The tenth season of any television series is a rare accomplishment. Especially these days when big networks give the axe for new shows after one year or maybe two, if they are lucky. Even a great show like Lost will end its run after 6 seasons. 24 is now done after 9 seasons. It may seem like Grey’s Anatomy and The Office could run forever and reach 10 seasons, it’s not that easy to keep things creative, especially with the same central cast. Just ask E.R. about that. 7th Heaven managed to stay on the air for eleven seasons, even with the demise of the WB and the launch of the CW. With its tenth season recently released on DVD, it’s time to see how things have changed around the Camden household.
Minister Eric Camden (Stephen Collins) and wife Annie (Catherine Hicks) are the head of a family containing seven children: Matt (Barry Watson), Mary (Jessica Biel), Lucy (Beverly Mitchell), Simon (David Gallagher), Ruthie (Mackenzie Rosman), and twins David and Sam (Lorenzo Brino and Nikolas Brino). This is in addition to their surrogate son, Martin (Tyler Hoechlin). But in recent past seasons we have seen Simon leave home to go away to college; Matt leave home to get married and become a doctor; Mary being sent to her Grandmother’s house to live because of behavior problems; and Lucy get married and live in a garage apartment with her new husband. Still there are plenty of children left hanging around the house whose hormones are raging and love lives are going through their ups and downs. Even after so many years, everyone is still busy learning tough life lessons going into the tenth season of the series.
In the tenth season, Eric and Annie’s young twin boys, Sam and David, are their only biological children left living at home. But Simon, Lucy, and Ruthie are still featured regularly during this season. In fact, Simon’s storyline is the central focus this season. Simon decides to move up his wedding a year, after feeling the pressure to do so from his soon-to-be wife, Rose (Sarah Thompson). This doesn’t make his parents happy. Meanwhile, Eric and Annie’s surrogate son Martin (Tyler Hoechlin) is shocked when told that he’s going to be a teenage father, which forces Ruthie to finally deal with her feelings for him. Then when Kevin (George Stults) decides to quit the police force to become a stay-at-home dad, announces that she’s pregnant again! The season ends though with an event that reunited all of the Camden children together, including Mary and Matt.
By this point in the series fans have pretty much seen it all. So for the most part each week there is an episode that deals with a moral problem each including teen pregnancy, alcoholism, premarital sex, guns, and homelessness, among many more. All of the 7th Heaven elements from previous seasons are once again here as well. That being lots of talking and a message to be learned at the end of every episode. What still holds everything together, though, is the great cast. Sarah Thompson, the newest addition to the cast, is an excellent villain this season as she basically controls Simon’s life and drives his family crazy. Everyone else still acts well enough to make you want to stick around to see what happens week after week.
The tenth season of 7th Heaven really provides a lot of evidence as to why we don’t see many shows last for 10 seasons, and likely won’t see many more reach that number in the future. Everything that happens during this season is nothing we haven’t seen before from this show or any other family drama. Casual fans of the series likely have stopped watching by this point as its best days are long gone. Still, hardcore fans of the show will probably still enjoy this season as not much has changed over the years, except for new and maturing faces.
Episodes:
Disc One:
Episode 1 – It’s Late
Martin receives a visit from Sandy, a college student he has spent time with over the summer, and she has some unfortunate news for him. Lucy speaks about parenthood in her first sermon at the church, and most of the congregation is angry about the message she sends across. Also, Ruthie sets out to gain the attention of a boy who is already dating one of her friends.
Episode 2 – Home Run
The Colonel and Ruth are in Glen Oak for a visit. Rose wants them to know that she and Simon are engaged. Everyone else, including Simon, thinks that this is not a good idea. Sandy is feeling betrayed when Martin will not even call her back. In fact, Martin is asking out someone else completely.
