7th Heaven

It's Valentine's Day and the Camdens are singing about love! Simon has a new girlfriend who he thinks could be the one. Lucy is upset when Kevin has to go back to work. Ruthie and Vincent argue because neither of them has called each other in three days. Sam and David's birthday is also today!



This episode was interesting. The songs were good, but some of the singers were horrible. George sounded like he was talking when he sang and Mackenzie's voice was just too low. I wished that Beverley could've sung. Stephen and Thomas were great singers though! Catherine was an okay singer. This episode gets a 7.5 out of 10.

wow! everyone really stinks at singing! (especially kevn he just says the lyrics when everyone sings 'Love is Sweeeping the Country') It sucked! i thought it was funny cause no one can sing and the congs that the writers chose really, well sucked. Haha it was hilarious1 The only reasn I am giving this show anything higher than a .01 is becuse I laughed soooo hard! Especialy when Kevin attemps to sing to lucy! He was sooo of key! vincet was horrible ruthie cannot danc and the more she attempts to sing..the more funny it is! ;-) haha Well funny pisode! ;-)

I don't even know where to begin. When I read the show description I laughed and thought (hoped?) maybe it was a joke. But nothing could've prepared me for the depth or magnitude of the horror I was about to witness. Not one iota of the show was excusable. Obviously the bad bad baaaad singing, stiff and embarassing dancing, and the ludicrous staging were beyond imagination. But even beyond that, the plot and acting were just the worst I have ever seen! Not that I blame the actors -- can you imagine being forced to do those scenes and still be taken seriously as an actor? Poor George Stults!!!! I don't know who conceived of it, but that's a crime in and of itself. But.... can you imagine seeing the end result, seeing how bad it was, and then still deciding to air it? An all-time low for the show. Actually, I sincerely believe this episode sets an all time new low for television, WELL beneath jumping the shark. Worst ever. Embarassing.

This episode must have been the most horrible one I have ever seen of 7th Heaven. How the hell did the writers get the idea to let the characters sing almost every 5 minutes?



If I want to see a musical, I'll go to the Broadway Theatre!



Besides, the cast are supposed to be actors, not musicians. You gotta give them credit for their courage, though. Almost every cast member gave a little singing performance, except Simon (David Gallagher) the reason probably being that he realized that 7th Heaven is NOT a musical but a TV show.



Some passages were actually unintentionally funny, first and foremost the scene where Ruthie (Mackenzie Rosman) was singing in school, which did not really sound like her voice, by the way. Usually, I really like Ruthie but this was just painful to watch.

This episode was not written very well. IT is quite hard to write a musical for 7th heaven thought. So I applaud the writers for the fine effort.



Simon Camden (David Gallager) choose not to participate. I would have liked to see him do something, but it is kind of embarressing to do. I personnally would not have participated. Ohter than him, I think that most of the cast did participate in the musical. Ruthie did the most, I think



I wouldnt like to see anything like this episode in the future though. Good thing it doesnt happen every episode.

I\\\'ve always loved 7th Heaven. I mean, some of their episodes were a little out there but this episode has got to be the wierdest, I mean were the writers sober when they thought of having a musical? It\\\'s normally Disney channel shows who have musicals, but I\\\'ve never even thought of a WB channel show to have one. Or atleast, not 7th Heaven. The songs aren\\\'t even good! I mean, were the writers sober when they wrote this? Sorry if I offended anyone in that last sentence. This is definitely the wierdest episode of 7th Heaven I\\\'ve ever seen. Ever. And did anyone notice Ruthie\\\'s voice sounded a little unlike her? I know it\\\'s her voice, but it sounded like she was going for Judy Garland. And that\\\'s just not her style.

Oh. My. God. Wow. I don\\\'t even know how to begin. I don\\\'t know where the show has gone, it used to be so good the first couple of years. But now they focus more on the characters then real issues. And increasing the actor\\\'s paycheck probably influence the episodes a ton too. This episode really did suck. Badly. I\\\'m not really not even sure what the worst part of it was, it\\\'s a total toss-up between Kevin Kinkirk\\\'s tone-deaf song to Lucy, Lucy\\\'s piggishness and selfishness, the twin\\\'s \\\"acting\\\", the stupid plotline of this Whole episode, or Simon\\\'s new haircut. Did he really think shaved was the way to go? And why haven\\\'t they replaced the twins? Oh god. Annie just hit a high note. And I\\\'m pretty sure it was more of a high screech then a note. I think the only person on this show that actually has a good singing voice is Stephan Collins, and for some reason I have the feeling that Beverley Mitchell has a pretty nice one, but she didn\\\'t even sing. I tell you one thing, I hope they NEVER have another 7th Heaven musical episode, or they might just lose the show. Oh, wait...they already did.







