"Jack & Bobby" (2004) TV series 2004-2005

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Creators:

Greg Berlanti
Steve Cohen
Brad Meltzer

Seasons:

1

Release Date:

12 September 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

This fall, meet two brothers, one whose path will shape the future of us all

Plot:

Faux documentary series from 2049 about Bobby McCallister, the US president elected eight years earlier...

Plot Keywords:

President | Teacher Student Relationship | Young Love | College Town | Brother Brother Relationship

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 5 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Matt Long	...	Jack McCallister (22 episodes, 2004-2005)
Logan Lerman	...	Bobby McCallister (22 episodes, 2004-2005)
John Slattery	...	Peter Benedict (21 episodes, 2004-2005)
Keri Lynn Pratt	...	Missy Belknap (18 episodes, 2004-2005)
Christine Lahti	...	Grace McCallister (15 episodes, 2004-2005)
Jessica Paré	...	Courtney Benedict (15 episodes, 2004-2005)
Bradley Cooper	...	Tom Wexler Graham (14 episodes, 2004-2005)
Dean Collins	...	Warren Feide (11 episodes, 2004-2005)

Runtime:

60 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:TV-14 (some episodes) | USA:TV-PG (some episodes)

Filming Locations:

Alhambra, California, USA

Company:

Shoe Money Productions

Trivia:

The music played during the opening credits is score music from The Patriot (2000), which featured ?Logan Lerman?.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Jack is shaving in "Chess Lessons", at one point you can still see a bit of shaving cream on the side of his face, and though he does not wipe off his face, the shaving cream is gone in the next shot

Quotes:

Grace McCallister: [catching Bobby and Dex kissing in her study] This better be CPR.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 11th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2005) (TV)

Future Legacy

I viewed the WB's "Jack & Bobby" on a preview DVD of the first episode which is airing this Sunday. Got it from an insert in "Entertainment Weekly". I had seen the TV trailer on the WB, and thought the series conceit was a modern retelling of Jack and Bobby Kennedy. "One brother will become President of the United States." On the surface it is, and this series has the possibility of being breakthrough television. "Jack & Bobby" centers around the conversation of the origins of greatness in all people.

The first episode is expertly crafted, effective in it's retrospective narrative, i.e. from the future looking back. I don't know who wrote the episode, but he or she is visionary, having a noble cause.

The cast is powerful. Christine Lahti plays Grace McCallister, free-spirited college professor and single mom to her sons, Jack and Bobby. Matt Long plays Jack, the older brother. Jack is a high school sophomore, track star, smart cool loner, and popular with the girls. Logan Lerman plays Bobby. Bobby is the sensitive geeky asthmatic brother, who really doesn't much care about what other people think. He also has a strength of character that even he is yet unaware.

The first episode is a battle of wills between Grace and Jack over Bobby's future, and the possibility of the man he will become. Long and Lerman have a special chemistry which is the power of "Jack & Bobby". Jack and Bobby have an unconditional and unspoken love for each other, and see the other as great. In the narrative the future First Lady recalls that Jack and Bobby are like "two sides of the same coin". Rather each fills in the other's "missing". Jack inspires the strength and character in Bobby, that he himself has not yet distinguished. Bobby brings out the heart and compassion in Jack which he often chooses to dismiss or disguise. Ultimately, "Jack & Bobby" is a story about greatness, and those who inspire greatness. It is not a coincidence that "Jack & Bobby" focuses on the relationship between three strong, smart, and special people. "Jack & Bobby" has the possibility of greatness.