'Tos

I've been watching S2 and have been amazed at the growth that Bright goes through all by himself from S1 to S2. He's still the goofy, joking, bad-advice-giving guy, but I just really love his arc of getting kicked off the team and working so hard to get into a college. And failing. I almost think he's more likable here than he is with Hannah! I had actually completely forgotten that Bright goes through such a great period in S2, and thought it was Amy and Harold's season for the Abbott's. It's just as much Bright's, though.

Anyway...I thought I was going to have a discussion question coming out of that, but I guess I don't, hee.

It's going to be disappointing to see him revert so strongly in early S3.

Thief Of Love

You'd forgotten Bright's S2 arc? Man, he makes the season for me! And, actually agreed on the likeability point. S2 Bright has such a strong work ethic and is pursuing a real goal, whereas Bright's only redeeming quality for much of S3 was that friendship with Hannah, and S4 Bright was just woefully underwritten (I mean, the character's great as ever, thanks to the one-liners and Chris's performance, and the final story arc, but he has almost nothing to do for most of the season, no clear ambitions or anything, and he's not all that likeable as a boyfriend, all things considered...).

I wonder if I just used enough commas?

'Tos

I know. I'm a bad Everwood fan, hee. It's just so nice to see him with an actual goal. Now I'm really looking forward to our S5 story, because he'll once again have a goal to reach, and he'll once again have that work ethic and..S5 is totally going to be the return to S2 Bright! It's settled, hee. Did you already know we were doing that (return to that kind of Bright), and I'm now just realizing it?

I'm going to have to discover this in my S3 rewatch (although I've done that before, but not with a better outlook on Bright), but is his reversion believable and realistic? Or do they unbelievably take him down from where he was at the end of S2 just so that they can raise him up with Hannah at the end of S3?

Now I have a real goal to look forward to in further rewatches, hee. Although I'm making it sound like I don't know my own favourite show, hee, but I (stupidly) always skipped S2 in any rewatches, so..I tend to miss a big chunk of people's development.

Thief Of Love

Well, yeah, heh. But not in a deliberately thought-out "Bright's S5 story is to revert to S2 Bright" way; I just figured we were following Bright's usual cycle, and thought S2, with his apparent ambition but eventual disappointment, was a solid sort of foreshadowing of what we're doing with his early S5 storyline.

I think it fits the character to some degree, but I may be basing this on his behavior in S4, which isn't necessarily the best way to justify earlier writing. But I look at Bright as someone who will be incredibly hard on himself for failure and for disappointing people, and given how much effort he put into his studies in S2, only to have that end in total failure (and in such a way that pretty much bore out Harold's "You're not smart enough" comment -- not that Bright wasn't smart enough, but it was clear that one good academic year wasn't enough to gain him admission) -- I can see him wallowing in that for awhile.

That being said, his problem in early S3 wasn't even that, really; though he had no interest in community college, he actually proved to be a hard worker once he found jobs that he liked. His problem was that he apparently became a sex addict. I'm still not entirely sure where that exact characterization came from, because even taking four dates to the prom seemed less ooky than the way he acted for the first half of S3. I guess part of it is what he tells Hannah in "Best Laid Plans," that the attention she was lavishing on him was something of an ego boost, and so we can probably extrapolate that to mean the attention of any cute girl, but that still doesn't excuse his apparent inability to wait before finishing a work shift to make out with a half-naked co-worker or to engage in his smutty e-mail conversation off the company's servers, nor does it explain that massive list of girls he had (in most cases) slept with and wronged, when we know that he hadn't lost his virginity as of "Snow Job." (It was a busy two years for Bright, I guess. Remarkable that he even had time for all that studying in S2...)

'Tos

And I think the show did a good job of transitioning from likable, hard-working Bright to less likable and less hard-working Bright at the end of S2 where he's stuck watching TV, wanting to give up on graduation and being unhappy there even at the end of the episode, and then leaving S2 by going to see a movie with Delia. Ouch. Not quite the plane ride to Julliard ending for poor Bright, hee.

Yeah, that really did seem to come out of nowhere (although I guess the four dates for prom does sort of foreshadow things a little bit) and seems unrealistic. He didn't talk about dating or girls much in S2 and he didn't seem in that kind of mode or even in a place to want to go out and date with his life at home and at school. Not that they had to show him dating or having sex in S2, it's just..it's not even remotely hinted at until the end of S2 when we find out who he slept with from the four prom girls. That's pretty much it. It sounds to me like the writers took that guy at the end of S2, or even the guy in the middle of S1 that seemed like he would turn into a womanizer, skipped over everything in S2, and made him into an extreme version of what he was in S1. Not exactly a smooth transition.

