Undescribable Perfection

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

One of my favorite shows of all time, One of the biggest network crimes against the American public: cancellation of this show after not even airing the 13 episodes that were made. Up there with "Freaks and Geeks" and "My So Called Life" as shows you just can't believe didn't become a massive success. (Maybe I'd add "Firefly" to that list, but I'm a bit of a SciFi geek and that show maybe didn't have the scope...)If you have not seen this show, it is a MUST SEE. No question. Every character is fantastic. The dialog is brilliant. The plots are bizarre and completely relatable at the same time. In a nutshell, it's the kind of show you wish you could have made.Ugh. It just hurts me to think about this being canceled. What message does that send to the outrageously talented people that made it? Hang it up? If they can't succeed, WTF!?-mark

When this show first started it had the rather lofty legacy left by Arrested Development to live up to, due to various comparisons made by TV critics. This proved fairly unfortunate considering the die hard fan base that surrounds Arrested Development, but at the same time it is not altogether unexpected.Certainly the two shows bare many similarities. Both are about comical situations that arise from immediate and extended family relationships, and both have a large ensemble cast. Character roles are also very similar between the two shows, Don the struggling actor uncle is much like Tobius the struggling actor uncle, Carrie the sarcastic teen far more mature than her two parents is much like Maeby Funke, Henry the awkward teenager resembles George Michael, and in the center Cameron is relied upon to hold his family together much the same as Micheal Bluth did.However, that being said co creators Fred Goss and Nick Holly still manage to create a show where every character feels original, realistic and sympathetic. The absurdity of the situation never outshines the emotions of the people within that situation, the humour of an episode never eclipses importance of the relationships between the members of the Walker and Fenton family.The partially improvised scripting helps this show break away from the normal verbal patterns witnessed in other sit coms, where its generally just examples of feed line, punch line, pause for laughter, feed line, punch line pause for laughter, repeat ad nausea. instead their dialog flows more naturally, overlapping, stuttering and fumbling. Somehow it's truthful, relatable and still very funny.As the first season nears its end it saddens me to think these characters probably wont be returning to TV screens, due to fairly poor ratings. 11 episodes is barely a blip on the radar for most shows, and its not nearly sufficient in the case of these characters who have so many more stories to tell and so much more history to reveal. If there's any justice in the world we will be seeing much more of Sons & Daughters, but unfortunately we live in a world where American Idol is the most watched show on TV, so justice clearly went out the window.

To the guy who said "get rid of this show"As soon as I started reading your negative response to this show I thought to myself; "I bet he prefers shows like Home Improvement". Sure enough. It says a lot about your taste, and of course you would not enjoy a show like Sons & Daughters. You prefer rehashed one liners and plot devices. (how many times did that guy screw up a macho'd up home improvement??) This show is not groundbreaking, but it is infinitely more entertaining than the Home Improvements and Yes Dears of the world.For those mourning the death of Arrested Development I suggest you give this show a chance. It may not live up to such high standards as that show, but it is more entertaining that most other comedies on the air.

I realize that everyone has an inherent right to express their own opinion. And, I guess if you don't like Sons & Daughters, you really don't like it. My concern is that Mr. Goss and Mr. Holly are pioneers in the wasteland of current, every-shows-a-reality-show network television. As such, they are bound to present new and heretofore unexperienced moments in television watching. History teaches us that we, as a species, fear the unknown. Therefore, we really don't want to know about it at all, let alone experience it. But, Fred and Nick are giving it to us anyway. And it's wonderful. If you read the ABC blog and the IMDb boards, the show is cultivating a base of excited, open-minded individuals thankful, ecstatic even, for the fresh, new and exciting television brought to viewers by Sons & Daughters. For those afraid of television that breaks the formula, I beg you to give it another chance. Keep an open mind. If we didn't have pioneers, would the west have been settled? Would Hollywood have been built? Would television have been born? And even if you still hate Sons & Daughters, perhaps you could allow for the fact that this show may just open the door for a whole new format of network situation comedy or dramedy, as the case may be. And you may just fall in love with those shows looming in the not-to-distant television future. Subsequently, you would have Fred Goss and Nick Holly to thank for your future favorite flavor of network TV. So, try to set aside your ignorance and your fear and embrace the new and the unknown as the catalysts to positive change. And, in those regards, in the here-and-now, give Sons & Daughers a chance. (This goes for you, too, ABC!)