EDIT: On behalf of the last comment, it seems that they\\\'ve actually renewed this crap-tastic show for another season. Will It Never Die??????

I'm sorry, that was really painful to watch. The idea was kind of silly (I'm being kind here)and aside from a couple of the actors, no one could carry a tune. They looked ridiculous. I realize this episode was supposed to be light hearted, but when is the last time adapting a one hour drama into a musical worked?

I love this show other than that. There's always something new to learn and I like that I can get help with my parenting skills by seeing how certain situations can be handled (or sometimes not handled).

But please don't let them do another musical before they sign off at the end of their ten years. I've been trying to get other people to watch this show but that episode kind of ruined my credibility. Sorry.

Bad=Good.

It's supposed to be a comedy, right?



So... I had a great time watching this episode with my brother yesterday, and laughing at JUST how bad it was. We'd make lot's of commentary, and fondly recollect how, when we watched it on it's original airing, we read all of tvtome's reviews on how bad it was. We tried to think of an episode of 7th Heaven that was any worse, and couldn't. The major storylines weren't even stories, and were idiotic. The twins were in it WAY too much, (they should just be replaced with REAL children actors, if you ask me), and Kevin CANNOT sing! What was that- reciting poetry with a change in tone every once in a while? Oh- and the songs were AWFUL, had nothing to do with anything (in the storyline, what was just said, etc.).



Here's a minor recap:



Ruthie: (By the way, I sing a totally irrelevant song at one point, "Good Work if You Can Get It", and I shake my butt.)

Oooo... Vincent hasn't called me in THREE DAYS... now my life is over... oh- you thought it was my turn to call... well, then, TOO BAD... I'm still gonna be a big baby and sulk until you sing to me with all the gay (I don't usually use that word) baseball players... now I LOoooVE you, Vincent. Oh yeah... Martin... he's STUoooPID!



(Oh yeah, and THIS is the episode when the honor-student Sam is used to make Vincent jealous, he reappears in season 10, by the way.)



Twins: Well, this episode is already as bad as it gets, so why don't we say as much as possible in this episode so that we don't have to say much in another relatively good episode and ruin it? OK. Let's talk in unison, get the worst B-day presents any 6-year-olds ever got in the history of the universe, and eat so much we complain (in unison) about our stomach aches. Oh yeah- and we'll repeat everything out mommy tell us to say on the answering machine, but she won't even bother to whisper, because it's SUCH a corny show that we're on.



Annie and Eric: You bought me red socks- No, I only bought them because you wear them- No I only wear them because I love you- Here's the title of the episode (WHAT THE F***!)- Everything's great now- let's sing to each other- Awww...



Lucy: Why won't Kevin stay home with me on V-day? Did you and Dad have a fight, Mom? Why won't Kevin stay home with me on V-day? Why? Why? I'm only smart because I don't sing. Why won't Kevin stay home with me? Oh, you brought me a rose, Kevin. I also talked to my mommy. I guess I still love you, Kevin. It's okay, Kevin. As long as you don't chant another awful song, Kevin, I suppose I still love you even though you went back to work on Valentine's Day.



Kevin: I know my wife's a big baby, and a, well, to put it nicely, a hopeless romantic. So I'm gonna not get my wife, whom I've been married to for less than two years, ANYTHING on Valentine's day. I'm the richest guy ever, I was more romantic than any real, live person could be exactly 2 years ago on V-day (when I proposed with a Jazz guy, a sexy dress, a wonderful ring, and probably at least SOME flowers, personally I don't exactly remember), but now I need my divorced boss to clue me in. And of course, I desperately need vocal lessons, I'm about as good as the twins. But I buy a rose from Ruthie at the end, and all's well that ends well, right? (WHAT-EVA!)



Simon: Again, I'm madly in love with some ugly blonde chick who wants to see my parents after simply TALKING all night with me, and then I can't justify myself for having been also madly in love with Cecila, and willing to marry Georgia. That's about it. Oh yeah- I don't sing, which, like Lucy, is all that I have going for me.



Eric (extra alone tidbits): My singing voice really isn't that bad, although my reviewer would probably say that because Thomas Dekker composed the music to "The Land Before Time" children's videos, his character, Vincent, was actually a better singer than I. I sing with the twins, and to myself, and to Annie, and the songs absolutely SUCK. I look at ugly pictures of my family, and go to the church, merely to sit in my office, and DO NOTHING. I, like Kevin, have no job, I just go "to work" and think about my family.



