7th Heaven

This is by far & away my favourite episode of 7th Heaven by virtue of the performance of Michael Feinstein,who is arguably one of the finest interpreters of The Gershwin Songbook. Michael plays music teacher Mr Feinstein,who introduces kids in Detention to the music of & songs of George & Ira Gershwin.Feinstein is savvy enough to be prepared to listen to the kids & what they have to say,particularly about rap music.By the end of the school week many of the kids have undertaken Detention voluntarily just for the privilege of sitting at Michael's feet. In other developments Ruthie tries valiantly to cry Martin out of her system while befriending Maggie,a homeless girl with problems of her own.Simon & Rose continue their wedding preparations,much to Eric's chagrin,while Kevin attempts to seduce Lucy who seems distracted by her own encounter with Maggie.

Ruthie gets detention for being late to class. She was talking to Maggie, a girl at school. Maggie tells her that she and her family are homeless and that her parents can't read. Ruthie was crying because of Martin. In detention, the music teacher, Mr. Feinstein is leading it. They discuss Gershwin and other music. Ruthie loved it and it also made her feel better. She came all week and other kids got in trouble on purpose to be there. Eric, Kevin, Lucy and Mr. Feinstein want to help Maggie. Simon and Rose need a song for their wedding. Ruthie suggests "Embraceable You" by Gershwin.



This was a pretty good episode! It was so sad how Ruthie kept crying. It was funny when Eric said that she didn't want to break Lucy's crying record. Their detention seemed really fun! This episode gets a 9.5 out of 10!

This episode is a bit unusual, it seems like a dream. Ruthie's tears over Martin make sense, because although she never dated him she was very emotionally attached, and her hopes were up. Putting the music plot alongside it creates an unusual dynamic, but the music was extremely emotional, as Ruthie is. The new friend's hard life and the firing of the music teacher should let Ruthie know that life for her might not be so bad, but if anything, her sadness makes her more sensitive to the sadness of others. Kind of different, and it might or might not have been successful, depending on who you ask, but it was worth a try.

It was a good episode but the musical theme has been done and the "red socks" episode was a flop. This one was better with the singing actually matching lip movements. the magic of Gershwin is inspiring but not when it causes one of the characters ( Ruthie ) to cry for the entire episode over Martin.

The previews made this episode sound a lot more powerful than it actually was--which, I guess, is typical for most shows, but it was still disappointing that this episode was not a little better.



The plot consists basically of Ruthie spilling her tears of woe about Martin, who is now off with Sandy and his baby and, apparently, is in a position where he might marry Sandy. Actress Mackenzie Rosman hasn't done much crying in this series, but Ruthie's emotional scenes are well done and believable here. It's the typical high school drama that most girls can relate to, but I can't help thinking they could have gone into this with a bit more depth. Maybe it would have helped if they had explored that link between Martin and Ruthie a little earlier instead of sweeping it under the rug and having Ruthie conceal it for so long. Ruthie has grown up a great deal and become a very nice character for the show, though, and I am glad they have been giving her more to do recently.



The situation with Ruthie's new "detention" friend Maggie is a tiresome plot that has been used on this show literally since Season 1. It is an old formula, with Eric jumping onto the case, and the only difference here is that Lucy is now joining him. Having Eric go out and help people is a big part of 7th Heaven--a classic part of it, in fact--but they still could have done much better with this.



But no need to worry, 7th Heaven fans--we have 8 solid episodes to go before the end, and I think once they get down to the final five we will start seeing some good, dramatic, and well executed episodes. Brenda Hampton may just be holding out for the last couple of shows before she brings in the good stuff, so no need to be too disappointed with filler episodes like these.

Even though I usually watch "7th Heaven" mainly to laugh at the silly characters, I have to admit that I was at times a little moved by this episode. Maybe that's because, for one thing, I like Ruthie. She's more of a realistic character than most on the show, I think. Of COURSE she's not over Martin, and her oblivious family just isn't catching on. It takes someone who's going through an even more painful situation to help Ruthie deal. How? By validating her right to be upset--the Camdens seem to think Ruthie should "just get over" Martin, but her new friend lets her accept her right to have a broken heart over someone she was never with. Now that she's not feeling guilty for being so upset, it should be easier for her to move on.



Although I have to admit that I would like Martin and Ruthie to end up together at the series end, because A: the moral of the story doesn't need to be that you'll fall in love with the person you knocked up, and B: I want Ruthie to get what she wants for once.

