Chris suggested this forum which I think is a great idea. I remember watching episodes and often wishing there would be a bit more about side stories and more about background characters.

There are a huge amount of things taking place in the background that many people will only pick up on repeat viewings.

But perhaps I am overly fond of shows like Picket Fences and Northern Exposure and miss a few cranks and misfits that I’d associate with a small town.

Ah, Old Man Oliver. I do miss Gracie Leigh, while I understand why they got rid of her, she added to the show.

Where are the story lines about people getting let go from the local businesses, the town loser who suddenly has something to offer the town, the local science teacher using chemistry to solve a problem? Or the stories about people not being able to cope? Small infection which someone dies from. Someone getting poisoned from bad homemade preserving or alcohol? There is just a bit too little of the hometown experience in the show to my liking. The lack of everyone knowing everyone else’s business seems lacking. The show often comes across as a town of a dozen people.

Well overall they do very well with the side stories, we’re talking more about the smaller non-romance oriented ones and those I think we’ll see even less of in season two (due mostly to time constraints). They have a whole lot of story to tell in seven episodes and usually it is the character actors who get cut first. For instance, we’ve already heard that they’ll be far, far, less of Gail Green.