n the year 2049, a documentary is being made about one of the greatest American presidents, President McCallister, who is known as "The Great Believer." White House staffers and the first lady take a look back at the making of a president, back to his childhood and at the people who influenced him.
In the present day, Jack and Bobby McCallister live in Hart, Mo., with their eccentric mother, Grace (Lahti), a popular college professor. Jack (Long) is the cool big brother who is fiercely independent and not happy with his mother's strong attitudes and unconventional lifestyle. Bobby (Lerman) is an eighth-grader with a big heart and bright mind who is a social outcast at school.
When the new president of Grace's college arrives, Peter Benedict (John Slattery) and his teenage daughter Courtney (Pare) have an impact on the McCallisters in different ways. Grace meets Peter and puts her foot in her mouth, but still manages to find herself attracted to him. And Jack spots Courtney at school and catches her attention, but only with a little help from Bobby.
Meanwhile, Bobby's trying to start a space club, and it's causing problems with his best friend. Even Jack tells him trying to start the club will only make it harder for him to make friends. Bobby begins to feel that the only way he'll be able to fit in is by joining some of the "cool" kids while they are smoking marijuana. After Bobby gets in trouble at school, the issues between Jack and Grace come to a head, as the asthmatic Bobby has an attack that threatens his life.
As people from the future look back to our present with hindsight, they clearly see the influences that impact the life of a young man who will one day become a great leader.
Not so sci-fi sci-fi
The WB's new not-so-sci-fi sci-fi family drama, Jack & Bobby, has a fantastic element that moves viewers briefly into the future for a glimpse at the past. However, what makes this excellent family drama work are the scenes in the present and the exceptional acting of Christine Lahti, Matt Long and Logan Lerman.
As with the Emmy-nominated Joan of Arcadia, the fantastic elements could be taken out altogether and this series would still work. Jack & Bobby is powerfully written, focusing on real people with real issues. Lahti's Grace is one of the most original characters television has seen in a long time. She's a brilliant, funny and independent woman who can handle just about anything, except her two growing sons. And the dynamic between Grace and Jack sets up action that threatens to pull the gentle Bobby apart at the seams.
In the best drama on television these days, tiny moments lead to big battles. If the writing or the acting is just a bit off, the drama comes off as melodramatic and overwrought. Jack & Bobby hits every note just right. While Emmy-winning actress Lahti is outstanding, both Long and Lerman hold their own with her.
While this series would succeed as a drama regardless of the sci-fi element, the future people looking back to our present does add poignancy to the material that resonates after the episode is over. The device of going back and forth between the future and present doesn't seem forced. Unfortunately, the future scenes are all filmed in close-up, so we get no glimpses of what the future holds. Still, Jack & Bobby isn't about what will happen. It's about what's happening right now.
