TV drama keeps disappointing me. Dirty Sexy Money is crappy this year, and the nation agrees that Heroes is flailing like a beetle on its back. 

And now another great series has gone down in flames. Brothers and Sisters has become subpar.

The main problem is that while the characters used to be complex, they’ve now been reduced to soap opera cliches. For instance, when did Holly Harper become an evil bitch? She was always shifty, but in the first two seasons, she had real feelings to soften her edges. Now, even her tender moments with Rebecca are staged like underhanded plots.

Conversely, Justin could occasionally be fractious, but now he’s a narcissistic wimp who is so wounded by everything around him that Dave Annable resorts to the same wide-eyed expression in every scene. 

It’s like that for all the characters, including Sally Field’s Nora. That scrapes the bone because I loved Nora. Now she’s such a nosy flibbertigibbet that I confuse her with Mrs. Poole. 

The plots stretch credibility, too. I mean, is there anything more annoying than Ryan Lafferty? To review: Rebecca isn’t really a Walker, but there’s another Walker bastard who’s name just happens to start with an R, thus validating Sarah’s guess about the last letter in her dead dad’s bank password. How convenient.

God. Reading that, it sounds like a recap of The Bold and the Beautiful. That’s infuriating because Brothers and Sisters didn’t need loopy plotlines or over-the-top characters to be great. The first season especially found drama in relatable situations. The language was heightened and the Walkers were wealthier than most, but their problems were grounded in everyday life. Siblings squabbled, aging parents felt insecure, and people struggled to tell the truth. The episodes were engrossing because they weren’t like soap operas at all.

But that’s over now. Series creator Jon Robin Baitz was notoriously ousted from the series, and it’s failing without him. I’m sure the writer’s strike has something to do with it, too, but do the remaining show runners really believe the Walkers are better when they’re doused in suds?

Sigh. I hope Big Love and Lost are exceptional this season. If not, I guess I’ll finally have time to watch Mad Men and Breaking Bad.