Writer Inconsistencies:Because maybe they weren't perfect, but they were damn close.
 

This thread is about inconsistencies in character behavior or when writers are off the mark in the dialogue of the characters.


I'll start off with two examples of when I think this happened on Everwood.

Behavior inconsistency: EDNA In season 3 she had a fit when Jake hinted to Andy that Ephram went to him for an STD test. She mocked his California pea-sized brain, called him unprofessional.
But, in season 2- Edna was furious with Andy when he prescribed birth control pills for Amy and did not tell Harold. That was definitely a double standard! Was she for doctor/patient confidentiality or not!?


Off the mark in dialogue: AMY & EPHRAM In season 3 they were on a date and Amy found out that Ephram wrote her Princeton essay. "You wrote the essay?" she said.
"Your dad told me to do it, don't you remember?" he said.

Harold didn't tell Ephram to write the essay. He told Ephram to try to convince Amy to write it because Ephram was the one that she listens to now.




I hope that you all understand what this new thread is about and I hope that you will post some other examples.:)

I've been doing the last of my Amy caps from season 2 today, and I notices a little slip up from the writers. In S2E20, Ephram is surprised when he finds out that Amy never slept with Colin. In their flashback scene in "Goodbye, Love" Amy tells Ephram that she wonders who her first time will be with.

everwoodfan, brilliant topic and thanks for starting the thread. I love it. I will chew on this topic and come back and add my two cents. Thanks again for starting this wonderful topic! :)

Glad to see you got it started, everwoodfan. :)

I have nothing specific at the moment, but just in general that whole doctor/patient confidentiality was breached I don't know how many times. In one ep, Harold would be telling Andy about not telling him something because of it, or Andy would be telling Nina he can't say something because of it, and in the next (or even the same ep) they'd be casually sharing secrets about patients with each other, and with others. It almost became a running joke. I think that probably goes to the writing team not going out to write a medical show, but it's still there. I'll try to look at/think of some specific examples than Edna's lapse you provided, because I know Andy and Harold did it a lot too.

This is a great thread idea ! :)

The whole Ephram not knowing Colin/Amy didn't have sex in 220 while he learns it in Goodbye love wasn't lost on us fans, but it's something I can live with given the quality of that episode :lol:

Agreed the patient/doctor inconsistency were multiple.
Just like Andy refusing to do an abortion in 120 which was an amazing episode, just to have him elcture about it in season 4 when Amy asks him. I mean, it's not the same thing, but still, it was somehow disminishing his speech in 120...

Other behavior problems :
Ephram going to see Madison's band and bailing on an evening with Amy, ONE episode after having sex with her for the first time... yeah, right, that's TOTALLY ephram... :sigh: Thar's the biggest thing to me.

Deffo. They're both brilliant, brilliant, brilliant scenes.

Yes, Tos, I remember that episode when Andy had the patient that had an affair, got an STD, and wanted Andy to lie to the patient's wife about it.
In a later scene, you see Andy and Nina in the diner discussing the case. I could not get over that!:rolleyes:


Another time that I feel that the writers were off the mark in character behavior was in Season one when Amy and Ephram went on a field trip to the mine.
That was the episode in which those jocks mocked Amy by pretending that Colin's nurse was calling from his hospital room. The episode was an excellent vehicle for Ephram to show his devotion to Amy and to be her protector (coma police).

But, I don't thick the behavior of those male students made sense.
Amy was the most popular girl in her High School. Colin was the most popular guy. These jocks were probably Bright's friends and played football with him and Colin.
I can't imagine them mocking Colin's behavior in the hospital and treating Amy like that. It didn't make sense to me when I watched that episode.

I....don't know that I agree with this. I had always interpreted his speech in Episode 20, as being that, since Julia's death was so close to him at the moment, the idea of him taking a life was too great to deal with, so by the time season 4 rolled around, he'd been able to deal enough, to the point where he was getting back into things.

I see where both of you are coming from on this one. I also interpreted the same way as you did, shadow, but I also think him agreeing to teach the procedure in the fourth season diminishes, just a little bit, the effect of him not being able to perform the procedure in season one.

I really liked how the episode returned to the abortion issue, especially Amy finding out about Harold's secret (didn't like her reaction, but it was a great scene) which I found akin to Harold finding out about Andy's secret about Julia in season four, returning to two big eps from season one.

Anyway, I'm off on a tangent, but while I like how they returned to the issue in this ep, I didn't like how casually, off the screen, no reaction, no emotion, from Andy on it at all. You think he'd at least struggle, at least talk to Harold even just because of the events in episode 20. I don't know, it was too brushed aside for Andy's part. that Andy would just agree to it so casually, without a scene of...reflection or something. I understand that Andy CAN do it now, but without any emotional struggle? I don't know. Too clean and easy for me. I mean, Delia reads him a speech about how Julia's death affected them in the same exact episode, and you'd think that would be on his mind. It was a rush job on his role on this one; where he agrees off-screen, meets off-screen with the prof, with the board, and it's just left there. It wasn't handled very well, although I'm not sure if it's a total inconsistency because time has past and Julia isn't quite as big of an affect on his decisions anymore, but it is very odd that he wouldn't get a scene to think about it after Colin and after Julia still being a big part of him and Delia.