Annie (extra alone tidbits): Well, besides doing the laundry all day, refusing to make cake for my youngest children on their birthday, telling Lucy (AGAIN) the Kevin does love her, and complaining about red socks, I also sang a song. What was it? "Talk to the Man Upstairs", or something of that nature. Why? Because I met Simon's one-ep-only "girlfriend". Oh- And I ended the episode with a smile on my face, drinking champagne and disappearing into a heart!



~~~

Why did this episode not get 0.0, then, you say? Well, I'd be a little over optimistic to think that 7th Heaven is ever THAT much better than this episode. The fact that the twins birthday is Valentine's day is remembered, nice continuity there, folks. And Captain (or Detective, or Seregant, whatever he is now) Michaels remembered that Kevin proposed to Lucy on Valentine's day, nice continuity there. And that's definitely worth SOMETHING. And then Eric and Annie DO have a fight, however childish and made-up it might be, which doesn't happen every episode. This fight keeps there relationship at the ALMOST realistic level. And Lucy's character isn't all that different than usual. Finally, Vincent wasn't the real idiot (besides the phone-call thing) for one episode. that deserves a 2.5, don't you think?

Why, why, why would 7th heaven do a show like this? None of the cast members ( except maybe Stephen Collins) can sing, and forcing them to do so results in an excruciating episode. Thsi type of really horrible episode is very out of character for a show like this, and I was surpirsed that they would attempt it. When I first saw the promos fpr this episode, I started cringing, and didn't stop until the episode was over. I hope that they don't chose to replay this episode becuse I don't think that I could sit through it ever again!

Where to begin?. What do you say after witnessing an episode like this?. Once you pick your jaw up off the floor, you are awashed in shock, confusion, and a hint of nausea. Okay, maybe I am being too hard on a harmless episode that tried to be fun and different. You can't Blame Brenda or the others behind the scenes for stretching their boundaries and trying to do something instead of the same old, same old. You do need to be kept on your tippy toes at some point. Otherwise you just go through the motions?. So, how exactly was it?.



The Good - Not much. Stephen Collins was the best performer out of all of them. Was there any question?. He is a great singer and has a wonderfully warm and inviting voice. His way of singing is tailor made for the type of material here. He is the best here. Thomas Dekker as Vincent was not too bad. I was a bit taken aback when he first started singing because he sounded like an older person. His pronunciations throughout the song were quite odd in some places. He wasn't that great, but he would be the second runner up.



The Bad - Where to start?. We all knew that George Stults' acting style is wooden. Maybe wooden isn't a good enough term. Now we find out that he has no singing ability either. I am still trying to figure out if his part was supposed to be more like talking, or if he was that bad. Mackenzie Rosman was not much better. Her singing was cringe inducing, and the little shimmy she did just made it worse. Between this and Stults' singing, I was on the floor in colvulsions. Oh..my..lord. Catherine Hicks. I am torn. I have heard her sing before, and she's not bad. She didn't start out too well, but then it sounded like she was okay. Surprisingly, the one cast member who was also shown some singing ability, Beverly Mitchell, doesn't sing one word. What in the world is that about?.



There is nothing wrong with doing what they did. But the powers that be should of known if they had a cast who could pull it off. They didn't. With some exceptions. They also had a director who had no idea how to film a musical, or do any right choreography. The dance sequences were clunky, and the dancing and singing were out of sync in some places. Something might of been salvaged if they had a competent director who knew what he was doing, and a cast who could do it too. The fact that Martha Plimpton wrote this is another shock.



Buffy The Vampire Slayer's musical episode was brilliant. Pure genius. Proof that something like this can be done to perfection. Like I said, there is nothing wrong with the idea, and I commend them for at least thinking outside of the box. But geez, what a tragedy!. Anyways, there is a real guilty pleasure/cultness about this episode that does attract some. Take out all the music and singing, and you have a pretty normal episode. One that wouldn't of been too bad really. Brenda, if you are going to experiment again, make sure you think it through and know that you can pull it off.



In the end, it is so incredibly easy(and kinda lazy and predictable) to gang up on the episode which was a harmless episode just trying to have fun and do something new for a change. It is not that hard to watch, really. Sure, it raises a number of shudders, and is poorly done in every aspect(the music part anyway), but it is quite watchable just for the ridiculousness of it all. Like I said earlier, it will probably be so infamous that it will have a little cult following. I wouldn't be surprised that when the series is over and done with, that this episode is one that people will always be talking about, and in a way gives the episode and the show (another)last laugh because people will be talking.

