Release Date: August 2, 2011

Rating: Not Rated

Running Time: 948 minutes

The final season of the series set in a welcoming town in the Rockies is all about finding oneself?and finding each other. Here, in the 5-Disc, 22-Episode Season Four, the unforgettable people of Everwood test the ties that bind them together in joy and tears, friendship and love. Drawn by his feelings for Amy, Ephram returns home and mentors a troubled piano prodigy. When Nina chooses Jake over him, Andy struggles to remain friends with the woman he loves. Bright and Hannah make their unlikely romance work. The Abbotts open their arms to a new child. Intriguing characters arrive and beloved characters depart. Say goodbye to the place and the people that won your heart and discover how everything turned out!

Having never seen an episode of Everwood until the Season Four DVD arrived at my door, I would now say that the series reminds me of a more mature, sophisticated,e and family oriented version of One Tree Hill as well as a less spiritually fulfilling and less busy 7th Heaven. That said, this season was a bit slow moving and dry. No matter how fast paced Scott Wolf’s character seemed to be, no matter the fun banter back and forth between the doctors as well as the best friends (especially the guys), this season probably would not be my favorite if I had seen all four seasons. Also, the rekindling of the flame between Andy and Nina seemed rushed in the final episodes. Taking the cancellation news into account, given all that was going on with the network at the time, I can give it a pass. But I felt that I would have still been fulfilled had Andy not proposed so soon after Jake left Nina. Even with Andy in her back pocket, Nina moved on awfully quick.

The honesty in the characters and realism in the situations is so wonderfully crafted and portrayed, it is hard not to appreciate this series. It is so homey… and makes me want to live in a small town just like Everwood. Best of all, it’s character driven. I am a big fan of character driven shows and this is one of them. Relationships are broken and mended and the state of mind that each character is in plays a bigger part in this process than typical eating ice cream on the couch scenes. There’s so much more to that and that anguish is portrayed well here. Also, there are bits of humor here and there as well as Deadwood, Diane Lane, and Ethan Hawke references and even Nia Long as a guest star. So while there are a few aspects of the show that are a bit dull, the setting of Everwood is just as ordinary as it is extraordinary which plays off of the characters and situations as well. Keep in mind The classic WB tone here. With that said, long time Everwood fans have been waiting for the day that this DVD would be available for a couple of years now, but newcomers will enjoy it just the same.

Bonus Features:

Unaired Scenes (31:05 minutes total, approximately 19 scenes) – The first unaired scene on disc one shows Amy driving her mom home from an appointment in which everything about the drive irks Rose, so she decides to drive. Only, she is not strong enough to handle such heavy machinery and ends up getting her and her daughter in a fender bender. Amy takes the blame and it just makes for one intense scene. It is too bad this did not make it to the final product but it is great to see on the DVD. The first unaired scene on disc two takes place on campus as Bright and Ephram prepare to study, only Ephram has plans for a different study partner… Amy. This reveal and Bright’s reaction after putting the pieces together is so natural and so well acted in just the right setting. I found everything about this scene likable and am so grateful to see this moment on the DVD. The balance of drama and comedy is wonderful here. On the other hand, I am glad that the scenes with Nina and Jake on here were cut because it takes away what’s so special about the way that we all saw it air. First, there’s a scene in which Nina finds out about Jake’s day off with his brother a different way and then there are two scenes at the rehab that Jake is supposed to be at. These were my least favorite scenes for reasons that add up to the flow of the episode being all wrong with them in it.

The first two unaired scenes on disc three are at the practice. Andy and Dr. Abbott’s chemistry is so naturally playful and Dr. Abbott’s offbeat comments I could listen to all day, so I especially enjoyed these scenes. The scene between Amy and her mother at the cafe was also particularly adorable. In fact, every scene on this disc excluding the scene with Delia had depth and were intriguing. Perhaps my favorite unaired scene on the DVD comes from disc four in which Amy and her mother have the most unforgettable mother-daughter talk. It is so sweet! The other three scenes on this disc are engaging, yes, but do not have the heartwarming quality that the very first unaired scene does. I won’t spoil what it is about, simply go ahead and watch it!

Alternate Series Finale (9:58 minutes) – On the final disc, there is an alternate series finale, which may have aired as a season finale had the show not been cancelled by The CW in the midst of The WB and UPN merge which created The CW. I much rather enjoyed the series finale, with the happy endings and all. But the alternative left wonderful cliff hangers had the show indeed returned. However, the show ended at a good time I think and I am pleased with the series finale, so I have no need to catch the alternate finale and ponder “what ifs” all day long.

Own Everwood The Complete Fourth Season on DVD today.