Aired: 2002-2006 CBS 
DAD: Dr. Andrew Brown(Treat Williams) / Recent Widower
DAD’S JOB: World-Reknowned Brain Surgeon. Really.
KIDS: Ephram (Gregory Smith)(15), Delia (Vivien Cardone)(9)
WHERE’S MOM?: Ghost of Mom (Brenda Strong), talks to Dad. (Think Providence).
STAND-IN “MOM”: Unknown
Okay, I stand corrected.
As faithful readers of this site know, I’m a firm believer that TV Single Dad Formula #1 never works. This show seems determined to be a success despite the track record of previous series of this ilk.
This time, famous brain-surgeon Dad’s decided on moving the family to Everwood, Colorado, because Mom said she visited there once and it was “just like heaven.” So, that’s a good enough reason for this series’s premise.
The briefest explanation of this show would be: picture Northern Exposure, except Joel has kids and wants to live there.
The standard Angry Exchange of TV Single Dad Formula #1 goes like something like this in the pilot:
Angry Son: “I hate this stupid place! I hate you!”
Dad: “Oh yeah? Is that the best you’ve got?”
Angry Son: “I wish you died instead of Mom!”
Dad: “Well, so do I!”
[Silence. Angry Son storms off, riding bike down the snowy road.]This show broke the Curse of Following 7th Heaven™ and ran for years. Go figure. The only thing that killed it was the death of The WB, being subsumed into The CW.