This Is A Bit More Like It
9.3
"Superb"
With 7th's 11th season, it has been up and down betwen okay episodes, good episodes, and just plain "meh" episodes. It leaned heavily on the first and third descriptions. This episode is one of only 3 truly good, classic 7th Heaven episodes this season. The first was "Broken Hearts And Promises, then this one, and then "Good News For Almost Everybody". It's episodes like this one and the other two that show 7th can still be 7th, and it's episodes like these ones that make you wish it wasn't over just yet. That is not to say all of the other 19 episodes were terrible. Some were, some weren't, some were borderline. When you see pretty darn good episodes of 7th like this, you wonder why it couldn't be as good, or at least have that classic 7th Heaven-y feel, all the time. But let's not praise up and down. It wasn't a perfect 10, as some things kept it lower, but it was close, and that's pretty good for this season and most of the later seasons in general. There were nice touches of things throughout, some nice, "wink, wink, nudge, nudge" dialogue, Kevin's blowhorn(which got less and less funny the more he used it), and the whole church/Lou storyline, which was what made this entire episode. Brenda and company can still pull a good 7th episode out of their magic hats when they want too. It's just too bad, and curious, that they don't try to do it a bit more often. This is more for the last 5 seasons. Most of the last 5 seasons were not up to earlier 7th standards, but could still pull a great episodes out. For example, season 7(I Love Lucy, We Do), Season 8(An Early Fall, Go Ask Alice), Season 9(Thanksgiving, Gratitude), and seaon 10(Home Run, The Rat's Out Of The Bag). But, I am ranting on. This is about this episode, so let's get on with it.
The episode was made great because of the first storyline. Naturally, it's a heavier, more 7th Heaven type plot, and not something minor like the other 2 B plots that fill up the rest of the episode. There is something amiss in the Glen Oak church. Lou comes to Eric and lays it on the line. He, or the deacons, think that his and Lucy's sermons are not up to par. The deacons think the sermons are a bit boring, not interesting people and, according to them, not bringing anymore in, especially the younger crowd. The church thinks there may need to be some rejuvenation. Some kind of shot in the arm. Lou brings in Sandy, who the church thinks may just be what they are looking for. She's young, hip, fresh, and has had some life experiences to bring to the table. Naturally, this raises eyebrows with Lucy, who claims she too is young and hip. Sandy makes it clear that she isn't trying to do anything, or to move into anybody's territory. Eric goes along with it for now, and tells Sandy that it is okay. This was a great and pretty strong, 7th-y storyline. I really liked it. First of all, it was pretty clever the way that the opening scene with Lou and all that was done. If you have been paying attention to the show and it's new network, the dialogue takes on new and more meaning than just having to do with the church and what the deacons are thinking. It touches upon the subject that 7th is getting a little old, a little long in the tooth, not hip or cool enough, and not pulling in a certain youthful demogra...I mean, audience. Lol. Pretty much all the things that the CW are trying to get, and not exactly succeeding. Fun, spot on dialogue, and very perceptive. Brenda and Co. did this again in the finale with some of the dialogue. If only the show tried to be as clever and funny like this all the time. They seem to only want to do it with very few episodes every season. Anyways, this storyline was also great because it had some weight to it, and if anything, it had more meaning and poignancy than other 7th plot lines. Why?. Because we know the church, we know Lou, and we know Eric as the reverend. This aspect of the show has been pretty drama free except for the people Eric tried to help. Nothing entirely about the church. It was a bit new and it made for something more dramatic. Also, this is goodbye to Lou. Lou's final moments were wonderful, and what also made this episode a good one and memorable. It was good to know he wasn't acting on his behalf. Oh, and Eric's sermon?. Great, wonderful, classic 7th. Again, why can't it be this good every time?.
Much, much farther down the lines are the two side storylines. First up, Ruthie and T-Bone are getting intimate, and Ruthie is finding that there needs to be some kind of a change. She urges T-Bone to get his driver's licence, so that they can take off and finally have some real privacy. Unfortunatley, T-Bone has Kevin teach him how to drive. Bad move. Kevin agrees, and brings along his blowhorn. Kevin knows what's going on and the real motive and, Kevin being Kevin, gets kinda nosey and annoying. The blowhorn was funny in the beginning, but it quickly got old every time he used it. "Funny" is not Kevin/George Stults' strong suit. I'm not sure what is, actually. All in all, it wasn't a bad part, just kinda...okay. In the earlier days, this kinda side plot would be a lot better and more interesting, but here, it has that "been here, done that" feeling. It's just more Ruthie/T-Bone relationship fluff to pad out an episode. Still, it was decent, watchable padding.
Last, and certainly very least, is Mac trying to find a job. He gets one working at the movie theater with T-Bone, in order to pay for an apartment with Jane and Margaret. There really isn't much else to say. Non-Camdens with uninteresting stories that no one really cares about.
In the end, "Deacon Blues" was a fine episode of 7th Heaven. It's big story was it's sole saving grace and made it what it is. The shot of Eric and Annie in the backyard, with all the people, had it's charm, but it didn't quite hit home as it has in the past because most of the people were non-Camdens, and that made it a little less sweet than it could have been. Oh well, very minor quibble. The episode was pleasing and satisfying from start to finish, with some lesser pit stops along the way.
