"One Tree Hill" is the only one of The CW's veteran series still not picked up for the 2010-2011 season. Nearing the end of its 7th season, the show is desperately in need of a little rehab, but with a few tweaks, it does have a chance at a successful Season 8. We're just not ready to let the Tree Hill gang go quite yet.
1. Explain where Chad Michael Murray went
Chad Michael Murray and Hilarie Burton left the show at the end of Season 6 after unsuccessful contract negotiations, but their characters never actually got written off. They just disappeared. The lack of explanation for Lucas and Peyton's disappearance has become the elephant in the room. When Lucas was M.I.A. at Haley's mother's funeral, it was the last straw. "Beverly Hills, 90210" never forgot about Brandon and Brenda Walsh, so why is "One Tree Hill" trying to erase Lucas and Peyton's existence?
2. Bring back Rachel Gatina!
We've got high hopes for Danneel Harris' NBC pilot, "Friends With Benefits," but we never got any real closure for Rachel, the manipulative redhead who shook up senior year at Tree Hill High. Alex (Jana Kramer), the new girl with the broken moral compass, feels like Rachel-Lite, and it only makes us miss Rachel more. If Dan Scott can be redeemed after murdering his brother and blaming it on a troubled teenager, Rachel deserves a redemption story of her own.
3. No more jealous Brooke
She's got a clothing line, a magazine, and a super-hot boyfriend who is completely obsessed with her. Why is she constantly jealous of the other girls, be it Peyton, Rachel, or Alex? Sophia Bush is easily the strongest actor left on the show, so we're tired of the whole "You must love her more than you love me!" routine. Give Bush a better story line to play - she deserves it.
4. Turn up Haley's music
"One Tree Hill" has always had a great soundtrack, which was only improved when Haley James Scott showed off her pipes. She sang a few songs this season, cross-promoting Bethany Joy Galeotti's record, but we want more! When Haley and Chris Keller (Tyler Hilton) dueted on "When the Stars Go Blue" in Season 2, our hearts melted. If he needs to come back for that magic to be recreated, give Tyler Hilton a call! He's got a new EP to promote.
5. Easy on the new characters
Quinn, Clay, Julian, Millicent, Victoria, Alex, Grubbs, Sara, Lauren, Miranda, Alexander, David... we've had enough new arrivals for a while. It's hard to care about the new characters when our old favorites are getting put on the back-burner over and over.
6. Girl's night, STAT
We loved the episode where Brooke and Haley hung out at home and enjoyed some, er... special brownies, but since then they've barely crossed paths. With Peyton gone, Haley is the closest thing Brooke has to a BFF, so why does Brooke spend all her time with her conniving mom and her traitorous assistant? Lately, the show has been relying too much on romance and not enough on the friendships that once made it great.
7. Shake things up in the romance department
The romantic story lines are getting excruciatingly predictable. We'd barely known Clay and Quinn for 10 minutes before it became obvious that they'd end up together. Why not stir things up a bit? Clay and Brooke would be pretty hot together, or maybe Quinn and Skills could hook up. Better yet, could one of the countless new characters be gay? Tree Hill hasn't been home to a gay character since Anna's 11-episode run in Season 2.
8. Bring Sam home
One new character we do miss is Samantha, the foster kid that Brooke welcomed home in Season 6. We loved the little makeshift family that Brooke, Sam, and Julian formed by the end of the season, and we felt cheated when Samantha left to go live with the mother who abandoned her. She hasn't even visited Brooke, which especially stings since Brooke has learned of her inability to bear biological children. Was Sam scrapped because the storyline resembled "Life Unexpected" too much?
9. Remember that whole basketball thing?
Sure, Nathan is still a basketball player, but now the sports stories revolve around contract negotiations, endorsement deals, and public relations nightmares, instead of actual sports. We miss watching the time running out during a tied game, and the camaraderie and competition within the team. Plus, the characters are really suffering without the wise old coach there to guide them with sports metaphors and withering stares.
10. Ditch Brooke's mom
Daphne Zuniga's time on "Melrose Place" made her a prime-time soap legend, so it pains us to say this, but it's time to say goodbye to Victoria. Now that she and Brooke have reconciled, she's just taking up space! We're bored by her affair with Alexander, because "One Tree Hill" has already gone down the cougar route - remember when Grandma Deb hooked up with Skills? Now it's no longer scandalous, it's just kind of sad.
11. No more mysterious women for Nathan
How many times has some strange new woman come into Nathan and Haley's life, threatening their relationship? And how many times has Nathan proven that he's not going to cheat on Haley with any of them? The fans love "Naley," and since the couple has been together since their junior year of high school, they've proven their staying power despite promiscuous cheerleaders, crazy nannies, and lying groupies. The parade of random creepy girls can end now.
12. Make the characters relatable again
"One Tree Hill" started off as a drama about estranged half-brothers on the same high school basketball team. Now it's about an NBA player, a sports agent, a famous designer, a model/actress, a movie producer and a touring singer. (Okay... and a seven-year-old.) Is there something in the water in Tree Hill that instantly makes everyone super-successful? And what are these people still doing living in a small town in North Carolina?
I personally think the only one I DON'T agree with is ditching Brook's Mom - she is the one person who is creating some drama. I never through I would see her with the male Alex... that makes things a little more funny and interesting on the sexy side of things. I think the show could be spiced up if there is a new season, but I fear this will be the last one!
Source: http://www.zap2it.com/news/pictures/zap-one-tree-hill-12-steps-gallery,0,5887253,showall.photogallery
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