Warner Bros. | 2008 | 1102 mins. | Not Rated
One Tree Hill is one of my guilty pleasures. It seems to be one of those shows people love or hate and I’m not ashamed to admit I love it. For teen based fare, the writing on the show is decent; at least the writers try to keep things fresh and the plotlines fairly unpredictable. One of the best things about One Tree Hill is that many of the storylines are hard to fathom. Nanny Carrie? Dan Scott getting wiped out by a car just as his beeper for a new heart goes off? Wacky stuff like that makes One Tree Hill highly watchable for fans.
One of the best decisions the series producers made, was to jump four years into the future with the start of season five. That decision speared viewers the awkwardness of watching the crew go in various directions after high school (If I recall, that’s essentially what killed Dawson’s Creek) and more importantly, aged the characters closer to that of the actors. There’s something annoying about an actor in their mid to late twenties playing a college freshman.
As season six begins, Lucas (Chad Michael Murray) has a big decision to make. Sitting at the airport, he struggles to decide whether to spend his life with his editor Lindsey (Michaela McManus), Peyton (Hilaire Burton) or Brooke (Sophie Bush). It doesn’t come as a big surprise when he picks Peyton; they’ve loved each other for years, even as they’ve dated others. The two fly off to Las Vegas to get married. Of course, after seeing what your typical Vegas wedding chapel has to offer, they decide to go back to Tree Hill and plan a real wedding. In the midst of all this, Peyton meets the man who is her biological father and finds out he’s in no condition to be a real part of her life. At the same time, Lucas meets with Lindsay in New York about his new book. None too pleased when she finds out about his engagement to Peyton; he loses her support when the book is a flop.
Needless to say, Lucas is very surprised when a young producer wants to turn his first book, Ravens onto a feature film. However, as with almost everything in Tree Hill there’s a catch: as it turns out, the producer, Julian Baker (Austin Nichols) has a history with Peyton from her days in Los Angeles. This connection causes some friction between Lucas and him that keeps things interesting. Look for a multi-episode arc featuring James Van Der Beek as an excitable Hollywood director (I wondered if fans were supposed to think, “Oh, that’s what happened to Dawson Leery).
The murder of their friend Quentin near the end of season five affected Nathan (James Lafferty), Haley (Bethany Joy Galoetti) and five year old Jamie (Jackson Brundage) profoundly. Driven to pursue their dreams, Nathan pursues his dreams of a basketball comeback with a singular vision. First he plays slamball, then he moves on to the NBA developmental league, until the final show of the season finds him getting a shot with the Charlotte Bobcats. Haley decides to get back into music; notably, she helps Mia (Kate Voegele) on her next album and sells a song to Nick Lachey.
Brooke has really evolved into a responsible adult. After fighting with her mother (Daphne Zuniga) over the direction of her company, season six sees her give it up in favor of what makes her happy. For her, much of the season revolves around a troubled teenage girl named Sam (Ashley Rickards) she takes in as a foster child. Toward the end of the season she starts a new romance and there are some signs she may actually have the chance to rebuild a relationship with her mother.
Over the top and melodramatic, season six of One Tree Hill is everything fans of the show have come to expect. It will be interesting to see how the departures of Chad Michael Murray and Hilaire Burton affect things but I think the series writers and producers probably have something in mind that will keep loyal fans watching.
The video is presented in widescreen with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The image is fairly sharp and clean. There is some grain, minor compression artifacts and edge enhancement but there is nothing that should interfere with the viewing experience.
The audio is presented in English 5.1 Dolby digital stereo sound. While dialogue comes off flat, music is rich and vibrant. There is very little distinction between the left and right channels. The release has subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.
One Tree Hill: The Complete Sixth Season contains the following special features:
• Audio Commentaries: are included for episodes “You Have to Be Joking (Autopsy of the Devil’s Brain)” and “Searching for a Former Clarity”. They are given by various actors, writers, producers and directors who work on the series.
• Unaired Scenes: are included for episodes “Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly”, “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, “You’ve Dug Your Own Grave, Now Lie In It”, “Choosing My Own Way of Life”, “Messin’ with the Kid”, “Sympathy for the Devil”, “Things a Mama Don’t Know”, “We Change, We Wait”, and “I Would for You”.
• OTH Goes Back in Time (17:26): is a making of featurette for the episode “We Three (My Echo, My Shadow and Me)”. In this episode, the entire cast is put into a film noir ’40s Tree Hill. This featurette has cast and crew discussing aspects related to making it.
• Slammin’ with OTH (11:35): is a featurette about the unconventional sport of slamball, which is an extreme version of basketball combined with hockey and football.
• OTH Celebrity Soundtrack (21:39): is a featurette with cast and crew about the music of One Tree Hill. It opens with discussion about the importance of music and integrating it into the show. They also address the United Service Organizations (USO) Tour that was part of season six.
• OTH: The Directors’ Debut (13:06): is an interview with Chad Michael Murray, Bethany Joy Galeotti and James Lafferty. All three made their directorial debut this season. They talk about their experiences.
• Gag Reel (4:04): is a standard montage of bloopers.
[xrrgroup][xrr label=”Video:” rating=”3.5/5″ group=”s1″ ] [xrr label=”Audio:” rating=”3.5/5″ group=”s1″] [xrr label=”Extras:” rating=”3.0/5″ group=”s1″] [xrr label=”Film Value:” rating=”4.0/5″ group=”s1″] [/xrrgroup]
