Focus : Stand By Your ‘Sisters’

“Sisters” could be called the ultimate in Chick TV.

On the show, the four Reed sisters depend on one another through marriages, divorces, career changes, alcoholism, fertility problems, cancer, family crises, nervous breakdowns and hairstyle changes. Those woes will be carrying them into a fifth season’s worth of sisterly gripe sessions and pep talks. Add their mother and a few daughters, and you have the recipe for a serious girl fest.

So how do the men on the show--you know, the husbands, lovers and sons--fit in? What do Mitch, Falconer, John, Big Al, Trevor and the other guys add to the women’s world?

“A little testosterone,” says Garrett Brown with a laugh. He plays Georgie’s (Patricia Kalember) goofy and kindhearted husband John.

Ed Marinaro jokingly agrees: “We’re sex partners for them.” And he should know. As Mitch, he has been married to not one, but two of the sisters, and a third has carried his child.

What a twist--a long-running show featuring strong female leads where the men provide the beefcake. But the show’s creators and executive producers, Ronald Cowen and Daniel Lipman, who happen to be men themselves, defend the men of “Sisters.”

“What we’ve tried to do is create interesting men--people men--who are not just stereotypical men, strong silent types,” says Cowen.

The producers say their men are far from average Joes. There’s John, the music lover who’s dealing with a family in turmoil; Mitch, who was married to sister Frankie after Teddy (“Hey, I was on the rebound,” Marinaro explains); Det. Falconer, played by George Clooney, a recovering alcoholic cop with a tragic past. And the newest male lead, Big Al, the discount store owner played by Robert Klein, who saved Alex’s (Swoozie Kurtz) talk show and won her heart.

So, the producers insist, “Sisters” is not just woman’s stuff. “We never think of the story as four sisters, they’re going to lead the way, and we need our male lieutenants. We always look at the show as if it’s not called ‘Sisters.’ We’re always looking at the emotions of the characters and find similarities between men and women, not differences,” says Lipman.

To Brown, whose character John has developed from a nutty guy singing in his bathrobe to a supportive father and husband, the show goes beyond gender in portraying “the reality of relationships, the importance of family and partnering. It’s very real.”

Another thing about the men of “Sisters”: They like to clown around. Lipman points to comedian Klein for adding a bit of comic relief as Big Al, the “Prince of Pricetown.” He needs his quirky sense of humor more than ever--he was thrown in jail for tax evasion at the end of last season.

Does it bother the guys to play second string on a show where the sisters get the spotlight? Brown doesn’t mind. “It’s been great to play a supporting role, but to also get some wonderful juicy material to work on.” The story line he’s found to be most challenging focuses on his difficult teen-age son.

Marinaro sees it differently. “Sometimes, I feel the men get shortchanged a little bit. I want to develop this character to the fullest, but you don’t get the vehicle to do so.”

He’s really not complaining, though. “I’ve gotten some good episodes over the years.” The material that sticks out: “The stuff when my daughter was raped; that was very emotional stuff to do.”

He says female viewers have responded to his character’s sensitivity. He calls Ed Marinaro a sensitive guy, too. “But most guys are gonna say that.”

Det. Falconer, played by George Clooney, doesn’t like to admit that he’s given Marinaro competition for show heartthrob. “Leave that to Ed,” he says. But he does agree that there’s “a lot of chemistry” between his character and love interest Teddy (Sela Ward).

Their chemistry may be snuffed out soon. On the season-ending cliffhanger, Teddy and Falconer are in crash position on a plane that’s going down on their way to Las Vegas to be married. In real life, Clooney has a job on an upcoming NBC series about a Chicago emergency room called “E.R.” He’ll only appear on a few episodes of “Sisters” this fall.

Although the ratings indicate the show’s audience is mainly women, the men of “Sisters” agree it has something to say to male viewers. Ryan Francis, who plays Trevor the troubled teen, explains: “A lot of guys who aren’t such great husbands should watch the show and see how the guys on it are there for their families.”

And while there’s major female bonding on the air, there’s male bonding behind the scenes. Brown, who play’s Francis’ dad, watched Francis play baseball on the Beverly Hills High School.

Have the men learned anything about women from being on the show? “That’s a loaded question,” says Marinaro. “I could get myself in trouble.”

“Sisters” airs Saturdays at 10 p.m. on NBC.