(S04E01) "William was a cheater. He had this bottle-blond tramp across town..." - Nora's mother to Holly

The dysfunctional Walker clan is back, and it didn't take long for the squabbling and worrying and break-ups and tragedies to surface. Things open right away with Nora's feeling of foreboding, and with this family, it's usually warranted. There's generally a nice mix of comedy and drama in Brothers & Sisters, and this episode followed suit.

As for the comedy, much of that came from Nora and Holly quibbling over Justin and Rebecca's engagement/wedding details. There never were more lovably meddling mothers than these two, as they vie for the "best mom" award. Nora giving Justin the family heirloom ring for Rebecca is one thing; Holly doing up the engagement party like a five-star gala and then giving the couple a car is another altogether.

It's no wonder that Justin and Rebecca were fighting and breaking up before the party hardly started. You'd think they'd be on the nearest bus to Vegas to avoid all the hoopla. Frankly, I don't know how these two will ever make it with the pressure of Justin in school. But it's good that he wants to break his cycle of quitting. I'm pulling for him, but also wouldn't be surprised if he slipped back into old destructive habits.

Robert and Kitty can't catch a break, can they? They went from being so in love at first, and now it's just a struggle for them, but at least they're giving it a go with counseling. But now Kitty is sick! But with what, we won't know until next week -- hopefully. How do you think Robert will react? He's under a lot of stress, running for governor in the wake of his own health issues.

Not much airtime for Sarah, except the short bit with her online dating ventures -- a new ageist, a germaphobe, a David Crosby look-a-like -- but she's escaping to France anyway. After mentioning to Nora that Tommy called and will make it up to Rebecca at the wedding, that is. Tommy's still off finding himself.

It'll be interesting to see how things go with Kevin and Scotty's $137,000 surrogate baby. If there's a sane character among the bunch, it's Scotty. Kevin didn't want to tell Nora about the baby because he's afraid she'll want to pick the surrogate. Scotty was afraid she'd want to BE the surrogate.

Marion Ross as Nora's mother is fun, and she had some good lines, too -- even if this one about Robert and Kitty's son fell a little flat: "Say what you want, but they DO make cute babies." She's like the opposite of open-minded Nora.

As for this episode, say what you will about the Walker clan, but one thing is certain -- they really DO care about each other in their own nosy ways. How did you feel about the season four opener? I always want to see more of Ron Rifkin.

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