The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire

Ever since Picket Fences went off the air, I've been waiting, ever so

freaking patiently, for another great melodrama to come along

from David Kelley. And though Boston Public started off alright, it

sank, rather quickly.

So I'd given up by the time I heard about this one, the Brotherhood

of Poland. And I thought, "What an unappealing title for a show."

But, I found myself home the night it debuted, and figured since

there's nothing good on tv anymore, I'd watch it. And I did. And,

Brotherhood left an indifferent impression on me. It wasn't great

enough to get me excited and hopeful, but it wasn't terrible enough

for me to disregard it completely. So I've kept watching.

And last night, the fifth episode aired, and it's got Picket Fences

Deux written all over it. And I love it. It's blatantly similar to Picket

Fences but that's just fine with me, I've been waiting for this for

years. The actors seem to be connecting more, and the writing

seems to be getting a little less awkward...maybe Brotherhood just

needed to stretch its legs for a few weeks before it started to pick

up some steam? I really don't care if it's 'inaccurate' as far as New

Hampshire towns are concerned, I don't mind that reality seems to

get checked at the door (that makes it better, if you ask me); it's a

fun and quirky show with smart humor and all the melodrama of a

Sirk movie. And wow, Randy Quaid did some fine acting last night;

I've never really seem him in serious roles, and never thought he

could pull them off, but last night he actually impressed me with

his skills. Give this little show a try, it's only been getting better.

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!

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.

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.