Wipe a single tear from your face for The O.C.. It's gone to PH but you can still talk about it here. The archives are available here.

Oh my God! I can't believe the O.C. was demoted to a single thread forum... well whatever. they killed Marissa anyways. Which was really all I wanted to rant about in the first place when I was trying to post in the "Dear Josh Schwartz" thread. So here goes, just to be at peace with myself.

Dear Josh Schwartz,

I hate you dearly for killing Marissa and making the last season unbearable to watch,

Love,

maryv

Dear Josh Schwartz,

Thank you for killing Marissa and making the last season fun, campy, dramatic, comedic and wonderful.

Love,

gummibears

Well, we knew it was coming... this is worse than when I found out you were cancelled on my 21st birthday, The O.C.

I shall miss you, show. Killing Marissa was the kick in the pants creativity-wise that you needed... however late it may have come. (I' m looking at you, Season 3.)

gummibears, I guess it was kind of campy... heh, I like your choice of words.

But that's just it, I felt that the campy-ness, or whatever, didn't go at all with the whole flow the show had been going through for the past 3 seasons. It did make it interesting, but at times it felt ridiculous... cough, cough, earthquake, cough, cough, Che (although I heart Chris Pratt), cough, cough weird french dude and Taylor being in the book.

I think I must be the only person on the world who really likes season 3. Seriously, I am working my way through the seasons again on DVD and am fully enjoying season three. I think I let all the negativity surrounding it taint my first viewing.

Although my season order is 1>4>3>2. YMMV of course.

I feel the same way about Season 2. The reason I prefer 2 to 3 is that in hindsight, I really missed adult storylines in 3.

Yeah, okay, I know that my own demo means I should enjoy the ogling the hot teens, blah blah blah... but Alan Dale was such a wicked awesome villian and without him, the adults were kind of just boring and pointless.

I don't mind it at all. It's not THAT bad to me, and while S4 was a lot better, I still enjoy S3 more because it still felt like The OC. S4 just seemed like a completely different show - which is what I know they were going for after they killed off Marissa. They wanted to revamp the show. But it's still really hard to watch, and there were these characters I honestly didn't care about that much (Che, Taylor, Taylor's husband... blahhh). But I loved how everyone fell in love with Kaitlin Cooper, because she was my favorite in S3, so yay! She's pretty much awesome.

I already miss the orange background of our big forum, but alas, this is our new home. Viva The O.C.!

I watched "The Links" yesterday on SN. God, that Oliver was one crazy bastard. Although unintentionally funny, I cracked up when he began to pummel his own face as Ryan watched. I would have preferred Ryan did it for him.

As seen by the response here, squiggles, you most certainly are not the only one! I, too, have been rewatching season 3 on DVD, and I'm surprised by how engaging the first half of the season has been. There was a certain point, however, when things truly went downhill. I believe it was the episode after Johnny's death. All of a sudden, the writing seemed lazy, the show seemed aimless and repetitive, and the dramatic spark of the first half seemed to disappear quicker than Houdini performing one of his great illusions!

I never got to play in the old, gigantic OC forum, but I look forward to having this thread here to keep the memories alive in my soul!

I agree, but then again, the second half of the season brought on Marissa's slut spiral, which is truly some of MB's best acting and one of the best parts of S3.





I'M SOOOO STUPIDDDD! AHHHHH!

I always laugh when I watch Oliver do that... crazy son of a bitch! And again later in that episode when he dumps the bottle of pills and he's dancing around... crazy kid.

SlutSpiral!Marissa is my favorite Marissa. I love her feud with Summer, her doing coke with Volchok, and the hotness that is Volchok throwing her up against the trailer home wall.

Heh. "I'm sooo stoooooooopid!" is excellent. I gotta give props to Taylor Handley for his creepy portrayal of mentally disturbed Oliver. It's enough to give me nightmares!

I started watching this in my junior year of high school, and I immediately preferred watching Sandy, Kirsten, and Julie over Marissa and Ryan. Julie's still my favorite character.

I'm watching The Rivals on SoapNet right now, and it has one of my favorite Luke quotes ever. "Just give me the word, and I will drop the Great Gatsby." Oh Luke, how I miss you! Marissa was such a clueless bitch during the Oliver episodes that it drives me crazy!

Also, Seth's reactions whenever Danny is around? Priceless!

I never watched this when it was originally on because I thought it was another 90210, but what a gem! Even the adults drag you into their SL's. Oliver makes me hate Marissa, that is for sure!

A single thread. It hurts me to see this day. I wish they would make a book of all the recaps for every episode.

Hee, I gotta say this to lvmom: Welcome to The O.C., bitch! I'm glad to see a new convert. And yes, the Oliver storyline made a lot of us start to hate Marissa too. Unfortunately, the Marissa hate will get stronger in S3 (at least to me), but she does have her good moments too - my previously mentioned SlutSpiral!Marissa is a hell of a lot of fun.

<Sniff> I miss the old forums. Welcome, lvmom! I'm kind of enjoying watching the show again on Soapnet, and I think The OC was 10 times better than 90210. But then, I never liked 90210.

lvmom, I'm glad to hear that you're watching the show now. You're gonna love it! At times you'll wonder why, but in the end, it's so worth it.

And Luke's Great Gatsby quote is so hilarious. You gotta wonder if he even knew what the hell he was saying. My favorite part was Jessica's response to it in her recap:



Anyone else notice that while the show has been officially PHed, there's still no description for it on the "Shows" page? I wonder what it's gonna say.

I love the visual and the reaction of Seth/Summer when Danny grabs the back of that kid in the hallway and humps him. I guess because it's so incongruous with the rest of the show's comedy. Which is the point of Danny's "big" humor, I suppose. . .



I feel so much better now that I know someone else is weirdly excited about that.

Currently, I'm making my way through the season 3 DVDs (next stop: "The Pot Stirrer.") It's so great to watch these 'weaker' episodes after the fact, for obvious reasons: (a) I can watch them all in a clump [thank you, 'Next' button!] and (b) I'm really looking forward to the future with the great season 4! But, yeah, I can totally see why people had problems with season 3 while watching 'live.'

So far, I've really liked certain characters and plots, while completely despising others. Taylor is quickly becoming one of my favorite tv 'heroines' ever. I think Autumn Reeser steals every scene that's she in, even when, IMO, the show didn't know what to do with her character. I didn't really mind Dean Hess (okay, part of that was probably because I found him hot.) Also, I haven't seen Seth/Adam Brody "phoning it in" yet, and I so prefer s3 Seth to s2 Maniac!Seth! (Also, I find Sethummer much more bearable this season.) Oh, and Julie is always fabulous; I love the 'Gus'-related jokes.

The bad? Charlotte's arc irked me more than is healthy or normal. Also, I think the biggest problem of the Johnny storyline was that Josh Schwartz didn't know when to end it. Johnny/Marissa was actually okay for me for a while (although Chili bugs, unless he's delivering a subtle slam to Marissa), but, knowing how long it takes before Johnny leaves us, I just kept thinking of how many better/less ridiculous ways TPTB could have ended the Johnny storyline (off the top of my head, they could have ended it when Marissa left Harbor, or after the Bar Mitzvah episode.)

Anyway, looking forward to Marissa's Slut Spiral [as bad as that sounds] and falling more in love with Kaitlin's character (she was actually ok in The Sister Act, but I'm looking forward to seeing Willa Holland's acting "improve.")

Now that the show is over. Do you think Adam will go on to star in some more indie films or try another luck at big commercial film? I know he has Smiley Face and The Ten out this summer. Will Ben and Mischa just do indie films? Anyone know anything about Rachel's new film Jumper? I know Doug Liman is directing it, perhaps he helped get her on board for it.

Also what do you all think will be on the 4 season dvd pack due out later this year? I pray finally for some much desired cast commentary and featurettes. i wonder what the starting price will be on it.

Everything we know about the Season Four box set can be found right here.

I think (correct me if I'm mistaken) that IamFree is referring to the ALL seasons DVD package that's been rumored to come out at the tail end of 2007 - you know, the one that both excites and frustrates the loyal O.C. fan who already own all existing box sets thus far..... Uh, what? Anyway, I haven't heard anything else about it in the past few weeks.

How many of you have already pre-ordered S4 from Amazon? I still haven't put in my order yet. I'm nervous that I may have to wait a few days after the 22nd to get it even though I'd be saving money.

Oh, thanks, mamie614. That makes more sense. Sorry, IamFree! All we know is that there's new stuff. LOL. Although, I would highly doubt that we'd be getting any cast commentary. They haven't done it thus far. Why do it now?

Kelly Rowan looks amazing on the cover!
Adam Brody, not so much.

Are you referring to the scene where Chili asks Marissa, "Do I have to spell it out for you?" after she found out Johnny didn't make the PacWest tour? That scene redeemed Chili for me. Her blank reaction made the scene even better. Anyone who can slam Marissa so excellently deserves a spin-off.

LOL...I had never seen that before.. Yes, War and Peace would do more damage, literally speaking :)



I felt the same way about the Johnny/Marissa storyline at first, but as it started to drag, it was just another example of a guy who was in love with Marissa that she was totally clueless about. I found myself thinking, "Hmmm, where have we seen this before? Oh, right...Oliver." Of course they were a little different, but at least Oliver was more fun because he was so over the top crazy. Johnny was just mopey and annoying, at least IMO. Plus, he ruined season 3 Chrismukkah for me, and that is unforgiveable!




I personally never pre-order anything from Amazon, just because it takes longer to get, (and I am horrible at waiting!) and I usually find it locally for the same price. Or even cheaper in some cases.

Watching season one all over again, and for the first time since the original airing, I'm struck by how clever the structure is. I never noticed it the first time around, but I'm loving how every storyline parallels the other storylines, and the very clear theme connecting all the characters and plots. I also love the balance of airtime, and how it doesn't feel like Marissa is eating the show alive at the expense of other characters. Everything is so earnest and endearing, and even the meta stuff doesn't feel forced or a cry for attention. Also, I'm renewing my belief that Sandy and Kirsten are the best TV parents ever, even if Eric and Tami Taylor are giving them a real run for their money.

I'm also rewatching The OC Via Soapnet and I'm becoming so stuck by how stupid Marissa actually was. And I have to say I loved her in S1. I never noticed before, but during the whole Oliver situation(I.E- kind of had some stuff that reminded me of S3 Johnny because for some reason thats always fresh in my mind) she was really...really... I don't even have the words, but half the time Oliver was openly hitting on her, she was just...stupid. I honestly had totally forgotten how many times Marissa let him flirt with her-and she was flirting back, sometimes- with Ryan, right there.

I'm also rewatching The OC Via Soapnet and I'm becoming so stuck by how stupid Marissa actually was. And I have to say I loved her in S1. I never noticed before, but during the whole Oliver situation(I.E- kind of had some stuff that reminded me of S3 Johnny because for some reason thats always fresh in my mind) she was really...really... I don't even have the words, but half the time Oliver was openly hitting on her, she was just...stupid. I honestly had totally forgotten how many times Marissa let him flirt with her-and she was flirting back, sometimes- with Ryan, right there.

Target almost always has the boxsets for a cheaper price than Amazon.




Oh, it gets worse, trust me! Marissa's stupidity during this arc never ceases to astound me. She's just so... stupid, and self-centered. She really doesn't think properly, and when she DOES, it's never about anyone besides herself.

I mean really, it took him waving a gun around to make you realize he's psycho?! Come on Marissa! Also, I know Ryan has some issues, but if she stopped for one second to actually listen to what he had to say instead of blowing him off, she might have realized that he had a valid point. I love in The Links how she blames Ryan for Oliver going crazy in the kitchen. Umm, smacking yourself in the head while screaming how stupid you are is not a normal response in any situation. Yes, Oliver had issues too, but come on!

ETA spoiler tags. I apologize, since season 1 was so long ago, I didn't even think about the fact that some people would be watching for the first time. Sorry!

I'm going to go further and say that Oliver's issues were MUCH larger than Ryan's issues ever were. I mean, not to say that Ryan was/isn't fucked up, because he was and still is, but Ryan was never one to wave a gun around and threaten to kill himself.


DaniMarie, you may want to spoiler tag that for those who haven't seen S1 in its entirety yet.

I tend to think Marissas problems aren't depression, at all. Its just that she needs a male to love her. Any, male! I mean, seriously if Ryan/Luke/Oliver weren't in the picture 'giving her the time of day' she would have moved on to try and get Seth to adore her! My favorite part of this whole storyline is during 'The Heartbreak' where we see how into herself Marissa really is, when she tries to make Ryan 'forget that she pretty much trusted some random guy' over him for like weeks. It kind of makes me smile, that ep.

The only thing that honestly came out for the good in this storyline was Anna-Seth-Summer. They were awesome to watch. And then there was Luke. Who somehow manage to pretty much steal the show for a bit because I couldn't stand watching Ryan pine over stupid Marissa Cooper who actually kind of does lead guys on, if you ask me.

I must confess that I never fully understood the Dean Hess tale. This man happened to take a job at Harbor, decided that he hated Marissa and Ryan and had to eliminate them from the school, and then began a torrid affair with a student and tortured other students on her orders? The whole thing made about as much sense to me as a cow strutting through downtown on two legs in the broad daylight!


Nor have I! He always strikes me as very engaged in playing the peculiar ticks of Seth’s character. Color me with the astonished crayon that so many people felt he was giving it less than his lanky, lovely all!

Oh, absolutely! I just feel like she was more worried about Ryan going off than she was about Oliver being really possessive. If she had taken a moment to step back and really look at the whole situation, things might have been different.

You know, I loved Maniac!Seth, and his caffiene-induced song in S2 "Got a solid... 15... minutes! They say.. that's all... you need!". Ha! But I basically love Seth all the time, and I always found him to be adorable.



So what's everyone's favorite episode of S1? And just pick one.. I know it's going to be hard, but I was really curious to see what everyone's favorite was, and what episode everyone could just watch over and over again. For me, I'm going to have to say The Heartbreak. It never ceases to make my heart melt.

My favorite seth moment! I found that clip on you tube Monday! Ah! I was so happy.





The Heartbreak, also. Because I'm a Seth Summer shipper and I was waiting for those two to hook up since The Girlfriend. And I have to admit that ep is jampacked with Seth/Summer moments. The dance at the end, I always tear up. Its a classic.

I could watch almost all of Season One over and over again. If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be either "The Model Home" (my first episode ever) or "The Ties That Bind", which had one of the most beautiful ending montages ever.



Like mother, like daughter.

But Julie was fun., I sometimes feel Julie was just trying to do what was best- in her mind- for her family. When she was with Cal, I think she assumed that he would take care of her. I mean, he did buy her her house in The Secret so she wouldn't be homeless. Plus, Julie was always a better character then Marissa with somewhat better storylines I'm sorry but I don't know how Marissa was really that dumb..it boogles my mind. Maybe because I'm older now- I was 16 back then, but it all seems like it was clear to everyone that Oliver was trying to hook up with her. Plus I never understood why the writers had to make Seth not believe Ryan but Luke saw it too. I get that the purpose was for Ryan to feel so alone- None of the Cohens believed him, not even Seth- but, then why make it clear for like, Luke to see?. I just feel this whole SL was so random and only there to pave the way for things to come.

Yes, yes, that's the one, Erik B. I couldn't believe how excellently Chili delivered the insult, so I watched it like five times. I don't know why I dislike(d) Chili so much--it wasn't the actor really, it was the terrible lines TPTB gave him, especially early on. (I would quote to provide examples, but I've blessedly blocked them from my brain.) ;)



Agreed, Ameliou. And hee. Like I said, I found Eric Mabius attractive, and the early season 3 were so good (mostly), that I didn't mind too much about the ridiculous Dean Hess plotline. Plus, nothing can really compare to the horriblefest of Marissa and Johnny's Misunderstood Love-n-Angst.



Hellosunshine, I actually didn't mind season 2 Seth all that much; it's more that I didn't like how all of his plotlines seemed to involve getting Summer back (well, that and the Comic Book storyline, but we know how much of that actually involves getting Summer back.) But, yeah, I found CaffieneHigh!Seth hilarious, and I actually was like one of two people to love Zach, so I did like a lot of Seth's scenes in season 2.

Favorite season one episodes? Hmm, I'd have to go with "The Heartbreak" (for the reasons y'all have mentioned) or "The Countdown." That's probably one of the only times I enjoyed seeing the Ryan and Marissa relationship (ironically enough, their relationship seemed less 'angsty' here), I loved the sweetness of Kandy, and I love, love, love when Seth hyperventilates in the poolhouse. I love Ryan/Seth comedic scenes.

I never understood how he somehow came onto the show and had more power then Dr. Kim to kick both Marissa and Ryan out? That always made me upset, if only because he had never been mentioned before S3, and all of a sudden, Dr. Kim has no say? I think that SL was only brought up because of Taylor and it was a way for the Fab Four to hate her for a bit.

I love this show and wish it was relegated to a higher forum rank but the world isn't always fair or perfect so I'll settle for this and be very content.

S1 and S4 (when it's out) will be whoring out my DVD player, something shocking. Whilst both seasons are very different, each are some of my favorite all time seasons of TV Ever.

I'm not really a TV buff. I don't have much time for Television, but I did for the OC. Every night. Words don't describe how much I adore this show. Season 1 will never grow old on me, you could tell they had something special there. It was deep, but entertaining. Comedic value with heart. I have nothing but perfect things to say about the season.

Season 2 is criminally under-rated. It generates a lot of negativity but it was truly great. It didn't come up to par or come close to matching season 1 but it still represented what the OC was all about. The last 6 or so episodes were fantastic. The entire Trey-Cohen and Julie-Caleb arcs were some of the best stories that the OC put out.

Last night I was watching an episode from Season 3 on DVD, the christmukkah one. Coincidently at the same time they were playing 'The Model Home' from S1 on arena. Every so often I would keep flipping back to The Model Home. In contrast it's amazing how the quality of the show declined in Season 3 (although not as terrible as people make it out be). I desperately wanted to enjoy Season 3, so I continued to watch it. There was just no spark. In general it was just a boring season. Volchok, Slutty Marissa and the first couple/last couple of episodes were its only saving grace.

The unfortunate thing was that there were some really good idea's that just didn't deliver. Dean Hess, Rehab Con Artist and Darth-Sandy especially could have been really effective. REALLY effective in the case of Darth-Sandy. They could have built that mother up and had a definite turning point, and possibly had Ryan be the one to reach out and help him. Instead they pussy footed with story line and as a result hurt the character.

I keep trying to figure out what went wrong or changed behind the scenes. I think the loss of Allan Heinberg, one of the main writers hurt the show. Christopher Tyng wrote the scores for Seasons 1 and 2. They were memorable, introspective and deep. They added a lot to the show and I think the new composer just didn't capture that in Seasons 3 and 4.

Season 4 was quite simply fantastic. I know a lot of people complained that it just wasn't “The OC”, but I think it represented what the show was about far more than Season 3 did. It drew everything back to Ryan and his struggle to fit in with the Cohens, the crux of the show. I think the Gringo's may be my favourite episode behind The Countdown. I'll have to rewatch it. Can't wait.

I'll always have a soft spot for the brand and be able to appreciate the story. I look forward to discussing it here!

More on my favourite episodes and moments later...

dontsay, you're an Ozzie OC fan like myself!

And my thoughts are very similar. S1 and S4 I hold in SUCH a high esteem. S2 had some great moment and the ending was superb. Probably the show's best episode was TDB. S3 sucked but hey. The show really was all kinds of awesome.

I loved the Cohens so much in S1 and S4 though. When they were on song, my love for the show was really up there. S1 ad S4, as I said before are my favorite seasons, from ANY SHOW!

Thanks for the warm welcome ,everyone. I have to say, SoapNet is a fantastic way to discover a series. It is so nice to see an episode once a day for 5 days, since I am dying to know what happens next after every episode. Glad I discovered it later, because this first season just is consistantly interesting. Very few shows hold my interest that far in. And Sandy and Kiki are a big part of why the show is so enjoyable. You do not have to watch Ryan's angst and Marissas mind numbing stupidity all of the time, there are other SL arcs. I already am seriously feeling Marissa hate, so I am not sure why MB got so much buzz. Did anyone like her for real?

Preach it from the rooftops in the midnight rain, dontsay! As I've watched Season 3 unfold this time around, I desperately want the Sandy-becomes-Caleb story to be all that it could be. It really is the perfect story for Sandy and Kirsten in the wake of Caleb's death and her alcoholism. Too bad the delivery was as shaky as a vibrator sitting on a fault line!

A related question: what was the point of Matt? I suppose Sandy needed a talk-to at work, but they kept doing these odd and random Matt/Marissa scenes that suggested they wanted to integrate him further into the cast. I always wondered if he'd eventually have been paired with Hailey Nichol, if anyone bothered to recall her existence. She was the only character in his age range!

I'm thinking - and I have also blocked selected S3 parts from my brain, so this could be fuzzy - the hate was there because early on, they seemed to be setting Chili up as a Newport Union bizarro Seth. And since Chili was not played by Adam Brody, that didn't work out so well.

If we're voting for S1 favorites, I have to throw in my vote for "The Homecoming." Great lines, kids and adults all doing a great job, and a sweet ending.

How dare they remove the giant forum for The O.C.??