Everwood 5/5/03 (1 Viewer)

[Adam Lenhardt]

The writing on this episode was very, very strong IMO; and it needed to be to be an "event" episode that didn't jump the shark. I loved the way that it further muddied the waters between Dr. Brown and Dr. Abbott's ideologies; it's a dynamic that continues to grow with each episode. I like how their integrating Delia into more episodes, and what her experiences say about Dr. Brown himself. I also liked how they tied it all into the coming of age subtext, with Amy finally realizing that she needs some sort of balance in her life, just as Colin takes a turn for the worst.

The WB may have gone into this looking for another Dawson's Creek type teen soap opera. There's certainly that aspect to it, but there's a whole lot more.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I also thought the episode did a good job conveying the gamut of the internal and external struggles this decision and procedure entail with much sensitivity given to the subject. The Dr. Brown and Dr. Abbott dynamic is one of the better portrayals that even doctors don't always agree on the best course of action, and some of that is attributable to each doctor's life experiences and where they "are" at the present time.

(And just a pre-emptive warning, please do not interject your personal stance on the topic, try to discuss the episode at hand in terms of the actions of the characters.)

 

[DeborahK]

The one thing about the episode that seemed forced to me was the fact that the girl's father did not himself just quietly take the girl to Denver to a clinic. I would think if anyone would be worried about what might happen if people found out, it would be this particular dad. Why muddy the waters by hooking up with people that know the family and might want to interact with his child, as Dr. Brown did? Of course, then the best parts of the episode would not have been able to occur, but his inviting Dr. Brown to the lodge and then telling him what he wanted felt contrived to me.

This is a lesser criticism, but I was a little concerned by the girl's reaction afterward. Not that I do not believe it -- it is probably a common reaction by the patient to an event such as this. But I think it would have been braver of them to have shown her having the opposite reactions, i.e. relief and denial. One of the problems with the kids on all these shows is that they are often more mature and articulate than most real world adults.

All in all, tho', a very worthy effort.

Deborah

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

The one thing about the episode that seemed forced to me was the fact that the girl's father did not himself just quietly take the girl to Denver to a clinic. I would think if anyone would be worried about what might happen if people found out, it would be this particular dad. Why muddy the waters by hooking up with people that know the family and might want to interact with his child, as Dr. Brown did?

As you pretty much anwsered for yourself, it's a gimmick, much like Rosebud driving Citizen Kane, even though no one was in the room. I didn't think it marred the episode any, but your mileage, of course, may vary.

 

[Patrick Sun]

The girl's father was not about to drive 4 hours to and 4 hours back from Denver for this procedure when he thought he had convinced Doc Brown to do it. The father also probably was not thinking, but rather just reacting, and tried to keep his life as normal as possible given this development for his daughter.

 

[Brian Burgoyne]

I missed Everwood two weeks ago, I believe it was 4/22/03, and I must have missed something that happened between Ephram and Colin, because of the tension at the dance on this episode. Can anybody fill me in?

Any guesses as to where the next show will go with Colin's seizure?

 

[Tony_P]

This may be a stretch, but perhaps the girl's father wanted Dr. Brown to perform the abortion so that he could better control the situation. Since the wife was in the dark about the whole thing, it would require some type of lie or fabrication to explain why their daughter would be in Denver for a whole day or more. It wouldn't be hard to some up with some excuse, but there would be the potential that the wife could find out. Also, he might think that his personal relationship with Dr. Brown would allow them to keep all the details hush-hush over and above the standard patient-doctor confidentiality. I also thought the man was presented as being quite shaken up by the circumstances, and I could see how he wanted to rely on someone he trusted to help resolve the problem.

I thought the episode was excellent. I really liked how they juxtaposed the "moral" backgrounds of the two doctors with their stances on abortion. It could have been ham-handed, but they pulled it off and succeeded in showing the shades of grey in a situation that is often presented as black or white. It was a daring show to make and air. This episode and the one on medical marijuana just shows that the creators are interested in far more than just pandering melodrama.

 

[RobertW]

a couple of weeks ago, colin freaked out when his coach wouldn't let him back on the team, and destroyed the coache's office, which ephram saw. everyone else, the coach, principal, et al, just decided to sweep it under the rug, pretend it didn't happen, because of colin's injury and recovery. they all wanted to think that colin was ok, that he's not suffering any effects. but ephram was worried about colin's growing temper, and his escalating violent episodes.

later colin confronted ephram at a takeout food joint, wanting to know what his problem was, and ephram basically told colin that he had problems, something wasn't right, and he needed to see someone about it. colin jumped him, proceeding to beat him up, and when bright tried pulling him off, colin pounded on him too.

ephram warned amy that something was wrong with colin, but she was still in denial as well, and ever since, things have been strained between the three of them.

 

[Brian Burgoyne]

Thanks Robert. Wow, I really missed a good one. Wonder how Amy is going to react to the seizure. Well, I guess that depends on the outcome of the seizure, which was pretty major.