‘The O.C.’: So Over-the-Top It’s Hit Rock Bottom:
By the second season, we sniffed more heavy-handed manipulation. “The O.C.,” which had developed a rep for bringing the indie-rock likes of Sufjan Stevens and Bloc Party to the masses, started featuring the bands on the show, and it sure looked like an ad.The death knell, though, was Marissa’s second-season foray into lesbianism. Viewers scoffed, but not out of homophobia; rather, the show’s hipness suddenly felt so forced.
From there, it got absurd. Summer (Rachel Bilson) is now a campus activist (she’s such a literal tree-hugger that the writers seem to want to imply that environmentalism is a cheesy cause). Ryan (Benjamin McKenzie) fights in cages. Marissa’s sister, whose name is not even worth learning — the show being doomed and all — sluts around. And all that boozing and fighting has gotten most of the kids admitted to the Ivies.
It’s all so silly and so false that it has the desperate feel of the end. So we’ll say it now:
Peace out, “O.C.” It was a party while it lasted.
Yeah. I agree 100%. I can’t really say it’s worse this year than last year–it was horrifying last season, too–but it’s sunk to depths few shows manage to reach without scuba gear. At this point a cameo from Oliver would be an improvement. The good news is that it ought to be canceled really soon so I won’t have to ever write about it again.
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