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Benjamin McKenzie plays Ryan Atwood, who in the opening
scenes of the first episode is introduced stealing a car with
his older brother. Following an unsuccessful getaway from
the local constabulary, he winds up in jail, where he first
meets Public Defender, Sandy Cohen (Peter Gallagher).
He’s eventually sprung by Sandy, and makes his way back
home, where he’s promptly kicked out by his alcoholic
mother, and with no-one left to call, he reaches in his pocket
for Sandy’s card, and one phone call later, he’s
on his way to the socially elite setting of Newport, and his
new home with the Cohens’, rounded out by Sandy’s
wife Kirsten (Kelly Rowan), and new ‘brother’, Seth
(Adam Brody).
Slowly, as Ryan settles in to his new life, he meets the
girl next door, Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton), who could
be the one that the bad boy from Chino falls head over heels
with, her father Jimmy Cooper (Tate Donovan), and wife Julie
(Melinda Clarke), who as a family unit are just a touch dysfunctional…
But can Ryan’s history be overcome to win over the snobs
of the area? You’ll have to watch and see.
To go into any of the story arcs that take place would fill
up far too much room, but suffice to say, there’s plenty
of adultery, crooked accounting, love triangles, psycho boyfriends,
crazy girlfriends, unrequited loves, attempted fornications
with possible Grandmothers (nowhere near as disgusting as
it sounds!), mother f***ers (literally), and just enough skin
to make it all that much more worthwhile.
Created by 27 year old Josh Schwartz and from the producing
team of McG (Charlie’s Angels 1 & 2), and
Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Swingers, and
who also directed the 1st episode in this box set), “The
O.C.” is a great show that if you had the poor taste
to miss it during it’s original broadcast run, and you
assumed it was a 'chick' show, you would be well advised to
open your mind up, and pick up the first season on DVD.
Spread over 7 DVD’s, “The O.C.” DVD set includes
all 27 episodes from the original run, which clocks in at
around the 19 hour mark (4 episodes per disc), so it’s
a pretty decent set in anyone’s books.
As far as video and audio quality is concerned, I’d
honestly be hard pressed to find anything critical to say
about it, and I’d even go so far to say that the episodes
actually look superior to their original broadcasts. All up,
some genuine effort has gone into making this look and sound
as good as possible.
DVD Extras
Of course it doesn’t hurt that there’s also some
pretty good extras on here as well, so let’s check them
out, shall we?
Audio Commentary on the Pilot Episode: Here, creator
Josh Schwartz, and producer Stephanie Savage take a swing
through the show that is “The O.C.”. It’s a
fairly relaxed commentary, but they do touch on some of the
unseen stuff from the original Pilot, quite a bit on the casting,
and generally show a lot of love for everyone involved all
around. Light & fluffy stuff, but worth a listen.
On-Screen Music Track Guide: “The O.C.”
has one of the most diverse soundtracks around, and where
sometimes that can mean some really obscure crap, here is
the genuine difference. I’d be hard pressed to hear a
song during the course of the season that I thought was absolute
bollocks, but in case you were wondering what song that was
in the background, or who it was doing that cover of “Wonderwall”,
this guide can be enabled for 6 of the episodes, and is the
old pop-up style subtitle.
Deleted Scenes: Snippets and scene extensions which
strangely enough, do actually add a fair bit to the original
episodes. Some were just considered a little racy for the
time-slot (“Buffet”), but most were obviously cut
due to the show running a little long. Again, quality stuff
that doesn’t feel out of place with anything else in
the show.
Casting “The O.C.”: A chat with the Casting
Director, and Josh Schwartz. Most of the leads are shown in
the process, with particular attention (surprise!) given to
Benjamin McKenzie & Adam Brody, who fortunately have the
best stories behind their casting.
Inside The Real O.C.: Alright, it can’t all be
great, and while McG has personality and enthusiasm to spare,
this chat with some regular kids from Orange County is pretty
pointless, but still worth at least one viewing.
The Music Of “The O.C.”: A very interesting
featurette on the excellent music that features throughout
the show, and what a Music Supervisor actually does. From
Jeff Buckley, Finley Quaye, Beth Orton, Jem & Ryan Adams
through to Modest Mouse, there’s a genuine love of music
behind this show, and this really shows it off.
Season 2 Sneak Peek: Alright, the second letdown of
the set is this “Sneak Peek” which actually shows
you…… nothing at all from the second season! Not
that this will bother anyone in the U.S. (where it’s
showing now), but for those of us in other parts of the world
where we’re waiting…… Come On! This is in actual
fact just the main cast members talking about what they would
like to see happen to their characters over the next year,
with Adam Brody not surprisingly being the funniest.
To wrap up, I can’t really say anything more about the
show that I haven’t already said.
It’s genuine, it’s funny it’s touching, it’s
provocative, it’s everything you could want in a drama,
whether you’re a teenager, or you’re… *ahem*
older.
Whatever you do, go out and buy it if you are a fan of the
show, or at all curious… I promise you won’t regret
it.
Conclusion: Movie 95% Extras 90%
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