US TV

In the US: Sunday, 10 pm ET/PT, Showtime

In the UK: Not acquired yet

Jason Isaacs likes to do hard. His first big UK role was in Civvies, Lynda La Plante’s everyday story of former paratroopers trying to get jobs that don’t involve breaking and entering. He’s over in the US now in Brotherhood, a Showtime drama about two brothers, one on the right side of the law, the other on the wrong side.

Guess which side Jason’s on.

At first glance, Brotherhood isn’t particularly inspiring. Isaacs is a serious crim who’s been missing for seven years. Australian actor Jason Clarke plays his brother, who’s now a respectable politician. Brotherhood ostensibly looks at how you can have a family member you want to love but who will ruin everything you’ve done if you allow them to get close to you.

But there is a slight twist to this. Clarke isn’t actually very respectable. His vote is buyable, he’s in league with all sorts of bad elements, including corrupt unions (oh what a surprise. A US drama series where a union is corrupt). He only wants Isaacs out of his life so that people don’t realise he’s actually about as criminal as they come, too. The show’s most interesting moments deal with the corruption of the political process.

Isaacs’ character isn’t as evil as everyone thinks though. Although a ‘three-in-one’ hit man (judge, jury and executioner), not adverse to extreme amounts of brutality and mutilation, he’s all doing it with the best intents: he takes action against a man who threatens to rape a woman by cutting of the man’s ear and sending it to her as a gift along with some new earrings (it’s supposed to reassure her); instead of killing people, he pays them to disappear so he won’t have to.

And the ‘brotherhood’ of the title doesn’t just mean the two Jasons’ brotherhood; it also means the brotherhood between criminals in the same gang.

At the moment though, Brotherhood is pretty unappetising. There’s none of the great writing of The Sopranos. There’s no character – major or minor – who isn’t criminal or unpleasant in one way or another, right down to Clarke’s nine-year-old daughter.

It’s heavy going and not especially enjoyable. The strength of Isaacs’ and Clarke’s performances make it an interesting character piece, but there’s going to need to be more plot and development to make it more than just a tale of two brothers – something we’ve seen many times before.

As is tradition round here, once they’ve reached the third-episode stage, I report back again on shows whose first episodes didn’t totally suck. Kyle XY showed quite some promise, so I’ve stuck with it and here’s how it’s going.

After the promising start, we’ve continued to have more mysteries throw at us, with precious little extra information – ‘Did you miss any clues?’ the continual pop-ups demand. Clearly, I have.

How did Kyle manage to go for two weeks without sleep? How can he jump from the roof of a house and land unharmed? Why can he only sleep in a bath tub? How come a teenager has completely perfect teeth, like they’ve never been used? Why does Nicholas Lea from The X-Files keep stalking Kyle in a battered pick-up truck? And why did Lea murder that man yet leave the body lying around in the middle of nowhere, right where Kyle was found, with an odd playing card by his side? Who is that man Lea keeps phoning?

No answers yet, although I’m heading towards the ‘genetically engineered super-soldier, grown in a vat’ theory of Kyle’s existence.

We’ve also started veering into heart-weaming morals territory. This week, the lesson was “lying is bad”, although there was enough nuance in it that any grown adult watching didn’t laugh their socks off.

But, I’m prepared to wait and put up with the morals. It’s not quite as intriguing as it was, but I can understand why they wouldn’t want to divulge all the secrets just yet. It’s got just enough mystery to make you want more, but not so much that you’re wanting to throw a rock at the tele and shout, “Just tell me something, will you!”

Since this is airing on the ABC Family channel, I’m also wondering if perhaps Kyle XY is Asperger’s/autistic propaganda:

“Hey, shallow stupid high school kids! You’re dumb and malicious aren’t you? But you know that guy at school who acts a bit odd and you all take the piss out of? You know, the one who likes maths and computers? Really smart, bit child-like and naive, has a monotone voice, muted emotional reaction, doesn’t know how to act in social situations, intense stare? Well, isn’t that exactly like that really hot Kyle XY guy? Accept him and his gifts for he has much to offer. Plus he could be a genetically engineered super-solider. Or an alien.”

Which sounds like an admirable thing to me. So along with supporting the return of John Doe in teenage form and family programming that doesn’t suck totally, you can help Aspie kids get accepted by society by watching Kyle XY.

Here’s a clip from this week’s episode, presented in association with my sponsor Sour Patch Kids.