Who would have ever thought that this little CW Show about two estranged brothers in a small North Carolina basketball town would have had legs enough to survive 7 years, the loss of its two lead characters and still manage to continue into an upcoming eighth and possibly NOT last year.

For now, let’s take a look at what One Tree Hill did to cope with losing Lucas Scott (Chad Michael Murray) and Peyton Sawyer (Hilarie Burton) at the end of season six.

Show runners very wisely decided to end the sixth season as though it was a ‘series’ finale and not just another ‘season’ finale. In the words of star Sophia Bush, “It gave closure to everyone of our characters and storylines which was very important for the fans who have been watching us for six years.”

While this decision made the end of year six easier, it made the beginning of year seven far more difficult. With everything being tied up in such a nice bow it seemed almost a sin to unwrap everything again and start over which is basically what they had to do. As much as people, myself included, would complain about the Lucas / Payton relationship it was a core element to the series as was the friendship between Peyton and Brooke and the ever growing bond between brothers Lucas and Nathan, which if we all recall was initially the whole point of the series at the beginning. So by extricating those two characters it pulled the plug on 80 percent of the dynamic of the show. All that was left to focus on was the marriage between Nathan and Haley, their son Jamie and their careers. Oh and of course the true star of the show Sophia Bush as Brooke Davis finally gets to shine, but other than that it’s all new territory.

Most shows take a while to find their footing in their inaugural year and in many ways this season of One Tree Hill plays like the first year of a new show. Several new characters are introduced and it takes a while for them to find their place in this already well established world. As a result the first few episodes and story arcs are shaky at best. But in true One Tree Hill fashion even though every storyline is predictable and every new characters arc virtually identical to past Tree Hillers that we’ve now said good-bye to, the drama is always intense and our feelings for these characters always run deep enough that we want to be around to watch as the inevitable unfolds.

Former Lipstick Jungle star Robert Buckley who plays Nathan’s sports Agent Clay Evans is definitely my favorite new character; which I’m sure will come as no surprise to most people. His chiseled all American good looks fit the already beautiful landscape of

this age-resistant cast and yet some how with his gorgeous smile and his questionable romantic past he manages to stand out and create a character who stands very much on his own.

Sadly, his eventual love interest in the series, Shantel VanSantan who plays Haley’s up until now absent sister, the bohemian wannabe photographer, Quinn isn’t nearly as compelling. I’m not sure if it’s the fact that she looks so similar to all the other new girls that join us this year, but I constantly found myself forgetting about her the second she left the screen. She didn’t hold my attention long enough to become anything more than an annoying plot point in a few shows as she tries to justify leaving her loving faithful husband because he’s not as exciting to her as he once was.

One of last year’s recurring guest stars is back this year as a series regular and I think it’s his charming, goofy smile and down to earth performance that makes us completely forget about Lucas by the second episode. Julian Baker, played by the incredibly adorable Austin Nichols has so much screen presence and natural charisma that unlike Shantel his influence never leaves the screen even when he does.

The character who has become the most annoying is sadly one of my former favorites. Haley James Scott (Bethany Joy Galeotti) went from an independent and strong loner to complete sell out with no real problems left to face in life. The first few episodes have her dealing with the biggest non-problems ever. A love child that only exists in a crazy fan’s mind because she knows how much money they have and she wants to extort some of it, having a record label breathing down her neck to finish her sophomore album because they are convinced it’s going to be a huge success and the most ridiculous of the lot – having to choose between going on tour throughout the country promoting what will be a huge money making album or move to Spain with her gorgeous professional basketball player millionaire husband and adorable son? Seriously bitch? Live my life for a week and then let’s talk about tough choices.

I think the writers are just at a loss to figure out what further emotional turmoil they can put Hayley through and still have it ring true. The final half of the season does have her dealing with some legitimately difficult situations but even those are taken too far to the melodramatic / slightly catatonic state. Needless to say everything Hayley James Scott related seemed far too forced. Note to the writers – Sometimes it’s fun to watch as a character enjoys his or her life and helps other new people deal with their new issues.