Well at least they tried, sure they failed but it really stunk. I'm sure at one point they wanted to break out of the ordinary and said why dont we do a musical. NEVER AGAIN! Please stick to the regular episodes that you always do, we love those but hated this episode. Please dont ever do a musical again!!!! We're BEGGING you!

This is a bad show getting worse. Between the sexification of Ruthie which is truly nauseating and the undeliverable plot points, the revulsion caused by this episode is unchallenged. Except for Vincent who actually can dance, none of the actors delivered a convincing performance. It's almost as if the show wants to be cancelled - Pleading on bended knee, please oh please cancel us.



The worst part is that the people who actually like this show and keep on watching it think or say or try to convince themselves that it has good family values. Being judgemental, immature, selfish, controlling, those are good family values? Let this show die, it's begging to have the plug pulled.

I didn't even watch the entire episode it was so horrible. I laughed through most of it, and then (after staring at my sister in horror) I shut it off. Why would the writers of the show think this could possibly be a good idea? Why did the actors agree to do it? I heard a few of them refused to sing. Good for them.

Remember last week at the end of my review of "First Date" that I asked everyone to pray of what was to come the following a week---a 7th Heaven musical episode? Apparently, it didn't do the trick at all. I don't understand how this show can have some really good episodes and then every once and a while have a really bad one. You'd think I was watching two different shows from week to week as the writing fluctuates from good to bad depending on the episode. Even though I wasn't expecting much from this episode I wasn't thinking it was going to be this bad---I mean it was written by Broadway stage actress Martha Pimpton who has worked with such people like Woody Allen. So we could at least hope there would be some good qualities to take from this musical. There wasn't. This was definitely no Buffy. And this is the first time in the history of the show that I actually wanted to change the channel. And I'm gonna tell ya why... First off, again, this was definitely no Buffy.



I don't like comparing a TV show to another, but in this case I have to make an exception as musical episodes are very rare, but when it is done, it is usually done right (i.e. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Once More, With Feeling, which I saw and loved) because they know they can do it. And Buffy definitely got it right. 7th Heaven didn't even come close---in fact both shows are solar systems apart when it came to music, choreography, singing and originality.



The first thing that needs to be addressed when you are a TV show that wants to do a musical (God only knows why), the first criteria that should be addressed is to check to see if your actors on the show (at least most of them) can sing. And not just sing, but can sing well. It was reported earlier, prior to this episode that actor David Gallagher (Simon Camden) didn't want to sing in this episode because he didn't want to embarrass himself, whereas Tyler Hoechlin and Beverely Mitchell didn't sing as well, as they probably also contested. When a portion of your cast objects to this, that should've been a red light to the writers and producers that this is not going to work. Not only that, but it should've been realized by the producers that musicals on TV shows are done very rarely. You'd think they'd realize this is for a reason.



Another thing that was was done wrong in this musical episode is that none of the music was "original." ALL of the music was taken from previous albums and composed by other artists decades ago, and the producers and writers just decided to put them in, despite the fact that none of the songs were memorable, nor did they really match the scenes they were in. Last, but certainly not least, there was no logical explanation on why everyone decided to burst into song this week. Even Buffy the Vampire Slayer used logic in a sci-fi sense by the town being on a spell, but what about people here in Glen Oak? What a travesty! Wow, that was one long introduction, but this was some horrible musical. Let's break it down...



Eric, Annie and twins: We begin with Eric and Annie getting up for Valentine's Day as Eric decides to do the laundry and cook breakfast with the twins to wish their mom a Happy Valentine's Day. Oh, and it's the twins birthday, even though no one really cared by only acknowleging it for a second. I've been complimenting the twins a lot this season as they have significantly improved in their acting and general speech this season, especially the taller twin. But they've still haven't reached their full potential of being cute twins on screen, which is worse as they sing in this episode. As Eric went into his little number they joined along with him singing very slow and slurring in their speech. I'm just wondering, I don't mean this to be funny, but it does seem that they have a speech problem for six year olds.



The episode begins with part of the family singing Love Is Sweeping The Country with Eric and twins in the kitchen preparing to serve Annie breakfast for her present for Valentine's Day. Shouldn't the twins be getting most of the attention, since they are only 6 and it's their birthday? At that age a birthday is a big deal. Moving on...(but not fast enough for this episode to end) Eric and Annie get into a quarrel about Eric's red socks and the laundry as he leaves them in the white clothes for wash and turns them pink. Not only that, but Eric leaves dishes in the sink, which leads to an unhappy Annie who wished the day was a little more special. Whatever. It was boring and the discussion of red socks till the end of the episode had absolutely no meaning. And I don't remember Annie giving Eric red socks in previous Valentine's Day shows as she claimed. Either way, Eric was a so-so singer in his office as he sung You Are My Lucky Star to a picture of Annie. That was okay, but still very unoriginal. The way how Annie treats Eric, I wonder how she could be.



Kevin and Lucy: There is a big mystery with these two in the episode. We see Kevin (George Stults) and Lucy (Beverley Mitchell) mainly arguing once again on trivial stuff that shouldn't really matter---Lucy wants Kevin to stay home one more day from work to celebrate Valentine's Day with her, while Kevin feels he needs to go back to work from his sabatical as other police members might wanna have the day off. Lucy of course fusses. Why? He's has to make a living--- something you are not doing at the moment Lucy and he has to pay for their new home---which they still haven't moved into yet---once again I say, why?



Now here comes the mystery part with these two. It's been established that actress Beverley Mitchell has a pretty nice voice and is a descent singer. There's proof of this as she has sung earlier in the series to her newborn brothers (i.e. It Happened One Night) and when she sung to her high school crush Jeremy on Valentine's Day a few years back (i.e. V-Day). So why would they not want her to sing in this episode, a musical mind you, and yet have Kevin (George Stults) for the couple in this episode? No offense, but it's an accomplishment if Kevin can show more than two emotions in an episode. And yet Brenda Hampton and Martha Plimpton chose him to sing over Beverley Mitchell. The only thing that seems logical is that Beverley Mitchell also decided not to sing in this episode. Based on the script and songs, smart move Beverely. Poor George.



Anyway, Kevin tries to charm Lucy while he's getting dressed for work by singing (or at least trying to sing) You Were Meant For Me to her in an approach to make her feel better. This was the absolute lowpoint of the episode. I actually had to walk into another room because I was embarrassed that I was actually seeing this. Not only can George Stults not carry more than two emotions in his facial expressions but he has no body rhythm whatsoever in his dance. His voice was completely horrible. It's not even clear if he was singing, just rhyming along with the words. Did I mention it was painful? Even Lucy (Beverley Mitcell) made a bad expression of how awful he was. If this was a funny attempt by the writers to show Kevin singing bad for his wife anyway to cheer her up, that's nice, but why did us viewers have to be subjected to it?



Ruthie and Vincent: Well after only one date this new couple is already experiencing tension. Apparently, neither knows how to call each other back on the phone after three days as both expected the other to call them back. This inevitably puts Ruthie (Mackenzie Rosman) in a bad mood when she's in school and seeing practically every teenager in school as a couple kissing and making out in the hallways---everyone but her. Yeesh! Glen Oak is one sexed up town. It doesn't help when Vincent is walking in the hallways with another girl to get Ruthie's attention, and Ruthie retaliates by going with some other guy after arguing with Vincent. Anyway, while in school Ruthie breaks into song with Nice Work If You Can Get It. There was absolutely no relevance of that song to the scene of Ruthie being mad and jealous. Who chose this music? Not only that, but the musical number was terrible all the way through. Ruthie struts herself through the hallway singing, and yet her lips are not matching the song at all. It was so obvious the poor thing was lip synching. Taking cues from former cast member Ashlee (Cecilia), eh? It also didn't help the way Mackenzie Rosman moved around in a somewhat strippery way during her dance number in the school hallway. She definitely looked uncomfortable doing it. She looked like she wished she was somewhere else. I don't blame her. It also doesn't help since she looks so young---it looks less like sexy and more like child porn. Take a note writers and producers. Don't ever do that again!



But like any teenage couple, their first fight is short-lived as they talk on the school bleachers. Vincent (Thomas Dekker) basically tells Ruthie that she's not perfect and then breaks into song with Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate The Positive, I guess to show that Ruthie needs to look more into his good qualities. That is my best guess on how the music refered to the scene, but it's still a stretch. Once again, couldn't the writers have hired composers to make up their own song to fit into the scene.



Surprisngly enough, Vincent and the baseball musical part was the best out of all the rest in the episode. He actually knew how to move with rhythm and the choreography wasn't that bad. Although, that was definitely not his voice singing. It was completely fake. What's the point of having a musical if the people don't use their real voices, or at least record their own voices to be added later in the scene? Ugh, moving on...



Simon and Anna: For Valentine's Day, Simon (David Gallagher) has found himself yet another girlfriend, Anna, whom he just met the night before---and once again it's love at first sight. I don't mind that Simon is dating a lot of different girls this year. Honestly, if there's ever an age where a person should date around a lot to see who they want to be with it should be in college. I don't mind that, but it's very tiresome now that the writers keep using this "love at first sight" plot and saying "I love you" to each other only after knowing each other for a day or two. It seems more like "lust at first sight" on this show. Anyway, Anna for some reason wants to know everything she can about Simon, which means going to Glen Oak to see his family and where he grew up. Simon, knowing how his family is, decides that it isn't a good idea and just wants to drop into town for a while.



As Simon and Anna spend the day in Glen Oak for Valentine's Day they decide to spend it at the promenade. Why would he take her to the promenade though if he didn't want to run into his family? Simon should know by now that the promenade is Camden central for the mall. Anyway, as Simon goes away to get something Annie comes up to Anna and tells her that she's Simon's mother and that she feels they are rushing things. That's when the song begins, The Man Upstairs. Now Catherine Hicks wasn't that bad of a singer, but that was one creepy song for the scene of Annie telling this girl, whom she has never met before to talk to God when it comes to being with her son. It was completely out of character, even for Annie and a complete disregard for her son. If I was Anna and my partner's mother came up to me out of nowhere to tell me to look up to God "upstairs" about their relationship I would've ran far away. Anna did start to run away a little after talking to Annie and wanted Simon to take her back to college, but inevitably she comes back later on to his apartment and decides to make out with him anyway. Whatever. I doubt we'll see her again away.



Martin and Zoe: We don't see this new couple much in the episode, but what we do see is that Martin (Tyler Hoechlin) gets reacquainted with Zoe (Katie Cassidy) after a few weeks ago when she threatened to get him in trouble if he didn't follow her lead in telling her friends in school that they slept together. Yep folks, another young girl who manipulates their men in Glen Oak. I tell ya, I think Brenda Hampton hates young women. Anyway, throughout the episode Zoe tries to charm him in the hallway by giving him an apology Valentine's card and also showing up at his baseball practice trying to flirt with him. Not only that, but later on she comes by to the Camden home to see if she could possibly be with hm. Martin's reaction throughout all of this is pretty subdued. Quite frankly, he doesn't seem too interested in her. Zoe just doesn't seem to take the hint that he's really not that interested in her. But at least neither sung. That's a another plus for these two in comparison to others. I wouldn't even call them a couple, because they honestly didn't have much chemistry on screen as is.



I know the writers are trying to make Martin a real straight forward teenage guy in not wanting to have sex with Zoe or any girl for that matter. But it's becoming more of a problem as they keep addressing that Martin doesn't want to have sex. It sort of worries me. Even the most straight forward guys show signs of tempatation. He should at least show some signs of weakness to this, because he's around all these pretty girls around him at school all day. Whatever, I'm not going to go there. Besdies, we know he has a thing for Ruthie. So I didn't and won't get attached to this couple. Heck, I'm surprised Zoe (Katie Cassidy) came back for a second appearance. On this show people and relationships with the Camden's are a constant turnstile.



Overall, this was a very terrible musical episode. The singing, choreography, dialogue and plots were all awful, with a capital A. Seriously Brenda Hampton, if you're starting to run out of ideas on how to make your Valentine's Day episodes unique, maybe you should stop making them! I don't think the fans would mind. Why not Christmas? This is a Christian family, and I'm sure that's a big thing in the household that you never show. Also, more importantly, Martha Plimpton, don't quit your day job, please! And Brenda Hampton, your episodes for the rest of the season better be pure gold to counter weigh this crap you subjected to your viewers this week. This show needs to stick to what it knows best--- feel-good family drama, that is all...ugh, my head hurts now, I need a drink.



Grade: **1 out of 10**



Rants and Bits:

*Despite Vincent's dance number on the baseball field being the best musical number in the episode, I still have to say that was the gayest thing I think I've ever seen on this show. It was creepy how they guys lifted him up in the air and the water was spitting out of their mouths like a water fountain...creepy



*Where was Kyle Searles (Mac)? He was credited as a guest-star yet he had no lines in this episode and we only saw him for a few seconds in the baseball musical number.



*I feel so sorry for the twins, Sam and David. That was one crappy birthday they had. They got crappy presents (Ruthie cleans their room for a week?) and had to sing, as well as hear their family members sing! Not only that, no one else seemed to care. Poor guys.



