It's the end of an era. No, One Tree Hill was not cancelled (thank God!), but the shows two lead actors Chad Michael Murray and Hilarie Burton decided not to renew their contracts so when the series returns in its seventh season it will be sans Lucas and Peyton drama. It's unclear as to how this will affect the shows following but if most fans are like me, then they're not going to miss the brooding seems-to-be-completely-and-genuinely-in-love-with-every-girl-he-meets Lucas but the loss of Peyton might be bad because of the great relationship she has with the real star of the show Sophia Bush, a.k.a. Brooke Davis.

Show runners made a very smart decision with this sixth and in some senses final season of the show. Rather than go out on the usual nail biting cliffhanger ending that helps to ensure the return of audiences the following year, which probably would have down played the exit of Burton and Murray, they ended this season as though the entire show was ending. It gave a proper ending to all of the stories we've been watching for six years before jumping off into this new version of the Hill with no Lucas or Peyton but plenty of Brooke, Nathan, Haley and new comers Clayton, Nathan's new sports agent played by the unstoppably hot Robert Buckley Haley's older sister Quinn played by Shantel VanSanten and Jana Kramer as the new face of Cloths Over Bros, Alexis.

This season had plenty going on besides the beginning of the end. As we've come to expect from life in Tree Hill there was lots of life, death, career ups-and-downs, break ups, make ups, kidnappings and of course a few knock down drag out brawls that we love to cheer for! It's especially fun when it's the girls doing the fighting for some reason.

The two main relationships this season are surprisingly strong and without the usual petty drama. Lucas and Peyton have finally gotten together and decided to get married and Haley and Nathan are finally happily married and each of them is pursuing their dream without pissing off the other. All in all things are good relationship wise in year six.

Filling in some of that missing drama we have Mouth (Lee Norris) in between new girlfriend Millie (Lisa Goldstein) and old high school flame hottie Gigi (Kelsey Chow) and also Skillz (Antwon Tanner) dating Nathan's mom Deb (Barbara Alyn Woods). And of course my main girl Brooke (Sophia Bush) is always unlucky in love and this year is no exception. She has the hunky but relationship-challenge Owen (Joe Manganiello) at first and then finally ends up with Julian (Austin Nichols) Peyton's ex-boyfriend and Lucas' least favorite new person. I think the fact that she has stayed away from the relationship drama and has had more interesting real world problems to deal with is part of

the reason why her character is the richest on the show. While everyone else is dealing in 'he said, she said's' Brooke is fostering a foreign baby who is in the country for heart surgery, she's taking in homeless teens, building a multi million dollar multi national clothing company, not to mention dealing with her uber-bitch mom Victoria; brilliantly played by the still super sexy Daphne Zuniga. All of these things help to make her the most unique and watchable character on the show.

Now, let's talk about the movie being planned on show based on the book that was written about the show within the show. Sound confusing? It really isn't but it's another predictable WB style plot device that does allow for some really cool things. For instance the episode where they are casting the roles is great. It makes the viewer realize how easily these characters that they have grown to know and love could have very easily been played by someone entirely different. And by bringing up past events in the context of them being filmed in a movie keeps those events fresh as opposed to being rehashes of old ideas. It's similar to what they did in the last year of Dawson's Creek only done a bit better I think. Plus it's just fun looking at a room full of potential Peyton's or tons of hot shirtless Nathan's walking around.

It also makes you wonder how many more inside jokes there are going on that we as the audience know nothing about. For all we know James Lafferty did have to audition shirtless to get the part and maybe there was a casting director in there with a thing for Hilarie"¦ who knows?

This brings us to one thing I love about this show and this season in particular – the winks to the audience found within some of the dialogue that you know was put there because of who was saying it. For instance in the episode that introduces James Van Der Beek as director Adam Reese he has a line that goes, "If there's one thing that I know it's that audiences go crazy over who ends up together." Of course referring to the insanity that erupted during his Dawson's Creek days when fans clamored over who Joey would end up with either Dawson or Pacey. There's also the moment when Lucas tells Brooke about the movie being made and she speculates that she will be played by "Someone from the CW. Uhg"¦ Whatever, at least they're hot." And of course there was the completely self deprecating moment at Lucas and Peyton's wedding reception where Stephen Colletti as Chase Adams corrects Julian about Nick Lachey not being on Laguna Beach saying, "That was some other tool," that other tool of course being himself.

