EPISODES
| 101 The Pilot | 115 The Third Wheel |
| 102 The Model Home | 116 The Links |
| 103 The Gamble | 117 The Rivals |
| 104 The Debut | 118 The Truth |
| 105 The Outsider | 119 The Heartbreak |
| 106 The Girlfriend | 120 The Telenovela |
| 107 The Escape | 121 The Goodbye Girl |
| 108 The Rescue | 122 The L.A. |
| 109 The Heights | 123 The Nana |
| 110 The Perfect Couple | 124 The Proposal |
| 111 The Homecoming | 125 The Shower |
| 112 The Secret | 126 The Strip |
| 113 The Best Chrismukkah Ever | 127 The Ties That Bind |
| 114 The Countdown | ~ Quotes About The O.C. |
"So, what do you think of Newport?"
"I think I can get in less trouble where
I’m from."
- Marissa greets Ryan at the party, "The Pilot"
"You know what I like
about rich kids? Bam, nothing. Hey, Ryan, you wouldn't consider me rich,
would you? I'd be more upper middle class?"
- Seth, after Ryan punches out Luke, "The Model Home"
"You rock, Stanley!"
- Summer, to Seth on 'blowing' duty at the gaming table, "The Gamble"
"By the end of the
night, she might know my first name. Duty calls."
- Seth, hoping to make an impression on Summer, "The Gamble"
"You can't do this.
You're his mother."
"I'm a mess. Not a
mother."
"You have a responsibility."
"I'm being responsible.
I'm not wired for this. I can't care for anybody else. I don't have what
you got. The way your husband looks at you. And your kid looks at you.
Even my kid... Like, no matter what, you're going to make everything okay.
You hold your family together. I tear mine apart."
"You can't walk away."
"Why? This'd be the
first good thing I ever did for him. This way he ends up with a real mom.
Take care of him, okay? He deserves it.
- Kirsten and Dawn, having a mother-to-mother chat about Ryan, "The Gamble"
"Umm... you're a really
good barbecue...tionist."
- Seth Cohen: wordsmith, "The Debut"
"Turns out that I'm
quite skilled at getting a date, provided it's not for me."
- Seth, alone
"Your mom bought me
some new clothes. Which she didn't have to do."
"Right, because we
all know you can get a lot of mileage out of a tank-top.
- Ryan and Seth
"Who's winning, me
or my hair?"
- Seth, preparing for battle
"I know the only reason
you came as my date is so I can introduce you to guys who just stare at
your chest."
"Who was staring at
my chest?"
"They don't know anything
about you, they don't know that in third grade, everyday you shared your
lunch with this little squirrel, who's lunch kept getting stolen by a fat
squirrel."
"I hated that fat
squirrel."
"And they don't know
about how your hand shook when you had to read that poem aloud in class."
"What poem?"
"I Want To Be A Mermaid."
"That was like, in
sixth grade, I barely remember that."
"I want to be a mermaid,
to swim along the sea, and I want all the fish---"
<Summer kisses
him>
- Seth and Summer reminisce, "The Girlfriend"
"We have my mom's Range
Rover, we have the perfect alibi, as I go to this comic book convention
every year, and we have my entire life of never doing anything wrong, which
lulls my parents into a false sense of trust."
"And you want to throw
all that way for Summer in a wet t-shirt doing body shots?"
<pause> "I'm sorry,
I thought that was a rhetorical question. Yes, Ryan, yes."
- Seth and Ryan plan a break out, "The Escape"
"Can't you like, be
a gentleman or something?"
"Chivalry's dead sugar."
- Seth refuses to give up his sleeping space to Summer, "The Escape"
"We better hurry because
she just escaped from a psych ward dressed as a candy-striper. If they
didn't think she was crazy before..."
- Summer, after Marissa gets free, "The Rescue"
"Dad, those eyebrows
are out of control."
- Seth to Sandy, and seriously they are, "The Rescue"
"How do you do that?
Convey everything with a look? <Ryan glares> See - right there!"
- Seth comes to grips with Ryan's non-verbal communications, "The Heights"
"Why would I be nervous?"
