7th Heaven (1996–2007)

This weekly television series follows the Camden family as the minister father and stay-at-home mother deal with the drama of having seven children, ranging from toddlers to adults with families of their own. The friends, neighbors, and love interests of the various members of the family weigh heavily on the plot of the series, which seeks to address a real-life issue with each episode.

Creator:

Brenda Hampton

Stars:

Beverley Mitchell, Stephen Collins, Catherine Hicks

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 20 wins & 55 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Beverley Mitchell	...	Lucy Camden (243 episodes, 1996-2007)
Happy	...	Happy (242 episodes, 1996-2007)
Stephen Collins	...	Rev. Eric Camden (242 episodes, 1996-2007)
Catherine Hicks	...	Annie Camden (242 episodes, 1996-2007)
Mackenzie Rosman	...	Ruthie Camden (238 episodes, 1996-2007)
David Gallagher	...	Simon Camden (221 episodes, 1996-2006)
Barry Watson	...	Matt Camden (200 episodes, 1996-2006)
Jessica Biel	...	Mary Camden (139 episodes, 1996-2006)
Nikolas Brino	...	David Camden (134 episodes, 1999-2007)
Lorenzo Brino	...	Sam Camden (134 episodes, 1999-2007)
George Stults	...	Kevin Kinkirk (114 episodes, 2002-2007)

Storyline

This weekly television series follows the Camden family as the minister father and stay-at-home mother deal with the drama of having seven children, ranging from toddlers to adults with families of their own. The friends, neighbors, and love interests of the various members of the family weigh heavily on the plot of the series, which seeks to address a real-life issue with each episode.

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Plot Keywords:

children | minister | mother son relationship | father son relationship | mother daughter relationship | 

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Taglines:

You can relate...

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Genres:

Drama | Family

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Official Sites:

The CW Network

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 August 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

7th Heaven: Beginnings

Filming Locations:

3401 Exposition Blvd., Santa Monica, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Spelling Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The show initially tested poorly among test audiences in the spring of 1996 before it was picked up as a series. WB executives decided to move forward with the project and not change anything in the format despite early test reactions.

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Quotes

[Eric and Annie are taking Ruthie into school for her first day of Kindergarten]
Ruthie: You took him?
Eric: We took all of you.
Ruthie: He told me he took a cab and paid for it all by himself.
Eric: Cabs are very cheap on Planet Simon.

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Connections

Edited into Frontline: The Merchants of Cool (2001)

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Soundtracks

"7th Heaven"
Performed by Steve Plunkett

User Reviews

Family Programming with Religious Overtones

I respect all the negative comments regarding this family programming. Americans that are as wholesome as the Cosby Show, All in the Family, Full House, Partridge Family, Leave it To Beaver, the Waltons, Little House on the Prarie, and my fav - Home Improvement... etc. should not be watching a show like this because it is a waste of precious time. May I advise Buffy the Vampire Slayer by creator Josh Wheaton or the like. Even a few of the Vampires have a little conservative ethics.

However, if you miss the family kind of spoofs from the 80s where kids were kids and parents were caring and all family problems no matter how big were solved in 30 minutes, then this may be a show for you. It is a great topic starter with your children to help you pass on your family ethics during the dinner hour - that is if you do dinner and a movie like our family does. This show was meant to compete with Disney's current monopoly on family shows. And I would give it a fair rating - not the best and not the worst.

Probably the only thing that leaves me a bit amiss is that it focuses only on American Christianity. I have been going to my 4 children's public school functions for nearly 16 years now and I can tell you that America is much more blended in different cultures than has ever been displayed in any American family programming. When is someone going to marry the children off to an African American? When is one of the boys going to be best friends with someone from a completely different culture. Maybe someday family programming will pick up the world outside our US soil to include in our shows. And then again, maybe not.

Just remember people, it is the audience that drives television viewing demand. So be careful you "7th Heaven negativists". This show lasted as long as it did because the audience demanded it - otherwise another moneymaker would have been filled in to help sell products and turn the station dollar. That audience is probably your neighbor :O)