Exactly, that's what I meant.
I agree with Shadow that Andy evolved from season 1 and he came back to "normal" in later seasons. I wasn't surprised Andy lectured on this. I was surprised they made it seemed like it was nothing and Andy would have no reaction whatsoever and would just say "sure, let's go". It just symbolized a change in the tone of the show to me. This kind of things wouldn't have happened in season 1.
I probably would have felt differently if we had a scene between Andy and Amy where Andy accepts to do it. But since the episode was more about Harold/Amy, it made sense.

I think there's things in the later seasons that bothered me on some level because it felt like the characters were turning a bit "flat" at times compared to the multidimentionnal characters they were in the beginning.
It was rare, as we know Everwood was well written, but on some instances, I felt like the writing was just a bit "easy". I don't know if I make sense.

Forgot to say I really agree with this. Always bugged me. I'm not saying popular kids are untouchable, because, well, I have absolutely no idea about popular kids. :lol: Ow, I zinged myself. Heh. But, there's no way with how popular Amy is and how popular and idealized Colin is does this happen. Especially Bright's sister when he was Mr. Bully at that time in season one? You're asking for a butt-kicking or more on that one. It's a trick you play on someone like Ephram, not someone like Amy.

Any other examples? Not disbelieving you, just curious what else there is. :)

Well, I'm thinking about Bright for instance. Bright was perceived as dumb in the beginning, but we learned more about him during season 1 and how he was a very good friend, caring etc. I didn't feel the season 4 cheating storyline honored his character very well. Maybe he would cheat, but the way it happened felt, I don't know, a bit too "simple" to me, I guess.
I don't know if there is so much example out there, I guess it was a feeling I had with some storylines or character. But I loved the show, of course. :love:

We all know that you loved the show!:) You of all people!

People love their children, but also recognize the faults. They love them anyway.:)


To add to the discussion of Everwood writers, I believe that often the characters' behaviors were very exaggerated, almost in a comical sense.

For example: When the Brown family first moved to Everwood, and Ephram went to school, I couldn't quite understand why he was treated the way he was. Granted, he had purple hair and read comic books. But, here was this good looking guy who moved to their state from across the country, had a famous father- I would have expected a different type of treatment from the students.
I would have expected them to be curious about him, try to talk to him and get to know him.
The way that Amy's friends treated him was very exaggerated and stereotypical. Why would they think he was lame?
Why would Bright bully Ephram, just because his sister, Amy was talking to him and trying to trick him into helping her comatose boyfriend? That didn't make sense. Bright was blaming Ephram because Amy was tricking him!:confused:


Another time that the characters acted in an unrealistic, comical manner was in Season three when Brittany and Delia found the "foot" massager under Nina's bed.
Brittany's mom came screaming at Andy about it. Who would act that way? How is it Andy's fault? How is it Nina's fault? It was under her bed!! She wasn't showing it to the girls and demonstrating it!:lol:
She should have been more angry with Brittany for snooping in another person's house!
And the way Andy screamed at Nina- that was ridiculous! I don't know how she put up with all of the times that Andy yelled at her!:lol:

Hmm, I don't really agree with the Ephram one, everwoodfan. I thought that was fairly realistic. He is different. Different people get picked on. He was lonerish and shy at least some of the times. I mean, in the whole series he only has about five friends that we see. One of them includes Wendell. That's pretty scary. :lol: He likes to be on his own more than most high school students do. He was pretty awkward talking to some of the popular people, especially the girls, at times. He could be really witty with Bright, though. And Amy, of course. :) He was an outsider, with purple hair and liked manga. Coming into a school midway through (I believe), coming from a big city and there is that small town mentality that you even see against Andy a bit at first. A little wariness. Unfamiliarity. I really felt the outsider aspect and it made a lot of sense to me.

I think they explained that one, or I might just be making this up? :) But I thought Bright was really protecting Ephram from Amy, not the other way around. Because he knew what she was really doing with Ephram, and so he wanted him to stay away from her. Of course, how you stay away from someone that beautiful. But I thought that made a lot of sense, bullying to keep him away from her, but not for the reason most brothers do.

:lol: I loved when Andy would yell at Nina, even though it was rarely if ever her fault. Like the porno magazine which was somehow Nina's fault for having in her house. :lol: It was always cute, though, because Andy would have to apologize, and it almost became a part of their banter for me. :)

Just my thoughts on these latest ones. How I interpreted them anyway. :)

I see what you mean, Tos. I guess I'm looking at Ephram with blinders on. I know what a cool fantastic guy he is, but the students at County don't know that! I guess Ephram should have gotten rid of the purple hair before he arrived!:lol:

As far as Bright is concerned, yes, I realized that he was trying to warm Ephram. But he did it in such a mean way. Even after Ephram learned about Amy's agenda, he still treated Ephram badly- calling him a freak, etc.:irked:



Yes, I enjoyed it when Andy made up with his women friends, also! :flowers:He did have a temper!! He even yelled at Linda (when she explained to Delia about her HIV status. In fact, the only person that he didn't yell at was Amanda!! Go Figure!!:lol: