Written by: Kassidy at 4:21 pm
Writer: Various
Director: Various
Cast: Barry Watson, Jessica Biel, Stephen Collins, Catherine Hicks, David Gallagher, Mackenzie Rosman
Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: June 10, 2008
It’s time again for another season of the semi-clean drama, 7th Heaven to be released. Last season, I commented on how great the show was and I still feel pretty much the same way. It has its moments of greatness, offering some fun times and plenty of talking. Despite having a preacher for a parent, this household sure holds its share of drama. There is a soap opera feel to it that certainly allows people that wouldn’t find interest in a religious family to get involved with this one.
I watched the show through the majority of its run when it was on television. It wasn’t my favorite show, though when I connected with it during my last review it reminded me of why I watched it in the first place. Aaron Spelling, the producer of this show, along with such popular options as Melrose Place, Beverly Hills 90210, and even Charlie’s Angels certainly knew how to pick projects where the characters would be appealing to the audience watching them. 7th Heaven is certainly not going to be a show suitable for everyone, though it is important to note that there is much more here than the average person will be expecting.
Release Information:
7th Heaven had an extremely long run of eleven seasons, which is rare for most television dramas. The show began in 1996 and only recently ended in 2007. The show was not meant to go through eleven seasons. Actually it was canceled in the tenth season, but the final show received such good ratings it ended up being extended for another season. These box sets, released by Paramount and CBS offer all of the hour long episodes with minor, if any, editing.
The sixth season of 7th Heaven was released on June 10, 2008 in a six disc set. This includes 22 episodes spread out over the six discs in the set. You should be able to find this box set just about anywhere, be it online or off of the Internet. 7th Heaven: The Sixth Season (Full Frame) is available at Walmart for $33.86. You can also find 7th Heaven
The 7th Heaven: The Sixth Season Plot
A lot of dramatic changes occur to the Camden family this season. While I wouldn’t say this was the best season, I will say that some of the episodes were of good quality and many of them were hard to turn off. The show has some decent quality acting going for it and as far as major plot holes go, there aren’t many. So, while it wasn’t the best show to ever be made, there are certainly some redeeming qualities that kept me watching all those years. Even now, for this review, it was simple to curl up with some popcorn and the Camden family like I used to in college. It’s just too bad that this reunion would be filled with chaos for some of the Camdens.
I have found that the vast majority of my soap-opera watching friends also like 7th Heaven. It does have a mild soap feel to it thanks to the loads of drama that this one family seems to get into. However, each show tends to come with a lesson that is learned by the end of the episode. This isn’t like a sitcom where the complete problem is resolved, but if nothing else, the person involved in the drama usually ends up seeing the light before the show is over.
This year is particularly trying for Minister Eric (Stephen Collins) and his wife Annie (Catherine Hicks). Their seven children are of varying ages and included college students and young twins. So not only are these parents dealing with the antics of young children, but they also have to contend with raging hormones, and some of the children growing up in every possible way.
Changes get rolling for the family with the clan’s oldest, Matt (Barry Watson – What About Brian?). Matt is spending his time working at a free clinic. He is pining away at the thought of a girlfriend and a steady relationship that will allow him to get married and start his own family. All the while, he’s pondering the thought of med school in order to become a gynecologist.
The oldest daughter in the Camden brood is Mary (Jessica Biel – Next). She comes home with the initial plans of becoming a firefighter. Mary has always been known as being the somewhat rebellious child in the family though, so I wouldn’t expect her to remain on the completely safe and narrow path for long. Another of the older children, Lucy (Beverley Mitchell) leaves Divinity School, breaks off her engagement with the man she planned to marry, and also decides to move back home (not necessarily in that order).
Another of the rebellious kids, Simon (David Gallagher) is old enough to begin driving and wants to attain his driver’s permit. This exciting time in his life eventually leads him to a police chase this season. Finally, (because the twins aren’t worth discussing in terms of plot just yet) we have Ruthie (Mackenzie Rosman). This season Ruthie struggles with personal loss, but she manages to do it with more maturity than is generally shown by her older siblings.
