Everwood Season One

The great thing about TV on DVD is instant gratification. Episode after episode is right at your fingertips. Want to know what happens next? Done. Can’t get enough of the characters? Great, you’ve got 20 odd episodes to burn.

The bad thing is that it's easier to spot flaws in the storytelling when you’re racing through the episodes. Spaced out over weeks it's a little easier to forgive errors in timeline and jumps in character motivation.

That said, the first season of Everwood is beautiful, flaws and all. Almost every episode had me on the verge of tears at least once. What’s not to cry about? It’s about a brilliant brain surgeon who, after being widowed, moves his precocious daughter Delia and angry son Ephram to a small town to start over. Once there, Ephram falls for Amy, a girl with a boyfriend who is in a coma. Colin’s journey from comatose to sensitive amnesiac to unpredictable jock is heartbreaking, especially if you already know the next chapter of his story.

Reading over the last paragraph, I realize that it sounds like Everwood is a melodramatic soap opera. It’s not. It’s funny and moving and filled with vibrant characters. Aside from a few missteps (Colin’s magically appearing/disappearing sister, “Everwood Confidential,” etc.) it’s compulsively watchable. If Season 2 were available on DVD, I’d be watching it right now. Or as soon as Friday Night Lights is over.