PTR Abridged: 'Everwood' Flashback! Plus TV on DVD Monday!

And… We’re back! Sort of. You see, in addition to having no Internet at my new place, I also have no TV!! Sure, I get the major networks off of my HD antenna, but they’re not doing me a whole lotta good right now because it’s reality/rerun season. Let me just tell you, though, I have become the biggest So You Think You Can Dance fan! I’m still steaming over Allison’s departure the other night. The girl was destined to be in the finals, and then bam she’s gone. I guess I can’t complain, though, because as Kat loves to remind us, if you don’t vote, you can’t complain. Anyway, all this is to say that I haven’t been able to watch any of my favorite cable summer shows the past couple of weeks. No Brenda Leigh Johnson southern speak, no crazy Psych-ed out antics and no new answers from The 4400! But, hopefully, the [sarcasm] completely competent folks[/sarcasm] at the DirecTV contractor’s office will have me up and running in no time. Yeah, I’m not holding my breath either! I do have all of the missed episodes coming my way courtesy of a fellow TV fan, so the situation could be much worse. In any event, I promised you reaction to last night’s The 4400, but since I still don’t have my DirecTV, I didn’t see it and therefore, can’t comment on it. Well, I could, but it wouldn’t make a lot of sense. So instead of 4400 reaction, we’re going to take a look at another classic episode of the dearly departed Everwood. Today, we’re sticking with the first season (the show’s best IMO), and the second episode of the series. Really, I could feature each episode of the show’s first season, it’s that good. Since I have little access to the Internet, this will be a shorter look than I would like and it will be low-tech (little to no pictures), but it is something to tied us over until Pass the Remote is back in its usual form.

“The Great Doctor Brown” contains one of the show’s best scenes ever. It’s the scene that brought us full circle in the show’s wonderful series finale last month. It all started with a Ferris wheel and a story about Grover. Ephram had been beginning to think that Amy’s friendship came with a price tag. He knew that she was hopelessly devoted to Colin, and therefore, not interested in dating him, but was there something else that Amy wanted from Ephram? Turns out that the answer to that question was yes, and the foundation that built the entire first season. Amy wanted Ephram to ask his father to take on Colin’s case. Ephram knew it, but he didn’t understand it until that fateful Ferris wheel ride. Amy told Epkram the story about how she got the nickname “Grover.” Besides the fact that she was always a big Grover fan, Amy recounted to Ephram why the name had a deeper meaning. Colin used it to cover for her when she did something wrong. He simply said, “Grover did it.” From that point on, Colin called Amy “Grover”. After Amy’s story, Ephram does the most selfless thing of his young life; he agrees to talk to his dad about Colin’s case. Of course, he decides not to later, but for one shining moment, your heart melts and your eyes well up because you know that Ephram cares so much about Amy that he’s willing to sacrifice his feelings for her in order to make her happy. I’m pretty sure this was the moment when I decided that I wasn’t going to stand for anything other than Amy and Ephram finding their own happy ending in the long run.

This episode also brings us one of the show’s more heart-wrenching scenes. Nothing was more touching on Everwood than watching Andy’s undying devotion and love for his late wife, Julia. This is another storyline that comes full circle in the show’s ender with a cemetery conversation, but before that conversation took place, many others unfolded that led Delia to the conclusion that her father was suffering from a broken heart. Andy’s out loud talks with his dead wife culminated in an embarrassing public spectacle at the annual Fall Thaw Festival right along with Amy and Ephram’s Ferris wheel heart-to-heart. With the entire town looking on, Andy began talking to Julia and the town began deciding that their new doctor was as loony as his no-charge policy. Delia slowly took her father’s hand and led him away from the glaring onlookers. As awesome as the pilot was, I’m pretty sure this was the moment when I decided that this show was an absolute can’t miss affair each week. How much heart can a show squeeze into an hour? I’m not sure, but Everwood managed to squeeze in plenty without making it seem forced. Along with the more heart-wrenching moments, there was the usual dose of funny in this episode as well. Everything from Dr. Abbott’s hilarious ice cream order and subsequent run-in with his mother to his reaction the next day when all of his patients returned after witnessing Andy’s emotional breakdown at the festival provided some much needed comic relief. And that’s what was brilliant about Everwood - its ability to blend the tears with the laughter without skipping a beat. If you would like to see this episode, click on over to Amazon.com to order your copy of the show’s first season on DVD or Netflix to rent one. Fans are working on campaigns to get subsequent seasons released and ABC Family will begin airing the entire show sometime soon.


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*And finally, it’s TV on DVD Monday! Look for the complete series of the Lisa Kudrow comedy The Comeback to hit store shelves tomorrow along with Blue Collar TV (season 2), Curb Your Enthusiasm (season 5) and Dallas (season 5). For a full list of all of tomorrow’s releases, visit tvshowsondvd.com.

Since I have such limited access to the Internet, I won’t be covering all of the day’s top television news stories until I get my Internet hooked up. Be sure to click over to PassTheRemote.net to get all of the latest news.

That’s all for today. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for another Flashback Edition featuring the always amazing Veronica Mars and a secret discovery that leads to a great showdown between the teen detective and Sheriff Lamb!



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