In the late, lamented TV series "Jack & Bobby," we knew that young Bobby McCallister would one day be elected president of the United States.

In one of this season's best new series, "Brothers & Sisters," Sen. Robert McCallister recently declared his candidacy for the office of president of the United States.

Bobby McCallister. Robert McCallister.

Coincidence? Absolutely not.

Greg Berlanti was the creator and executive producer of "Jack & Bobby." He's also the show-running executive producer of "Brothers & Sisters."

It is, however, a coincidence that the two shows both have ampersands in their titles. Berlanti didn't create "Brothers & Sisters"; he was brought in to right the then-sinking ship when the ABC series was struggling through two pilots and plenty of problems in its early days.

And, for my money, Berlanti deserves a whole lot of credit and a huge raise no matter how much he's currently making. After that shaky start, "Brothers & Sisters" (Sunday, 9 p.m., Ch. 4) has developed into one of my favorite shows — a series that has gotten better and better each week. And one that has turned into a ratings success that has already been renewed for next season.

Although they share a name, Bobby McCallister and Robert McCallister are clearly not the same character. They're both Republicans, but Bobby ran for president as an independent (after being elected as the GOP governor of Missouri) and Robert is a U.S. senator from California.

In the 2004-2005 WB series, Bobby was a teenager who was to be elected president in the year 2040.

("Jack & Bobby" cleverly mixed present-day teen drama with interview clips from a "future" documentary made after the McCallister administration ended in 2049.)

In "Brothers & Sisters," Robert is running for the GOP nomination in the present day. The show has never specified how old the character is, but the man who plays him is 43.

If Sen. Robert McCallister is the same as Lowe, he'd be 76 in 2040. And that would be even older than Ronald Reagan, the oldest president ever, was when he was re-elected in 1984.

(If the senator were to actually win the 2008 race, I haven't figured out how he could still be a part of a show that's set in California. But that's getting ahead of ourselves just a bit.)

So Bobby McCallister and Robert McCallister aren't the same guy. But they're both on great shows.

That is not a coincidence, either.

JUST WRITING ABOUT "Jack & Bobby" is making me really miss that show. And breaking my heart once again that a series that good didn't last more than a single season.

(At least the final episode did give us closure. And a whole lot of information about what was going to happen between 2005 and 2040. Which is another reason I'm such a big fan of Greg Berlanti — he actually showed a great deal of respect for the fans who stuck with the show and didn't leave us hanging.)

Unfortunately, "Jack & Bobby" has not been released on DVD.

Sigh ...

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E-mail: pierce@desnews.com