*Why is it that all the Camden men and Martin continue to date these thin, blue-eyed blonde girls? Can't they mix it up a bit with a brunette or redhead 7th Heaven casting department?! I was though surprised to see so much diversity in the promenade musical number. One rare highlight in the musical number as well.



*Each cast member deserves a hefty bonus from the show, truly, as they've completely embarrassed themselves this week in front of America and some compensation is needed. In fact, take it out of Brenda Hampton's and Martha Plimpton's pay check! They need to be punished. It's only fair since they did it to us this week.



*Lip synching was running rampant in this episode. A simple thing to match the lips with the vocals and even the editting team couldn't get it right, nonetheless the actors! Ugh, more liquor!

Where to begin?. What do you say after witnessing an episode like this?. Once you pick your jaw up off the floor, you are awashed in shock, confusion, and a hint of nausea. Okay, maybe I am being too hard on a harmless episode that tried to be fun and different. You can't Blame Brenda or the others behind the scenes for stretching their boundaries and trying to do something instead of the same old, same old. You do need to be kept on your tippy toes at some point. Otherwise you just go through the motions?. So, how exactly was it?.



The Good - Not much. Stephen Collins was the best performer out of all of them. Was there any question?. He is a great singer and has a wonderfully warm and inviting voice. His way of singing is tailor made for the type of material here. He is the best here. Thomas Dekker as Vincent was not too bad. I was a bit taken aback when he first started singing because he sounded like an older person. His pronunciations throughout the song were quite odd in some places. He wasn't that great, but he would be the second runner up.



The Bad - Where to start?. We all knew that George Stults' acting style is wooden. Maybe wooden isn't a good enough term. Now we find out that he has no singing ability either. I am still trying to figure out if his part was supposed to be more like talking, or if he was that bad. Mackenzie Rosman was not much better. Her singing was cringe inducing, and the little shimmy she did just made it worse. Between this and Stults' singing, I was on the floor in colvulsions. Oh..my..lord. Catherine Hicks. I am torn. I have heard her sing before, and she's not bad. She didn't start out too well, but then it sounded like she was okay. Surprisingly, the one cast member who was also shown some singing ability, Beverly Mitchell, doesn't sing one word. What in the world is that about?.



There is nothing wrong with doing what they did. But the powers that be should of known if they had a cast who could pull it off. They didn't. With some exceptions. They also had a director who had no idea how to film a musical, or do any right choreography. The dance sequences were clunky, and the dancing and singing were out of sync in some places. Something might of been salvaged if they had a competent director who knew what he was doing, and a cast who could do it too. The fact that Martha Plimpton wrote this is another shock.



Buffy The Vampire Slayer's musical episode was brilliant. Pure genius. Proof that something like this can be done to perfection. Like I said, there is nothing wrong with the idea, and I commend them for at least thinking outside of the box. But geez, what a tragedy!. Anyways, there is a real guilty pleasure/cultness about this episode that does attract some. Take out all the music and singing, and you have a pretty normal episode. One that wouldn't of been too bad really. Brenda, if you are going to experiment again, make sure you think it through and know that you can pull it off.



In the end, it is so incredibly easy(and kinda lazy and predictable) to gang up on the episode which was a harmless episode just trying to have fun and do something new for a change. It is not that hard to watch, really. Sure, it raises a number of shudders, and is poorly done in every aspect(the music part anyway), but it is quite watchable just for the ridiculousness of it all. Like I said earlier, it will probably be so infamous that it will have a little cult following. I wouldn't be surprised that when the series is over and done with, that this episode is one that people will always be talking about, and in a way gives the episode and the show (another)last laugh because people will be talking.

Well just as I suspected Red Socks was one horrible, horrible, horrible, and unwatchable episode. People on the forums were sayingthis episode were be okay because 7th Heaven has done singing in their episodes before, but what I tried to tell those people is that in the past the singing was just in one scene --- it was just one tidbit of the episode. Here, in Red Socks, the singing is about the whole episode. That is the plot/storyline. Oh man, please tell me what the writers were thinking while in their conference room trying to decided what would make a good Valentine's Day episode. How the heck did the arrive at doing a musical episode might actually be good? This V-Day episode makes last season's (eighth season) V-Day episode look good! And before this episode I thought season 8's was the worst. Well dang, I'd much rather see just Chandler, Roxanne, Peter, Vic, Paris, Cecilia, and Martin in the episode and no Camdens, then seeing the Camdens totally mortify themselves in front of America. Why do you think Beverley Mitchell (the one that can actually sing) and David Gallagher did not sing in this episode? They're both young actors, 7th Heaven is almost over, and they didn't want to ruin any possible movie/tv series careers in the future. Barry Watson didn't even wanna appear in the episode. Smart move, man! And Jessica Biel is never gonna wanna return if she sees the show was reduced to this crap. Just when I thought 7th Heaven was getting back to its glory days this season and they make an episode like this --- and right when they announce there'll be a tenth season! Please writers, do not have any of the actors sing in the tenth season! Or even the remainder of season 9, for that matter.