I don't know, perhaps the music storyline got me. I knew it was stupid, knew what was coming, even thought the "rap" stuff was half-interesting (while half hillarious and stupid). But somehow I liked the episode. And Mackenzie Rosman's crying did seem real- I hope that poor girl has a future career in acting if she wants one. She's good enough!

I know this review was kind of short. Sorry. But that's all I have to say.

I have to say that I did not have great expectations for this episode. I wasn't expecting much of anything. Nobody on the boards seemed to expect much from it, and a number of people didn't like this episode at all. So, I am still surprised with how much I actually liked this episode. I wasn't expecting much from it, and I definitley didn't expect what I got either. At first, with the first 10 minutes or so, I decided that I wasn't going to bother to write a review for this particular episode. I figured the whole thing would be about this class and it would all just be Ruthie(which a lot of it was)and nobody else really, kinda like with Martin in "Got MLK". But as the episode progressed, it changed a bit and I was pleasantly surprised. This episode was WAY better than the last two. I enjoyed this one a lot more than last week too. To me, this episode kind of felt like old 7th Heaven. Martin was gone, Sandy was gone, and there was only a brief moment with Rose. This seemed like an old fashioned episode in some ways and that is one reason I got more enjoyment out of it than I expected. Season six's "Tunes" was still a hundred times better, but this episode was not bad at all. And what about Martin?. He wasn't in the credits last week although he had a big part. He is not in the credits for this episode, and is nowhere to be seen. Is the show fazing some of these people out so the remainder of the run focuses more on the Camdens than all of the newer people?. I certainly hope so. It was nice having Michael Feinstein there, and the music talk was interesting, but it stopped and ventured into something else. Here we go...



Ruthie comes to detention, where the teacher, Mr. Feinstein, is substituting for the day. We don't know why Ruthie is in detention. We see a fellow student, Maggie, pull up a chair for Ruthie. Do they know each other?. Mr. Feinstein acknowledges that the music program has been cut, and he is looking over detention class for the week. He plays the piano with certain songs that one students describes as "old white guy music", but it's Gershwin. What begins is something interesting. The discussion of music and it's progression becomes so hot topic, and Mr. Feinstein seen as cool, that people start coming to detention every day just because of it. The discussions hit on everything from Gershwin(whose name will be mentioned at least another 3,487 times during the remainder of the episode)to 50 Cent to Eminem and the others. Mr. Feinstein stresses the fact that what they know as music today was derived and inspired by other forms of music. Something I have tried to teach to my younger nieces, but to no avail. Sadly, the week is over, and it looks like it's sayonara for Mr. Feinstein, who the school is letting go at the end of the year. But the class did a lot for Ruthie, who is hurting over the recent developments with Martin. She also learns, from Simon, that Martin is going over to see the baby and possibly spend the night with Sandy and the baby(who I don't think has a name yet, does he?). Another crushing blow to Ruthie's already fragile psyche. Mr. Feinstein and "detention" really helped her, and now she feels lost without it as the Martin drama is still bothering her.



But the episode then veers a little and takes on a new issue. The girl we met in detention named Maggie. Mr. Feinstein knows that something is up with the young girl, and that maybe Ruthie knows and can help. Lucy gets in on the Maggie action as well when she bumps into the youngster going into the store. The store clerk informs Lucy that she cheated him out of some money. They all come to Ruthie, wanting her to spill some beans. She says she can't, but tells them where they could possibly find her. Eric, Lucy, and Mr. Feinstein find her singing at the promenade. She has a box for donations that says "homeless". Eric talks to her, but she refuses her help. She tells him that maybe he should try taking care of his own daughter. But when Maggie says she can't, and that she has to catch a bus, there seems to be more going on. Lucy tells Kevin of the latest development and he suggests trailing the bus and find out what she's doing. They get their answer. Maggie is indeed homeless, but she has her family. They ride buses all night to have a warm place to stay. Kevin and Lucy intervene and try to help. The ending of the episode goes back a week earlier to Maggie and Ruthie's initial meeting in the school bathroom. Ruthie is a crying mess, and she and Maggie have a talk. Maggie lets Ruthie know of her own interesting situation then. The teacher, or principal, comes in and gives them detention for being late for class. This I had a problem with. The teacher/principal says they are 5 minutes late. Either time goes differently on TV or this school educator should brush up on her timing because it most certainly hasn't been anywhere near as long as 5 minutes. Maybe a minute. Not only that, but she also had time to notice who wasn't there and where they were. Yeah right.



