Thursday , March 28 2024
Teen angst reaches a pinnacle in the third season of the series.

DVD Review: Everwood: The Complete Third Season

The third season of Everwood finds Ephram Brown (Gregory Smith) and his girlfriend Amy Abbott (Emily VanCamp) entering their senior year of high school. Ephram has spent the summer in classes at Juilliard, with disappointing results. In season two, Ephram’s father, Dr. Andrew Brown (Treat Williams) conspired with Madison Kellner (Sarah Lancaster) Ephram’s former girlfriend, to conceal her pregnancy from him. In the first episode of season three, Madison sends Andrew a letter telling him she wants no further contact with him. The letter never mentions what she did about the pregnancy.

The stage is duly set for some high drama, which is what high school is all about. Ephram and Amy befriend shy Hannah Rogers (Sarah Drew), who is staying with Nina Feeney (Stephanie Niznik). After lengthy consultations with Hannah, Amy decides to sleep with Ephram. They make plans to sneak away to the Abbotts' cabin, but that night Amy changes her mind. When morning comes she changes her mind again and decides to go through with it after all.

Amy’s father, Dr. Abbott works with Andrew at the Everwood clinic, and the third season sees the arrival of a new, younger doctor named Jake Hartman (Scott Wolf) to the office. Andrew takes on a stroke patient, which leads to a brief affair with the man’s wife. The guilt he feels over this leads to his own health problems.

Meanwhile, Ephram is granted an audition at Juilliard. When he arrives, he runs into Madison. Ephram’s father accompanies him on the trip, and urges Madison to tell the truth about her pregnancy. She eventually does, and reveals that she put the baby up for adoption. When Ephram tells Andrew what happened, Andrew confesses his part in the cover-up. Ephram is angry with his father and decides to skip his audition. Back in Everwood, Amy reluctantly agrees to help locate the baby, but the situation quickly unravels and the two split up.

Season three ends with Ephram skipping graduation. He sells his piano to get a plane ticket to London, the first stop on his quest  to backpack through Europe. Amy graduates from Everwood High School and is accepted into Princeton. Their friend Hannah is preparing for her senior year, and gets her first boyfriend. Andrew considers taking a job as a surgeon in Chicago, but is persuaded to stay in Everwood. This may not have been the best course of action, as he finally confesses his romantic feelings for Nina, who is living with Jake.

As for special features on this five-DVD set, they are limited to four “Gag Reels” which are outtakes, or bloopers from the season.

Some people say that “real” life is nothing like high school, but in Everwood the adults often act more immature than the kids. This show was one of the better ones that the former WB network had to offer, and season three was a real high-water mark for the series.

About Greg Barbrick

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