I never thought I would fall for a show that featured twins named Jasper and Casper (how corny is that?). But October Road grew on me, and now, like all the good shows, it’s in danger of being canceled.
October Road, ABC’s drama about life in a small town in Massachusetts, has struggled in the ratings since it first began airing mid-season in 2007. But the show slowly gained a loyal fan following and October Road was miraculously renewed for a second season. The Writer’s Strike probably helped October Road, which started airing its second season in late November, 2007 and still had a few new shows in the can while other shows were airing reruns.
The second season finale of October Road aired on March 10, 2008 and, even though season 2 saw an upswing in ratings, the series is in danger of being canceled. The season finale storylines were tied up loosely, with several cliffhangers still lingering out there. If you missed the season finale of October Road, here is what happened:
Nick Garrett (played by Bryan Greenberg) received a job offer-a writing gig– to tour with the rock band U2. He would have to leave Knight’s Ridge for 5 months.
Nick’s dad (Tom Berenger) , fondly known as The Commander, received news that he had bone marrow cancer.
Nick’s brother, Ronnie (Jonathan Murphy), became very depressed over his father’s illness and also over the fact that Nick would be leaving town again.
Eddie Latekka’s (Geoff Stults) high school sweetheart, Rory (played by Stacy Keibler) retuned to the Ridge. This stirred up old feelings for Eddie and he met her at the park to drink beers, eat stromboli and talk about old times. Right on cue, Eddie kissed her but then quickly broke it off telling Rory that he was seeing someone.
Of course Eddie’s girlfriend, the ever-so-unconfident Janet (Rebecca Field), drove by the park right as Eddie and Rory were kissing. She naturally assumed the worst and went home and immediately began drinking with her co-worker Rooster. She ended up getting very drunk and sleeping with Rooster.
Ray “Big Cat” Cataldo (played by Warren Christie) and Hannah began planning their engagement party. There was a very boring storyline about Ray’s ex wife pressing assault charges against Hannah (this was an incident that happened several episodes ago when Hannah punched Christine). In the end they tentatively cleared the air and Hannah demanded that Christine attend the engagement party, out of respect for the twins.
Eddie Latekka was beaten up badly by a bunch of Big Cat’s cronies. Of course Big Cat kept his nose clean and was nowhere in sight. But Ikey showed up and took Latekka to the hospital. This scored big points for Ikey, who was later welcomed back into the group (he had been estranged from all of his friends after sleeping with one of their wives).
Feeling guilty about Rooster, Janet showed up at Eddie’s hospital bed and poured her heart out to him, admitting she misunderstood what she saw with him and Rory, and then telling him that she slept with Rooster. Eddie became enraged and told her to get out. He was furious, telling her to go rot somewhere.
The finale scenes were at Hannah and Ray’s engagement party. Nick Garret had decided to leave town and was in a limo on his way out, leaving behind his family and his girlfriend Aubrey (Odette Yustman). His dad wanted his son to pursue his dreams, but clearly he was disappointed that Nick was leaving again. It was alluded to that Nick was leaving because he couldn’t deal with his father’s illness and with Hannah marrying Ray. At the party, Nick’s brother Ronnie told Aubrey that he was in love with her. And then, Nick showed back up. He decided to stay in the Ridge after all. After he made this announcement to Ronnie and Aubrey, he went off with the guys, including Ikey, to play air guitar (okay, so this is the corniest thing about this show, the air guitar. Who does that at their age??). After Nick left, Aubrey grabbed Ronnie and kissed him.
So there are several storylines that need addressing, most notably who is Sam’s (Hannah’s son) dad? What will become of Ronnie and Aubrey now that they kissed? Will Eddie ever forgive Janet? Will Hannah see what a bad guy Ray is? And will they get married? Will The Commander beat cancer? And finally, will Physical Phil (Jay Paulson) ever leave his house?
So what can you do to help keep October Road on the air?
Fans of the show have begun sending leaves with notes written on them, hoping that if ABC sees an outpouring of “leaves of appreciation” they will realize how many people love the show. You can send your leaves or notes to:
ABC Studios
Attn:October Road
500 South Buena Vista Blvd.
Burbank, CA 91521
You can also call ABC directly and leave feedback about the show. Call ABC at 1-818-460-7477
Press 2 to leave a comment
Press 3 for the Prime Time directory
Press 628 for October Road
Leave your message
Finally, you can also visit the abc.com October Road message boards to post your concerns. You can email ABC as well by clicking on the Contact ABC link at the bottom of the abc.com homepage.
Full episodes of October Road, including the 2-hour second season finale, are currently available to watch online at abc.com.