"Because you're going
to school with like 300 Lukes."
- Seth prepares Ryan for his new school, "The Heights"
"The master race has
been perfected Ryan and they all go to our school."
- Seth, "The Heights"
"Hey whores, why don't
you work another corner?"
- Summer, firing some choice words at gossipping girls, "The Heights"
"Seth doesn't understand
the whole 'hard-to-get' strategy."
"That's because he's
not."
- Anna and Ryan, "The Heights"
"Excuse me. We were
talking here."
"So insulting him
counts as conversation?"
"Well, if it doesn't,then
we've never spoken."
- Summer, Anna and Seth form their own romantic triangle, "The Heights"
"Trust me Coop, what
he doesn't know won't hurt you."
- Summer advises Marissa, "The Heights"
"Well, clearly you're,
ah, a lesbian."
- Seth to Anna, after she beats him at skee-ball
"It's times like these
when a girl needs her boyfriend most."
"Boyfriend? ...never
been one of those before."
- Marissa and Ryan, "The Perfect Couple"
"I get it. I'm just
here for the comic relief."
- Seth, "The Perfect Couple"
"What's that smell?"
"Perfume."
"Smells like woodchips...
in a rose garden."
- Seth is not impressed by Anna's perfume, "The Perfect Couple"
"No, god! No!"
"Uh, what's happening
here?"
"I like Seth Cohen!"
"You, uh... you what
now?"
"Nothing! I wasn't
talking to you. But if you tell anyone what you heard here, I'll kill you."
- Summer kisses Seth when no one else is around, "The Perfect Couple"
"Hey, Seth, did you
know Ryan did musicals?"
"Wow. That's extremely
minty of you. I didn't even know they had musicals in Chino.. or dancing..
or laughter."
"That's 'cause no
one lived there as funny as you."
- Marissa, Seth and Ryan engage in a little banter, "The Homecoming"
"Back so soon? 'cause
I was just... Eww!!! I mean... not eww, you are very atractive, for
a dad... distinguised... oh my god!"
- Summer, expecting Seth instead of Sandy, "The Homecoming"
"Maybe you've got the
Summer flu."
"Yeah, it's November,
but it's possible."
"Maybe you need some
Anna-biotics."
- Ryan and Seth, as Seth tries to pull a sick day, "The Secret"
"You can't blame me
for wanting the company of both of you."
- Seth apologises to both Summer and Anna, "The Secret"
"Maybe I should just
blow it off. Hit the beach. Let people get it out of their systems."
"No, it doesn't work
like that. It's been three months and I'm still the kid from Chino who
burned a house down."
- Luke and Ryan prepare to face the high school crowd, "The Secret"
"You need to trust
that you can tell me things I might not want to hear."
- Sandy to Kirsten, "The Secret"
"You're really starting
to scare me."
"I'm okay with that."
- Ryan and Seth, "The Best Chrismukkah Ever"
"I think that would
violate our little Geneva Convention of dating."
- Seth juggles Anna and Summer, "The Best Chrismukkah Ever"
"I don't know... Russell
Crowe, he just doesn't do anything for me. People say he's good looking
but I don't see it."
- Marissa to Crowe-lookalike Ryan, "The Countdown"
"You guys need anything?"
"Yes. Ryan needs a
tear in the space time continuum so he can go back and say 'I love you'
to Marissa."
- Sandy and Seth, "The Countdown"
"Hey, Sandy Cohen,
pleasure swinging with you."
- Sandy, not getting into the swing of things, "The Countdown"
"I don't even know
enough people to cause this much damage."
- Seth, "The Countdown"
"I should really learn
how to knock. In case there's a threesome going on in my bedroom."
- Sandy, crashing the party, "The Countdown"
"Your whole life is
dedicated to having fun... are you even having any?"
- Kirsten to Hailey, "The Countdown"
"All her friends want
to kick her ass. Sorry about the language."
"Why? I want to kick
her ass."
- Ryan and Sandy agree about Hailey, "The Third Wheel"
"New Year's resolution:
punch people less."
"Yeah. Mine, too"
- Luke and Ryan, starting afresh, "The Third Wheel"
"Okay, here's the thing,
um...Anna and I have decided to take it to the next level and I need some
advice."
"You're going to have
sex?"
"No, but that's a
good idea, though."
- Seth gets some advice from Ryan, "The Third Wheel"
"Are you checking out
dudes again Cohen?"
- Summer greets Seth, "The Third Wheel"
"If Summer kills me...
you've been like a brother to me."
- Seth gets melodramatic with Ryan, "The Third Wheel"
Seth: "Ryan, what do
you do besides punches and musicals? ...He is very good with the ladies."
Sandy: "He's very
good with the ladies."
Ryan: "He's standing
right here holding a golf club."
Sandy: "Yeah, but
you don't know how to use it."
- The Cohens try to figure out Ryan, "The Links"
"What could be more
fun than watching a nerdy neurotic batting his eyelids at his pixie chick
girlfriend?"
- Summer, looking forward to a weekend with Seth and Anna, "The Links"
"I could really hurt
that guy."
- Luke takes a shine to Oliver, "The Links"
"How's Hailey?"
"Good. Her spirits
are high."
"She's high?"
- Caleb doesn't quite get Kirsten's meaning, "The Links"
"It's annoying he can't
see it. She's only being nice to him for his money."
- Julie, doing a 'pot and kettle' about Hailey & Caleb, "The Links"
"They can put a man
on the moon, correct? And they can't serve an Egg McMuffin past 10.30am?
Can't figure it out. Doesn't make sense!"
- Seth, in old Jewish man mode, "The Links"
"You guys are like
brother and sister! You could like totally be related."
- Summer can't take anymore of Seth and Anna's banter, "The Links"
"Let me ask you something,
am I dating the female me? Like me, but as a girl?"
- Seth, realising he has too much in common with Anna, "The Rivals"
"If you stopped open
heart surgery half way through it'd look like murder."
- Julie, in the middle of some redecorating, "The Rivals"
"Oliver might be crazy,
you might be right, but right now you're giving him a run for his money."
- Seth, trying to calm Ryan down, "The Rivals"
"That letter is like
'The Ring', anyone who reads it dies."
- Seth, to Ryan, "The Rivals"
"That kid is not funny...
he makes Ryan look funny... get yourself some funnier friends."
- Sandy and Seth agree that Danny is not funny, "The Rivals"
"Is Ryan ok?"
"Yeah, it was Oliver
that got punched in the face."
- Anna to a dead pan Seth, "The Truth"
"That's what Ryan does.
He punches people. He doesn't talk to them."
- Marissa, "The Truth"
"Ohh... I'm not gonna
touch that one."
- Sandy, avoding lunch with Julie and Caleb, "The Truth"
"I got suspended."
"So who'd you punch
this time? Dr. Kim?"
- Ryan and Julie, "The Truth"
"The boy who lives
in the pool house is warning me about the boy who lives in the penthouse?"
- Julie, to Ryan, "The Truth"
"In the interests of
the business, and your father's sanity, this has to end."
- Caleb, asking Kirsten to fire\break up with Julie for him, "The Truth"
"Life's gritty enough.
Comic books are for fun."
"Life's gritty? We
live in Newport Beach!"
- Sandy and Seth have a philosophical discussion, "The Truth"
"You know how excited
I get turning people on to comics."
"I know how excited
you get turning Summer on."
- Seth and an unhappy Anna, "The Truth"
"Friends! I'm in love
with you! How can you not know that?"
- Oliver to Marissa, how the hell can she not know that? "The Truth"
<Seth knocks on
door>
"I'm busy... studying...
naked..."
"Is that supposed
to keep me away?"
<Summer opens door>
"Cohen! You're at
my house!"
"And you're dressed.
I wonder who's more disappointed?"
- Summer and Seth, "The Heartbreak"
"It was always you...
I tried to fight it."
- Seth to Summer, "The Heartbreak"
"I'm going to go."
"Me too."
"You live here."
- Seth and Summer, escaping the scene of 'it', "The Heartbreak"
"I had sex!"
"How was it."
"I had sex."
"That bad?"
- Seth and Ryan, "The Heartbreak"
"I think Summer's used
to driving a high performance vehicle."
- Seth, in euphemism mode, "The Heartbreak"
"I think we need to
have the talk."
"Now?"
"This is as hard for
me as it is for you."
- Seth seeks some advice from Sandy, "The Heartbreak"
"Forewhat now?"
"Just because you're
ready to go doesn't mean she is... the appetiser can be as good as the
main course."
- Seth and Sandy, having the talk, "The Heartbreak"
"There were like limbs
everywhere. Love hurts."
- Summer, telling all to Marissa, "The Heartbreak"
"Still no sign of our
opponents?"
- Seth and Ryan, on the lookout for Summer and Marissa, "The Heartbreak"
"You're so cheesy Cohen."
"Come on, I'm sweeping
you off your feet."
"The sad part is you
kind of are."
- Summer and Seth try some romance, "The Heartbreak"
"Taste my samurai steel
you ninja scum!"
- Kirsten, getting carried away on the Playstation (deleted scene)
"We'll just go back
to being friends."
"When were you ever
friends?"
- Ryan and Seth, talking about Ryan and Marissa, "The Telenovela"
"Motel; homeroom; dioramas:
this is not the stuff of great romance."
- Julie finds the path of the booty call does not run smooth, "The Telenovela"
"He's a consultant."
"Could you be please
be a little more vague?"
"He knows people."
"You did it. That
was more vague."
- Kirsten and Sandy discuss 'Uncle' Shaun, "The Telenovela"
"I can't acknowledge
you privately if you can't acknowledge me publicly... until then consider
me on strike."
- Seth, taking a stand, "The Telenovela"
"Why can't you just
accept that I'm not comfortable with public displays of affection?"
"You're offering yourself
for ten bucks a pop at a kissing stand. How much more publicly can affection
be displayed?"
- Summer and Seth, "The Telenovela"
"Dinner's ready, slaved
over hot takeout containers..."
- Kirsten is great at ordering takeout, "The Telenovela"
"Speaking from recent
experience, the triangle is not a friendly shape."
- Seth advises Ryan in the ways of the triangle, "The Telenovela"
"That would actually
make that romantic triangle more of a romantic rhombus."
- Seth to Ryan about Ryan, Eddie, Teresa and Marissa, "The Telenovela"
"I just don't know
why he likes me."
- Summer, honest at last to Anna, "The Telenovela"
"She's not a coward.
She fought for you, fearlessly, ruthlessly even."
- Anna, about Summer, "The Telenovela"
"You can't spend your
life wishing for something that's never going to happen. You gotta hold
on to the next best thing."
- Theresa, "The Telenovela"
"Honestly Summer, I
have no idea what that was and I don't know if I'll be able to do it again...
the chances of me happening upon the same random sequence of events is
not likely."
"I'll take those odds."
- Seth and Summer, enjoying each other's company (deleted scene)
"I am this way for
a reason."
- Seth, acting too much like Sandy, "The Goodbye Girl"
"I'm not that dumb!
Just shallow."
- Summer, "The Goodbye Girl"
"Have you decided to
take the case?"
"I've decided what
it'll take for me to decide to take the case."
- Sandy, playing hardball with Caleb, "The Goodbye Girl"
"It's an election year
and you're not very popular with the people."
- Sandy to Caleb, "The Goodbye Girl"
"That's going to be
quite a shiner but hey, they look good on you."
- Sandy to Ryan, after he gets another black eye, "The Goodbye Girl"
"I can't believe I
made a girl leave the state."
- Seth, being his usual self absorbed self, "The Goodbye Girl"
"She, Anna, is leaving."
"She, Theresa, is
staying."
...
"She's leaving, what
am I going to do?"
"She's staying, what
am I going to do?"
- Ryan and Seth, "The Goodbye Girl"
"What will I do without
your wisdom?"
"Confidence, Cohen."