Episode 3 – Mama’s Gonna Buy You a Diamond Ring
Eric gets the cold shoulder from Ruthie after she loses the chance to date an older boy and Lucy doesn’t like the repercussions of Kevin’s new role in their daughter’s life. Elsewhere, Eric misinterprets a phone call from Simon
Episode 4 – Ring Around the Rosie
Simon finds a way to slow down his relationship with Rose, but her stubbornness derails his plan and Ruthie tries to ditch a boy who wants to go out with her. Elsewhere, one of the girls in Lucy’s support group tells Lucy, that she is pregnant.
Disc Two:
Episode 5 – The Rat’s Out of the Bag
Matt (guest-star Barry Watson) makes a surprise visit to Glen Oak and accompanies Kevin to a children’s party where he dresses up into a well-known children’s play character. Elsewhere, Lucy goes to see Sandy on a private pregnancy matter that involves Martin, but lies to Kevin that she is going to visit Simon. Matt and Kevin decide it’s best to follow her. Meanwhile, Eric has some suspicions of his own regarding Lucy’s visit to Simon, and after spying on her, Eric and Matt also inadvertently find out about Sandy’s pregnancy.
Episode 6 – Helpful
Kevin asks Lucy to let him help her with a problem that she is handling regarding Martin and Sandy and Ruthie introduces Eric to a boy she wants to date. Elsewhere, Eric meets with Meredith’s adoptive father, who has questions about Martin.
Episode 7 – Soup’s On
Eric meets Sandy’s father, who gives him an envelope of money intended for Sandy; and Ruthie collects soup-can labels to help her school’s newspaper. Elsewhere, Simon has money troubles and his phone service gets shut off; and Martin has a heart-to-heart talk with Meredith about their future.
Episode 8 – Chicken Noodle Heads
Eric gets a new perspective on Sandy’s pregnancy when he learns his mom was pregnant with him before marrying his dad. Elsewhere, Sandy’s parents want
nothing to do with her or the baby.
Disc Three:
Episode 9 – Turkey
Ruthie’s heart soars with hope when Martin and Meredith break up. As she fantasizes about becoming his new girlfriend, she is completely unaware that everyone at school believes that she is carrying Martin’s child. Meanwhile, the family is concerned that Ruthie is setting herself up for some serious heartache. The Camdens are all spending the holiday at the church to help with a free dinner for the homeless, and with Rose and Sandy planning to attend, Eric and Annie make a conscious effort to be nicer to their future daughter-in-law.
Episode 10 – Apple Pie
Simon suspects Rose is keeping secrets, and the two resolve an issue of trust; Kevin’s beef with Martin’s attitude about being a father comes to a head; and Eric and Annie finally let Ruthie date Jack.
Episode 11 – X-Mas
Christmas has arrived, and all the Camdens are getting into the spirit. Eric spends time volunteering at a retirement home, while Ruthie lends a hand at the hospital and reunites with an old friend. Lucy is back to working with Habitat for Humanity, and Annie takes the twins over to a local Catholic church to talk with some Sudanese students. With his baby daughter at his side, Kevin dresses up as Santa and hands out presents at the pool hall, then faces a dilemma when he must decide whether to return a lost dog to the kennel.
Episode 12 – Got MLK?
Racism comes to light at the high school when Alex, a new African-American student, wants to give a report on Dr. Martin Luther King, but his teacher argues that they have already covered that topic in class. When Martin inadvertently supports Alex’s case, he falls victim to a hate crime. His car is defaced with racial slurs, and he refuses to wash it off until the culprit is caught. Meanwhile, for her own report, Ruthie attempts to recycle an essay that she wrote three years ago.
Disc Four:
Episode 13 – And Baby Makes Three
As Sandy prepares to give birth, almost everyone rallies around her at the hospital. Everybody hopes that Martin–who has an important baseball tryout with a talent scout–will take what might be his very last chance to accept responsibility for his actions. Meanwhile, Kevin and Lucy are at odds over the idea of having more children, while Simon and Rose’s relationship appears to be on its last straw–much to the Camden family’s delight.