Which brings us back to Ruthie. Still hurting over Martin, she has a late night talk with Eric in her bedroom. By the next morning, Ruthie was chipper and things seemed to be looking up. She gets another call from Simon who throws in more devastating news about Martin and Sandy that sends Ruthie into another spiel(this time Simon says Martin and Sandy could possibly be getting married). It's a good thing Simon was there to throw in drama at precisely the right moment. And why is Simon calling?. He's asking for help to pick a song for his and Rose's wedding. Ruthie suggests Gershwin's "Embraceable You", which is a big hit with Rose(who can apparently sing). May I suggest "Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead"?.



All in all, "The Magic Of Gershwin" was not bad at all. It was better than the last two episodes and brought some old Camden nostalgia to me. A lot of people didn't like this episode, but to each their own, right?. The end scene with Michael Feinstein singing in a dark room with light shining down on only him and Ruthie, was classy and touching. No, the episode won't score points for originality, and I won't blame Brenda for the storyline this late in the game since this episode was probably already written and planned before they knew it would be over. It isn't great, but it was pretty good. I'm just still surprised I enjoyed it as much as I did. And next week looks like a good one.

Ok so here are my thoughts on the episode.



1. I loved how the whole episode was around music. (and not like the horrible Valentine's Day musical last year}



2. The whole show was around Ruthie. Now, I didn't mind that, but it was the SAME OLD THING! Throughout the episode all you hear is "I miss Martin! Things will never be the same. I want my fairy tale to come true." This just didn't interest me at all.



3. The acting wasn't the best I've seen. Mackenzie Rosman didn't seem believable. It seemed all too fake. Personally, I think this episode was one of the worst I've ever seen.

i liked this episode because



Ruthie has always been my



favorite Character,and because



she was very believable when she



was crying, but im feeling that now



getting close to the end of the



series the writers are not trying



very hard, and that the shows



seems not to be as original as



they were in past seasons. i wish



they would try to get Jessica Biel



for the series finale it would be a



great ending to a great series.

I rate it a 10, but tv.com's meter is broken.

This episode was obviously all about Ruthie, and did she make my heart weep so many times. I couldn\\\'t see her in that, and she made me want to go and hug her and make the world better (despite being a tv show). I don\\\'t often weep/cry, but this was just too much. I just couldn\\\'t see her all teary like that. She was crying herself to sleep.

On another note, Maggie was great. She was very positive and upbeat.

Tearjerker, indeed. Don\\\'t want to think of what next september will be like with no 7th heaven.

stupid eppy. just filled in a spot in last 9. i wish we saw sandy and martins baby. what is its name.>????? when is sandy gonna be on again??? They rumored that haylie(sandy) would only appear in 13 eppys, and the 13th was when she had the baby, and now ahe wasnt in one. is she coming back?? if she doesnt the rest if the season will suCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 overall, this eppy suckked

I couldn\\\'t believe how bad this show is. Nothing feels believable. High school as I know it is nothing like what I saw on this episode. That Ruthie girl is one horrible actress, all I wanted to do was laugh when she was supposed to be crying. What universe are these people in? Is it a parody of something? If it is, they seem to take themselves a little too seriously. If this is a minister\\\'s family, they\\\'re way too fake and unlikable - it seems that the writers or directors would try to engage the audience with the characters somehow. This is really really weird.

I know most people at this board are teens so they don't like episodes about music. I dont care!!!



This episode was superb! Its writing was excellent and I felt like I was watching an episode from season 2 or something. The opening credits had just the Camden Family + one non-Camden (Rose) in them and I enjoyed the entertainment. Annie, Maggie and Rose were great singers and I just love Simon and Ruthie's sibling love. They always communicate/drive each other nuts just like its the early seasons.



Only 8 more :-(

Seems like this has been done one too many times before. Such as Red Socks, and whenever Rev. Camden was gonna have surgery. I mean, yeah the history lesson was greaat...but I mean, Ruthie did not have a HUGE problem like Maggie did. Maggie was homeless, and Ruthie was blubbering over a boy who she never dated.

in my opinion get over it.

as much as I want them together, i\'m sure the last few episodes they\'ll get together, and then she\'ll be in utter bliss.



at least that\'s how I see it going.