Everwood - The Complete Second Season - DVD

Film: In the series "Everwood", renowned brain surgeon Dr. Andy Brown (Treat Williams) moves from New York to the small town of Everwood, Colorado with his two children, 15-year-old Ephram (Gregory Smith) and 9-year-old Delia (Vivien Cardone), after the death of his wife. There Andy opens a small medical practice, much to the displeasure of Dr. Abbott (Tom Amandes), who has been there for generations and whose daughter Amy (Emily Van Camp) Ephram quickly has his eye on. With plenty of wit, warmth and heart, the series tells of the everyday adventures that Dr. Brown and his children must navigate in their new lives.

"Everwood" draws plenty of charm from its lovingly drawn characters and its romantic small-town flair. But what really makes the series worth watching are the top-notch scripts. The dialogues are (at least in the original English version, but with some reservations also in the German dubbed version) witty and not unintelligent, which is not necessarily self-evident for an American family series. In addition, "Everwood" also ventures again and again to topics that are rather taboo in similarly conceived series - or but only extremely conservative and superficial are treated. Whether abortion, homosexuality, living with HIV, alcoholism, topics like these are repeatedly woven into the series in a sensitive, never too cautionary or too moralistic, but always entertaining and also moving way.

Although the high level of the first season can no longer be quite reached, the second season again offers the best entertainment: after the dramatic end of the first season, Andy sees himself in Everwood in the unloved outsider position. But at the latest when Dr. Abbott's sister Linda ("Desperate Housewives" Marcia Cross) shows up, these problems fade into the background - and completely new ones arise.

Also Ephram has to struggle with the consequences of Colin's death: his chances of a relationship with Amy have finally dwindled towards zero, especially since Dr. Abbott's daughter seems to be completely thrown off track after the tragic loss of her boyfriend. But then the much older Madison (Sarah Lancaster, of "Chuck" fame) enters Ephram's life and really upsets his adolescent hormones.

While the plotline surrounding the increasingly depressed Amy isn't necessarily one of the season's highlights, the relationships between Ephram and Madison and between Andy and Linda are always good for some wonderful moments. Also, the friendship that develops between Bright and Ephram after Colin's death, Nina's fight for custody of her son, the dramatic collapse of a mine, and Ephram's visits with his new mentor, played by James Earl Jones, make each episode absolutely worth watching.

"Everwood" has shown for four years that family entertainment from the USA doesn't necessarily have to be extremely staid and cheesy, but that humour, emotion, drama and loveable characters can certainly be combined into a wonderful whole. We can only hope that seasons 3 and 4 will also make it to home cinema as soon as possible. Absolutely recommendable!

Picture + Sound: Technically, this box is again on a good TV level. The picture is clean and has satisfactory overall sharpness. In the darker scenes, slight image noise and weaknesses in contrast can be discerned. The stereo-only audio is satisfying for the most part, falling short only in the few "spectacular" scenes (mine collapse). Overall, the English audio sounds a bit more harmonious due to well-tuned ambient sounds. It should also be noted that some of the songs from the TV broadcast had to be replaced for the DVD release for licensing reasons.

Extras: Unlike the first season, Season 2 only brings a few cut scenes to eleven of the episodes. While Season 1 still had audio commentaries and a nice making of to offer, fans now have to be content with this much slimmed down offering.

Conclusion: "Everwood" is a wonderful family series that boasts lovable characters and charming storylines. True, the series actually ended far too soon after four seasons. But thanks to the DVDs you can visit the fictional town and its inhabitants again and again - and that is still a lot of fun even a few years after the end of the series. Although a little more bonus material would have been desirable, but even with the sparse extras on board, this box can be warmly recommended to all lovers of US family series. Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp