James Lafferty - Nathan/James episode discussion: OTH SERIES FINALE 9.13 "One Tree Hill"

Poupa · 04-03-2012, 12:19 PM

OTH SERIES FINALE
9.13 - "One Tree Hill"

TWO-HOUR SERIES FINALE EVENT -
In the final chapter of One Tree Hill, the tenth anniversary of Tric brings old faces and new possibilities for the Tree Hill family.

Poupa · 04-04-2012, 08:43 AM

This is going to be sad, even though I wanted this show to end seasons ago. But the thought of no more James/Joy/NH together on my screen is so hard to handle.

kissed by starlight · 04-04-2012, 09:39 AM

I have to admit, I'm really sad that it will be the last time ever seeing Nathan, Haley and Nathan/Haley/Jamie/Lydia. It's been nine years going with the high and the low with this series and even though there were some really horrible plots but we somehow stuck with it. Farewell One Tree Hill.

I'm gonna bring over some articles about the the show and specifically the series finale.

One Tree Hill Series Finale: Get Ready to Say Goodbye » BuzzFocus.com

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One Tree Hill finally bids farewell after nine seasons

Fans stayed loyal for its heartfelt storylines

The final episode of One Tree Hill airs tonight on The CW at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m.

When One Tree Hill premiered on the WB in September 2003, ratings for the show were so low that creator Mark Schwahn once joked, "Even my mother didn't know we were on."

But over subsequent weeks, the numbers grew, and though the soapy drama never became a Nielsen juggernaut or critical darling, it managed to connect with a fiercely loyal core audience. And, somehow, someway, it survived.

It survived cast defections and a network merger. It survived low-budget marketing campaigns, several close brushes with cancellation, two bouts of time-travelling, countless angst-filled songs and more than a few eye-rolling plot lines. But this week, after nine sea-sons and 187 episodes, One Tree Hill finally bids farewell. And this time, it's for real.

"I guess we were the little underdog that could," James Lafferty, one of the drama's mainstay actors, said at the winter television critics press tour. "We thought we were done several times through the years. And every time we thought we were done, so did a lot of people in America. But they always found their way back to us. I think that actually provided an element of surprise and made it a bit of a roller-coaster ride for everyone."

Over the years, that ride covered a lot of ground. A television newbie back in 2003, Schwahn originally envisioned an intimate family series about two halfbrothers - played by Lafferty and Chad Michael Murray - who attend high school in the fictional North Carolina town of Tree Hill, and compete both on and off the basketball court. But even though Lafferty's character, Nathan Scott, eventually made it to the NBA, the show became less focused on basketball and expanded into a multi-generational ensemble drama teeming with beautiful people and heart-tugging tendencies.

For Season 5, Schwahn and his collaborators took a big risk on an unprecedented plot twist: Instead of sending his characters to college as most teen dramas would, he had them do a time warp right into adulthood. "I think everyone was really happy (with that move)," recalled Lafferty, who was 17 when he shot the pilot. "We had just done four years of playing high school characters, and everyone was a little older. It was kind of a relief. We would be playing closer to our ages. Also knowing that we were doing something that hadn't been tried before was really ex-citing. We had a chance to make some history."

Schwahn took another leap - of 14 months - between the sixth and seventh seasons, although Murray and Hilarie Burton, who had provided One Tree Hill with one of its central love stories, didn't hang around to experience it. They bolted, but the show's steadfastly loyal devotees did not.

"The bizarre thing is that I'll have fans come up and tell me how they grew up with our show," Lafferty said. "They started watching when they were 12 or 13, and now they're in college or adults out in the world. That's a really cool pay-off for us."

The ardent fans who did stick it out to the end have witnessed the return of several familiar faces - including Murray for one episode - and a season that has a been a bit darker in tone than usual. Through it all, though, One Tree Hill retained the emotional oomph that its fans craved.

Read more: One Tree Hill finally bids farewell after nine seasons

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"One Tree Hill" cast, creators look back on nine years

t's been nine years since "One Tree Hill" began its life in Wilmington. To commemorate the series finale (8 p.m. Wednesday, April4, on The CW), StarNews TV columnist Jeff Hidek conducted more than a dozen interviews with the show's cast and producers and attended fan events in Wilmington and Los Angeles in which those closest to the series reflect on their uncertain beginnings, passionate fans and favorite experiences in the Port City.
Photo Galleries

In spring 2003, as "Dawson's Creek" wrapped its final season of production, a pilot for another Warner Bros. series filmed in Wilmington. The pilot, titled "Ravens," was created by Mark Schwahn and produced by the team of Mike Tollin and Brian Robbins. It focused on teen half-brothers Nathan and Lucas, who lived in the small North Carolina town of Tree Hill and sparred with each other on the basketball court while navigating high-school romances and parental drama.

