Product Description

Studio: Paramount Home Video Release Date: 10/07/2008 Rating: Nr

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #8848 in DVD
• Brand: Paramount
• Released on: 2008-10-07
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Dubbed in: Spanish
• Number of discs: 3
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 546 minutes

Amazon.com
Set against the equally deadly worlds of politics and crime, Showtime's Brotherhood is television's new go-to series for gripping family drama in a post-Sopranos world. The violence can be sudden and shocking, but no less devastating are the words these conflicted characters wield at each other. "You are filth," compromised state representative Tommy Caffee (Jason Clarke) dismisses his dissatisfied wife, Eileen (Annabeth Gish), in the wake of learning about her drug-addled affair. The season ends with a confession by Tommy to his brother, Michael (Jason Isaacs), whose criminal actions have once again thwarted Tommy's political aspirations, that could be as near fatal as the beating Michael took at the end of season one. Michael begins this season in recovery and prone to seizures and blackouts. That doesnʼt stop him from lobbying local crime boss Freddie Cork (Kevin Chapman) to put him back to work. Meanwhile, sad-eyed Declan (Ethan Embry), a cop and childhood friend of the Caffees, is separated from his wife, Cassie (Georgie Lyman), on the outs at work, and in the grip of alcohol and drug abuse. Tommy and Eileen are a couple in appearances only, while their eldest daughter begins to display behavioral problems, from stabbing a classmate with a pencil ("Did it break the skin?" Tommy asks) to dabbling in marijuana. The Caffee family dynamic is perhaps best represented in the Thanksgiving episode, in which matriarch Rose (the venerable Fionnula Flanagan), abandons the family celebration for a hotel tryst, leaving the family members to scramble to make the holiday meal. Suffice to say, as one family member ruefully notes, "the Caffees donʼt do loving and supportive." A welcome addition to the excellent ensemble is Brian F. O'Byrne as Colin, a distant and not entirely trusted (by Rose) cousin from Ireland, who quickly becomes embroiled in the family's affairs on both sides of the law. Brotherhood's second season fulfills the promise of the first, ratcheting up the dysfunctional drama, political machinations, and crime complications (Michael runs afoul of the rival Italian mob after a truck hijacking goes awry). Every episode this season is named after a Bob Dylan song. Nothing is made of this. It's just a little something something that ensures our continued support for one of television's most compelling and addictive series. --Donald Liebenson

Customer Reviews

Keeps getting better and better
Showtime's Irish answer to The Sopranos; Brotherhood manages to get better and better with each passing episode, and the second season is no different. Picking up a while after the first season concluded, season two begins with the Caffee family picking up the pieces. Michael (Jason Isaacs) is recovering from the brutal beating he took at last season's finale, and coping with the unexpected mental side effects to boot, all the while still trying to stay in the semi-good graces of crime boss Freddie Cork (Kevin Chapman). His politician brother Tommy (Jason Clarke) continues the campaign trail, and is drawn further and further away from his wife Eileen (Annabeth Gish) after learning of her infidelities. Things get even more complicated for the Caffee's when their estranged Irish cousin Colin (Brian F. O'Byrne) returns to The Hill to reconnect with the family, much to the chagrin of Michael and Tommy's mother Rose (the excellent Fionnula Flanagan). Also in this season, we witness the descent of cop Declan (Ethan Embry) whose life continues to spiral out of control. While there isn't anything on Brotherhood that hasn't been seen before, it still manages to provide plenty of entertainment for fans of gangster crime-dramas and back-office politics. Not to mention that by the time the season concludes, you'll be salivating for more. All in all, Brotherhood still manages to get better and better with each passing episode, and here's hoping that the best is yet to come.

Closed Caption Claim is FALSE!
The series is certainly compelling enough for me to take a look at the second season, however, I'm posting a statement to let other potential viewers know the DVD's claim of Closed Captioning availablity is false. There is no captioning service on these discs, though the DVDs contain a menu screen that says: " Closed captions have been provided for all video on this DVD. To access this feature, please make sure your DVD player and TV monitor are set up to display closed captioning." Well, mine are, and I tried every option to access the captions but couldn't get the captions to appear. Just to be clear: I use closed captioning or subtitles on discs all the time. If captions are available on these discs, I'd sure like to know what voodoo is required to make them accessible. I've never had this sort of trouble with captioning on discs before and frankly, I think the manufacture's claim is intentionally misleading.

as of today...
this is the best drama on television. a great cast, especially the two jasons who play the two brothers. now that 'the shield' is no more, this is the only crime drama left on tv worth watching. cudos to showtime for presenting this fabulous series.

just a brief vent: i recently discovered that the golden globes had nominated 'weeds,' 'californication,'and 'dexter' for awards.
imo, the best series showtime airs is 'brotherhood'. it's strong on acting, directing, and writing. completely ignored by the morons from the golden globe. btw, they also ignored the best movie of 2008 "the dark knight." throwing it only one bone for heath ledger.
don't get me wrong, i like 'dexter', but it doesn't hold a candle to 'brotherhood.'on the other hand, i totally hate 'californication' and if there's a more boring actor on the planet than dave duchovny, i'd like to know who it is. 'weeds' has overstayed it's welcome.
golden globes aren't so 'golden' in my opinion.

ps: 'brotherhood ' is in good company; 'the wire', perhaps the greatest series in tv history, was also ignored by the 'golden globes' and the 'emmies.' is it any wonder why mediocrity rules the entertainment world.