Everwood - TV-PG

Engaging but controversial show for teens.

TV Rating: TV-PG Network: WB Genre: Drama
Available on: DVDDownload

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know about the mature themes addressed on the show. Past plotlines have dealt with illness (cancer, depression, stress-related incontinence), parent-child clashes, homosexuality, unwanted pregnancy, peer pressure, and teen sex. Family and friendship relationships are examined closely through these hot-button issues.

Families can discuss the serious and sometimes controversial topics addressed on the show. Ephram and Andy's relationship has never been harmonious. How might they work together to improve their father/son bond? Amy and Rose have had trouble in their relationship. How might a disease as serious as cancer affect a patient's interactions with family members? Another rich topic is coping with loss. How do the show's characters handle losing their loved ones? Is it realistic?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Betsy Wallace

Like long-running WB family drama 7th Heaven, EVERWOOD tries hard to involve adults and kids alike and tackles some heavy subjects. Both series recognize that today's kids aren't spared from tragedy and difficult decisions. But Everwood has proven to be the richer series, with characters who aren't so perfect, and actors who can give them dimension.

If you're unfamiliar with the premise, here's a summary: Dr. Andy Brown (Treat Williams), his teenage son Ephram (Gregory Smith), and preteen daughter Delia (Vivien Cardone) are just learning how to be a family. Andy was formerly an inattentive father, mostly absent from his children's lives until their mother's death. Now he's trying to get to know them. Ephram is a gifted pianist and somewhat of an outcast in the small mountain town the Browns have moved to. He was miserable at first, but a close friendship with Amy Abbot (Emily VanCamp), the daughter of the town's only other doctor, plus breakthroughs in his strained relationship with his own dad, keep him sticking around. Meanwhile, as Delia starts to grow out of her tomboy years, she poses greater and greater challenges to her inexperienced father.

Unique characters round out the cast. Each is flawed -- they all strive to become better people, sometimes failing. And in the town of Everwood, characters with marked differences find connections. Dr. Harold Abbot (Tom Amandes) squared off with Andy from day one, but the two gradually turn to each other as colleagues, even sharing the trials of parenting. Ephram and Dr. Abbot's athletic son, Bright (Chris Pratt), at first had nothing in common, but their mutual concern for Amy eventually melts the ice. Viewers will appreciate that the series depicts sibling relationships in an especially positive light.

Little kids won't find much of interest in Everwood, nor is the show meant for them. Situations are teen- and adult-oriented and deliberately controversial. The young characters have some problems, but overall they're wholesome, smart, caring role models. Coping with death continues to be a major theme of the show. Families who have lost loved ones may benefit from talking about how characters on the show work through painful emotions.

Fans might also like Gilmore Girls and My So-Called Life.

Season 4 Notes (Includes spoilers)
Season Four kicks off with the wedding of Edna (Debra Mooney) and Irv (John Beasley). Amy has turned down a scholarship to Princeton to care for her mother Rose (Merrilyn Gann) while she undergoes the last few rounds of chemotherapy. Bright, after pining away all summer for brainy Hannah (Sarah Drew), is pleased to find out the feelings were mutual. Ephram, again estranged from his father -- much to Delia's delight -- returns home for the wedding. Nina (Stephanie Niznik), angry and confused over Andy confessing his true feelings for her, refuses to speak to him all summer. Instead, she sets up house with Jake (Scott Wolf) and makes plans with him to open a yet-to-be named restaurant. By the end of the season opener, Nina finally realizes how much she loves Jake and lets Andy know they could never be more than friends.

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Content		CS	adults	kids
Content
Sexual Content Only some kissing onscreen; much discussion of sexual issues, including unwanted teen pregnancy, young kids having sex, and a married women discovering her husband is gay.
Violence In several episodes, a teenage boy experiencing the adverse effects of brain surgery has violent outbursts.
Language Occasionally characters say mild curse words on the level of "dam." The Brown kids have said "d--k" and "s--t" in anger.
Message
	Social Behavior One multiracial couple is featured; otherwise the characters are white. Two feuding doctors slowly come to appreciate each other. Teens from different walks of life form unlikely friendships.
	Commercialism
	Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco Drinking among high school students has been shown but not advocated; episodes have addressed the pros and cons of antidepressants.