To read the TEN Pages with cast & producers click here.

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One Tree Hill Boss Touts Series Finale as 'Thank You' Note to Fans, Promises a 'Fulfilling' Ending

How does a show like The CW’s One Tree Hill — which over nine seasons has given us psycho stalkers, heart-eating dogs, coming-of-age teens (and then adults!), car crashes and more weddings, babies, deaths and hook-ups than we can possibly count — plan to wrap things up in tonight’s two-hour series finale event (airing at 8/7c)?

“Quietly,” shares showrunner Mark Schwahn.

t seems that after nearly a decade of jaw-dropping and always-emotional storytelling, Tree Hill‘s creator and his trusty team have taken the drama down a notch (or 10) for a series-ender that, if all goes as planned, will play as “a thank you note” to fans.

Here, Schwahn further discusses with TVLine his toned-down approach to the Tree Hill finale — which will pepper in nostalgia-filled interviews with the cast — as well as what to expect from the sweet swan song.

TVLINE | You recently described the series finale as a “love letter to fans.” Can you elaborate a bit on that?
If you’re a fan of the show and you’ve been inside of it for a long time — as you have, Meg — there are some nice Easter eggs in the finale. I designed it that way for people who really care about the show, and I took great pains to assure it was a fulfilling hour for them. The finale has some great stuff in it — some big storylines, some surprises — but it also isn’t afraid to be quiet because it knows that [it can be] and that the fans will care about it. Some moments are a wink to things that have happened in the past. There’s great music in it and the ensemble is there a lot, and those are the things I wanted to leave with the fans for the last hour. That’s why I called it a love letter. I probably should have called it a “thank you note” to fans, really. [Laughs] And I think the cast and the crew would agree. I think they all enjoyed having the bulk of the cast on set. There are a couple moments where there’s not even dialogue; it’s just these quiet sequences and they are so nice. It’s a nice time to be reflective. Long answer, short: For the fans who have been so loyal over the years and have fought for the show, it should be [a finale] that they enjoy. It might be bittersweet, it might be melancholy, but it should be something that they appreciate.

TVLINE | After an incredibly intense final season, it seems everything has fallen into place for our core characters. Is the plan to carry that good feeling through the end of the show?
That was certainly the design this season. I didn’t want to end the series with, say, Dan’s death. We had talked about it, and while I think Dan is so relevant and it’s odd to have a few episodes without him, life does goes on. That’s such a big, significant event that I didn’t want to leave the series after nine years with an incident of grief like that. Tonally, I knew exactly how I wanted to end it — though the situations have changed over the years because we never could put a number on when we were going to end. If you go back and look at our finales, you’ll see that consistency in tone.

TVLINE | Definitely — last season in particular, with the final shot being Jamie, hood over head, walking across the bridge with a basketball. That would have been a perfect ending, too.
Oh, yeah. You could even go back to when Lucas and Peyton left and drove off with the baby [in Season 6], and then in that same episode Brooke went to L.A. to tell Julian she loved him. Or the Utah episode [in Season 7] with the group sledding and climbing the hill together…. You see a consistency in tone. It doesn’t mean there aren’t some great surprises and some challenges in the finale, but the feeling of inclusion with the audience is appropriate for a series finale after nine seasons.

[IMG]pmctvline2.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/othfinale3.jpg[/IMG]

TVLINE | One Tree Hill has utilized its fair share of time jumps over the past few seasons. Should we expect to see more flash-forwards in the finale?
I’ll say this: Once you see the structure of the hour, you’ll understand that it’s a very different kind of episode. It’s such a gift to have nine years of storytelling to draw on, and it’s nice to see the trajectory of a character — especially for a show that was just about character. I remember the quote from Season 1, the one about ravens who would guide travelers to their destination, and that’s what I always thought the show was; these people are just travelers and they’re going to have bumps along the way, and hopefully they’re going to get where they’re going. So, that’s a long-winded way of saying that fans will get to see glimpses of the characters and moments of who they used to be, who they are now and maybe even who they might be. [Laughs]

TVLINE | Is it safe to assume we’ll see some sort of wedding for Clay and Quinn?
The idea of it. [Laughs] I wouldn’t have introduced [the idea of a wedding] and then left it hanging, so that storyline is at the center of their journey. We definitely address it and present a scenario to the audience. Ultimately, they’ll have to decide for themselves whether it was a satisfying one. I will tell you that we all enjoyed it.

TVLINE | And just to put at ease the minds of any worrywarts and naysayers out there, James Lafferty will be featured in the finale?
Of course. You know, everyone knows “the business of show” now… but James loves the show and there wasn’t a moment when he wasn’t going to be in the finale. He’s one of my closest friends and he was always, always going to be there.

TVLINE | I also feel I might be doing the final episodes of the show a disservice if I didn’t ask about their parallels with Dawson’s Creek’s series finale. Clearly, you’re aware of the similarities, given Brooke’s recent line about “the Creek,” but is this all just one big homage to One Tree Hill‘s WB predecessor?
I will say that it originated with Julian’s storyline. It really started with the idea that Julian is in his 20s, which is awfully early to settle, so we talked in the writer’s room about what he loves to do and what he would be passionate about, and the answer is [An Unkindness of Ravens]. So then of course we all thought of Dawson’s Creek, which obviously is this wonderful spectacle that exists in Wilmington [where we film] — I mean, we showed up and made our pilot when they did their finale. But we didn’t want to run away from that storyline just because of Dawson’s. It’s been almost 10 years [since their finale], so our finale is kind of commemorative. Obviously, we didn’t want to be redundant, but at the same time, it’s kind of neat. Above and beyond that, we just wanted to do what that character would love to do. We did put that [Creek] line in because we wanted to acknowledge it… But that storyline was more about Julian and what he’s passionate about than it was a nod to Dawson’s.

TVLINE | So, this is it. The last time you and I will chat about One Tree Hill, and the last time we’ll all check in with these beloved “friends.”
I like the idea that the show is still there, we’re just not visiting every week. Tree Hill is still there and the characters are still doing what they do; we just don’t have the good fortune of being able to see them every week.

One Tree Hill Boss Mark Schwahn Previews Series Finale - TVLine

Poupa · 04-04-2012, 09:44 AM

thank, Sarah for posting these interviews/articles

Aww, so many good stuff to read. I know I will def. feel sad when it ends. Despite everything, I stuck with this show with all the good and bad for 9 years, and enjoyed 3 & 1/2 awesome seasons that I re-watched a lot.

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I like the idea that the show is still there, we’re just not visiting every week. Tree Hill is still there and the characters are still doing what they do; we just don’t have the good fortune of being able to see them every week.

Aww

kissed by starlight · 04-04-2012, 09:54 AM

You welcome, love

Yeah, I absolutely agree, bb :/

AWs, it's really sad

southernbangel · 04-04-2012, 05:24 PM

Aaaaand I've already teared up a couple of times watching the goodbye special before the actual episode. I've watched this show from the very beginning, I can't believe tonight is the last episode....

Liam=Hot&Bad · 04-04-2012, 05:54 PM

Thanks for starting the thread Sal and thank you to you too Sarah for posting the interviews/articles

I don't wanna say goodbye..it hurts too much

southernbangel · 04-04-2012, 07:14 PM

Perfection.

Sure, if you want to nitpick, there may have been things that I wish they had done more of, or better, but all in all, the finale was everything I wanted it to be. For Nathan. For Haley. For Brooke. For Julian. For Clay. For Quinn. For Chase. For Mouth. For Millie.

For nine years, I have watched this show, through the good, the bad, the stupid, the heartbreaking, the beautiful, the ugly, the inspiring, through it all. I've made fun of the show, I've been moved by it, I've laughed, I've cried. I cried more tonight as the characters I've come to love so much, Nathan and Haley, made a full circle and ended with the love and grace that has defined their relationship.

Goodnight, Nathan Scott. Goodnight, Haley James Scott. Goodnight, Tree Hill.

