The moon is up and over One Tree Hill

I guess since the only other person I know who watches OTH is a girl I used to babysit and now only know through Facebook, I need to say a few words now that the series finale has aired after nine seasons of faithful viewership.

This show first aired the fall after I moved to LA. Still getting to know people & find my place here, and of course having my brother decide to move across the country to live on the floor of my studio apartment, I welcomed the show.

Friends joked about how I liked this teen show they thought was terrible, but I always loved it & was never afraid to admit that. It was never a guilty pleasure for me. I found it funny how they could brush it off so easy when they were in love with shows like The O.C. where rich kids get into all sorts of trouble & the drama was always high, or compare it to Dawson's Creek b/c it was filmed in the same town and also has a group of teenagers, or think Gossip Girl is an amazing show. While I did enjoy The O.C., I never cared for the other two. And really, what's personal taste account for? There will always be someone out there that thinks something sucks when you don't.

What OTH did have going for it, despite occasional ridiculousness, is a good, relatable and intriguing story with character development that made me want to watch it week after week. I loved some characters; I hated some characters, but there was always something interesting. Yes, it gets a bit soapy & dramatic, but it seems par for the course. There were times when I thought, really? This is the band that Peyton likes b/c it seems pretty weak in comparison, or Oh my are they really having a dance party with a 5 year old singing "boots with the fur", or I can't believe psycho nanny is a storyline or that Lucas is talking to a ghost or dreaming that he's in the 1920's... but really it's all done as sincere as they can. The show is serious when it needs to be, lighthearted and fun when it needs to be, and off the rails when they need that high drama. Really, the most ridiculous argument one could make for their plots is - do those kids really all grow up to be successful?

The show struggled season to season but always triumphed and it's nice that they got a short order last season to have an end to write to, an end that was satisfying, an end that makes you happy.