Eastwick

Kat Gardener (Jaime Ray Newman), Joanna Frankel (Lindsay Price), and Roxie Torcoletti (Rebecca Romijn) live in Eastwick, New England. A mysterious stranger gives these frustrated women witchy powers.

This show starts off well. The ladies are all good actors. All the pieces are there. It coasts along for several episodes very well. Somewhere along the line, the story spins out of control. By the end, I remember that it was a little tiresome to watch. It lasted only 13 episodes. I wasn't angered by the cancellation. It was very much expected by the end. I did wish they gave it a full season to see if they could straighten out the show.

I'm not someone who tries new shows often this was a pleasant surprise. Sad it's gone.

I just finished watching 'Eastwick' and I have to say I enjoyed it. It is beyond me why ABC decided to suddenly cancel this series. It is better than most of the stuff we have seen on television lately. This is a well made, intelligently scripted, interesting and original series. It is very well casted, the characters all have very good chemistry between them, the acting is good throughout, etc.

Not to say that it is a masterpiece, far from it (especially as the screenwriters go a little 'over the top' after the first 7-8 episodes), but it definitely is much better than the standard TV fare we are inundated with recently.

So why cancel it? Maybe because it is too smart for it's own good..., meaning the masses could not appreciate it...? Maybe...

The show is exactly what you'd expect if you're familiar with cable network TV dramas. It features the usual tropes and humor, with every character hiding some nasty secret. The casting isn't bad, and while the acting isn't award-worthy, it's not jarring either. Some of the over-the-top fawning or lovestruck dialogue can get tiresome-even cringey at times-but it fits the tone of The Witches of Eastwick and reflects the era in which the show was made.

I'm not usually one to watch shows like this, so the fact that it held my attention with its "small town with a secret charm" vibe says something. Unlike Charmed, the characters here take much longer to realize they have powers, and the show leans more into dealing with social issues-using magic incidentally rather than engaging in demon battles or cult-like power struggles.

Unfortunately, around episode 9 or 10, the show started to lose its footing. I'm not sure if the creators knew it was getting canceled, but everything suddenly went into overdrive and overwhelmed the story, stripping away the charm that had made it enjoyable. That's especially disappointing because Jerry O'Connell appears in episode 12, and I like him as an actor.

All in all, it's a cute little watch-nothing to write home about. It might be hard to find nowadays, but it shows potential for a similar future series. If you're looking for something in the same vein, Witches of East End is the closest match, though it takes a very different approach.

6 out of 10.

This is a pretty entertaining show, especially coming from a network known for throwing dull, whiny shows out there like Brothers and Sisters and it's latest clone, Modern Family. So naturally, I was pretty bummed to hear that ABC is canning this one. The story lines are great, often mixing serious supernatural situations with some humorous touches to lighten it up a bit and all of the actors all well cast (Paul Gross in particular is a funny slimy riot as Darryl Van Horn). I guess the only set back was the ridiculous 10 p.m.(EST) time-slot (aka "death slot") on Wednesday that ABC put this show into. It seems the network had little faith in this show to start with so they tanked it's chances of succeeding by showing it mid-week when most folks have to get up early the next day for work/school. Pity. I think if the CW or even NBC had this one, it would've had a chance.