Liam=Hot&Bad · 04-04-2012, 07:41 PM

:tuhd:

O.M.G. Amazing. Flawless. Perfection. Epic. <33333 Smiling. Crying. Squealing. Melting. *dead*

I am overcome with so many powerful emotions right now that I have no words. I'm literally dead! But I will say that it was perfect, flawless & epic in every way imaginable.

They did the show, all of the characters/cast and couples justice. Brought everything full circle. Nostalgic and had that old school vibe we all love.

#GoodnightNathanScott #GoodnightHaleyJamesScott #GoodnightNaley GoodnightScottFamily GoodnightOneTreeHill Thank you for an amazing and unforgettable nine years

diamond gothic · 04-04-2012, 07:43 PM

For me it would have been perfect if we had gotten a NHJL family scene. None all season. Sigh.

That said I loved the finale. I have a longer review for the whole show/NH/ect but for now I'll post my Nate thoughts:

Nathan & Nate/Jamie & NH I was very impressed with James acting (he also did well in ep 11 and he brought S3 Nate to this finale) and the Nate/Jamie scene was awesome and full circle as where the NH scenes. He looked so PROUD of Jamie & reflective and the nostalgic look over at his jersey on the way with his son’s and so in love with his wife. OMG. The tears. Seeing my fav ever S3 shot of Nate at the end? STOP. SHOW.

I actually loved NHB’s flashback shots at the end...the cocky player, the nerd in the bench and the cheerleader. How far they’ve come. All their dreams came true (Nate’s a coach OK). Ep 13...made me without a doubt imagine that Nate will coach basketball.

For those who missed Lydia and Nate/Lydia...

Becky, was kind enough to make this awesome gif of NH's little girl. In the original airing Lydia is just standing when Nate points to her & mouths "there she is"/waves/Haley waves...and she waves back...but when Julian looks over. I'm thinking it was an edit mistake or Mark just wanted the final shot of her to be waving but either way this is how it should have been

credit and thanks to Becky!

credit: cmba310

Liam=Hot&Bad · 04-04-2012, 08:03 PM

My only gripe is that we didn't get ONE Nate/Lydia, Haley/Lydia or NHJL scene...epic fail

Not happy about this in the slightest.

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but when Julian looks over. I'm thinking it was an edit mistake or Mark just wanted the final shot of her to be waving but either way this is how it should have been

I agree. This had me going WTF?! I kept thinking why is she waving at Julian like that but didn't wave at her parents when they waved at her. I wasn't impressed by this at all. It was obvious that something was missing. Now I know why.

Gah, this ani is so precious

Exactly how this scene should have played out on screen. Now, this scene is perfect

Thanks for bringing this over, Jess

diamond gothic · 04-04-2012, 10:20 PM

I ignored the edit...to me she did wave back but that shot was just used for Julian, him remembering seeing them wave from before lol. I honestly do think it was just so the last kids shot was them waving. Still...thank goodness for Becky's ani so we can see it the better way

As sad as I am at lack of Lydia with NHJ overall...I try and think how lucky we are compared to everyone else. We really got to see NH being parents. Honestly everything after S4 or S7 has been a bonus. We would never have even seen Lydia had we not had a S9. So yeah epic fail Mark...but it's not enough to taint my overall enjoyment of the finale and the 9 years of NH. We left on a good note, knowing that NHJL are now spending lots of family time living their happyily ever after albeit we won't get to see it.

Liam=Hot&Bad · 04-04-2012, 11:00 PM

Becky saved the day!

A big thank you to Becky

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As sad as I am at lack of Lydia with NHJ overall...I try and think how lucky we are compared to everyone else. We really got to see NH being parents. Honestly everything after S4 or S7 has been a bonus. We would never have even seen Lydia had we not had a S9. So yeah epic fail Mark...but it's not enough to taint my overall enjoyment of the finale and the 9 years of NH. We left on a good note, knowing that NHJL are now spending lots of family time living their happyily ever after albeit we won't get to see it.

Amen!

I couldn't have said it better myself

diamond gothic · 04-04-2012, 11:28 PM

Sorry guys I exceeded my bandwidth so can't see that Lydia gif

Hopefully Becky or someone else (who saved it) will kindly pop in and post it again for those who missed out.

Liam=Hot&Bad · 04-04-2012, 11:31 PM

I can still see the gif

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Fan Forum > Male Celebrities > James Lafferty > Nathan/James episode discussion: OTH SERIES FINALE 9.13 "One Tree Hill"