There are a few things about this season and

the show in general that do bug me though. The first is that every time a new character is introduced into the fold it's always done the same way. At first he or she is a complete ass that everyone hates and then through their exposure in one way or another to the Tree Hill gang they redeem themselves and turn out to be great people. This season alone we had Sam (Ashley Rickards) the troubled orphaned girl who shoplifts from Brooke's store and then ultimately becomes her foster daughter. We have ballin' badass Quentin Fields, 'Q' (Robbie Jones) who is way too cool for school at first and then ultimately becomes teachers pet and Nathan's main inspiration for his Basketball come back. We've got the at first sleazy Hollywood movie producer in town to stir up some shit and win Peyton back but instead falls legitimately in love with Brooke and becomes an amazing stand up guy, Julian played by the epitome of the word 'yummy' Austin Nichols. And we also get a slight twist with the reserve storyline that they had with crazy Nanny Carrie (Torrey DeVitto). At first she's sweet as pie and as innocent as a dove, but eventually turns psycho stalker killer and kidnapper. (Gotta love that one) None of these story lines are bad mind you it's just that you can see them all coming a mile away. There aren't many surprises in the character development on the show.

Another problem I have with the show is that money never seems to be an issue for these guys. When you look at the house that Nathan and Haley live in with their 5 year old son you wonder exactly what major success they managed to have in between being high school newlyweds to college kids to broken dreams basketball star and local high school English teacher. I mean does money just grow on that One Tree on the Hill? How do you buy a huge gorgeous house on that kind of income? Also when you look at Peyton's studio you wonder where all that backing came from. Unless it was all Brooke then it makes no sense.

By far my biggest complaint this year though was the episode, We Three (My Echo, My Shadow and Me) where Lucas has a dream that takes the cast back to a 1940's time frame in a crime Noir style setting. Incidentally this episode was written by Chad Michael Murray) Nothing against these guys I'm sure they're all very cool people (with maybe one or two exceptions) but none of them had the acting chops to make this episode work. It was sloppy and silly and barely watchable. I remember sitting through the first 10 minutes when it first aired and turning it off. When I watched the DVD's to prepare this review I got

through half and had to take a break before coming back to it. It was just a terrible idea. Paul Johansson was probably the only cast member to pull it off half way convincingly and possibly Sophia as well. Everyone else was just uncomfortable and awkward.

The season hits a bit of a lag somewhere in the middle of it. The build up to finding Quentin's killer and Brooke confronting the man who attacked her in her store and of course Dan escaping from crazy Nanny Carrie's clutches dominated the first half of the season and really kept the audience on the edge of their seats. Unfortunately once the prospect of the movie falls through and all the 'bad' characters have become good, a lot of the conflict disappears. The entire latter part of the season rests on Peyton's dangerous pregnancy and Brooke's drama with Julian and Sam. As good as the Hill makes the relationship drama it's always at its best when there is some kind of physical peril involved as well. It's hard in the long run to justify so many serial killers and kidnappings but while they are happening you can't help but love every minute of it.

The final episode really does serve as a great ending for the story they starting telling six years ago. There is closure for all of our characters and ends on a really happy, almost inspiring note. Moira Kelly returns as Lucas' mom Karen as does Barry Corbin as retired coach Whitey; while the two don't play huge roles in the finale just having them there was important and helped to make the show come full circle. I'm not sure how they'll be able to top it when the actual final episode happens when the series as a whole wraps but it will be interesting to see them try.

The special features in this set include a ton of deleted scenes which are always great, some commentaries that I honestly never listen to and then a couple of featurettes that are pretty great. First we have the gag reel which is always a crowd pleaser. There wasn't anything on there that was outrageously funny but it's nice to see what life is like for these guys on set when everything isn't going perfectly. Then there's also a first time director's featurettes that does extensive interviews with three of the show's actors turned directors, Chad Michael Murray, James Lafferty and Bethany Joy Galeotti. It's a very well produced segment that again sheds a lot of light on what the behind-the-scenes making of this show is like.

So even though this wasn't the most solid season of the show it definitely holds up and warranted a seventh season. If you're a true fan you're going to be picking this up anyway but if you aren't my advice is going to be

the same as always, start from the beginning! An ending can only truly be appreciated by those who have been on board since the beginning of the ride.

Season Grade: B

DVD Features Grade: A-

Overall Grade: B+