Ties That Bind

I enjoyed the acting in this 16+ one series tv show. The hastle of taking in your brothers tennagers, to add to your own two, whilst solving crime was well-handled.

I wanted to like this show, I like a good police drama. I am not averse to teen shows either but the moody teens were a bit too much and half way through the second episode I turned it off. I couldn't keep watching. I wanted to someone to give all 4 kids a boot up the backside, also Alison's brother and sister-in-law - what a bunch of drop kicks.

Where does one start? Mawkish, cliché, ridiculous, absurd. I couldn't even get through the first episode. It was too stupid. Dad's going to jail but I can still do full make-up and non,-smudge mascara. Yeah... nah.

I voted 7 because I just can't stand Jackie. The "recovering" alcoholic mother with the annoying enabling teenage daughter (Mariah) and that says a lot for the actors because I work in the mental health/substance abuse field and those people could walk in to my office any day, that's how accurately they play their parts. I just love this show, I never miss it (thank goodness for our DVR/genie) and I sure hope they will have a 2nd season at least. I enjoy the whole thing, the family setting, Allison's patience and toughness, Matt's occasional outbursts of humanness (as when he had to give up his office for the queen of me-me-me Jackie) the slow change in Cameron, the loveliness and kindness of the resident teenagers. Thank you UP for giving us this series, I usually wait for the Sunday night movies, this was a pleasant surprise. Please give us a season 2.

The show stars Kelli Williams, Jonathan Scarfe, and Luke Perry. To sum up the premise: Williams and Perry are polar opposite siblings Allison McLean and Tim Olson. Scarfe plays Matt, Allison's husband. Allison is an accomplished detective, wife, and mom. Perry, at this point, is a criminal but I'm sure as the season progresses we'll see more of his backstory and find out why he is where he is in life. In the pilot, Williams allows her brother to be sentenced to two years in prison. She does the right thing, as she believes it to be, and takes in her teenage niece and nephew to live with her family which includes her husband and her two teenage children. There's no way Allison would allow her niece and nephew to be put into foster care. But, after Tim's sentencing hearing tension rises and there's a whole lot of drama in the McLean house. What I like, no, what I LOVE about the show is how Williams plays her character in such a way that she is tough as nails and if needed will lay the smack down on anyone who pushes her buttons. At the same time, she is also tender hearted and admits she doesn't always know what to do or how to do it. One of my favorite scenes is when she and her nephew Cameron, played by Rhys Matthew Bond have an explosive argument in the police station. The way she yelled at him and put him in his place but then spoke so gently to him, it was a wonderful scene. Is there anything more enjoyable to watch than families arguing on the screen?! I LOVE IT! The show is wonderfully written and has a strong moral compass which you don't find in too much television these days. It has an element of faith as demonstrated by the family blessing their food at lunch time but it never comes off preachy. I'm the kind of writer that adores acting and actors. As a child I wanted to be an actor more than anything. One thing I really appreciate is fine acting and perfect casting. Kudos to Anderson and her team for doing an impeccable job casting the show. Everyone was wonderful and there is such a chemistry between the cast, especially among the four young adults which include: Cameron played by Bond, Mariah his younger sister played by Matreya Scarrwener (both play Perry's kids), Jeff played by Mitchell Kummen and his sister Rachel played by Natasha Calis. The tension between the Allison's kids Jeff and Rachel and Tim's kids Cameron and Mariah is so believable. The bickering, the snide comments, the awkwardness… I love it. I look forward to more and more of that bickering. Another thing that is really wonderful about the show is that it is a total hybrid of family drama/cop procedural. Throughout the episode we're seeing this amazing woman Allison McLean in these two vastly different roles: a smart and tough detective and a wife and mom trying to do the right thing even if it means alienating the very people she's trying to protect. I'm hooked already and I look forward to these next nine episodes. I also hope the show gets picked up for another six seasons. Like I said, I love family drama. And when family drama is done right it's so much fun to watch. I encourage you to tune in and give it a try. The writing is sharp and real, the acting is on par, the production value/design is beautiful and it's got the perfect mix of family drama and cop procedural. I give Ties that Bind FIVE THUMBS UP. Check it out, you won't be disappointed.

Someone opened up a can of clichés and this show rolled out. Teenagers are either sulky, angry or catatonic. Parents are either good or bad. Sprinkle with average acting and obvious plots and, voilà, there's your new TV show. It's a shame the writers haven't tried to come with stories and personalities that aren't black or white. If that wasn't clear enough, the scene where they sit around the table praying before dinner already hints that the show's creators aim not to offend anyone. The tag line of "Every line will be crossed" is therefore wildly misplaced. They won't be crossing any lines and every person in the show can be put in a well-defined box.