Anyway, seriously, this episode was so bad that the people I usually watch this with who love this show --- every episode, including myself, were even making fun and walking out of the room during this episode. Through the whole thing we were just looking at each other asking, "When's Everwood coming on?" And everytime they started to play the music we knew more singing was coming and dreaded it literally. We were just totally laughing during the singing scenes asking ourselves, "Is this meant to be a comedy?" There was one point at the end, with Annie and Eric talking on the back porch for like five minutes. It was so sweet to watch and the highlight of the episode. Just as I was getting into the scene and telling myself, "Well at least the episode had a decent ending..." one of them two break into yet another song which totally ruined the moment for me and had me rolling my eyes once again. If you haven't figured out already, I hated this episode. Plus the characters even when not singing were acting so unusual --- that's what I'm gonna discuss now. What I won't discuss things like Eric, Annie, Lucy and Kevin, who were just arguing over red socks and going back to work, respectively. Stupid, stupid storylines!



Simon and Anna: Well first of well let me comment on the writers choice of name for Simon's new girlfriend. Why would they name one of their new characters "Anna" when they already have one named "Annie"? That's just lazy and bad writing, if you ask me. Plus it would get confusing for the viewers, especially since Anna seems to be in the next two episodes or so. Okay, prepare for more bashing because I really don't like the directions the writers are taking Simon's characters (or Mary's for that matter, but that's another review).



I let it slide when Simon had sex out of wedlock earlier this season with someone that he had just got back together with, instead of having it be with his girlfriend of one year --- Cecilia. The writers handled that storyline in a realistic way, in that someone who grew up with such strong morals and good, responsible role models could actually grow up to just have sex out of wedlock to someone he didn't really love. But now? What's his excuse now? Before he was still not over the accident, but the writers closed that chapter of the show already. He got over it, he got closure by talking to Paul's brother. So now why is he still continuing to act like a total player and telling girls he loves them after a few hours of knowing them? That is totally ridiculous and not believable after watching Simon grow uo all these years. The writers totally ruined his character this season with all these sex storyline. And it is not stopping either. next week Anna says she has an 'std'. Oh enough already, writers! Are you that out of ideas for the other characters that you have to be using the same one for the same character in the SAME season? For pete's sake, Kevin and Lucy just had a baby and bought a house, and this is the crap we're watching instead? This is not a good way for the writers to get their viewers to be excited about a 10th season. Hopefully they'll redeem Simon in someway, if that's possible.



Ruthie, Vincent, and Martin: This was the best part of the episode for me. Ruthie sitting on the bleachers watching Zoe and Martin blowing kisses. She was obviously jealous and once again the writers are hinting for a Martin/Ruthie romance. I'm totally on board with that. And from spoilers it doesn't seem like Vincent will be sticking around much longer, so I suspect something will happen with Ruthie and Martin in the season finale---and that'll be one of the engines for season 10. Well what else is their to say? Ruthie and Vincent were running around like chicken without heads because neither of them called each other for three days. I can understand Ruthie being upset over that; it is the guy's duty to call. But it shouldn't have been what they argued about the whole episode. And by the way, it's sad when the best singer on the show is a guest star.



I'd say at least we can look forward to a great episode next week, but next week's doesn't look so special at all. I mean it'll certainly be better than this week's suckfest getting back to what 7th Heaven is about, but it just doesn't looks that great. Just kinda blah. Well we'll see for sure next Monday. 'Til then!



Tidbits



Those poor twins, subjecting them to singing like that. Poor guys. This is one of those things The Brino Twins will be trying to avoid and forget about 10 years from now when they're teenager---much like the Olsen Twins and Full House.



I have new respect for Beverley and David, as they're the only ones smart enough not to do this. As for the others, shame!



Poor Happy, why didn't she get to sing? She certainly would've been better than Kevin.