As if all this isn’t bad (or good depending on how you look at it) enough, Annie is going through menopause. So you can expect some wildly erratic behavior from her. Some days I wonder how Reverend Eric never became a raging alcoholic. He had a lot to handle and always seemed to manage to talk his way through it in the end.
In order to keep track of all of these kids and the adults that raise them, the show is centered on a main theme for each episode. This is probably the silliest part of the show. For example, in one episode you see conflict in nearly everyone’s relationship. This is unlikely to happen in a real life setting, though it was an easy option for the show. The characters, some of which are wise beyond their years, all manage to talk it out and work it out in their own way, no matter what happened, but viewers can view this as unrealistic, as well. I never felt the show preached to me, but it sure did talk a whole lot.
The acting is generally decent this season with Collins and Hicks providing an excellent look at a somewhat functionally dysfunctional family. There are also quite a few guest stars this season including, Morgan Fairchild, Ed Begley Jr, Richard Lewis, Mitzi McCall, Jane Lynch, and Miguel Sandoval, amongst others.
The episodes go in the following order:
Disc One:
Changes
Teased
Sympathy
Work
Disc Two:
Relationships
Broken
Prodigal
Ay Carumba
Disc Three:
Lost
Consideration
Pathetic
Suspicion
Disc Four:
Drunk
Hot Pants
I Really Do
I Really Did
Disc Five:
Lip Service
The Ring
Letting Go
Disc Six:
The Known Soldier
Holy War (Part 1)
Holy War (Part 2)
There are some moments that are just completely unreal, thanks to the magic of television, but overall the show is entertaining, with some laughs and plenty of drama.
Storyline/Plot: 
Replayability:
Acting:
Directing:
Audio/Visual:
7th Heaven offers a decent video quality that is familiar in the television world. This season offers an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and for the most part it works well. There are little, if any, compression errors and the DVDs seem to be free of noise or other issues. The colors are vibrant and the video quality seems sharp. You might find television shows with better quality, especially those in anamorphic widescreen, but for what is offered, things look just fine.
The audio comes in with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo and is only available in English. There are no subtitles available on this set. The audio comes off as extremely plain. The majority of the show is dialogue, so there isn’t much work in terms of audio channels. There are occasional music moments that add some more to the track, but for the most part it’s basic sounding dialogue, which works as well as it needs to for this show.
Visual:
Audio:
Bonus Features:
One of the things that fans will find most disturbing about this season’s box set is that it does not offer a single bonus feature. Considering the newness of this show, it’s hard to imagine they couldn’t come up with anything. Either way, there is not a lick of content to be offered as bonuses.
Bonus Features:
Bottom Line:
If you like the drama and comedy that the Camden family provides and you do not care one iota about bonus features then this box set will make you incredibly happy. Fans of the series will be disappointed at the lack of bonuses, but will still want to check this out anyway, because the episodes are the main reason for the DVD in the first place. If you are new to the show you may want to either start at season one or rent this before buying. While you wouldn’t have too much trouble getting the point of the show, it will offer more excitement if you have been watching these characters throughout the previous seasons.
Overall Rating:
Technorati Tags: Movie, DVD Review, Box Set, Television, TV on DVD, 7th Heaven, Paramount, CBS, Aaron Spelling, Jessica Biel, Stephen Collins, Catherine Hicks, Barry Watson
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Written by Kassidy - Visit Website
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Kassidy received her degree in Journalism in 2002. She lives in the Midwest with her husband of six years, Jason, and their two little girls, Madison (5) and Emma (2.5), with one (a boy) on the way. The couple is very excited to welcome their first son next January. Passions in life for Kassidy include painting, scrapbooking, writing, being a Mommy, watching romantic comedies, and dancing.
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