Radio Times

• Episode 1/23 Patriarchy

  A job interview takes Kitty Walker home to Los Angeles - and into the heart of her family. Estranged from them for years, her outsider/insider perspective shows us a string of unhappy relationships, sibling infighting and also "the iconic romance" of her mother and father, Nora and William (guest star Tom Skerritt). But William is seen with a mysterious woman and it also becomes clear that the family business is in considerable trouble. As one of the sisters, Sarah, discovers just how bad things are, William has a heart attack.

  RT Choice (Jack Seale, 20 June 2007)

  In a cut-throat autumn season in the US last year, this ensemble drama survived against expectations and slowly built a following. On the basis of the opening double bill, it's hard to see why - although "slowly" is about right.

  There's nothing much wrong with it; there's just no real drama. It's well cast, tastefully shot, completely watchable and a bit boring.

• Episode 2/23 An Act of Will

  Sarah is named president of the family business in William Walker's will, placing her above her brother Tommy - and landing her with all the firm's problems. Tommy and Saul, the firm's financial officer, want her to work out the troubles as a family, but Kevin urges her to go to the authorities. And the will also affects Justin who, already disturbed by being the only one to know of their father's affair, learns that Kitty will control his share of the inheritance.

• Episode 3/23 Affairs of State

  A party at the house descends into bitter farce as it seems everyone but Nora has learnt about William's affair - and Nora has unknowingly invited the Other Woman to the bash. Meanwhile, Kitty's TV co-host pursues her even as her fiancé Jonathan arrives, Sarah sets Kevin up with a client of his, Scotty, and everyone hopes the poolside party will help little Paige to get over seeing William die in the water.

• Episode 4/23 Family Portrait

  Nora's decision to hang a photograph of the family is the catalyst for everyone to re-examine their relationships, especially because Kitty is missing from the photo. It's an episode about how family can have raw, vicious rows yet cannot escape one another. So when Kitty offers to babysit for Sarah, the proposal is both appreciated and resented - especially when she suspects something is wrong with young Paige.

• Episode 5/23 Date Night

  LA's famously eerie Santa Ana winds leave Kitty on edge as Jonathan comes back into her life, into Nora's kitchen and perhaps into helping the family firm. It looks like there is some hope for the company, but if there is, it's going to cost the family dearly. Meanwhile, overlapping desires, fears and secrets make a series of dates go awry. And druggie ex-army man Justin knows just how to make Paige's insulin injections less painful.

• Episode 6/23 For the Children

  The always-strained Pasadena Children's Hospital Fund Benefit event becomes more tense when the family business can't really afford its usual donation. Some people bring new dates, some wish they were with other people, and as Sarah tries to hide the truth from Nora, Tommy is trying to hide his infertility from Julia. Meanwhile, a forensic accountant has a lead on where William hid his embezzled $15m.

• Episode 7/23 Northern Exposure

  While Saul continues trying to crack William's password-protected accounts, Sarah is forced to consider selling off the firm's assets. When it looks like the family's old farmhouse will be the first thing to go, Nora wants everyone to spend a last weekend there. No-one agrees, yet their separate plans for romantic weekends inevitably converge on the old place.

• Episode 8/23 Mistakes Were Made (Part 1)

  Justin is off drugs, he's off drink, he has a job and he has a steady girlfriend. But all of that may be lost when he receives a letter re-drafting him into the army. It brings back unwelcome memories of when he first enlisted, as a result of 9/11, when Kitty was in New York. And when Sarah tries to focus on her children instead of the firm, she realises something that may unlock dad's secret accounts.

• Episode 9/23 Mistakes Were Made (Part 2)

  Sarah, Kevin and Thomas embark on a disastrous road trip across the country to an apparently worthless plot of land. Back in LA, Kitty risks going to dangerously unprofessional lengths to help Justin avoid the draft, while Justin himself re-examines why he enlisted in the first place. And the first Thanksgiving dinner since William's death is made more bearable with unexpected news. Rob Lowe joins the cast as Senator Robert McAllister.

• Episode 10/23 Light the Lights

  In the series's Christmas and Hanukkah episode, Kevin goes to court to prevent Justin having to go back into the army immediately. It seems the family has already had one seasonal miracle, though - the discoveries at William's plot of land suggest the business can be saved. But one final obstacle threatens to be insurmountable… In the meantime, Kitty's on-air apology sparks both good and very bad responses from the TV network.

