|
It's been four years,
four years on the WB. When "Smallville" premiered, I
remember seeing the previews for "Everwood" and
thought, "What the hell? I'll give it a shot." I
never really thought it would become a ritual every
week. "Everwood", a casualty of the upcoming merge
of the WB and UPN, is proof positive that television
executives have no clue what quality programming is.
After a long hiatus, and many time slot changes, the
executives decided "It's ratings were too low"
(explain the logic behind that) and cut it down from
the fall's schedule. Which is not to say "Everwood"
wasn't sliding.
"Everwood" was an
excellent show, but became much too bogged down in
melodrama and began lacking the spirit and small
town quirkiness the first three seasons had. "Everwood"
could have had a chance to break out of it, and, if the CW
had given it a chance, could have gone on for at
least nine seasons.
But, the WB give it a graceful, stylish,
and spectacular series finale with a two hour
farewell that closed down many storylines that were
left lingering and not a single loose end was left
open. Though it
does fail in the usual finale clichés of montages,
it succeeds in compressing the entire season's
storylines into a two hour farewell entitled "Foreverwood".
|
|
The CW has shown how moronic they are by letting a
gem of a show go forever, and it's a damn shame. I
am a fan. I've never been a fan of Treat Williams,
but his performance as a despondent estranged dad
who moves his children halfway around the world to
fulfill a selfish need to run away from his problems
has been quite possibly one of the most underrated
nuanced performance of primetime television. His
evolution from this estranged man caring only of his
own needs, to a mentally unstable doctor, right down
to a very involved father was excellent, and his
chemistry with Gregory Smith is one of the best
father-son dynamics ever written. Smith started off the series
very shakily as a somewhat petulant whiny character,
but he also evolved into a very realistic individual
whose series romance with Amy Abbot became the
driving force for the four year runtime. But the series ends
on a note that really gives the characters a new
start without destroying the realism (i.e. Seventh
Heaven). Nina leaves for Los Angeles with Jake, and
Andy is forced to come to grips with it, and fast as
Delia's Bat Mitzvah comes ever closer. Meanwhile, in
one of the most heartbreaking sub-plots, Edna, still
mourning the sudden and wrenching death of her husband Irv (a constantly scene-stealing John
Beasley), a consistently charming recurring
character on the series, starts packing up to move,
and Harold is attempting to convince her to stay and
grieve as she should. In a nice touch, we also get
to see Harold and Edna make their peace with each
other, something that's been a recurring theme
throughout the series. But the Abbots get a surprise at their
doorstep one morning that seriously change their
lives, and Amy finally realizes she
loves Ephram and competes for him with his new
girlfriend Stephanie (the yummy Luciana Carro).
But, she fears Ephram may already be out of her
grasp since Stephanie intends on fighting for him. Also, Bright confesses his love to Hannah, and--in
the best storyline--Andy finally takes a chance and
proposes to Nina. The romance,
performed with such quiet eloquence thanks to
Williams and Niznik, is possibly one of the most
passionate, and least physical romances on
television in which the neighbors exchanged longing
glances and physical affection that would spell doom
for their own love lives.
Their relationship as
friends, confidants, and lovers has been the driving
force of the series surpassing even Amy and Ephram's
romance in tension and suspense, and really had its
audience on the edge of their seats hoping they'd
finally realize that they have to be together. It's
only proper. Though the show went
through its ups and downs each season what with the
bland plot of Ephram and Madison, and Ephram's
tutoring of a young music prodigy that went nowhere,
the writers could have patched all of it up and could have gone on for
many more seasons. And it's a shame we never got to
see more of Andy and Nina's impending wedding,
Bright and Hannah's renewal, Delia's blossoming into
a teenager, Edna's living arrangements with her
family, and the Abbot's adjusting to the new surprise
in their lives. But through it all,
"Everwood" often flourished with a mixture of
medical drama, quirky character related comedy, and family motivated drama while
thriving on top-notch characterization, engrossing
story arcs, and pure inspirational storylines that never
became preachy or cheesy.
Thanks to spectacular
writing, and a cast of utterly talented actors, "Everwood"
really did show that the family drama is not an
antiquated notion. It has its following, it has its
audience, and it's a shame it never received the support it
deserved. It stinks a show like this had to go, but
at least it went out with a respectful farewell.
Next year's schedule will be more much desolate
without it.
-
Felix Vasquez Jr.
|
