IMDb user comments for
"7th Heaven" (1996)

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251 comments in total

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221 out of 361 people found the following comment 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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89 out of 146 people found the following comment 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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56 out of 88 people found the following comment 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 69 people found the following comment 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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67 out of 111 people found the following comment 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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53 out of 84 people found the following comment 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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27 out of 38 people found the following comment useful :-
What the hell...?, 27 April 2005

Author: thomas-360 from Bremen, Germany

*** This comment 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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34 out of 53 people found the following comment 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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19 out of 26 people found the following comment useful :-
Recipe for disaster, 26 January 2007
Author: AnnSMarie from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Am I the only one who feels like this show insults our intelligence?

Here's a break-down of the elements of a typical episode these days:

50% explaining why the missing Camden children/pseudo-Camden children won't be appearing on that episode (needless to say, this is getting old...they've been doing this since Mary left years ago.....perhaps it is time to let a show go if so many of the integral characters have opted to leave the cast). The audience has stopped expecting them to appear, so there's no more need for these weekly updates!

30% bad acting/bad writing (between the actors and the lines they're forced to recite, it takes an hour long show to spit out about 5 minutes worth of story line)

20% force-feeding the audience a "moral" (there's no reason that EVERY character in the show has to learn the same lesson in their own way - the general TV viewer is smart enough to derive the moral of a story after seeing it once with only one character or group of characters - there's no need to insult everyone's intelligence with over-explanations, unrealistic coincidences and painful repetition)

While this show was never one of the best, it's gone from a cheesy family show to an intolerable work of unrealistic fiction.

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31 out of 53 people found the following comment useful :-
Spelling attempt at family oriented drama, 14 May 2004
Author: Larry W. Virden (lvirden) from reynoldsburg, oh

While many have lots of concerns about the relevancy of this series, it continues to be one of the few television series still in production which does not feel it necessary to fill the hour with murder, mayhem, violence, sex, and ridicule. This makes it a safe choice for many families who want a bit of entertainment together as a family. It is the only choice for the family on UPN, as far as I am aware.

For a period of time, 7th Heaven was doing 'topic of the week' episodes in the after school special vein. Some people like that style; others do not. The current season has focused more on the lives of the various family members, which is something that fans of the series wanted. However, as time has gone on, at least three of the actors playing the family's children have moved on to college and film work. This leaves many of the fan based frustrated. There's basically 2 of the original 'children' left in the series, and one of them is no longer a child. The addition of the twin boys 4 years ago as babies will probably pay off next season (if another season is approved) as they will be 5, about the age of the youngest child during the first year of the series. More antics of kindergarteners - multiplied by two - are expected.

Can 7th Heaven survive another season? I expect, due to the limited competition in this demographic, that it can. But SHOULD it survive, or should it bow out as gracefully as possible? That remains to be seen.

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