- Seth and Anna, saying goodbye, "The Goodbye Girl"
"What if the girl I'm
supposed to be with just went back to Pittsburgh?"
"What if she just
went back to Chino?"
- Seth and Ryan, wondering 'what if', "The Goodbye Girl"
"I could always hang
out with Luke. I wonder what he's doing right now."
"I don't know. Discovering
fire... hunting and gathering..."
- Ryan and Seth, "The Goodbye Girl"
"No! She cannot find
out! She does not handle the bad news well at all."
- Seth tries to protect Marissa, "The L.A."
"Thank god I had my
camera phone! They are autographs of the 21st Century!"
- Summer meets a star, "The L.A."
"Separation of church
and state... this is my thing."
- Sandy wants to keep Caleb away from the Lighthouse, "The L.A."
"He could be a silent
partner."
"A silent assassin."
- Kirsten and Sandy, about Caleb, "The L.A."
"He's kinda like you."
"What? Handsome and
charming?"
"No. Geeky and sarcastic."
"Oh no, he is like
me... with his own TV show."
- Ryan and Seth discuss Grady from 'The Valley', "The L.A."
"Ryan, we're business
partners. I'm the brains, you're the brawn. I'm in the ivory tower, you're
down on the streets, making it happen."
- Seth, "The L.A."
"He saved the Middle
Earth! That is a huge part of European History!"
- Summer, confusing Orlando Bloom\Legolas in fact and fiction, "The L.A."
"I'm hoping from a
little Keira Knightley, Natalie Portman or maybe Kate Bosworth."
- Seth, going to his first Hollywood party, "The L.A."
"Having fun yet?"
"Hailey!?!"
"Ryan!?!"
- Hailey and Ryan meet in an unexpected situation, "The L.A."
"There are strippers
are this party?"
- Sandy, missing the point, "The L.A."
"I wish I was from
the Valley."
- Summer, being postmodern, "The L.A."
"You're actually a
little shorter than I imagined."
- Marissa, fawning over 'Valley' actor Ryan. "The L.A."
"I heard some really
awful music which could only be self indulgent actors with instruments."
- Seth finds Summer, "The L.A."
"The Nana has never
exactly liked the Kirsten."
- Seth, on Cohen family history
"Oh God! What am I
doing here? I hate this state, I hate the sunshine, I hate the ocean and
I hate Schwarzenegger!"
- The Nana is back
"Being Jewish is *Ha*ard."
- Summer, getting the pronunciation right at least
"I don't think Marissa
wants me here."
"Come on! She picked
the one place that she knew that only you could find her."
- Eddie and Ryan
"So what do you think
of Chino?"
"Actually, I think
I could get in more trouble where I'm from."
- Ryan and Marissa, switching roles
"Marissa smacked the
hell out of him."
"I guess she's been
hanging out with you too much."
- Ryan explains Luke's absence to Seth
"Marissa, your mother
is a wonderful woman."
"She is?"
- Caleb and Marissa
"Was I really mean
to you?"
"No, that would have
required you to speak to me."
- Summer and Seth, remembering last year
"This is an unholy
alliance. This is two storm fronts colliding. This is the apocalypse for
us all... there is nothing good about what's happened here. I mean, this
marriage is an astroid that has hit the earth. Now we just have to wait
to see what species survives."
- Kirsten takes the news pretty well, considering
"He's getting weirder."
"I didn't think that
was possible."
- Marissa and Ryan, about Seth
"I've never seen him
smile before."
- Sandy catches Caleb in a good mood
"I'm a prisoner in
my own life."
- Marissa
"Maybe I'll show up
in Portland and fall for the chick dating the captain of the football team."
"That can kick your
ass."
"Yeah. Welcome to
Portland, bitch."
- Luke and Ryan
"No, she's supposed
to be crying and he's supposed to be brooding. That's how it works!"
- Seth can't get used to Ryan and Marissa being happy
"Parents love me, I've
got this non-threatening, non-sexual vibe going on."
- Seth prepares to meet the parents
"Sarcasm is like breathing
for you."
- Ryan knows Seth too well
"Beside you're family."
"Are we? I don't know,
I can't keep track anymore."
- Caleb explains his generosity to Jimmy, as they switch a wife for a daughter
"I'll take self-defence
classes and Eddie and I will live happily ever after."
"How can you joke
at a time like this?"
"Because I'm tired
of crying."
- Theresa and Ryan
"You didn't stop talking!"
"I get chatty when
I'm terrified."
- Summer and Seth
"Nothing good happens
at our parties, have you noticed that?"
- the truth finally dawns on Kirsten
"Should I force a confrontation
or do I continue to be whiny and passive aggressive until she realises
what a catch I am?"
- Seth, worrying he's losing Summer
"I can't impose on
Seth's parents forever."
"Yes you can, I intend
to."
- Theresa and Seth, enjoying Cohen hospitality
"The man bailed us
out and took Julie off my hands... I'll buy him his first lapdance."
- Jimmy's opinion of Caleb improves
"Good god there's a
bowling alley!
"Yes sir, it's in
your room."
- Caleb is unprepared for 'The Vegas'
"I can't believe this!
I've been crying actual tears over that ass and he's kissing randoms! ...All
I want to do is go to Vegas and kick Cohen's ass!"
- Summer, distraught
"Somebody ordered more
skanks?"
- Summer
"My entire life I've
never even seen a prostitute and now there are four of them in my hotel
room taking advantage of me."
- Seth, unprepared for 'The Vegas'
"You guys did buy us
until midnight... that's more than enough time for a game of no-limits
hold'em."
"That's a card game,
not hooker talk."
- Seth reassures Summer
"I can't believe he
gave you his 'angry-trucker-hat'?"
"He didn't. I won
it."
- Seth and Ryan
"I think we should
spend the entire summer just being normal."
"What, even Seth?"
"No, no. That'd be
impossible."
- Marissa and Ryan, tempting fate
Marissa: "Have you
guys seen Ryan? He didn't call me back earlier, do you think he's ok?"
Seth: "Oh yeah no
he takes a long time..."
Summer: "Yeah he’s
probably doing his like..."
Seth: "...with his
hair..."
Summer: "...hair yeah..."
Seth: "...getting
that angry..."
Summer: "...bangs..."
Seth: "<makes claw
with hand>...that’s like four hours you should see him."
- Summer and Seth, tag teaming to protect Ryan and Marissa
"Ohh ... I've missed
you. It's been too long."
"You're talking to
a boat, Seth."
"Yeah, I talk to a
plastic horse, too, but that never worries anyone."
- Seth is reuinted with 'Summer Breeze'
"Oh, well, I think
you've done enough."
"What does that mean?"
"I just don't even
think Ryan would be back with Theresa if it wasn't for you and Oliver in
the first place. Really, all you ever did, was drag that kid into your
messed up life."
- Seth blames Marissa
"It's ironic, Julie
leaves Jimmy, marries you. Now he's worth millions and you're going to
be broke."
"I don't believe in
irony."
"You know that's too
bad, it might just be the thing to get you through this."
- Sandy consoles Caleb
"Just because you're
leaving doesn't mean I'm letting you go."
- Sandy, to Ryan
"And for the record,
the boat was named after you."
- Seth explains to Summer why his boat is 'Summer Breeze'
"People sure do punch
each other a lot in Orange County."
- Ed after watching "The O.C." on "Ed" (spotted on TVGal's Quotes
of 2003)
"The series reflects
the youth and intelligence of its writer and succeeds by quickly getting
viewers past what would seem an insurmountable obstacle - caring about
what happens to rich, white kids in Orange County."
- from Tim Goodman's review
of the show, for the "San Francisco Chronicle"
"You do in your art
what you cannot do in your life."
- Josh Schwartz, creator of "The O.C."
"Yeah, it's kind of
sad really. I'll be going on the set and everyone's hanging around and
they'll be like 'Dude, you are in wardrobe already?' and I'm like, 'No.'
It's all very sad. So yeah, I'm pretty much Seth."
- Adam Brody (Seth)
"I showed up, and it
was like, 'Here's you're little bikini. Here's you're little miniskirt.
Now go out on the beach and molest Ryan.'"
- Rachel Bilson (Summer) on "OC: Obsess Completely" (spotted on Planet
Claire)
"Can we see some wife-beater
options?"
- Josh Schwartz, on "OC: Obsess Completely" (spotted on Planet
Claire)
"I've become an internet
junkie... Kids are out there posting what their favorite lines are."
- Josh Schwartz, on "OC: Obsess Completely" (spotted on Planet
Claire)
"There is little between
these covers that I haven't already learned from a few episodes of 'The
OC'.".
- from Lawrence Malkin's review of "I Am Charlotte Simmons" for the "Irish
Independent"
Seth's monotone patter,
a torrent of buzzwords and one-liners, is funny in itself but also offers
an ironic gloss on what's going on around him. It's Seth's sardonic musings
and deft barbs that make all the biceps, bikinis and neck-wrenching plot-twists
palatable. He's like having an acerbic critic of the show, on the show.
Fuelled by Seth's ironic take on all he sees around him, The OC is able
to have its cake and eat it – superficial Californian consumption gets
a good ribbing, while at the same time viewers get to enjoy the visual
delights of superficial Californian consumption.
- Benji Wilson, on the appeal of the show in Britain's "Daily Telegraph"
American TV has set
the bar incredibly high. It may even have changed the drama landscape forever.
Desperate Housewives, along with shows such as Nip/Tuck, Six Feet Under,
Smallville and Arrested Development, is a prime example of what The O.C.
creator, Josh Schwartz, calls Trojan Horse TV. We're seduced into watching
it by the sex and shopping and cool soundtracks, but underneath something
much darker - and more meaningful - is going on.
For every shot of
a babe in a bikini, a knowing political comment or ironic subtext is sneaked
through - whether it's two straight fortysomething men debating whether
to have Botox in Nip/Tuck (and you thought women were vain) or The O.C.'s
Seth articulating what it feels like to be a Jewish outsider. 'We had to
create a Trojan horse,' Schwartz explains, 'in that we would give them
a show that on the surface had all the elements that would get them excited
- make them think it's another Beverly Hills 90210 with lots of beautiful
people, wealth and beaches. But hopefully, inside that would be our soldiers,
or characters, who would be a little quirkier, more offbeat than you might
expect from the genre.'
- Lizz Hoggard, writing in Britain's "The
Observer"
Movie studios are notoriously
slow to respond to new trends and cultural phenomena. They have the laborious,
50-mile turning circle of a fleet of oil tankers. By contrast, TV is a
speedboat, zipping and weaving in response to ratings, reviews, fan clubs
and the zeitgeist. In an age of interactivity, spawned by home computers
and video games, and of hybrids, inspired mainly by hip-hop, TV is better
able to make adjustments on the hoof, and the frenzied evolution of one
genre into another - from, say, a trashy reality show such as Survivor
to a stylish drama such as Lost - is dizzyingly fast. Most shows broadcast
their first eight episodes and then take a break. A successful show will
at this point often recalibrate itself, responding rapidly to satisfy audience
expectations or, these days, to confound them. When The OC returned for
its ninth episode after its first hiatus, it had wittily incorporated all
the jokes that fans were already making about the show: Benjamin McKenzie's
resemblance to a puppy-dog Russell Crowe was duly noted, and jokes about
Peter Gallagher's eyebrows were 10 a penny. South Park proved itself even
more fleet of foot, killing off Isaac Hayes's character Chef less than
a week after Hayes himself quit in protest at the show's treatment of Scientology
(they tore him limb from limb and did everything short of boiling his bones).
Try doing that with a movie. On TV, writing by committee is a blessing,
the secret of US TV's present greatness, whereas at the movies one groans
inwardly when a movie has six or more writing credits.
- John Patterson, "The Guardian"
"I don't need to watch
The O.C., but it makes me happy."
- Dr. House on "House"
>> Quotes from Season Two