There have been some made-in-Utah TV series and TV movies that I've watched out of obligation. It's something that comes with the job when you're a Utah-based television critic — whether I like it or not.
But I can honestly say that that's not the reason I make it a point to watch "Everwood" every week. This is a made-in-Utah show I really like.
And it's suffering no sophomore slump in its second season. After doing an excellent job establishing its characters in the first season, it's built on them.
There was some consternation among fans over the resolution of last May's cliffhanger. Viewers accustomed to nothing but happy endings on your average TV shows were, perhaps, a bit taken aback to learn that Colin (Mike Erwin) did not survive his second brain surgery — that Dr. Andy Brown (Treat Williams) wasn't able to save him.
Frankly, it was the right way to go. Not just because it's nice to see a TV series go against the grain of what's expected, but because the character of Colin had pretty much been played out. If he had survived and stayed on "Everwood," the show would have almost been forced to repeat itself.
And his death has created some interesting plot developments this season.
Speaking of surprises, the addition of Marcia Cross as Dr. Linda Abbott has been most welcome. The budding relationship between Linda and Andy further ties the Brown and Abbott families together in ways that have been both amusing and interesting.
And adding emotional depth to the character and the show was last week's affecting episode in which Linda revealed to her mother, Edna (Debra Mooney), the reason she's so hesitant to get involved with Andy — she's HIV-positive. It was beautifully done as the two health-care professionals (Linda's a doctor; Edna's a nurse) got past talking about HIV and got to talking about emotions and feelings and family ties.
Following that was a scene of Edna, who stayed so strong in front of her daughter, breaking down in uncontrollable tears when she returned home to her husband. That was great TV.
And there's great potential with this storyline, which shatters stereotypes about who contracts HIV and the life HIV-positive people live.
Not that "Everwood" is perfect. I'm more than a bit worried about 16-year-old Ephram's (Gregory Smith) involvement with 19-year-old Madison (Sarah Lancaster). But I'm willing to give creator/executive producer Greg Berlanti the benefit of the doubt, given how well they've handled the show to this point.
And I'm more than a bit grateful to them for that.
UNCERTAIN FUTURE? If there's reason to worry about "Everwood," it might be that Berlanti won't be around as much for the third season. (Although the show hasn't been officially picked up for the 2004-05 season yet, it's all but a sure thing.)
Berlanti, who took over "Dawson's Creek" from its creator, Kevin Williamson, before moving on to "Everwood," remains fully in charge of the WB series this season. But the plan is for him to turn a lot of the work over to others when (or if) season three comes around. He's got a development deal that calls for him to create and produce new TV series.
"My level of affiliation will change over the next couple of years. That's all sort of to be determined," he said. "Definitely, this year I'll still be writing a good deal of them and overseeing all the writing. And then next year I'll still be a significant part of it, but I'll also be developing some new projects."
It's still too early to talk about any potential new shows, however.
"We're just going out with some pitches right now," Berlanti said. "Nothing that's really stuck yet."
I'm looking forward to seeing what he comes up with next . . . but I worry about what will become of "Everwood" after he scales back his involvement.
E-MAIL: pierce@desnews.com