The WB/Danny FeldIt's over. Like, for real this time. The CW will air the last-ever episode of 7th Heaven this Sunday, and because I know so many of you fans are feelin' a wee bit nostalgic—no more Lucy or Matt or Happy the dog!—I sent my partner in scoop and our resident 7th Heaven fan, Korbi Ghosh, to a cemetery to pay her respects on behalf of E! Online.
Sound a little kooky? You bet! But Korbi actually had good reason for being there, and even though she was the only reporter on hand (she's got friends in high places), she was most definitely not alone. I'll let K.G. explain in her own words, which in this case, are sweet and a little sappy, in true 7th Heaven form...
7th Goes to Heaven: The Cast and Crew Put the Fun in Funeral
by Korbi Ghosh
What kind of sick person starts giggling as they roll into a funeral?
Apparently me, because that’s the unexpected reaction I had this week driving into the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. I had come at the invitation of Brenda Hampton, creator and executive producer of 7th Heaven, which ends its 11-year run this Sunday. Why was I meeting up with Ms. Hampton at the cemetery? It wasn’t to watch her crew film Reverend Camden’s burial scene. If you watched the show last week, you know the Rev has miraculously recovered from his heart condition and could potentially live to officiate Lucy’s grandkids’ nuptials.
No, the funeral I was attending was for 7th Heaven, the series—complete with a gospel choir, eulogy and the cast and crew all clad in black.
"This show seemed to have a life of its own, and now that's over, so I thought it should have a proper burial," Brenda explained. Of course, it was only appropriate to ask the good Reverend, aka Stephen Collins, who has led the cast through the last 11 years, to deliver the eulogy. Once Brenda’s favorite choir finished their serenade to the show, he stepped up to address the large crowd. And just as any commemoration would call out the ways in which a good person has affected the lives of others, Stephen pointed out how many people are better off because of 7th Heaven.
Collins' career—and surely his bank account—are but a couple of the things that benefited from the existence of the show. He gave a shout-out to the former camera operator who was able to transition to director of photography during 7th’s run and to the grip who retired just days earlier, thrilled to have spent the last 11 years of his work life surrounded by great friends. And what about our very own Reel Girl, Caroline Kepnes, who went from aspiring screenwriter to honest-to-goodness television scribe with two entire episodes under her belt? Yep, E! Online's 7th Heaven ties run deep.
In truth, the lives of an immeasurable number of people were changed because of the show, and many of them turned up to pay their respects, including Haley Duff; Mama Camden herself, Catherine Hicks; Reverend Lucy Kinkirk (aka Beverley Mitchell); and the Camden’s youngest kids, Lorenzo and Nikolas Brino, who were accompanied by the other half of their quadruplet set, Zachary and Myrinda, who also appeared on 7th as Sam and David when they were infants. Happy the dog was in attendance, too, and I even spotted Matt Camden’s bride, Sarah, who must’ve flown in from New York to represent him (since Barry Watson was probably busy wondering whether or not What About Brian will be picked up for another season).
"I guess I should be very sad to see the show end,” Hampton told me. “But really, if anyone was part of this experience for 11 seasons and feels anything other than grateful and happy to have been a part of it, then take a look around [the cemetery]...Things could be worse."
Indeed, it was a jovial sort of memorial service. And I was actually but one of many gigglers at the cemetery that day. As a longtime fan and closet sap, I’m saving my tears for Sunday, when I sit down with my mom to watch an all-new ep of 7th Heaven for the very last time.