I'm not sure if this ...
Question: I'm not sure if this "question" will warrant a response/spot in your column, but I've been wondering about it since the CW sked was announced. Where does CW think
7th Heaven can go at this point? After 10 years, I feel the show has told everything there is to tell. The older kids have gone through the trials and tribulations that most teens and young adults go through. And now that the three oldest kids have children of their own (or will), what's left? I guess my point or my question is: After the "finale," everything was wrapped up, and now they (CW) plan to "unwrap" everything and do it all over again for at least another season? Weren't some of the cast members planning on moving on after the show was nixed a few months ago? I was never a follower of
Everwood, and sporadically caught
7th Heaven over the years, but between the two, I'd have to go with
Everwood because there's still plenty of "story" left to tell. The problem with WB and UPN was their lack of programming, and it seems to me that CW has now inherited that. Sure, there's a handful of shows (
Gilmore Girls,
Veronica Mars,
Smallville) that are successful, but why must they keep shows on the air that are just plain horrible (
One Tree Hill,
Girlfriends, etc) to watch? Thanks for taking the time to read this and listen to me rant.
Answer: You make an interesting point. The renewal of
7th Heaven was purely business, not creative. The fact is that the show had reached a natural end (or unnatural, if you're not in the fan club, as so many who wrote me obviously aren't), and the corny announcement that everyone's bursting with twins is clear evidence of that. (As some have written, if
7th Heaven had to cut its budget to have its return make economic sense, won't the new babies break the bank?) So while many praise the show for its values, the renewal itself was actually very cynical. The show drew more viewers than any other show on WB or UPN; that's why it's back, past its last creative gasp.
And to show that I'm more even-minded than some of my more critical readers think, here's a very measured response to the cancellation of Everwood, from Dave: "As much as I enjoy Everwood and appreciate the quality of the writing and acting, I think it's actually at a good point right now to end it. Without knowing what the writers had in store for the future, I'm not really concerned about open plotlines or stories that I'll never get to see. Amy and Ephram? I like them better as friends, and don't need to see them get back together. Bright and Hannah? They weren't that interesting, really, and I don't care that much if they reconcile. I would like to see Andy and Nina get together (as of Monday morning when I write this, I don't know if they will, but it looks doubtful), but they seem to be drawing this to a conclusion as well, whether Nina stays or goes to California. Rose and Harold? Enjoyable characters, but again, there really aren't any open story lines that I'll miss out on next season. Maybe I'm in the minority here, but looking at how the show started and where it is now, it seems like the characters have pretty much gone through the development that we would have hoped for them, and aside from Andy still being single (unless that changes), I think it's at a good place to close up shop."
Knowing that the producers had planned for the eventuality that it would not make the cut and that on June 5 we will get an actual conclusion, I don't exactly disagree with this. (Although I disagree about Bright and Hannah being uninteresting. They were adorable.) Going out with dignity and (we assume) not leaving us hanging is the right way to go. Better that than test our patience. What rankles so many, though, is that Everwood was in no way creatively depleted, and given how many shows on CW's schedule are so close to the end of their run, it seems unusually punitive that WB's highest-quality drama was kept out of the mix.
