its first 26-episode season in December of that year, with the now-popular Brothers Christmas Special (featuring guest star Andy GarcíaAndy García
Andrés Arturo García Menéndez , professionally known as Andy García, is a Cuban American actor. He became known in the late 1980s and 1990s, having appeared in several successful Hollywood films, including The Godfather: Part III, The Untouchables, Internal Affairs and When a Man Loves a Woman...
) serving as the season finale. Beginning in May 1985 and through the end of the 1987 season, Showtime usually ran new episodes of Brothers on a May to December season schedule, a common free-form timetable for any cable network. However, like any other American series (no matter network, cable, or syndicated), each season consisted of a 26 episode order.
The fifth season had its premiere moved up to June in 1988, and had its episodes spread out over the course of a year, with one or two new episodes airing each month. The pace of new episodes eased down during this season when Showtime announced that Brothers was ending its run in 1989; apparently, Showtime wanted a clear-cut five year run while giving viewers enough to a chance to bid farewell to the series. The 25th episode of the fifth season, "The Road Yet Taken", was finally reached on May 5, 1989, and was the final regular episode of Brothers. Then, a few weeks later on June 1, a retrospective farewell special, "I Remember But I Don't Like It" aired, which featured Lou and Donald reflecting back on how their association evolved over five seasons. Thirteen months after the final season began, and just a couple weeks beyond the fifth anniversary of its premiere, Showtime aired the last repeat telecast of Brothers on July 25, 1989.
For the majority of its original run, Brothers had aired Wednesday nights at 8/7c on Showtime, with episodes from its current season being repeated in various late night slots during the week on the premium cable network's schedule.
Cast
- Robert WaldenRobert WaldenRobert Walden is an American television and motion picture actor. He is best known for his role as Joe Rossi on Lou Grant for which he was nominated for an Emmy three times and his role as Joe Waters on Brothers...
as Joe Waters - Paul Regina as Cliff Waters
- Brandon MaggartBrandon MaggartBrandon Maggart is an American actor.Maggart was born Roscoe Maggart, Jr. in Carthage, Tennessee. His acting career began in the early 1950s, at first in local and regional theatre in Tennessee, which eventually branched out to New York's Broadway...
as Lou Waters - Philip Charles MacKenziePhilip Charles MacKenziePhilip Charles MacKenzie is an American actor and television director. He is best known for his role as Donald Maltby on Brothers, and as Ted Nichols on Open House, which he worked on with his current wife Alison LaPlaca.-Career:...
as Donald Maltby - Hallie ToddHallie ToddHallie Todd is an American actress, producer and writer, known for her roles as Penny Waters on Brothers and as Jo McGuire on Lizzie Mcguire.-Personal life:...
as Penny Waters - Robin RikerRobin RikerRobin Riker is an American actress. She has guest-starred in a number of notable television series, including The Rockford Files, M*A*S*H, The A-Team, Airwolf, Murder, She Wrote, Sliders, Malcolm in the Middle, Pyramid, Six Feet Under, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch among other...
as Kelly Hall (Seasons 1-4) - Mary Ann PascalMary Ann PascalMary Ann Pascal is an American actress known for her role as Samantha "Sam" Booke on the Showtime original comedy series Brothers.-Career:...
as Samantha "Sam" Booke Waters (Seasons 3-5) - Yeardley SmithYeardley SmithYeardley Smith is a French-born American actress, voice actress, writer and painter. She is best known for her long-running role as Lisa Simpson on the animated television series The Simpsons....
as Louella Waters (Seasons 4-5) - Tommy HinkleyTommy Hinkley-Life and career:Hinkley's on-screen career now spans more than 20 years, and since the beginning it has been supplemented by a heavy dose of television guest roles, and periodic regular turns on TV series, including the short-lived Showtime series Hard Knocks, that also featured Bill Maher...
as Jim Grant (Season 4) - Timothy WilliamsTimothy WilliamsTimothy Williams is a bilingual British author who has written five novels in English featuring Commissario Piero Trotti, a character critics have referred to as a personification of modern Italy. Williams' books include Black August, which won a Crime Writers' Association award...
as Mike Chandler (Season 5) - Cathryn Hacker as Caroline Waters (Season 5)
Opening sequence and presentation
The Brothers title theme was a jazzy, synthesized piece written by Marcus BaroneMarcus Barone
Marcus Barone is a Motion Picture Music Executive, Supervisor, Composer, Publisher and Studio Musician.-Biography:Raised in Smithtown, New York, near New York City, Mark or "Marcus" Barone was educated at the State University of New York, Hartt College of Music and University of Southern California...
, Joe Diamond and Gloria Nissenson, with opening vocals performed by Barone.
As the title sequence opens, videotaped exterior scenes of Philadelphia are shown one at a time as the show's title is spelt out, one letter at a time, across the screen. The title formation is set on a half-circular curve. During this, lead singer Barone has a conversation with two other men in preparation for them to sing the theme song with him. Apparently, they are supposed to be posing as the Waters brothers, to give viewers the illusion that they, and not the hired singers, are the ones harmonizing the tune. Following this, a chorus of shoop-do-wahs serve as a bridge between the dialogue and the main part of the song.