Another side note, I know it’s true that money can’t buy happiness but

it sure as hell doesn’t hurt to have it either! This show tends to boarder on the offensive when dealing with money issues. I realize they live in North Carolina but still, even when these people are ‘down and out’ they are living in gorgeous houses and beach condos. It becomes incredibly difficult to evoke sympathy for characters who want for nothing; at least for me. My feeling has always been if you don’t have to worry about money then life should be dealing you some tough cards in some other aspect of your life just to level the playing field. So when Richie McRich’s husband cheats on her… I kind of love it.

The saving grace of the season is hands down the forever beautiful Daphne Zuniga as Brooke’s mother, Victoria a.k.a. ‘Bitch-toria.” As with most every other One Tree Hill villain or villainess, Victoria has mended her ways and is trying her best to be a real mother to Brooke to make up for their tragic past. Unlike the other baddies gone good Victoria keeps her evil edge which makes watching her a consistently delicious experience. And when it comes to hot moms, you can’t get better than Daphne Zuniga!

Also in the delicious column for season seven is Brooke’s new co-designer Alexander Coyne played by the scrumptious Aussie Mitch Ryan. He’s another new character that would have been far more interesting if he had been playing gay, but alas another skirt chaser in town is fine too; mostly because this one has a taste for the older ladies.

There aren’t too many episodes here that stand out but one that definitely does is Don’t You Forget About Me; which was a tribute to the late, great writer / director John Hughes. The OTH cast very cleverly recreate some of his most famous moments from films like, The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles and Home Alone. The costumes and styles were wonderfully brought to screen assuming you can suspend your disbelief that Cheap Trick would show up to a small town high school dance and that everyone in the town would be able to come up with fabulously flattering retro 80’s style hair cut, make-up and costume. Once you get past that, the episode is a fun walk down memory lane.

And what season of One Tree Hill would be complete without at least one psycho stalker? Of course they can never top the original Tree Hill stalker the gorgeous Matt Barr as Peyton’s supposed half-brother but this year they reach an all time low with the most ridiculously far fetched one to date. I won’t ruin it for those of you who haven’t seen it yet but suffice it to say it exists only to make the season finale a jaw dropper!

With that in mind the season finale plays well enough because we now

know that it’s not a ‘series’ finale. One thing that this season did show is that when they do finally end the series they are going to need to open the check books to get Chad Michael Murray, Hilarie Burton,Moira Kelly, Barbara Alyn Woods and good ol Paul Johansson back otherwise it will feel completely cheap and empty. Some of the new characters, including former drug addict / bitchy actress turned one of the gang Alex Dupre Jana Kramer are nice additions to the group but they will never feel like the originals.

Special features on this 5 disc set include some cool deleted scenes; all of which could have easily been included in the show for additional content that would have been cool, but it’s nothing too earth shattering. We also have a gag reel that’s moderately funny and some commentaries that are useless.

There’s a featurette on Sophia Bush’s directorial debut which is great because it’s actually more extensive than you would think and it legitimizes the experience for fans who think that the actors just get to tack their names into the directing credit because they demand it in their contract. They actually do have to work very hard to direct that one hour of television. It’s really interesting seeing what goes into that.

Return to Camp One Tree Hill is a great little featurette that takes you behind-the-scenes with cast and crew talking about the season over all and actually going on set for a few days of filming with each new cast member which was nice.

Spring Break with One Tree Hill is a week of filming through the eyes of two contest winners who got to experience life on the set first hand. They did everything from stand-in and extra work to the grunt work of being P.A.’s. It was definitely a different way of showing behind the scenes material and it personally made me greatful that the only time I ever spend on sets is as press where they don’t make you work!

Normally by year seven of a show I can say that, ‘if you’ve been a fan all these years you’re going to end up buying this anyway so opinions don’t really matter.’ But here I think there is potential for true fans to say, ‘my One Tree Hill’ ended with year six’ and that would be completely valid. Personally I enjoyed seeing the show change and evolve even though this was far from my favorite year.

Here’s hoping year eight turns out a little smoother than year seven a.k.a. year one: redux.