Maybe to get us started, we can all ask ourselves two questions:
1) What prompted us to sit down that Monday night and flick our remote to the Pilot in the first place?
2) What aspects of the Pilot stayed with us enough that we wanted to tune in the next week?
Let's see...
1) Well, I think the first thing that made me want to watch Everwood in the first place was a copy of the tween magazine Twist. I opened it one day, and, like every 14-year-old girl out there, I turned to the "Fresh Male Hotties of 2002" page. And, while they had ginormous pictures of a whole bunch of cute guys, my eyes were immediately drawn to a small pictures (almost an afterthought) of a brooding teenager with purple hair and the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen. Beside the picture, it just said "Gregory Smith, star of the new WB drama Everwood". I was like "He's hot. Okay, I'll tune in."
Then I found out that my cousin Emily was appearing on the same show as Gregory, so that held double the appeal - I'd get to see Emily, who is an awesome actress, AND have male eye candy! Superficial, I know, but true. I don't even know if I ever saw a preview for the actual show. But no matter - it got me to tune in, and, three years later, I still watch.
2) When I think about the Pilot, one of the things I remember most is the fact that, before the opening credits, even, I was crying. The whole scene with Andy in the doctor's office, finding out his wife had just been killed... I was amazed that the show could evoke such emotion within the first five minutes, and not seem ridiculous! Also, I remember being so addicted to the chemistry between Ephram and Amy... we didn't get to see too much of their relationship at that point in the story, but it gave us just enough to make us want more. And plus the show added its own touch of drama - the scene outside with Andy and Ephram yelling by the car was SO well acted - and still was able to interject humour - "I'm making pancakes, want some?" "GO TO H*LL!"
It gets me, every time. So I think that's what made me want to tune into the next episode the following week. And while there have been some ups and downs in the past three seasons, never once have I actually thought to myself "I'm never turning this show on again." I love it too much, because I know that the people who were behind the greatness that was Season 1 are still there, and are completely capable of doing it again.
What are your answers to my questions?