The opening credits featured an artistic montage of actual photos from Walden, Regina, and Maggart's childhood and young adult years, along with 16mm film footage of young Paul Regina (labeled on a film strip in the sequence as "Cliff, age 4 yrs.") and CGI animation. This montage segued into a group photo of the Waters brothers in the current day, which in turn displayed singular portraits of them one at a time as their credits were given on screen. All cast member photos were set against a blue background. A time-lapsed animation version of the group photo then lifts up to reveal multiple photos of the brothers in various scenes from the show's set. From the pilot episode through the end of season three, Robin Riker and Hallie Todd's names were listed at the bottom of this section, while the pictures floated against a sky background.
The final part of the opening sequence is a videotaped scene of the Waters brothers, finishing their lip-syncing of the show's theme song in front of a candy store named "Babe's". For the first two seasons, "and Philip Charles MacKenzie as Donald" appeared during this scene, followed by creator and producer credits before the sequence faded. During the entire third season, a computerized blue background with a digital cut-out of MacKenzie appeared with his credit before cutting to the "Babe's" scene. Starting with the fourth season premiere, the photos of Robin Riker (now credited as Robin Riker-Hasley) and Hallie Todd were featured for the first time over the floating pictures animation, flipping up one at a time, until the last photo is that of MacKenzie, who now appears in a proper portrait. The last three cast portraits were set in blue backgrounds to match those of Walden, Regina, and Maggart's. Also, from this point on, creator and producing credits no longer appeared in the opening's last scene.
For the eleven episodes of Season 4 that Riker-Hasley did not appear in, her photo and credit were removed from the intro, with only Todd and MacKenzie showing up in the latter half. This short-lived version of the intro had the dark blue backgrounds removed from Todd and MacKenzie, revealing the natural light-blue backgrounds of their photos instead. For S4, Ep. 26, which was Riker-Hasley's return to the show, as well as her last appearance, the intro that was used in S4, Eps. 1-14 returned. In season five, after Riker-Hasley's departure, Mary Ann Pascal's photo was added into the sequence, between Todd and MacKenzie. The latter three cast photos in general were all new (with Todd's and MacKenzie's updated from the S4 versions), and featured more natural backgrounds in gray/light blue/white tones. They filled the entire screen, as the floating pictures animation was completely eliminated.
Three different credit fonts were utilized on Brothers simultaneously. The opening sequence used orange-gold hued Collegiate font for the title and credits; a font famously associated with sports teams (as well as colleges and universities), it was used to represent the show's underlying image of masculinity—brotherhood, The Point After, sports and Joe's past NFL glory. First and final scene production credits were set in Cooper Black
Cooper Black
Cooper Black is a heavily weighted, old style serif typeface designed by Oswald Bruce Cooper in 1921 and released by the Barnhart Brothers & Spindler type foundry in 1922. The typeface is drawn as an extra bold weight of Cooper Old Style. Though not based on a single historic model, Cooper Black...
font, orange during the first 2.5 seasons, then in yellow from the middle of season three until the end (black shadowing was added at the start of season four). Closing credits all through the run appeared in thin yellow Helvetica
Helvetica
Helvetica is a widely used sans-serif typeface developed in 1957 by Swiss typeface designer Max Miedinger with Eduard Hoffmann.-Visual distinctive characteristics:Characteristics of this typeface are:lower case:square dot over the letter i....
, and were carded in groups over scenes from the current episode. An instrumental cut of the opening theme, dominated by saxophone
Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
, was used for the closing.
Upon the show's fall 1988 sale into syndication, the opening title sequence was truncated so that the only visuals featured in the first half were the title formation over the scenes of Philadelphia, the single photos of Walden, Regina and Maggart, and the time-lapsed group photo of the Waters brothers. For all episodes spanning seasons one through four, the latter half of the opening used in S4, Eps. 1-14 & 26 was used for Riker, Todd and MacKenzie's credits, when these three had photos featured in the blue background scheme. Riker's credit, with Hasley being added to her name in this version, provided an inconsistency with all episodes leading up to S4, as she did not add her married name on-screen until that point in 1987. The theme itself began from the "Gonna meet the family.." line, and ran up to "Where it counts, behind the scenes, we're brothers" line when the time-lapsed family photo was reached. During the last three cast photos and ending scene, the song picked up from the "Life is full of stress and strife.." line and ran through the end, unedited.
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Result | Category | Recipient |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | CableACE Awards | Nominated | Actor in a Comedy Series | Robert Walden |
| Actor in a Comedy Series | Brandon Maggart | |||
| Won | Actor in a Comedy Series | Philip Charles MacKenzie | ||
| 1987 | Nominated | Actress in a Comedy Series | Hallie Todd | |
| Actress in a Comedy Series | Robin Riker | |||
| Actor in a Comedy Series | Robert Walden | |||
| Actor in a Comedy Series | Brandon Maggart | |||
| Actor in a Comedy Series | Philip Charles MacKenzie | |||
| 1988 | Actress in a Comedy Series | Robin Riker | ||
| 1985 | Artios Awards Casting Society of America Founded in Los Angeles, California in 1982, the Casting Society of America is a professional society of about 350 casting directors for film, television, and theatre in Australia, Canada, Italy, the United Kingdom and the United States. The society is not to be confused with an industry union. The... |
Nominated | Best Casting for TV, Comedy Episodic | Mary Ann Barton and Helen Mossler |