The Brothers (1972 - 1976)

[Werewillie Oleson]

Series 4

I wondered if you had seen any of the Doctor Who episodes, but that starts in series 6.

 

[Sally Francis]

And so my first watch of the seventies prime time soap comes to an end. I had no idea what to expect but it's a keeper, I'm definitely going to rewatch it at some point.

Jennifer's daughter Barbara returns for the last half of series 7, it's amazing how much she has matured in those few years. She's a real woman now (omg, what an old-fashioned thing to say).

Story-wise I think 7 series of THE BROTHERS equals the first 4 seasons of KNOTS LANDING, except that there are no stand-alone episodes.
But there are stand-alone scenes.
Paul Merroney interviews a possible new secretary, a stenographer who could out-bitch Alexis Carrington. And then she decides that she doesn't want the job because she doesn't like Paul. And that's the end of it, no follow-up or other interviews. But as long as the scenes are good, who cares?

The last board meeting, there'll be no more new episodes on the agenda.

Oh it looks like there was a secretary after all, but she wasn't as visible as Claire, Ms Vickery and of course the unforgettable Marion from series 1 and 2.

Human trafficking was already a thing in 1976, and Bill Riley goes undercover - but he has to end his mission when his never-seen-before son Ronnie is involved in a serious accident.

There's a small guest role for actor Peter Blake, and he looks very euro-handsome with his long curls.
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The series end with a Christmas party, and it gives all the characters a moment of retrospection, current decisions and plans for the future.
Featuring party poppers such as Smokie's "I'll Meet You At Midnight", Leo Sayer's "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" and last but not least Johnny Wakelin's "In Zaïre".
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It's a sad goodbye to 1976, but there's another soap family waiting for me. And as it turns out I'll be going back in time (but without the TopPop moments I'm afraid).

Thanks for these amusing, Clive James quality write ups of the Brothers. I watched it in the seventies as a teenager and am loving it on Talking Pictures TV. Great to see it being really appreciated! It's a real nostalgia fest, things I'd forgotten about - paper flowers, that china, wearing headscarves. Everything that comforting brown - character dressed entirely in shades of brown! A real gem. And the characters and story lines are superb. For some reason, as a family, we all loathed Mary Hammond at the time, but now I think she's a wonderful, likeable and understandable character. Funniest thing for me so far is the telephone in the car!