Mr. Piano Man

Next week may, or may not, see the final episode of Everwood on The WB. Part One of the Series Finale aired this week, Part Two is scheduled for next week. The network has announced that the series has been cancelled. That would all seem pretty definite -- except that the last episode is said to have so many "cliff-hangers" in it that a TV movie or mid-season replacement next year might be what is planned.

As some of you know, I like to watch the series finales of TV shows, even of those that I have never watched. So, next week, Everwood here I come.

I did watch the first season -- since then it has been hit or miss (mostly miss). This is the plot as best I can remember: New York City brain surgeon moves his family to mountains, where his son (Ephram, right in photo) immediately falls in love with a pretty mountain girl (Amy, on the left) whose current boyfriend oddly enough needs brain surgery (man, what are the adds?).

The boyfriend dies, so Ephram and Amy get to be boyfriend and girlfriend, but then they break up and he gets his nanny pregnant. His father, the brain surgeon, and the nanny decide not to tell him he's a daddy, and he cannot get into Juilliard, so he goes backpacking across Europe and misses a bunch of episodes. The ratings never recover, so they add Scott Wolf to the cast, who's supposed to be a doctor, but he's shorter and looks younger than Ephram, so everyone thinks he's been adopted by the single lady next door.

With Ephram gone, Amy turns to drugs, her mother develops cancer, and her father (also a doctor and Catholic) performs abortions. Her brother, Bright, who was probably not intended to be a main character, becomes a fan favorite and his part increases until Ephram returns. He returns to being a goof.

In the final episode, all the cast get on a big bus and it plunges off of a cliff. Such are the dangers of living in the mountains. Miraculously, the bus lands right in the middle of the old Love Boat set and everyone sings as the final credits role:

Love, exciting and new
Come Aboard. We're expecting you.
Love, life's sweetest reward.
Let it flow, it floats back to you.

Love Boat soon will be making another run
The Love Boat promises something for everyone
Set a course for adventure,
Your mind on a new romance.