Tuesday, May 16, 2006

'Everwood' Wants you to Enjoy the Ride and 'Veronica' Looks to the Skies! Plus More from Upfronts and 'Lost'

I gave Amy the lead picture today because I am just so darn happy that she's back to being the Amy that I love and root for each week. That's not to say that I ever abandoned her because, as you all know, I was defending her all season even through the annoying "I'm so much more open minded because I go to college" phase (and here's to hoping it was just a phase). Like Ephram, I could never give up on Amy. She's a complicated character that I have watched grow and mature through the show's four seasons, so having her back makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. She has been much less self- absorbed these last few weeks and focused more on Hannah, Bright, Reid and Ephram. I still maintain that girls at Amy's age are self-absorbed, so it didn't bother me as much as others because it made her more real and relatable. Amy was especially helpful last night, and it came when she least expected it. Sure she convinced Hannah to join her and Bright in welcoming Reid home from the hospital and she went on a pity date with Reid because she was afraid to say no in his fragile state, but the real Amy help came when she was the only one who could honestly relate to what Reid was going through after almost getting to the same place when Collin died. I think hearing that putting up a brave front does nothing to help you through hard times allowed Reid to really get the help that he needs. Like he said, he has to get to the root of his problems and work through them before he can move on and figure out the rest of his life. Not that I thought Reid was in it for the long haul, but I was surprised that he left the show to move back to Denver. I'm just glad that the writers didn't pair him up with Amy before he left.


In other Everwood happenings, Delia did a complete reversal and became a likeable character again. When she told Andy that she uninvited Talia because Talia told her to uninvite Brittany, I was so proud! I was absolutely beaming like a proud parent when she added that she would rather have fewer friends that she likes than a bunch that she doesn't. And then she went and capped it off with her assertion that she's glad that she hung around with Talia because it allowed her to see the type of person that she doesn't want to be. Our little Delia is growing up so fast, which is why I was psyched when the hat made its return. She's growing up, but she's still the same Delia. This show has always done a nice job of portraying that inner struggle between being a kid and growing up and maturing into an adult. We've seen it with Ephram, Amy and Bright and now it's Delia's turn. Elsewhere, Harold was grappling with the realization that he and Rose took each other for granted while they had the opportunity to be together because they were so focused on the adoption. The situation was made more poignant with the un-used nursery serving as the background. To top it off, one of his patients learned that he was dying and his schizophrenic wife just gave birth to their first child. The episode ended with Nina stewing over the possibility of moving to California with Jake. I can't imagine Nina leaving the only town that she has ever known, especially with her restaurant doing so well, but then again, I can't see her holding Jake back as well. It will be interesting to see what she decides. I have to admit to all of you that I write this collection of thoughts today with a heavy hand because I learned this morning that this may be one of the last weekly entries on Everwood. It seems that things are not looking good for another season. Here's the news courtesy of TVGuide.com's Mike Ausiello, who is at the network upfronts this week:
Just returned from NBC's upfront festivities and before I get to the highlights, let me get to a major lowlight: I heard from two separate sources this afternoon that Everwood is, in fact, dead. I'm choosing not to believe it until I hear something official on Thursday, but I thought you should all be prepared for the worst.
So, preparing for the worst is what we'll have to do for now. Honestly, I expected this to happen, but I am not ready to accept it. It's made harder by the fact that if things hadn't changed, the WB would have definitely renewed this show. The only guidance I can offer at this time is to follow the prophetic words of last night's episode title and "Enjoy the Ride" while we still can.

Shifting gears a bit because I hate to end on such a sour note. It's amazing what fans can band together and accomplish for their favorite shows. One of Pass the Remote's favorites, Veronica Mars, is an example of just that. I've been telling you about the "Look to the Skies" campaign, and how fans successfully hired a plane with a banner bearing the message "RENEW VERONICA MARS! CW 2006!" that flew over rush hour traffic from the L.A. UPN offices to the new CW offices in Burbank last Tuesday. Check out this picture from the amazing effort courtesy of Warner Bros. photographer Mitch Haddad and the Look to the Skies group over at Live Journal:

