Set in
deceptively peaceful Winnetka, Illinois, Sisters explored the emotional
entanglements of the four Reed sisters as they came together to help their
mother after the death of their father. Alex, the eldest, was a wealthy, WASP-ish
plastic surgeon's wife who didn't realize that her marriage was in trouble (doc
was a cross-dresser!); Frankie, the youngest, a high-powered young marketing
analyst in love with Mitch; Georgie, a part-time real estate agent and the wife
of flaky, out-of-work John; and Teddy, a free-spirited artist and on-and-off
alcoholic, who breezed into town after "searching for herself" in California and
promptly began trying to win Mitch, her ex, back from Frankie. Mother Beatrice
was hitting the bottle a bit hard herself, leaving level-headed Georgie to play
the role of family mediator. Kids included Alex's over-achieving daughter Reed,
Teddy's teenager Cat, and Georgie's sons Evan and Trevor.
Each episode
opened with the sisters chattering about their lives in a steam room. They had a
lot to talk about: Alex and Wads's acrimonious separation, Frankie and Mitch's
wedding (invaded by Teddy with a shotgun), Teddy's pregnancy, Evan's Leukemia.
Another unique feature of the series was the inclusion of nostalgic "thinkbacks"
to the sisters' childhood in Winnetka, in which the characters' younger and
adult selves interacted.
Stories
unfolded in soap-opera fashion over the years. Alex divorced Dr. Wade, had an
affair with plumber Victor, battled breast cancer (1993), and finally began a
new career as a talk-show host. Norma was her gay producer. In February 1994,
Alex married Big Al, who proposed to her on the air. Shortly thereafter he was
imprisoned on a tax fraud charge, only to be released and elected mayor, making
her a first lady! Meanwhile, Reed eloped with Kirby (1992), had a baby (1994),
and moved to Los Angeles.
Teddy began
a new career as a fashion designer, had an affair with millionaire Simon, and in
May 1994 married police detective Falconer (who had been investigating Cat's
rape) on a plane when they thought it was about to crash. Falconer was killed by
a drug dealer the following year. Georgie, having weathered Evan's leukemia and
troubled son Trevor's problems, agreed to be a surrogate mother for her sister
Frankie. In November 1992, she was in an auto accident and went into labor while
trapped in the car, with everyone looking on, unable to reach her. This story
was so bizarre that Hollywood approached her about making it into a movie.
Subsequently she went into therapy with unscrupulous Dr. Caspian.
As for
Frankie, she left the corporate world to run the Sweet Sixteen malt shop, where
her sibs often hung out. She married Mitch in the fall of 1991. Unable to
conceive, the couple used sister Georgie as a surrogate; the baby was named
Thomas George. The marriage was nevertheless unstable, and eventually they broke
up. In 1994-1995 Frankie began managing a prizefighter named Lucky.
Mother Bea
found romance as well, marrying retired Judge Ventnor in 1992. He developed
Alzheimer's disease and died in early 1995, and Alex was accused of his murder
via assisted suicide.
The four
sisters were joined by a fifth in April 1993, when it was revealed that their
late father had still another daughter as a result of a long-term affair with
his nurse. They were at first wary of their new half sister, Charley, but she
eventually became one of the family, adding her woes to their own.
In the final
season, Frankie left to pursue her business career; Georgie, divorced, had an
affair with Brian; Cat became a police officer; and Teddy, shot during a car
jacking, fell in love with the surgeon who saved her life, Gabriel, and became
pregnant. In the final episode, Georgie got her degree with a thesis based on
the lives of her sisters, but when she received an offer from Random House to
publish it, the siblings were furious. Then mother Bea had a stroke and died,
leaving Charley - the newest sister - as her executor. Super-successful
businesswoman Frankie flew in from the Orient at the last minute, and the five
sisters, together one last time, with Alex now the matriarch, scattered Bea's
ashes in her beloved rose garden.
