Eine himmlische Familie

It's disturbing to read a "Plot Outline" which categorizes the Camdens as "ultra-conservative". The Camdens embrace values that use to be seen as quintessentially liberal; they are tolerant, generous, and believe in the redeemability of almost every human being. But, apparently, we are to look at them as "ultra-conservative" because of the choices that most of them make for themselves, generally eschewing alcohol and other drugs, premarital sex, and so forth -- even as they remain in respectful communication with those who make different choices. The Camdens also are notably Christian, but the Reverend Camden leans upon -- and offers support to -- a rabbi, and his youngest daughter pals around with a Muslim girl. I don't agree with the Camdens on everything (I'm an atheist), and I find this show too often sacchrine. But, in any event, it certainly doesn't represent what I would call "ultra-conservativism"; instead, it represents that to which most Americans aspire.

I think this show jumped the shark somewhere around season 5 and I stopped watching after that. In fact, it went in a completely different direction that didn't even make sense. Everything I'm about to say regards only up to the end of season 4 The show is about a pastor and his family but is not very religious. It is about family that has an awful lot of kids but doesn't promote that. In some episodes have to defend "all those children" even. There is definitely gender based stereotyping going on although they did try to expand the SAHM being more than just a cook/clean/kids -- she's also a plumber/carpenter ... they tried. The plots are simple and solutions are too easy but I loved this show. It is campy and I love campy. The kids are close and defend one another. Pastor expands his role to community counselor / social worker and gets involved in neighbors / parishoners / kids' friends lives. Wouldn't it be nice to have someone paying attention and subtly, politely helping people address their issues. If more pastors were this way, I'd probably have a more positive attitude toward religion.

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.

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.

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.