Even star Kristen Bell commented on the campaign to E! Online's Korbi (who's filling in for Kristin Veitch while she covers the network upfronts). Here's what she had to say about the event:
I heard that a whole group of fans rented an airplane that had a ‘Bring Back Veronica Mars sign on it’ and they flew it over The CW. That’s so funny! That’s our fans. That’s why we love ‘em! ‘Cause they’re crazy! ‘Cause they think! Whose show does that?! Our show! We have the best fans in the world.
Incidentally, that entire interview with Bell is awesome!! She discusses what was going through her head during that rooftop scene in the finale, she drops some hints about next season and she just blankets her fellow cast and crew with wonderful compliments. She's a true class act, and the interview showcases that well. Anyway, this show has to be awesome when the fans are this passionate about it, right? So maybe (hopefully) you're thinking to yourself, I'd love to join in on the Veronica love, but I've missed the first two seasons. No problem! The fans have thought of this as well. You can always rent the season 1 DVDs from Netflix, or if you don't want to shell out the bucks, check your local library. Fans raised over $5,000, and a good portion of it went to purchasing copies of the first season DVDs and then donating them to local libraries. A free copy might be waiting for you to pick up now at your library! You can also start watching the second season episodes TONIGHT on UPN with the 2nd season premiere. Click HERE to watch the opening scene. Don't forget that the 2nd season DVD set hits shelves on August 22nd! And once you're hooked, tune in this fall when the show returns for its third season.

About Last Night...Programming was delayed last night due to the President's address to the nation, so the following results are for after the conclusion of the speech. The first hour of the night went to NBC's Deal or No Deal, followed by ABC's Grey's Anatomy repeat and Fox's Prison Break finale. At 9, ABC took over with the first hour of the Grey's Anatomy finale, followed by more Deal or No Deal on NBC and Fox's Prison Break/24 combination. The WB's Everwood landed in last place behind UPN's comedy finales. The final hour of the night went to the final hour of ABC's Grey's Anatomy finale, followed by CBS' Old Christine/CSI: Miami combination and NBC's The Apprentice. For more on last night's ratings, visit Zap2it.

~Primetime Pass~
@8 p.m. - The final 3 contestants perform 3 songs tonight on Fox's American Idol: one they choose, one the judges choose and one record executive Clive Davis chooses.

@9 p.m. - A 16-year-old female Hurricane Katrina victim suffering from hallucinations about the tragedy is brought in on Fox's House.

FEATURED FINALES TONIGHT!!!
Scrubs (9 p.m. NBC) - Two back to back episodes serve as our last new Scrubs until "some point next season." In the first, J.D. challenges a urologist's (guest star Elizabeth Banks) assessment on a consult for a patient who might need a risky surgical procedure. And in the second, smitten J.D. tries to plan a perfect date with Dr. Briggs (guest star Elizabeth Banks) on their night off, but Elliot gets in the way on the 5th season finale.

Boston Legal (9 p.m. ABC) - The 2-hour 2nd season finale finds Denny Crane and Alan Shore traveling to the Los Angeles offices of Crane, Poole & Schmidt.

Law & Order: SVU (10 p.m. NBC) - An unstable young woman (guest star Brittany Snow) loses her virginity, goes off her prescribed medication, gets behind the wheel of a car, and mows down 10 people in the 7th season finale.

OTHER FINALES TONIGHT!!!
NCIS (8 p.m. CBS) - 3rd season finale
The Unit (9 p.m. CBS) - 2-hour 1st season finale

To see what else you can catch on television tonight with customized listings for your area (via Zap2it), visit the TV Listings area of PassTheRemote.net.


QUICK CUTS

*UPFRONTS UPDATE: CBS is wasting no time announcing what will stay and what won't next season. The Eye network announced back in March that it was renewing 14 of its shows, but now it went ahead and picked up Close to Home, The New Adventures of Old Christine and The King of Queens (for a 13-episode midseason entry). Renewal is said to be pending on The Unit as well. To see today's schedule announcement from ABC, click HERE.

*And finally, ABC is promising less interruptions next season for its hit show Lost. The network plans to run two blocks of new episodes, one in the fall and one in the spring, which will help keep the flow of the story lines. In between the two blocks, ABC will premiere the new show Day Break. Lost airs its second season finale next week and it will return this fall in its current Wednesday night slot.

To get more of today's biggest TV news and headlines, visit the TV News section at PassTheRemote.Net.


That's all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for a special early edition of Pass the Remote with a Scrubs finale blowout complete with a super-sized edition of the Scrubies! And then come back for the regular edition with thoughts on tonight's Law & Order: SVU finale and the final three on American Idol. Plus, all the latest television news and breaking scheduling news from CBS and MyNetwork!

To get more television coverage, including a complete archive of the best of Pass the Remote and a photo gallery featuring pictures from the set of Veronica Mars, click on over to PassTheRemote.net.



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