I loved tonight's episode of "Brothers & Sisters," loved it.
It was Nora Walker's 60th birthday on tonight's episode of "Brothers & Sisters." And Nora, of course, is played by 60-year-old Sally Field who really shined tonight as the mother of the Walker clan and as the daugher of her very difficult mother, Ida (guest star Marion Ross). The birthday party was an utter disaster which made it all the more delicious to watch.
Sarah (Rachel Griffiths) who is catering gets the flu, Ida ruins the surprise by arriving early and telling Nora, "I'm here for your birthday party tonight," they have to hide all the booze in the closet because Justin (David Annabelle) is out of rehab for the day for the party, the wrong party package was ordered so there is a ridiculous Medieval theme and the state police are there because Kitty (Calista Flockhart) has invited the gorgeous Sen. McAllister (the gorgeous Rob Lowe). Then there is the sex tape of Sarah and her hubby that accidentally gets edited into Nora's birthday tribute. It happened in a perfectly plausible way. The sibling interactions and other family dynamics were so right on:
"Kitty's not doing anything for this party!" Kevin (Matthew Rhys) shouts into the phone at one point during the planning.

Ida to Kevin at the party: "Why are you still a bachelor? You just haven't found the right girl yet."
Later, Ida to Kevin: "You can't be gay! Justin maybe. But you? No!"
Kevin to siblings about grandma Ida: "She's nice to us but around mom she's Joan Crawford."
Kitty to Kevin: "You put the wine in the closet? Is your little boyfriend in there too?"
Senator McAllister says of the party: 'It was like dinner theater."
Lowe is becoming a nice part of the ensemble and I think what really made him click for me in this episode was that it was his first interaction with the Walker family. Since he's a Republican, the very liberal Nora is prepared to hate him but she ends up charmed by the man. Kevin, assuming the senator is homophobic introduces himself by saying, "I'm Kevin, the gay brother."

It was great. If you missed it, go to ABC.com and see in online for free for gosh sakes.

Oh! The gay moments. almost forgot. Ha! Kevin is still carrying on with closet case soap star Chad (Jason Lewis) and both of their scenes take place in Kevin's bedroom! Calm down, it was kind of a post-sex scene where chad is getting dressed (we see his abs for a sec) and, I believe it's the first time we see Kevin shirtless. It's a nice thing. Kevin looks very good shirtless. And while there is no big makeout scene, there are two nice soft kisses on the lips that were almost convincing. Kevin, after overhearing Chad tell someone who calls him that "I'm just at some friend's house, I'd love to shoot some hoops later." Kevin tells him that HE'S the one who is used to having the intimacy issues and letting people down. He's not so crazy about being on the receiving end of someone with issues.
The next episode of "Brothers & Sisters" doesn't come until Feb. 11 and it marks the return of the adorable Scotty (Luke MacFarlane) who runs into Kevin and Chad and Chad's girlfriend at a club. Here is a sneak peak: