The summer of ’03 was a weird time for me. I graduated college and decided to study abroad in Ireland. When I returned home in July, I didn’t have a job or a place to live. I basically lived in my pajamas on my mother’s couch until I secured a job in September. I was broke and depressed and had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. Then The O.C. premiered.
I actually didn’t watch the pilot, because I had no interest in teen dramas. I had never really been a fan of 90210, and as a recent college graduate, my teenage years were behind me. I didn’t think this show had anything to offer me, so instead I spent all day watching Trading Spaces on TLC and cross-stitching, even though I hate things that are cross-stitched.
When the second episode came around, a friend of mine decided to have people over to watch it, saying that it was really a lot better than he expected. I was wary, but since my human contact was comprised mostly of making catty comments to myself about the Trading Spaces designers, I decided to go. It was that night that I fell in love with The O.C.
The O.C. was impressive because it managed to at once be a typical teen drama, while making fun of typical teen dramas. The writing was genuinely good, and it handled very common TV fare in ways that I hadn’t really seen before. It had heart, and yes, even “very important lessons,” but it was also funny. The O.C. rarely delved into melodrama, and when it did, it was quickly followed by a joke that reminded you not to take it all too seriously.
The clip above perfectly illustrates what makes this show great: a funny line followed by some ridiculous violence. Everybody was always throwing punches in The O.C. From the night where we first met Luke and he knocked Ryan out before uttering the famous line, “Welcome to The O.C., bitch,” to when Marissa’s dad gets his ass kicked at a debutante ball, nobody in the entire county was safe from a fist to the nose. In fact, there were so many fights that later on in the series, it became a running joke on the show.
Here’s a small sampling of the fights just from season one:
What really made the first season of The O.C. though was Seth and Summer. Adam Brody and Rachel Bilson dated throughout most of the show’s run, and their on-screen chemistry is palpable. Episode 7, “The Escape,” when Ryan, Marissa, Seth and Summer all go down to Mexico is the first time we really get to see how these very different characters are kind of perfect for each other. It also shows how the prissy, snotty Summer can actually be really funny.
The first season became so ridiculously successful, that FOX extended its order to a staggering 27 episodes. Looking through them again now, outside of the whole Oliver saga, most of them were outstanding. Very few shows can put together a solid 12 episode season, much less a 27-episode one, but season 1 of The O.C. did just that.
Not only did they put together some great television, but they used music in a way that no one else really was at the time. From the introduction of what would become their iconic theme song early on in the pilot,
to the use of Ryan Adams’ cover of “Wonderwall” toward the end of this Seth and Summer scene,
to Alexi Murdoch’s “Orange Sky” with Ryan, Marissa and Seth,
the music was an integral part of this show, acting as another character.
Despite this strong showing, or maybe because of it, the quality began to fall off in season 2 with the over-emphasis of Seth’s ironic hipsterdom and just continued on a downward spiral. But regardless of anything that came after that, The O.C. had a pretty perfect season (which spawned some great soundtracks). The O.C. Season 1 was the first TV on DVD purchase I ever made, and to this day I’ll put on a couple of episodes and it never fails to put me in a good mood.
Clacked by Kona Gallagher 
on Jun 10, 2009 @ 17:03 EST5EDT
I wholeheartedly agree with everything you wrote! I ended up dropping this show somewhere in season 2, but I adored the first season for all of the reasons you said… it was so charming the way it made fun of itself!
This was one I got roped it watching with the girlfriend and was surprised at how decent at was (at least at first). It was a teen drama but was able to maintain a sense of humor about itself. The problem was that the writing went way downhill starting in season 3. It was a combination of cockiness from the show’s success, laziness, and a short attention span.
It was abundantly clear that the producers’ attention had shifted to other projects and the end result was a decline in quality. The drama that had been at the forefront of pop culture stagnated when it should have been continuing to innovate. As a result, public interest dropped off. This is a show that could have easily lasted for years longer had someone put real effort into keeping it fresh rather than relying on an increasingly small circle of characters many of whom were not very compelling.
Note: I don’t miss it. Just an example of bad management.
Great Flashback. I’m so with you about everything you wrote. I never watched it during its original run for I thought it was just another 90210 – then I stumbled across a rerun, bought the first Season DVD, watched it, loved it, went out and bought the second Season DVD and didn’t get past the second disc… what an extreme drop in quality… I’d call it Veronica Mars Syndrome but VM was better than The OC. It was fun while it lasted though and it was fun reading about this tacky show again :-)
Whenever anybody complains about teen dramas, I can’t help but point them towards The O.C. The first season is so well written and so well acted that I can’t even describe the show as a guilty pleasure. The first four episodes of The O.C are just amazingly put together and flow so well. People don’t seem to understand how genuinely good the show is. What I love about the show is that it’s about family, and creating a family with the people around you. Ryan, Seth, Summer and Marissa were a strong unite throughout the show, something you don’t see in all the bitching and back stabbing of Gossip Girl. Ryan was brought into Newport, and he was able to form such strong and genuine connections with those around him Even though the show hit a rough match during the 2nd and 3rd season, mainly due to notes from the network, the characters were so great that it was still a pleasure to watch. Season 4, in my opinion, is just as good, maybe even better, than the first season. It’s funny, clever, and really heartfelt.
Just watch this clip of the last 5 minutes of the show. Absolutely perfect.
Last summer my wife and I noticed that our local library had all four seasons. So we spent the summer watching the OC and having a blast. While I agree with others that the first season is the best it is missing Taylor Townsend who is our favorite character.
Taylor was hott! I liked her too. I liked a lot of people on that show. I get all happy when i seem them in other shows.
I loved the OC!!! I watched most of the first season before i moved & lost cable. Then i had to catch up through DVDs. My favorite person on that whole show was Sandy Cohen. Who wouldn’t want a father like that? He was fucking awesome!