Family is the heart and soul of Brothers and Sisters, which centers around the Walker family, led by veteran actor Sally Field. The ensemble cast also includes Calista Flockhart, Patricia Wettig, Ron Rifkin, Tom Skerritt, Matthew Rhys, Dave Annable, Balthazar Getty, Rob Lowe, and Rachel Griffiths.

The first season sets up the family hierarchy, with the head of the family, William (Skerritt), as a successful businessman. William is married to Nora (Field), a caring mother and independent wife, and they have several children, including Sarah (Griffiths), Kitty (Flockhart), Tommy (Getty), Kevin (Rhys), and Justin (Annable). Saul Holden (Rifkin) is Nora's brother, and Holly Harper (Wettig) is a woman who had an affair with William, which begat a child, Rebecca (Emily VanCamp).

When William dies (in the first episode, which sets up the remainder of the season), the fallout from the loss of their father brings the children together to learn to work with each other to help the family business survive, and at the same time unearths skeletons he kept hidden from his family.

The DVD set includes all 23 episodes on six discs, as well as deleted scenes, audio commentary, interviews with the cast, and the original pilot episode. Season one episodes are as follows: "Patriarchy"; "An Act of Will"; "Affairs of State"; "Family Portrait"; "Date Night"; "For the Children"; "Northern Exposure"; "Mistakes Were Made, Part 1"; "Mistakes Were Made, Part 2"; "Light the Lights"; "Family Day"; "Sexual Politics"; "Something Ida This Way Comes"; "Valentine’s Day Massacre"; "Love is Difficult"; "The Other Walker"; "All in the Family"; "Three Parties"; "Game Night"; "Bad News"; "Grapes of Wrath"; "Favorite Son"; and "Matriarchy".

Extras include four audio commentaries for episodes "Affairs of State" with Jon Robin Baitz, Craig Wright, Patricia Wettig, and Matthew Rhys; "Northern Exposure" with Jon Robin Baitz, David Marshall Grant, and Molly Newman; "The Other Walker" with Alison Schapker, Monica Breen, Marc Guggenheim, David Annable, and Emily VanCamp; and "Matriarchy" with Ken Olin, Sarah Caplan, and Balthazar Getty.

Creating the Walker Family Tree is a 29-minute featurette about the show and includes Ken Olin, Jon Robin Baitz, Michael Morris, Greg Berlanti, Molly Newman, Sherri Cooper-Landsman, David Marshall Grant, Marc Guggenheim, Monica Breen, Alison Schapker, Cliff Olin, Peter Calloway, Matthew Rhys, Rob Lowe, Calista Flockhart, Sarah Caplan, Ron Rifkin, Suzanne Geiger, Sarah Jane Morris, Rachel Griffiths, Sally Field, Sparky Hawes, Patricia Wettig, John Pyper-Ferguson, Balthazar Getty, Dave Annable, Emily VanCamp, and Peter Coyote.

Behind the Scenes with the Brothers is a six-minute featurette with Matthew Rhys, Dave Annable, and Balthazar Getty, which explains both the on- and off-screen relationships with the actors and the roles they play.

Rounding out the extras are Bloopers and Outtakes; The Deleted Episode: State of the Parties; and The Family Business, a four-and-a-half-minute interview featurette that includes Roxy Olin, Cliff Olin, Patricia Wettig, Ken Olin, Sparky Hawes, Rob Lowe, Balthazar Getty, and Greg Berlanti.

The video is presented in anamorphic 1.78:1 ratio widescreen color format. The audio is English 5.1 Dolby digital surround sound. There are subtitles in English, French, and Spanish, and there is also support for closed captioning.

The cast of Brothers and Sisters is full of veteran actors, each of whom holds his or her own, with no one outshining another, which is exactly as a great ensemble drama should be. The writing is sharp and funny, and helps carry the subplots along with the right mix of sorrow, laughter and romance. For those who like a well-written drama with great acting, Brothers and Sisters delivers thoughtful entertainment.