Not Happy with "Brothers and Sisters"

I'm sounding the SPOILERS bell, so if you haven't yet watched the season premiere of Brothers and Sisters, stop reading!

Still here? Okay, is it just me or is this show now a total bummer? When did Nora and Justin become the only likable people on the show? I'm seriously at a level of annoyance with the show that I don't remember from recent years. At least they had a Walker dinner party to lighten the mood a little bit. Here are all the things that annoyed me about it. Are you ready for this?

1) Flash forwarding a year on a show is ALWAYS an attempt to make up for laziness. Lame.
2) Robert should have died in the car crash. We all knew that Rob Lowe was going to exit the show. I hated them dragging it out for another episode. It felt clumpy and awkward.
3) Justin and Rebecca breaking up now? Really? After that whole long, painful dragged out engagement last season? I feel like they've wasted my time.
4) Sarah thinking about moving to France is annoying. What's wrong with America?
5) Saul is HIV Positive. Unnecessary.
6) Suddenly I like Luc better than four out of five Walker siblings. That's annoying.
7) Scottie and Kevin are fighting. I like it when they are harmonious, or at least unified in their annoyance with the rest of the family. Not sure how I feel about the bleeding heart version of Kevin.
8) The implication that the Walkers are all poor because they've had a hard year is annoying. I like it when the Walkers are rich.
9) Holly is now crazy-pants. It's not like that makes her relevant to the show now or something.

Here are some things that weren't annoying:
1) Justin is such a sweetie! (And he looks hot in his uniform.)
2) Tommy is still not on the show.
3) Nora was acting like a normal person, not crazy-pants like usual.
4) Luc starring in an underwear ad is funny.

Ugh, can this show get over itself, please? I looked forward to it all last season, but now it's seriously bumming me out. Emily Van Camp is leaving the show for good sometime this season, and Calista Flockhart has asked for a reduced schedule. With so many actors jumping ship, I don't think this show is sustainable. They seem to be running out of ideas. I don't like it when shows that I like end, but it might be time for Brothers and Sisters to fish or cut bait.

Here's an awesome recap/review of the episode from a blogger that shares my sentiments about the suckiness of this particular episode:
http://blog.zap2it.com/ithappenedlastnight/2010/09/brothers-and-sisters-recap-flash-forward.html