• Episode 11/23 Family Day

  Justin is in therapy. He would be doing well, but when each family member stops by for a supportive visit, they end up leaving him fraught. Finally the whole group is called in for a session together - and a painfully funny farce ensues as all of their personal difficulties collide. Kevin can't believe Kitty is considering working for Senator McAllister, while Sarah and Joe are arguing over his son Gabe. And no-one can believe what William's mistress, Holly, has decided to do.

• Episode 12/23 Sexual Politics

  Kitty learns that politics is even more gossipy than television as Senator McAllister's staff all assume she was hired because they're a couple. But her rash attempt to prove them wrong just causes her more trouble. Meanwhile, Joe is suffering from too much sex, Sarah and Joe wish they had the time, and Kevin can't work out whether the "Greek god" at his gym is interested or not.

• Episode 13/23 Something Ida This Way Comes

  The siblings' domineering grandmother Ida (Marion Ross) casually spoils everyone's enormous efforts to spring a surprise party for Nora's 60th. Fortunately Nora can still act a little surprised because things are then ruined by illness, an unwanted theme night, state troopers, a torrent of home truths, and someone's inadvertent sex video.

• Episode 14/23 Valentine's Day Massacre

  Somebody's going to jail, and somebody's going to 19 Italian restaurants as Valentine's Day sees huge shifts in the family's relationships. Kitty's still adamant she won't sleep with Senator McAllister, but his political ambition has given rise to plans she didn't see coming. Holly aims to drive a wedge between two of the siblings, and Chad's girlfriend puts his already precarious relationship with Kevin at risk by setting Kevin up on what could just be the perfect blind date.

• Episode 15/23 Love Is Difficult

  Sarah and Joe's marriage problems worsen and it seems a little honesty can do a lot of harm. She's also under pressure at work as Holly's disruptive plans only appear to have been thwarted. And Kitty is enraged when McAllister's staff conduct a poll about her - especially when she learns what the voters think of her. Only Chad and Kevin's relationship takes a turn for the better - much as Kevin thinks it shouldn't.

• Episode 16/23 The Other Walker

  Rash words from Nora lead to what must surely be the final bombshell from William's past. The spectre of William's illegitimate daughter Rebecca has been hanging over some of the family members for months. Now they've no choice but to face the fact that she exists. But will they have to face her in the flesh too? And Rebecca must be as unaware of them as they were of her…

• Episode 17/23 All in the Family

  Nora invites Rebecca to dinner and on that same night, Senator McAllister asks Kitty to eat with him and his children. Everyone is dreading both meals and everyone is absolutely right. Especially when Thomas is increasingly worked up about Julia's pregnancy and now wants to know for sure which of his donor brothers' sperm was used. And especially when the talk of DNA testing makes Kevin want to steal a hair from Rebecca and get it checked…

• Episode 18/23 Three Parties

  Rebecca takes Justin to a party where he gets a taste of what it's like to see a sibling make some wrong choices. Nora gets excited about her writing class, and about her writing teacher, while Chad and Kevin fight about going out - and coming out. Meanwhile, Kitty's trip to Senator McAllister's home town to film testimonials about him uncovers more than he wanted her to know.

• Episode 19/23 Game Night

  While Nora is manoeuvred into reviving an ancient rivalry with the neighbours, the pompously competitive Jones family, Justin wants everyone to get to know Rebecca. Come the Jones' trivia and games night, Rebecca gets to see the good and the bad side of life within her new family. Who you can trust and who you can rely on become part of the night's games.

• Episode 20/23 Bad News

  Rebecca makes an accusation that splits the family down existing fault lines: the siblings are keen to take sides and the damage looks permanent. Only Kitty is unaware of the ructions: she's on the campaign trail with Robert, where an impromptu schedule change alters everything. And Nora's professor fails her, in several senses.

• Episode 21/23 Grapes of Wrath

  Thomas and Holly launch their winery with a lavish dinner party for investors, friends and family. Every member of the family has good reasons not to go - and those who make it may wish they hadn't. Once more, only Kitty appears to escape trouble - but that's because she's unconscious.

• Episode 22/23 Favorite Son

  Julia gives birth prematurely and the twins are so seriously ill that a heartbreaking decision is needed. Meanwhile, Senator McAllister helps Justin reach his own decision about returning to Iraq, and Kitty turns to Kevin for help in defusing an issue that could end McAllister's political career. And as Joe is nudged further out of the family, Rebecca is welcomed in even more.

• Episode 23/23 Matriarchy

  Nora is so caught up in organising Kitty and Robert's engagement party that she fails to realise this means Kitty is leaving home again. Justin's call-up date for Iraq is drawing ever closer too, so the family is starting to move apart once more. On the other hand, it's time to meet Robert's equally outrageous clan en masse…

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