"ONE TREE HILL: THE COMPLETE SIXTH SEASON"
DVD Review
by Kevin Carr
| MOVIE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars)
DVD EXPERIENCE: ***1/2 (out of 5 stars) STARRING James Lafferty as NATHAN SCOTT Bethany Joy Galeotti as HALEY JAMES SCOTT Sophia Bush as BROOKE DAVIS Paul Johansson as DAN SCOTT Chad Michael Murray as LUCAS SCOTT Hilarie Burton as PEYTON SAWYER Not Rated Available on DVD August 25 OneTreeHillDVD.com Studio: Warner Bros. Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
The residents of Tree Hill, North Carolina are back for another season. The season opens with Lucas (Chad Michael Murray) having to choose among three women. Brooke (Sophia Bush) is struggling with her cold-hearted mother over her business. And Nathan (James Lafferty) is wishing for another shot at basketball stardom. The series that started in high school has moved the characters into adulthood with even more challenges and drama.
WHAT I LIKED
With so many teen drama shows on television, it’s easy for them to be lost in the shuffle. “One Tree Hill” focuses on the more down-to-earth characters, compared to its high-end counterpart “Gossip Girl.” In this sense, the show has a distinct “October Road” feel to it without all the overwriting.
As it has done in previous seasons, the show has kept the characters fresh by pushing ahead in the years and not stagnating with high school stories. In this sense, some of the character arcs are a bit intense, and the show takes a decidedly dark turn at several points. These include the tragic death of a beloved characters as well as the alarming predicament that Dan (Paul Johansson) finds himself in at the beginning of the season.
I will give this show credit for mixing things up and not wallowing in its own angst, like the aforementioned “October Road.” There are some neat diversions in the storyline, including a 1940s episode along with some introspective elements as Hollywood comes to Tree Hill (along with a slate of famous and semi-famous guest stars).
Finally, it’s nice to see some of the teen sex symbols from my youth (including Daphne Zuniga and Moira Kelly) finding new roles in their 30s and 40s, even if it does make them moms, which makes me feel really old.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Not having seen the first five seasons of “One Tree Hill,” it took some time for me to ramp up into the series. I suppose that this is the case for any series that goes beyond just the first few seasons. And, “One Tree Hill” isn’t like “Lost” or “Battlestar Galactica,” which would leave any new viewer in the dust coming in late in the game.
The only real problem I had with the series is that it does have a very generic feel in terms of teen dramas. It’s a show with decent writing and excellent production value, but some of the episodes just don’t seem to rise above the standard teen drama show... even though the characters are well into their 20s.
DVD FEATURES
All season six episodes are included in the seven disc set. Each disc includes three or four episodes, many of which contain deleted scenes with quite a few featuring a commentary track.
Additional bonus features include impressively lengthy (between 15 and 30 minutes) featurettes about various elements of the show, from the music to the sports. Featurettes include “OTH Goes Back in Time: Recreating the 1940s,” “Slammin’ with OTM: Playing the New Sport of SlamBall,” “OTH Celebrity Soundtrack” and “OTH: The Directors’ Debut.”
There is also a gag reel, which is always fun, plus a pull-out episode guide booklet detailing the bonus material and the season breakdown. Finally, I do enjoy the cover box, which features Sophia Bush in a short, short skirt. Yeah, I’m a pig like that.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Fans of down-home teen drama... with people in their 20s.
