The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire

"The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire" is David E. Kelley's latest attempt to bring another hit sitcom to television. After a rather confusing premiere, it looks like the usually-dominant Kelley is now 0 for 2 since "Boston Public" three years ago ("Girls Club," which came out last year, lasted two episodes).

Being a resident of the town where the pilot for this show was filmed, I can safely say that the reason this show feels like it started in the middle of a storyline is beacuse the pilot never aired. The pilot was bad (So I heard), so they decided not to air it. Was this a mistake? It might have made some of the points brought up in the premiere a little more clear, rather than dump us right in the middle of something that's already been established and ends up being over our heads.

Aside from that, I don't have high hopes for this show. It's advertised as a comedy, but there is a lot more drama than laughs (The humor, when it does come around, is usually hit or miss). The "first" episode feels too strongly like it's missing the backstory that was the pilot, and doesn't provide any outstanding reason to keep tuning in. The show will have to depend heavily on future episodes to build up what was lost, but between the already lacking appeal and competition of other shows in the timeslot, the future of the show is about as bleak as those of the three brothers it focuses on.

This show, judging by the pilot episode which I just saw tonight, has limited promise. It seems like a night-time soap opera set in a New Hampshire/New England setting that I don't really believe exists.

Though I'm not a native of New England, I used to live in Maine, not too far from New Hampshire, so perhaps allow me to make some qualified observations nevertheless: I just didn't get a New England "feel" to this show, I just don't "recognize" any of these characters as being truly New Englander types. Sure, they can doll them up in LL Bean attire until the cows come home, but that in itself a New Englander does not make.

I think the show runs the risk of bombing because it brings too much of a Hollywood/California frame of mind to a New England setting. The men in this show seem way too giddy for real New Englanders, and all seem WAY too preoccupied with their personal "issues"; the women seem more like annoying busy-bodies from some rich enclave of Sausalito, California; the kids - at least those that have appeared so far - seem more like big city high school kids in Los Angeles dealing with image problems and the like, etc. These are not the New Englanders that I remember from oh, twenty or so years ago when I used to live in that glorious part of America. Have times really changed that much? I thinketh not.

One positive about the show is the incredible depth of the cast. Randy Quaid, Mare Winningham and Elizabeth McGovern just to name a few. I like these actors a lot, and hope the show really works for them, but the writing and the whole "atmoshpere" of the show really needs some work.

If this show develops further, I hope it loses some of the soap opera feel. Just a thought, but it would be kinda' cool (for me anyway) if the show took a sort of David Lynch/Twin Peaks detour and got rather twisty. New England lends itself to that. It can be very twisty there. Very twisty indeed. ("Ya can't get there from here" - Bert and I).

"The Brotherhood of Poland, N.H." was probably the best television drama Kelly E. Kelly produced. It is unfortunate that only a few people found the program! First of all, the title was somewhat strange! CBS gave it a time slot of doom! After 4 or 5 airings, it was gone, & Mr. Kelly did not fight for the show, which is sad. The program could have developed into one of those long-running family dramas. A couple of brothers & their families experience life in a small New England town. The brothers are average middle-aged guys with average middle-aged wives and average kids. The program goes beyond average in tackling above-average issues. The ratings were less than average, & CBS did little to promote the show. The opening music was beautiful, & not one of the episodes was disappointing. I think there were only a total of four shows to make it to t.v. The brothers & their families interacted with each other in attempting to make ends meet, fulfill their dreams, and deal with modern issues. Sounds a little boring when someone could be voted off an island somewhere!

I loved the show and all the characters! They never gave it a chance! Im positive that if given a full season that people would have grown to love it like I already did! All of these stars had big potential I always had hopes of someone bringing it back! New Hampshire has a lot of Great possibilities for interesting storylines! Bring it back and give it another go..Purty Please!..lol.

One of the best shows I have seen in a long time. There is a lot of junk on the tv these days. I never missed an episode of this show...then they took it off. Too bad some people can't see a winner when it is right in front of them. PLEASE GIVE THIS SHOW ANOTHER TRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am really tired of reality shows...they suck. I want humour like Bob Newhart, Friends, According to Jim, Red Green, and the new Canadian show Corner Gas. When I sit down to watch tv I want to be able to shut out the real world with a little humour, something that has unrealistic reality. That was what I found in The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire.