AUTHOR: Dave Sypniewski DATE: Tuesday, May 02, 2006 ----- BODY: As the WB begins it's final croaks, today I look back at this Aaron Spelling "dramedy", how it created a new television network, and ended one within a 10 year span! Yes, Aaron Spelling who gave us: Charlie's Angels, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, 90210, Melrose Place and Models, Inc. to name a few, also introduced us to The Camden Family. While nothing but sex and violence filled Spelling's shows on FOX, alas this show was a total opposite. This show began as a simple show with a simple cast, simple storylines, and simple salaries for some virtually unknown actors and children. Stephen Collins was probably best known for his role in the terrible, original, Star Trek the Motion Picture. Catherine Hicks had a major role in Star Trek IV and the original "Chuckie" slasher Child's Play. I guess Spelling was doing most of his casting on the Paramount lots! Anyway, those two would become the heads of the household. Let's not forget that while this is a squeaky clean family, Heather Locklear was rolling around in the sack with a different tenant in Melrose Place every week! Things began with stories like young Simon and Ruthie pestering their parents for a dog, and as was typical for some of Spelling's shows, "life lessons" with the kids like smoking and drinking and driving. The predictable plot lines were such a challenge that any five minutes of the hour that you'd tune in, you could easily figure out what was going on. Quite honestly I thought the show was going to be DOA however, the Warner Brother's frog dropped a lot of stinkers and as it turned out, "7th" became the cornerstone. So, what happens when a show rises in popularity? The pay scale rises too. The first ones that started bitching were believe it or not, the kids. They were all in some agreement that in public they would keep a profile that would pretty much lock them into character...Spelling thought that when Stephen Collins would be walking through the airport that people would address him as "Reverend Camden". It worked too! But when then 18 year old Jessica Biel started posing for photos like the one here, Spelling threw a fit and put her character "on notice". At this point, her agent was able to wiggle her out of her contract . Because of photos like the one here, Hollywood scooped her up to make some big movies like...ummm....uhh..hmm Blade 3 and that's all I remember. Next one up was oldest son Matt played by Barry Watson. He too got a little too big for his britches and made his exit after a two month long storyline that involved his character getting married. While he was gone, Watson developed cancer but returned to get behind the camera and Direct a few episodes. Currently, he's starring in a new sitcom called, "What About Brian" which is just a few weeks out of the gate and already running out of gas. As for the others, what started out as only "7" has through the years become too complex. There are too many characters, too many stories, and plots that were getting redundant. It was getting to be too expensive as well. Stephen Collins last year became the highest paid actor on The WB. Spelling figured that one way to tighten the belt is to simply just start marrying off the kids and let them have kids of their own. When they have one, wait until next season and they can have twins. Believe it or not, at the beginning of the season, Christmas and Easter, the whole "family" sits down for a group photo such as the one above. There's talk of keeping some of the holdovers after Monday's finale for a spinoff for the "CW Network" in a few months. If they do, I can only imagine the show would look like "Romper Room". Spelling is probably already rubbing his palms together and salivating like Pavlov's dog over the prospects of starting up ANOTHER new network with ANOTHER new show...that may be a good idea for these actors who after Monday night will forever be typecast as religious folk. For now however, that's it for "7th" as it joins The Waltons and Eight is Enough, the two identical shows that have been in heaven or "Rerundicationland" for decades now. -------- Squealing Pig WORLDWIDE!: "Highway to Rerundication For 7th Heaven" or "R.I.P. WB"

Squealing Pig WORLDWIDE!

Tuesday, May 02, 2006

"Highway to Rerundication For 7th Heaven" or "R.I.P. WB"

As the WB begins it's final croaks, today I look back at this Aaron Spelling "dramedy", how it created a new television network, and ended one within a 10 year span! Yes, Aaron Spelling who gave us: Charlie's Angels, The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, 90210, Melrose Place and Models, Inc. to name a few, also introduced us to The Camden Family. While nothing but sex and violence filled Spelling's shows on FOX, alas this show was a total opposite. This show began as a simple show with a simple cast, simple storylines, and simple salaries for some virtually unknown actors and children. Stephen Collins was probably best known for his role in the terrible, original, Star Trek the Motion Picture. Catherine Hicks had a major role in Star Trek IV and the original "Chuckie" slasher Child's Play. I guess Spelling was doing most of his casting on the Paramount lots! Anyway, those two would become the heads of the household. Let's not forget that while this is a squeaky clean family, Heather Locklear was rolling around in the sack with a different tenant in Melrose Place every week! Things began with stories like young Simon and Ruthie pestering their parents for a dog, and as was typical for some of Spelling's shows, "life lessons" with the kids like smoking and drinking and driving. The predictable plot lines were such a challenge that any five minutes of the hour that you'd tune in, you could easily figure out what was going on. Quite honestly I thought the show was going to be DOA however, the Warner Brother's frog dropped a lot of stinkers and as it turned out, "7th" became the cornerstone. So, what happens when a show rises in popularity? The pay scale rises too. The first ones that started bitching were believe it or not, the kids. They were all in some agreement that in public they would keep a profile that would pretty much lock them into character...Spelling thought that when Stephen Collins would be walking through the airport that people would address him as "Reverend Camden". It worked too! But when then 18 year old Jessica Biel started posing for photos like the one here, Spelling threw a fit and put her character "on notice". At this point, her agent was able to wiggle her out of her contract . Because of photos like the one here, Hollywood scooped her up to make some big movies like...ummm....uhh..hmm Blade 3 and that's all I remember. Next one up was oldest son Matt played by Barry Watson. He too got a little too big for his britches and made his exit after a two month long storyline that involved his character getting married. While he was gone, Watson developed cancer but returned to get behind the camera and Direct a few episodes. Currently, he's starring in a new sitcom called, "What About Brian" which is just a few weeks out of the gate and already running out of gas. As for the others, what started out as only "7" has through the years become too complex. There are too many characters, too many stories, and plots that were getting redundant. It was getting to be too expensive as well. Stephen Collins last year became the highest paid actor on The WB. Spelling figured that one way to tighten the belt is to simply just start marrying off the kids and let them have kids of their own. When they have one, wait until next season and they can have twins. Believe it or not, at the beginning of the season, Christmas and Easter, the whole "family" sits down for a group photo such as the one above. There's talk of keeping some of the holdovers after Monday's finale for a spinoff for the "CW Network" in a few months. If they do, I can only imagine the show would look like "Romper Room". Spelling is probably already rubbing his palms together and salivating like Pavlov's dog over the prospects of starting up ANOTHER new network with ANOTHER new show...that may be a good idea for these actors who after Monday night will forever be typecast as religious folk. For now however, that's it for "7th" as it joins The Waltons and Eight is Enough, the two identical shows that have been in heaven or "Rerundicationland" for decades now.

posted by Dave Sypniewski at Tuesday, May 02, 2006

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