Reviewing Movies

When Lukas Scott played by Chad Michael Murray departed One Tree Hill I
had expected to find a vast empty hole in the program and to detest it.
It was therefore with some trepidation that I invested in this season
expecting I might hate it and regret the investment. Nevertheless,
though I definitely miss Peyton and Chad I must admit that Mark Schwahn
and Co. seem to have risen to the challenge and continue to keep up the
writing quality. Whereas Lukas always seemed to be portrayed as too
saintly for his own good his half-brother Nathan was always the bad boy
of the crew. With Lukas gone Nathan's demeanor seems to have mellowed
and softened making a more likable slub.

As with all shows that follow children's long-term arc from childhood to
adulthood there have been growing pains. The tenor of the show changed
radically after the kids left highschool and began adult career-paths.
That virtually all the actors who played these characters were adults
from the beginning is another matter. At least they are now able to play
roles that are more age appropriate. With this transition comes more
adult situations, the loss of youthful innocence, and the hard realities
of life.

Season Seven ended with one of Hollywood's typical cliffhangers when
Clay and Quinn get shot by Clay's first wife's sister who has become
obsessed with replacing her in his affections. Did I say this show plays
like a youthful nighttime soap opera. And as with most soap operas the
actors look like they just stepped off a model runway--only beautiful
people need apply. The original group that centred around the basketball
court have been replaced or augmented by Clay--Nathan's Agent, and Quinn
his girlfriend and Haley's sister; the girls who run Peyton's record
label and Chase who manages the associated Tric Bar; Millicent who works
for Brooke at Clothes over Bros and is Mouth's on and off lover plus
Brooke's mother--these relationships get rather clouded. Julian Baker
who arrived to produce a movie version of Lukas Scott's book has hung
around to romance Brooke, in this season his mother arrives on the scene
to reveal his past as a mother's boy. I continue to wonder who is guilty
of making the world think that a two-day's growth of beard is chic. Does
it look unkempt or am I just jealous because when I let mine go it just
looks disheveled?

The show has never shied away from confronting hot-button issues.
Business ethics plays a major role in several plot lines. The coercion
of college professors to pass elite athletes rears its ugly head. Others
are teenage pregnancy, government waste, endangered species, bullying.

Wedding bells and the baby-making machine play prominent roles this
season. Nathan's son Jamie continues his aw-shucks role as an
enfant-terrible and increasingly displays talent that suggests he has
inherited the Scott athletic gene. In spite of this obvious investment
in the future of the show we now know that Season Nine, already out on
DVD is the final season. It's cheaper south of the border.