Episode 14 – The Magic of Gershwin
Ruthie meets a troubled girl in detention, where a music teacher is assigned to watch the students. The girls bond over the lessons about Gershwin, as Ruthie tries to nurse her broken heart. She offers to help her new friend, who refuses any charity, but the Camdens become involved and refuse to take no for an answer.
Episode 15 – Love and Obsession
As Valentine’s Day approaches, Kevin plans a special dinner, while Ruthie has a difficult time letting go of her feelings for Martin. Elsewhere, Annie has trouble accepting Rose—and the twins’ request for a store-bought birthday cake instead of one made by her.
Episode 16 – Moving Ahead
Annie and Ruthie spend the day together to unwind, while Lucy’s world becomes complicated by both professional and personal news, and Eric unintentionally shakes up things between Rose and Simon.
Episode 17 – Highway to Cell
Ruthie is upset that she hasn’t gotten any calls on her new cell phone, so Eric gives out her number. Meanwhile, Simon and Rose have dinner with her former fiancŽ, and the man is nothing like what Simon expected.
Disc Five:
Episode 18 – Invitation to Disaster
The Camdens receive official invitations to Simon and Rose’s wedding, and to their dismay, they learn that the date conflicts with Matt and Sarah’s graduation from medical school. As this news creates a tailspin with the family, Rose stubbornly refuses to change the wedding date. Eric and Kevin think they have a solution to the problem, but when Annie disapproves of their methods, she looks for help from an entirely different source. Meanwhile, Ruthie wants to enroll in a summer program that takes place in Scotland.
Episode 19 – Secrets
The twins use an interesting weapon to coax the entire family into sharing their personal secrets. As everyone figures out what’s going on, there are hurt feelings and confusion as they try to guess what’s being hidden from them, and it turns out that Ruthie might have the biggest surprise of all. Meanwhile, the family doesn’t quite understand Annie’s newfound fondness for Rose, and it is especially irritating for Lucy and Ruthie.
Episode 20 – And More Secrets
The men have secrets they’re trying to hide from the women in their lives: Kevin and Eric keep their wedding-ring troubles to themselves, and Simon leaves Rose in the dark about his schoolwork problem but all three guys come to realize the gals are not as clueless as they’d hoped.
Episode 21 – Goodbye (Part 1)
As Rose gets ready to make a huge announcement, Simon breaks down as he realizes that he may have trapped himself in a marriage that he does not want. Meanwhile, Eric and Annie reminisce about their children and their younger days as they prepare for the rehearsal dinner and meet Rose’s unconventional parents.
Episode 22 – And Thank You (Part 2)
Simon and Rose prepare for their wedding day, despite speculation that it is not the right decision. Annie and Eric go through countless scenarios in their minds as they reflect on how the wedding will actually turn out. Meanwhile, Rose’s former boyfriend shows up unexpectedly. Ruthie considers studying in Scotland over the summer. Kevin, Lucy, Matt, and Sarah all have life-changing news, if only they can find the perfect time to share it with the family.
Like previous season sets, the video is given in fullscreen color with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The transfer is good, but not great since this is only fullscreen. But there are no major problems at all.
The audio included is English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound. The dialogue and music come out loud and clear. The audio, like the video is basic, but there are no major problems here either.
There are still no extras for this season’s DVD set, which is always disappointing.
This release is only a must for hardcore fans of the show that want to to complete the set. The best seasons were in the beginning, so go rent those if you want to see the best of what this series has to offer. If you are curious, though, and like the usual soap opera family drama, this is worth a rental.
Paramount Home Entertainment presents 7th Heaven: Season 10. Created by Aaaron Spelling. Starring Stephen Collins, Catherine Hicks, Beverly Mitchell, Mackenzie Rosman, David Gallagher, Lorenzo Brino, Nikolas Brino, George Stults, and Tyler Hoechlin. Running time: 943 minutes. Rated: Not Rated. Released on DVD: March 23, 2010. Available at Amazon.com.