Thief Of Love

And he's basically out of that mode once he falls for Hannah -- granted, we've got Ada thrown in there, but even that didn't come across to me as an example of Bright's womanizing, but rather of Bright's frustration with abstinence, and, especially, as Bright's unconsciously passive-aggressive way to ensure that he fails at one more thing that matters to him and to break things off with Hannah without ever having to actually discuss the sex issue with her. (But that all may just be my overly-complicated interpretation of the situation, heh.)

Though, Bright's already changing for the better after Rose's well-deserved slap across the face in "Surprise" (seriously -- I love the boy, but I cheer for Rose every time, because pretty much the only likable thing about him in that entire episode is his moment with Hannah on the staircase. Even had that as my very first B/H avatar, the day after it aired, hee); his actions and general attitude in "A Mountain Town" demonstrate that, and everything after obviously bears witness to his burgeoning desire to find a real relationship, and none of this seems to conflict too much with what we saw of, say, S1 Bright, who was 17, a star athlete, popular with girls, and immature. You would expect that boy to grow up at some point, yes? And he does so in a realistic-enough way.

So basically, what I'm wondering is why his early S3 behavior had to be sooo...much, given how much he turns from that in the second half of the season, and in S4. It was rather at the point that I can see where some viewers had trouble accepting the idea that he'd be happy with Hannah, and willing to accept a sexless relationship, for the several months that they were together. I didn't take any issue with that, of course, but if someone's going to base things on his immediately preceding history, then it does seem like an odd transition for the character. Was this really a necessary component of showing how far Bright had fallen? Or...in a strange way, did they also deliberately use this to play into their build-up of Bright/Hannah? Juxtaposing her initial total inexperience with his, um, opposite of that? I sort of hope not, actually, because something about that makes me uncomfortable for some reason. It would just be a weird way to try to set up a new couple. (Especially because that would have made it one of those "nice girl tames bad, womanizing boy" stories, and, ew. That's the kind of story concept that makes me go out and 'ship socially awkward nerd types instead. Hannah/Topher or Alternate Universe Hannah/Ephram for the win!)

'Tos

Hee, no, I think that's a pretty fair interpretation. Especially based on the comments he makes when he comes to talk to her about what he did in "All the Lonely People".

Which, wow, after watching him kick so much dramatic butt in that scene, heh, it's so weird to see him as strictly a comedy man now. I mean, I'm almost wondering which one is the real Chris Pratt? What kind of acting does he enjoy more? Because man...he can act.

I had hoped to get to the rest earlier, but I think I'm going to have to save it for tomorrow, sadly.

Thief Of Love

As questionable as it might have been for him to go into that during that argument, because Hannah didn't want to hear it then, and who can really blame her, I am completely on board with his self-analysis. He was so worried about ruining things that he went ahead and did exactly that. (And, ooh, will that ever be an interesting aspect of the character to work with for S5.)

Yes! That's one of the reasons I love the late S4 arc so much: Chris is fantastic with a kind of material that he didn't get very often (aside from moments in episodes here and there, usually interspersed with comedic material), and, while I think Sarah drew [no pun intended] a lot of that out of him, as she herself is great and they were involved in a fairly significant long-term onscreen partnership, which has to count for something when acting emotional scenes, she's certainly not responsible for anything he did in, say, the scene with Harold from that same episode, or the Bright/Amy scene outside the bar in "Reckoning." I get the impression that he's purely focused on the comedy, though, which is a shame -- yeah, he rocks that, but it's not at all the only thing he does well. And honestly, it's not necessarily the greatest thing for his career longevity to keep going for these comedic goofball/slacker roles. Actually, even if it were another comedy, I'd kill to see him play an intellectual. It would just be so delightfully unexpected, and if he could pull that off convincingly, he could do pretty much whatever he wanted from that point forward.

