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258 reviews in total

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290 out of 472 people found the following review useful:
Please make the pain stop, 29 September 2003
Author: sabrial02 from Indiana

I understand the need for shows like 7th Heaven. Shows that can help kids comprehend the very complicated world that we live in. Shows that can teach as well as entertain. Shows that an entire family can watch. And while an entire family could sit down and watch this show; I have no idea why they would want to. This show is so bad on so many levels that it is hard to know where to begin. Almost all the shows problems stem from the ridiculously trite and unrealistic plotlines. Not only are some so ludicrous as to border on the bizarre, but quite a few are downright offensive. The misogynistic overtones aside, who are these people? Why does nothing make sense on this show? Since when does painting situations in black and white ever convince kids to follow the better path? Kids are smarter than that; they know it isn't that simple. And by refusing to show the other side or simply misrepresenting it will not sway any impressionable youth.

Most people don't get engaged/married within a week/month/day of knowing each other. Everyone over the age of 6 knows that smoking is bad but that doesn't mean all smokers are bad. The same with drinking. The same with sex. Its unrealistic to portray all of the kids as virgins with all the heavy making out that gets shown. And further more its detrimental because it gives the impression that that heavy petting doesn't lead to sex with most people. Why is there never an episode that deals with these complicated problems in a realistic manner? Why does an associate pastor drive a BMW, is it really that lucrative of a job? Why do the Camdens have expensive bottled water if they're so poor? Why do the girls on this show so often need the approval of men? Why? Why? Why? This show and countless others like it merely perpetuate unrealistic notions concerning appearance, romance, and income. So really is this what you want your children watching? Something that will make them feel ugly now, lonely and depressed later because its been two days since they've had a date, and broke because for some reason their income doesn't allow them live up to a "poor" family's standards. If you want quality time with your kids, buy them some books and read with them.

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74 out of 90 people found the following review useful:
Mind your own business, Camdons!, 26 May 2004

Author: Kristine (kristinedrama14@msn.com) from Chicago, Illinois

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

I have to admit that when I was younger, I used to love watching this show, I actually thought it was very realistic and that it had a good plot each episode. Now of course, I was only 11 when I was watching the first season and I guess since it had grown up's in it, I assumed it was true to life. I grew up missing later seasons after Mary went to Buffalo to be with her grandparents. So years went by, not watching the show, not even missing it, but then one day I noticed on ABC Family that they were beginning to show the re-run's, so I figured I would watch the series again and give it another shot.

The plot is basic, a minister's family has daily problems, usually mediocre and over blown. We have Eric, the dad and husband, he's also a minister at the local church. Annie, his wife and mother of 7, she's a home maker, tries to do little jobs here and there, but I guess Eric prefers her living at home. Matt who is the oldest brother, he's also throughout most of the series in college studying to be a doctor. Mary, the second oldest, a basketball star in high school, but goes onto "evil deeds" later on, the rebel of the family. Lucy, the third oldest, the drama queen sister. Simon, the fourth oldest, who is the bank to his siblings and is always having girl problems. Ruthie, the fifth oldest, the little know it all who gives advice and goes to special school for her talents. And lastly, the twins, who are the youngest, don't really get much character development on the show.

Now we have major problems with this show that I realized, first off Aaron Spelling casts unbelievably good looking teens(who look nothing alike, when they're supposed to be siblings), not to mention their unrealistic reactions to their problems. I have learned from this show that you can heavily make out with guys, but it'll never lead to sex. If you're a smoker, you're a bad person. You can easily turn anyone else's problem into your own. When horrible problems occur that have nothing to do with you, guilt yourself, it's your fault somehow, even if you had no clue what was going on. If your wife is on hormones and drives you beyond insane(understandably), you remain patient and tolerant. Also, if you have a few financial problems, have one beer, don't go to college because you wanna figure out what you would like to do, oh, no, you can't do that in the Camdon family, they'll just ship you off to Buffalo.

I think another problem I have with this show is that it's somewhat sexist, Annie is a house wife who really is more of a nut case than a strong female. If Lucy and her husband, Kevin, got into a fight, he just kissed her off and wouldn't talk to her about the problem. And in later seasons, Ruthie got some kind of a boyfriend at a young age, and she said she would die without him, it was just ridiculous. Another thing was how annoying an episode would be with a problem, some how everyone in the family had the exact same problem going on of some sort. The twins finishing each other's sentences was not cute, it showed a lack of material for them.

I don't mean to complain so much about the show, it just had horrible acting and unbelievable situations. While it might be good for pre-teens, this is sadly not an adult show, it's insulting to the mind. I would love to say something good for this show, but I can't really, because it's hard to think about one good thing that I could say, it doesn't really have anything good. None of the characters are lovable, like Ruthie, who was supposed to be the wise one of the family was more annoying than tolerant. It's just a silly show when you really look at it, all I have to say to this family if I met them is to start minding their own business and take care of their own problems.

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120 out of 202 people found the following review useful:
Laughably bad, yet oddly mesmerizing, 19 October 2005
Author: EricRous from USA

This series has all the qualities that should go into a horrid sitcom. The acting is beneath sub-par--with kids who were clearly picked more for their "look" than their acting abilities. The writing is so syrupy and pedestrian as to make "Martha Stewart's Living" look edgy and sophisticated by comparison. And the production quality looks like that of a 5th-rate syndicated show from 1987.

And, yet there is something oddly mesmerizing about this show. Maybe it's Aaron Spelling's knack for populating a world with such pretty people with such simple, easily solved problems. Maybe it's part of a secret desire to live in such an uncomplicated world where good guys are soapy pure and every house has a picket fence. Or maybe I just like to ogle Jessica Biel.

But what I really think is so appealing about this show is its camp value. Like a really cheesy B-horror film, 7th Heaven is at its best when it's at it worst. The hokier the story-line, the worse the acting; the more you have to laugh at it. It's like a train-wreck that you HAVE to watch--to find out who will introduce the next groan-inducing plot point, who will utter the next over-rehearsed bit of "spontaneous" dialogue, or what guest star has sunk so low this week.

7th Heaven is must-see TV, if for nothing else than watching desperate sup-par directors' constant cutaways to the family dog (to cover bad edits and, presumably, even worse dialogue). And the great thing is, the dog is actually a better actor than most of the kids on the show.

So, check it out. Get some popcorn, and have a good laugh.

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63 out of 89 people found the following review useful:
Heavy-Handed but Entertaining, 21 August 2001
Author: Blue Hamaguchi (blue_jean) from Arizona, USA

If you read through the comments already posted (and there are many), you'll see that most people are very strongly polarized... people either love this show or hate it.

I, for one, am somewhere in the middle of the road about it.

It is heavy-handed. It takes an 'issue of the week', and involves each member of the family in some aspect of that issue... fidelity, drug use, abstinence from sex before marriage... then wraps everything up in a nice neat package before the end of the episode.

The way the issues are dealt with are both shallow and heavy-handed. You never have any doubt in your mind what issue the writers are bringing up this week; you never have any doubt what they thing the "right" thing to do is.

At the same time...

We're looking inside of a family that seems to genuinely care about each other. There's a father who's involved with his children, siblings who look after each other, and a mother who obviously loves her children... and her husband, even after seven children.

Yes, Matt needs a punch in the nose. Mary could stand a valium perscription. Lucy needs a little more maturity. And so on. But...

But I keep watching this show, episode after episode.

And I'm not entirely sure why.

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127 out of 220 people found the following review useful:
Evil!, 18 April 2001
Author: Lathander from Vienna, Austria

This show is by far the worst example of american political correctness I've ever seen. The message is simple: Be a good citizen by having many children, going to church every sunday (and everytime you have a problem) and discuss everything at length with all your family members. The children are the most unrealistic ever seen on any TV show: They hardly ever argue, the older siblings never terrorize or beat the younger ones (I've got a sister, I know this happens!), and they talk about every problem they have with their parents. But most disgusting is the smallest girl, who at the end of every episode tells us the morale with the wisdom and insight of a teacher of philosophy. C'mon, she's only 6 years old!!!! I recommend this show to everyone who still believes in a perfect world, but don't expect any realism from it.1/10

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58 out of 86 people found the following review useful:
What the hell...?, 27 April 2005

Author: thomas-360 from Bremen, Germany

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

When I first saw an episode of this series, it seemed quiet funny to me: a sexless-Christian-perfect-family-universe with countless daughters who are each engaged for about the 20th time while not ever having married, and in the end, the parents ly in bed and cry because their son wants to marry a Jewish girl. I thought it was a wonderfully satiric piece of work.

But some days later I saw another episode and another, and soon found out that the first one was not satiric - their serious with this terribly unrealistic drama stuff!!! I don't know if that's the way young Americans see the world, but every single episode of StarTrek is so much more realistic than this 'praise-the-lord-and-love-your-neighbor' show.

Surely every conservative loves it, just as the catholic church would surely do. But as a more or less modern and open person living in the 21st century, all you can do is laugh and cry...

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66 out of 103 people found the following review useful:
Corny, heavy-handed but sweet, 27 November 2001
Author: kestrelco from Littleton, Colorado

I watched this show once to kill time before something else came on, and found myself hooked. Sure the show has some major flaws -- it's heavy-handed moralizing, largely terrible acting, corny plots, a tendency to take itself way too seriously, and with the exception of the Mary-in-trouble story arc, everything is wrapped up in an hour.

But...

Everyone in the family cares about the others (tho sometimes I think mom has just a touch of an Evil Overlord bent on world domination streak), there's no sex, no violence beyond what's required to make a point, and no swearing. We're drowned in that stuff every day of our lives in every other medium we have. It's nice to find one hour during the week that's free of it. And if it moralizes -- what's the harm? Frankly most ppl could use a bit of moralizing. The other thing I've noticed is that while they're a religious family, and they approach their lives by that code -- they don't force it down anyone's throat, and that's pretty nice to see too. While they are tenacious in their own beliefs, they do allow others theirs... except when it impacts their family, which is understandable.

All in all, the irritations of the show are more than balanced by the sweet nature of the show, and the very family friendly spot it occupies. It may not be entirely realistic, but it's not entirely false either -- and if I want realism I can look at my own family which is just a bit *too* real.

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46 out of 74 people found the following review useful:
"Nice" characters fail to make drama ignite, 18 November 1999
Author: Kevin-94 from Boston

Lots of people talk about how "nice" the family in this show is, and that's certainly its most striking feature. Even those who like the show will probably concede that the family in the show is "nicer" than almost any family you'll find in real life. I suspect that the people producing the show were motivated to create an idealized family as a role model, rather than a "real" family most people would recognize as familiar. Whether you enjoy seeing an "idealized" family or whether you prefer something more realistic is a matter of personal preference. I personally don't feel there is anything necessarily wrong with unrealistic. Is "7th Heaven" any more "unrealistic" than "Friends" or "Seinfeld" or "The Phantom Menace"? Personally, I don't have a problem with "nice" characters, but I do have a problem with "nice" story telling.

In a well written story, be it a TV show, film, novel or play, you have a character faced with a series of seeming insurmountable problems. At some point in the story, the character will generally feel overwhelmed by the amount of stuff they have to deal with. There's an escalation of tension in all good story telling. An element of chaos.

I find that missing from "7th Heaven". Solutions to problems are thought of the moment the problem occurs. The solutions are instantly implemented. Problems never pile on or overwhelm the characters. Everyone is in touch with their feelings, and can articulate whatever they feel. No communication problems exist. Everyone gets along just fine. There's no escalation of tension in a "7th Heaven" episode. In an effort to create a nice tone and positive role models, they have robbed their stories of all tension and conflict. They've made them dull. Nice is OK but dull is not.

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103 out of 192 people found the following review useful:
Pitiful, 17 July 2006

Author: atthen from USA

This show is so full of double standards, hypocritical characters, and holier the thou attitudes. I can't even watch a commercial anymore.

The way the parents spy on their children and their ridiculous over the top reactions is laughable.

It they are "moral", than I don't know if I want to be in that category.

It is kind of scary to me to think some people actually think these are good people with good morals.

I am not surprise that most of the children have flown the coupe as fast as they could.

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19 out of 25 people found the following review useful:
This show couldn't be any more complicated..., 2 November 2003
Author: perni from Owensboro, KY

I used to be a regular viewer of 7th Heaven, but after a while there were so many convoluted subplots that I just had to give up. The main family itself is huge, but when you add about 15 side characters the relationships become a bit too hard to follow. Also, I really got tired of how every episode became some political preaching about the latest controversy or hot button issue. In one episode, Ruthie writes letters to a U.S. soldier who is stationed in Afghanistan. Then she gets all worried when the guy stops writing back, and the preacher father ends the episode by reciting a sermon about America's heroes. Now, I'm all for being patriotic and all that jazz, but that entire episode seemed to be written in about five minutes and tacked onto the season just so the staff could win an Emmy. I'm willing to bet money that the writers just open up the paper to the Opinion section, close their eyes, point at a random story, and then write a script based on the issue. Going back to how complicated the show has gotten, I'd just like to note that it is very frustrating when the characters have boyfriends and girlfriends so many times in a season that you have no idea what's even happening any more. Seriously, you can skip one episode and someone will be married/divorced/pregnant/in a coma the next week. Talk about drastically changing plot lines! Now I'd like to talk about the most unintentionally hilarious episode, AKA the one that discussed the issue of marijuana. I could not believe how politically charged this one episode was, and my jaw was literally on the floor at how exaggerated the story was presented. Basically, the dad discovers a joint in the laundry (correct me if I'm wrong), and instantly starts eyeballing every one of his children. He becomes so paranoid and mistrusting that it's ridiculous. When he sees that Matt is eating more than two or three cookies, the camera zooms in on his sweaty, worried face. Why, Matt must have (gasp!) THE MUNCHIES! Dun, dun, DUN! Then one of the girls is acting tired. Why, she must be (gasp) HIGH! Dun, dun, DUN!! I mean, come ON! He even suspects Ruthie, who was probably 6-years-old at the time. Talk about overreacting. So anyway, the dad drags his wife into the bedroom and they discuss who might have brought the joint home. "Did you see Matt wolfing down those cookies? That's a sure-fire sign of (gasp!) THE MUNCHIES!" the dad whispers, afraid that his Christian neighbors will hear him. We then learn that the wife smoked some pot in college, and the dad literally freaks out. He comes this close to disowning his wife because she hit a couple of doobies when she was younger. Yes, God forbid someone does drugs when they're in college. I say, anyone who smokes weed is evil. EVIL, ya hear me?! So the dad puts the joint in his dresser drawer for safe keeping, and minutes later one of his daughters finds it while looking for something to wear. GASP! She thinks her parents are smoking the wacky weed! Ah, the wackiness that comes with family sitcoms. The show draws to a close when it is discovered that Matt had the joint, which leads to him running off somewhere. The mom and dad search the town only to find that he is praying in church. That's right, he's praying to God and spilling his guts about how he was just "holding" the joint for a friend. Uh, RIGHT. The credits roll after the mom and dad embrace their tearful son, a lesson learned by all. In short, GAG ME. Other issues discussed by Seventh Heaven include: listening to rap music is BAD, having sex is BAD, etc. Sheesh, whatever happened to just running a regular episode? Does every single show have to bery Very Special? Blech. I say this show be canned before the writers create an episode where Simon learns about the evils of homosexuality via a sinister uncle character. 0/4 stars

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