'Brothers & Sisters' season premiere: Who's your fave duo?

At long last, last night marked the return of the Walker clan, in all their gossiping, secret-hiding, wine-drinking glory. I’ll admit it: I went in for a second glass of Shiraz at the midway marker, and I didn’t regret it, either. Heck, I needed something to mellow me out while watching an hour’s worth of intense inter-Walker tension. Anyhow, to recap the Brothers & Sisters season premiere, I present my list of the evening’s top 8 duos (ranked from most compelling to least). Enjoy! And feel free to re-order in the comments section below!

1) Holly (Patricia Wettig, pictured) and Nora (Sally Field): Anyone who doubts B&S is all about its female characters obviously didn’t stick around for the final confrontation between these hellaciously hot women of a certain age. Holly really did seem to have the advantage throughout the hour — convincing one of Nora’s sons to fire another one was a doozy — but I loved how Nora got the upper hand with just three words (“Yes you do”) when Holly said she didn’t believe William had had a second mistress. You know Nora must’ve floated all the way to guest parking after dropping that bombshell.

2) Sarah (Rachel Griffiths) and Kitty (Calista Flockhart): I didn’t love love love the wall of ice that cropped up between the normally tight sisters, but then again, Sarah’s self-absorption rang true, as did Kitty’s devastated response to the fact that her sister couldn’t find time over the course of a month to write a letter of recommendation to her adoption agency. The only part I didn’t buy was that Nora, who’s shown a flare and passion for writing in seasons past, would’ve cooked up such a cockamamie missive in the first place. Wouldn’t it have been better for Kitty to catch Sarah’s lie in a more subtle fashion, compounding the subsequent emotional bruising? (Side note: Was I the only one outraged by ABC’s post-Housewives promo declaring that B&S is a show that stars Field, Flockhart, and Lowe, but not Emmy-nominated Griffiths? What the hell?)

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3) Kevin (Matthew Rhys) and Scotty (Luke Macfarlane): Thank you, ABC,for refusing to shy away from the tried-and-true (and realistic) (andadorable) newlyweds-getting-frisk-ay story arc just because saidnewlyweds both happen to be boys.

4) The whale and the objets d’art*: You knew Moby Dick was a goner fromfirst sight. This, however, made his destruction no less hilar.

5) Justin (DaveAnnable) and Rebecca (Emily VanCamp): So what if Annable doesn’t openhis mouth all the way while speaking? So what if VanCamp’s characterapparently has nothing to do but wander around Casa Walker. Thechemistry is hot. WHO IS GOING TO ARGUE WITH THE CHEMISTRY?

6) Kitty and That Chiseled Guy: You think when Rob Lowe signedon for this show he ever thought he’d be relegated to couch-filling/standing sternly in doorways? Yeah, me neither.

7) Paige (Kerris Dorsey) and Cooper (Maxwell Perry Cotton): As far aschild actors go, these two are okay, but I really included them becauseI wanted to type the name “Maxwell Perry Cotton,” a name that evokesthoughts of the highest-thread-count sheets that money can buy.

8)Tommy (Balthazar Getty) and That Blonde Lady: Zzzzzzzz.

Finally, re. utter lack of Uncle Saul (Ron Rifkin): Booooo! And re.introduction of ever-fine Mitch Pileggi as Kevin’s boss: Woooot!

What’d you think of the season premiere, PopWatchers? Your fellowreaders have a right to know!

* Second use of fancy French term on PopWatch today must result inautomatic ridicule on message boards by no fewer than three PopWatchreaders