7th Heaven (TV series)

7th Heaven
Also known as 7th Heaven Beginnings
Genre Family drama
Created by Brenda Hampton
Starring Stephen Collins
Catherine Hicks
Barry Watson
Jessica Biel
Beverley Mitchell
David Gallagher
Mackenzie Rosman
Nikolas Brino
Lorenzo Brino
George Stults
Tyler Hoechlin
Adam LaVorgna
Rachel Blanchard
Chaz Lamar Shepherd
Ashlee Simpson
Jeremy London
Haylie Duff
Sarah Thompson
Happy (dog)
Theme music composer Dan Foliart
Country of origin United States
Original language(s) English
No. of seasons 11
No. of episodes 243 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producer(s) Brenda Hampton
Aaron Spelling
E. Duke Vincent (both; seasons 1–10)
Chris Olsen
Jeff Olsen (both; season 11)
Camera setup Film; Single-camera
Running time 44 minutes
Production company(s) Spelling Television
CBS Paramount Network Television (2006–07)
Distributor Worldvision Enterprises (1996–1999, International)
Paramount Domestic Television (1999–2006)
CBS Paramount Domestic Television (2006–07)
CBS Television Distribution (2007–present)
Release
Original network The WB (1996–2006)
The CW (2006–07)
Picture format 480i (SDTV)
Original release August 26, 1996 (1996-08-26) – May 13, 2007 (2007-05-13)

7th Heaven is an American family drama television series, created and produced by Brenda Hampton. The series premiered on August 26, 1996, on The WB, the first time that the network aired Monday night programming, and was originally broadcast from August 26, 1996 to May 13, 2007. The series finale was scheduled for May 8, 2006; however, the show was renewed by The CW when the intended final episode received high ratings. The final season premiered on Monday, September 25, 2006 and ended on May 13, 2007.

Dan Foliart composed the theme song "7th Heaven", which is performed by Steve Plunkett in the introduction of each episode.

Premise

7th Heaven cast (season 6)

The series tells the story of the Reverend Eric Camden, a Protestant minister living in the fictional town of Glenoak, California. The other eight central characters are Eric's wife Annie, and their seven children. Except for Lucy, the children are all named after key biblical figures. Originally, there are five children (making it a family of seven). The twins are born in season three, in the episode "In Praise of Women".

Four of the children, Matt, Mary, Lucy and Simon, at different times, move away from home during the show's run. Simon goes to college, Mary goes to live with her grandparents, and Matt marries and pursues his career as a doctor, far away from the family. Despite these three being absent from the Camden home, the house is always full. When Lucy marries, they moved into the garage apartment. Their daughter is born while they are there. Later, they move into a home next door. Ruthie leaves for a short while in the final season to go to Scotland. The Camdens offer shelter to various house guests at different points in the show.

Church denomination

Eric is the pastor of the Glenoak Community Church. This is revealed in episode two of season one when Eric is at the hospital talking to a nurse. It is also mentioned in an episode that was narrated by Simon in season eight.

In at least one episode, the Disciples of Christ denominational logo (St. Andrew cross and chalice) is displayed prominently on the front of the church's pulpit. Many of the church scenes were filmed at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) of North Hollywood.[1] On the wall hanging left of the pulpit, the church's logo is present (blue logo with a cross/anchor symbol).

Episodic themes

Each episode deals with a moral lesson or controversial theme that the family handles either directly or indirectly. The story lines focus heavily on dating. Topics dealt with include alcoholism, bullying, drug abuse, homelessness, menopause, menstruation, racism, robbery, sexual harassment, spousal abuse, and teenage pregnancy. In one particular episode, each family member acquires an addiction. Beyond the moral lesson in each show, there are also longer-running story arcs, such as Eric's difficulty coping with the maturing of the female members of the household. The first episode of the series involves Lucy's lack of a period. Another episode features a Holocaust survivor telling her story to Simon's class. In the later seasons, Annie enters menopause and Ruthie needs a training bra.

Main cast and characters

For complete list, see List of 7th Heaven characters

Episodes

Season Episodes Originally aired
First aired Last aired
1 22 August 26, 1996 (1996-08-26) May 19, 1997 (1997-05-19)
2 22 September 15, 1997 (1997-09-15) May 11, 1998 (1998-05-11)
3 22 September 21, 1998 (1998-09-21) May 24, 1999 (1999-05-24)
4 22 September 20, 1999 (1999-09-20) May 22, 2000 (2000-05-22)
5 22 October 2, 2000 (2000-10-02) May 21, 2001 (2001-05-21)
6 22 September 24, 2001 (2001-09-24) May 20, 2002 (2002-05-20)
7 22 September 16, 2002 (2002-09-16) May 19, 2003 (2003-05-19)
8 23 September 15, 2003 (2003-09-15) May 17, 2004 (2004-05-17)
9 22 September 13, 2004 (2004-09-13) May 23, 2005 (2005-05-23)
10 22 September 19, 2005 (2005-09-19) May 8, 2006 (2006-05-08)
11 22 September 25, 2006 (2006-09-25) May 13, 2007 (2007-05-13)

Production

Although originally produced for Fox in 1996, the show aired on the WB. It was produced by Spelling Television, and distributed for syndication by (corporate sibling) CBS Television Distribution. Its producers, including Aaron Spelling, considered it wholesome family viewing, incorporating public service announcements into the show. The final season of 7th Heaven was shown on the inaugural season of The CW. The show wrapped production on the final episode March 8, 2007 about one month before most shows film their last episodes of the season. This was due largely to the fact that after ten years of working together, the actors, producers and crew had gotten production down to a steady pace, slashing costs repeatedly and routinely coming in well under budget. This resulted in 7th Heaven filming episodes in shorter time during the final seasons.

2006 renewal

After much deliberation within the now-defunct WB network, it was made public in November 2005 that the tenth season would be the program's final season because of high costs, which were revealed to be due to a poorly negotiated licensing agreement by the WB network a few years earlier. The program's future was hanging in the balance and it was entirely in the hands of the newly established CW network whether to renew it for an eleventh seasonal run. In March 2006, the main cast of characters were approached about the possibility of returning for an eleventh season.[2][3]

After further consideration by the CW network, it was decided three days after the airing of its "series finale", that 7th Heaven would be picked up for an eleventh season, which would air on their network in the Monday-night slot that had helped make it famous.[4] Originally the show was renewed for thirteen episodes, but on September 18, 2006, the renewal was extended to a full twenty-two episodes.[5]

Along with the show's unexpected and last-minute renewal, came some changes. The show's already-low budget was moderately trimmed, forcing cuts in the salaries of some cast members and shortened taping schedules (seven days per episode instead of the typical eight). David Gallagher, who played Simon, chose not to return as a regular.[6] Furthermore, Mackenzie Rosman, who played youngest daughter Ruthie, did not appear in the first six episodes. Catherine Hicks missed three episodes in Season 11, as another cost-cutting move. Additionally, George Stults was absent for a few episodes at the beginning of season 11.

Also, after airing Monday nights at 8/7c for ten seasons, plus the first two episodes of season 11, the CW unexpectedly moved 7th Heaven to Sunday nights as of October 15, 2006. The Sunday/Monday lineup swap was attributed to mediocre ratings of shows on both nights. While 7th Heaven did improve in numbers over the CW's previous Sunday night programming, it never quite hit its Monday-night momentum again, and the shows that replaced it in its slot on Monday night never matched what it had achieved in that time slot.[7]

Reception

Critical reception

The Parents Television Council often cited 7th Heaven among the top ten most family-friendly shows.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] The show was praised for its positive portrayal of a cleric and for promoting honesty, respect for parental authority, and the importance of a strong family and a good education through its storylines.[8] It was proclaimed the best show in 1998-1999 by the Parents Television Council.[9] The council also explained "7th Heaven manages to provide moral solutions to tough issues facing teenagers without seeming preachy or heavy-handed. Additionally, unlike most TV series, 7th Heaven shows the consequences of reckless and irresponsible behavior."[10] It was also noted that "While addressing topics such as premarital sex and peer pressure, these parents [Annie and Eric] are eager to provide wise counsel along with love and understanding."[12]

U.S. ratings

7th Heaven was the most watched TV series ever on the WB. It holds the record for the WB's most watched hour at 12.5 million viewers, on February 8, 1999; 19 of the WB's 20 most watched hours were from 7th Heaven. On May 8, 2006, it was watched by 7.56 million viewers, the highest rating for the WB since January 2005. When the show moved to the CW, ratings dropped. Possible reasons for the decline include an aired "Countdown to Goodbye" ad campaign for the last six months of the 2005–06 season which promoted that season as the final season ever; though the New CW Network announced the series' unexpected renewal, it didn't promote the new season strongly via billboards, bus stops, magazine or on-air commercials. Lastly, the network moved 7th Heaven to Sunday nights; possibly causing the viewers to think that the series was removed from the schedule. The show had a season average of just 3.3 million on the new network, losing 36% of the previous year's audience. It was the third most watched scripted show on the CW. Overall, it was the seventh most watched show.

Season Year Network Viewers
(in millions) 		Rank Network Rank
1 1996–1997 The WB 3.2[16] #154[16] #10
2 1997–1998 5.8[17] #131[17] #2
3 1998–1999 7.6[18] #106[18] #1
4 1999–2000 6.4[19] #94[19] #1[20]
5 2000–2001 6.9[21] #100[21] #1
6 2001–2002 7.0[22] #101[22] #1
7 2002–2003 6.6[23] #106[23] #1
8 2003–2004 5.5[24] #132[24] #1
9 2004–2005 5.3[25] #103[25] #1
10 2005–2006 5.2[26] #111[26] #1
11 2006–2007 The CW 3.3[27] #133[27] #9

Awards and nominations

Availability

Syndication

CBS Television Distribution handles the domestic and international distribution of the series. Season one episodes were retitled 7th Heaven Beginnings. Although the series did not receive a rating other than TV-G throughout its 11-season run, reruns on some cable/satellite channels have been given either a TV-PG or TV-14 rating (depending on the subject matter).

In the United States, the show began airing reruns in off-network syndication on September 25, 2000, but ceased to air in syndication in September 2008, while the series was still in first-run broadcast on The WB and later on The CW. The show then aired on the ABC Family channel from the fall of 2002 until 2008. Then, It was announced on April 1, 2010 that ABC Family had re-obtained the rights to the series, and would begin airing it at 11 a.m. (ET/PT) on weekdays beginning April 12, 2010.[29] However, after one week, ABC Family abruptly pulled the show and replaced it with a third daily airing of Gilmore Girls.

It started airing on “superstation” WGN America on September 8, 2008, though it had previously aired on from 2000 to 2008 during its initial off-network syndication run. Incidentally, the series aired in first-run form on WGN from the show's 1996 debut on The WB until 1999, when WGN ceased to carry WB network programming on its national feed (7th Heaven, along with Sister, Sister, The Parent 'Hood and The Wayans Bros. are the only WB series to air in both first-run broadcast and off-network syndication on WGN America). Since September 2010, 7th Heaven no longer airs on WGN America.

The series also began airing on Hallmark Channel around the same time as when WGN America began to carry reruns of the series again. Hallmark Channel airings of the series, however, truncated the opening credit sequence removing the majority of the theme song except for the first stanza and the last few seconds of the theme. Both channels removed it in 2010.

As of 2010 Crossroads Television System aired the show in Canada. In August 2011, the show was dropped from the lineup. It can now be seen on Joytv, as of 2012.

As of 2012, GMC (now known as UP) is the first network to air 7th Heaven in the United States since 2010 and began airing the series with a marathon on July 7, 2012.[30] Due to allegations of child molestation by Stephen Collins, the network pulled the series from its schedule as of the afternoon of October 7, 2014.[31] 7th Heaven briefly returned to UP in December 2014; however it was quickly removed from the schedule. UP CEO Charley Humbard stated, "We brought the show back because many viewers expressed they could separate allegations against one actor from the fictional series itself. As it turns out, they cannot".[32] UP brought back the show and it airs at 12PM–3PM.

DVD releases

CBS DVD (distributed by Paramount Home Entertainment) has released 7th Heaven on DVD. They have released all 11 seasons in Region 1. In region 2, seasons 1-7 have been released while in region 4 the first 6 seasons have been released on DVD.

Title Episode # Year Region 1 Region 2 Region 3 Region 4 (Australia) Discs
1 22 1996–1997 September 14, 2004 September 4, 2006 September 7, 2006 September 7, 2006 6
2 22 1997–1998 February 8, 2005 March 11, 2008 March 24, 2008 January 10, 2008 6
3 22 1998–1999 November 28, 2006 May 27, 2008 May 8, 2008 June 5, 2008 6
4 22 1999–2000 March 27, 2007 August 8, 2008 November 13, 2008 November 6, 2008 6
5 22 2000–2001 December 4, 2007 March 11, 2009 March 26, 2009 July 2, 2009 6
6 22 2001–2002 June 10, 2008 September 30, 2009 2009 December 24, 2009 6
7 22 2002–2003 November 11, 2008 January 26, 2011 November 19, 2009 TBA 5
8 23 2003–2004 March 3, 2009 TBA TBA TBA 5
9 22 2004–2005 November 17, 2009 TBA TBA TBA 5
10 22 2005–2006 March 23, 2010 TBA TBA TBA 5
11 22 2006–2007 November 23, 2010 TBA TBA TBA 5

