Great First Season + ONLY First Season
A flawless first season: characterization, plot, tone, editing....this was one of the strongest first seasons of dramatic television I've ever viewed. It was also a precursor to now-popular serialized dramas like Mad Men...
It's unfortunate that the second season fell apart so quickly and without any real reason to. Did Minnie Driver object to her character arc at some point? Did the show abruptly change writers? I have no idea.
The plot lines set up in the first season should have provided more than enough conflict and drama in the second season, but for some reason the family dynamic was splintered and re-focused elsewhere, into areas that the basic conceit of the show (was not the premise of the series high-enough stakes to provide drama?) fell away in support of the newer, more absurd plotlines. Why would this have happened, and how could this have supported a show which was doing pretty well with the still-fertile, not completely exhausted premise?
For anybody who's just starting this show, or is interested in it, I recommend watching the first season ONLY. It has its arc and conclusion (of sorts) before the show delves into new territory of which the basic setup of the show couldn't - and ultimately didn't - sustain.
A great first season and little else to recommend this show outside of that.