The O.C. is about that weird place in California called Orange County… And it’s about a trouble teen Ryan from Chino, who is adopted by a rich family in O.C., the Cohens.
This series started very strongly, we sympathize with Ryan at once, and even though I had a good childhood, somehow I felt for him. I still remeber when he went home after bailing out of jail, and his mother left. He had no home, so Sandy took him to his own home. Those were the good times in the O.C. season 1.
Ryan trying to adjust to the rich life, and also finding love in Marissa. That was the part that drawn me to this series in the beginning. Let’s not forget the rest of the cast though. Sandy Cohen, is a father/friend/husband figure, and he does a good job. He is an honest, true to his values character and can also be funny. Not as laugh out loud as his son, Seth Cohen. His nervous geeky banter was unstoppable and just funny. Plus he a comic reader like myself. Summer is another very funny character, and perfect for Seth. She started out as a rich snob bitch, but then revealed her true nature. A funny but sensitive girl.
The other characters were either forgettable or normal. All the various storylines were dealt with pretty quickly, which is a good thing. If you didn’t like the storyline, it wouldn’t have to stand it for too long. If you liked it, it ended before it turned bad. Unfortunately, as the series progressed, it was clear to me that they ran out of interesting situations for our characters. How many times can Ryan and Marissa break up and get back together? It seemed the only reason they broke up is because the writers wanted to shake things up, which is fine, as long as you know where you want it to go, and are willing to explore the new status quo. Instead they always went back to the same things over and over.
And that is why season two was a disappointment. I still like the characters, but I am just not interested enough to follow their stories. I think this series should have been one season long, or at least should be conceived with an end in mind. The current soap opera like approach does not interest me in the least.
Season 1 Rating: 4 Stars
Season 2 Rating: 2.5 Stars