References

  1. ↑ "First Christian Church". fccnh.org.
  2. ↑ ""7th Heaven" Cancelled Because of Costs". TVFodder.com. Retrieved 2006-01-16.
  3. ↑ "Collins Celebrates New Life For '7th Heaven'". Zap2it.com. Retrieved 2006-05-19.
  4. ↑ "'7th Heaven' Back for an 11th Season". TVWeek.com. Retrieved 2007-06-19.
  5. ↑ "The CW gives full season orders to new comedy "The Game" and "7th Heaven"". TheFutonCritic.com. Retrieved 2006-10-20.
  6. ↑ Tucker, Hannah (September 6, 2006). "7th Heaven". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
  7. ↑ "CW Flips Sunday, Monday lineups". Zap2it.com. Archived from the original on 3 November 2006. Retrieved 2006-10-05.
  8. 1 2 "Top 10 Best & Worst Family Shows on Network Television 1996-1997". parentstv.org. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
  9. 1 2 "Top 10 Best & Worst Family Shows on Network Television 1998-1999". parentstv.org. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
  10. 1 2 "Top 10 Best & Worst Family Shows on Network Television 1999-2000". parentstv.org. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
  11. ↑ "Top 10 Best & Worst Family Shows on Network Television 2000-2001". parentstv.org. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
  12. 1 2 "Top 10 Best & Worst Family Shows on Network Television 2001-2002". parentstv.org. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
  13. ↑ "Top 10 Best & Worst Family Shows on Network Television 2002-2003". parentstv.org. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
  14. ↑ "Top 10 Best & Worst Family Shows on Network Television 2003-2004". parentstv.org. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
  15. ↑ "Top 10 Best & Worst Family Shows on Network Television 2004-2005". parentstv.org. Retrieved 2012-04-10.
  16. 1 2 "Complete TV Ratings 1996-1997". Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  17. 1 2 "The Final Countdown". Entertainment Weekly Published in issue #434 May 29, 1998. May 29, 1998. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  18. 1 2 "TV Winners & Losers: Numbers Racket A Final Tally Of The Season's Show (from Nielsen Media Research)". GeoCities. June 4, 1999. Archived from the original on 2009-10-29. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  19. 1 2 "Top TV Shows For 1999-2000 Season". Variety. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  20. ↑ "US-Jarescharts". Quoten Meter. May 30, 2002. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  21. 1 2 "The Bitter End". Entertainment Weekly Published in issue #598 Jun 01, 2001. June 1, 2001. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  22. 1 2 "How did your favorite show rate?". USA Today. May 28, 2002. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  23. 1 2 "Rank And File". Entertainment Weekly Published in issue #713 Jun 06, 2003. June 6, 2003. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  24. 1 2 "I. T. R. S. Ranking Report: 01 Thru 210". ABC Medianet. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  25. 1 2 "Primetime series". The Hollywood Reporter (Nielsen Business Media). May 27, 2005. Archived from the original on March 8, 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  26. 1 2 "Series". The Hollywood Reporter (Nielsen Business Media). May 26, 2006. Archived from the original on 2006-12-08. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  27. 1 2 "2006-07 primetime wrap". The Hollywood Reporter (Nielsen Business Media). May 25, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-05-28. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  28. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7th Heaven at IMDb – Awards
  29. ↑ "No Foolin' ABC Family Brings Back Boy Meets World, 7th Heaven; Modern Family Wins Peabody". sitcomsonline.com. April 1, 2010. Retrieved 2013-02-23.
  30. ↑ "‘7th Heaven’ Joins GMC TV Schedule and Headlines ‘7th Heaven Summer’ July Programming Stunt". GMC TV. June 28, 2012. Retrieved 2013-02-23.
  31. ↑ Swift, Andy (7 October 2014). "7th Heaven Removed from UP TV Over Stephen Collins Molestation Scandal". TVLine. Retrieved 2014-10-08.
  32. ↑ "Network Quietly Puts'7th Heaven' Back on the Air". TMZ. 6 December 2014. Retrieved 2014-12-06.

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