'Tos

I agree, although I think at least got to show off his acting chops just as well in S2. That was really the point where I saw him growing as an actor, and that he started to go smaller a lot more often. Just a look while Rose and Harold were arguing or a way he would delivery a line. He was perfectly fine in S1 and had flashes of that kind of acting, but I don't think he could have pulled the material off a year earlier he way he did in S1. Which grooms him for some amazing stuff by the time S4 comes about. Maybe the writers only like giving him really amazing stuff to do in the even-numbered seasons? Hee. Again, he's great in S3, but it's nowhere near his full body of S2 work or late S4.

Hee, an intellectual would be FUN. You know what he would be great in? And it's not exactly something I'd want to see, but a romantic comedy. At least then he could show off his comedic skills, while also getting a few moments of some dramatic acting, even with not so great material. At least then he could have the opportunity to show casting directors and director directors (heh) that he can do more. I mean, people should already know from Everwood, but sadly I don't think they do, because if they did, Tom Amandes would be on everything.

But I think you're right, he's found some success, and as long as that keeps up, he's going to keep doing it. Luckily, he can find new ways to be absolutely hilarious, if Parks & Recreation is any indication. Speaking of indications, do we have any about whether he'll be back for S2?

Hmm. I've been giving this some thought, and I do think it was just a way for the writers to show that Bright had fallen so very far from S2. I just think they took it too far. Went to the extremes. Maybe to amp up the tension with Rose more than anything? *shrugs* It is an odd way to start off the season for Bright, though.

Thief Of Love

True; I didn't mean to overlook his S2 work at all, considering episodes like "Extra Ordinary" and "Family Dynamics" and all the late season stuff after he's received the rejections. I think it's just that he had about as much comedic material as he did dramatic then, so he generally went back and forth between the two, whereas in late S4, it was virtually all drama, so it's easier to fully realize how well he handles it. Although, moving so easily in S2 between serious family/personal drama and comedy with Ephram is a pretty good feat in and of itself...

I've got it! A romantic comedy in which he plays a wacky young professor or scholar! But yeah, that could work for him; let him showcase the comedic abilities that people are hiring him for now, but also give him the opportunity to bring out his more serious side. He'd actually be great for something like that, the more I think about it, because he's very good at handling potentially goopy material in a sincere, non-goopy kind of way. Because honestly, some of Bright's speeches to Hannah were really rather cheesy if you just read the text, but Chris never let that come through in his performance.

(I'm very confused by the fact that there's little recognition of Everwood by directors and producers, yet certain cast members are known. For example, I'm thinking of Matthew Weiner's stated keen interest in Emily for the part of Peggy, yet his simultaneous declaration that he never saw Everwood. Then...exactly how did he become interested in Emily? And why couldn't he have noticed Tom at some point during this process of not watching Everwood, because Tom would be an awesome addition to Mad Men and just having Sarah pop up for 60 seconds here and there isn't enough EW on MM for me?)

Nothing that I can find yet; the press release for the second season just says "Hey, the show's going to be on in this time slot!" and there's really no other talk about it. Maybe we'll hear more in August? Or whenever an actual press release with cast information will come out?

'Tos

It was interesting to see him in a darker, less comedic place over a series of episodes, definitely. And I like to think that that is a hint that he was growing up a bit, that what he did and what he lost kind of opened his eyes. I like to think that a S5 would be more like that the Bright we saw at the end of S4. I mean, of course he's going to be comedic, but not having to switch back and forth so much all the time.

Hee, there we go! Now all you have to do is write it!

]

Hee, for sure. All of the Everwood actors knew when to be cheesy, and when not to be. But I like knowing that Chris CAN go above the material. If he's going to do the slacker role so often and smaller roles in movies that aren't, um, exactly critically acclaimed, we need to know that he's not just going to lower himself to substandard writing, and that he's going to shine. Which he did in P&R. Not so much on The O.C., heh.

ShadowMagist

New blog thing on Chris...kinda centered around his nipples.

Anyway, there are some "before" pictures on there, around when Everwood was on, that I hadn't seen before. So Chris fans take a look:

Chris Pratt Shirtless - Squarehippies.com

everwoodfan52

What kind of pose is this?!??

The second one down where Chris is posing with his wife.

Is he saluting the flag?

ShadowMagist

Chris is officially married!

Anna Faris is married for reals

Anna Faris Is Married! - Weddings, Anna Faris : People.com

'Tos

Do you think Chris wore those trunks for the wedding?

Congrats to Chris. They seem like a good couple...well, from the pictures anyway, hee. They should be a fun couple anyway. Here's to them having more happiness than most celebrity couples seem to have.