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A sort-of Dawson’s Creek meets Different Strokes
it was the hobbyhorse of the perceptibly talented (and seemingly rather
young – judging by the hip dialogue and pop culture references) Josh
Schwartz, a Spaceballs sounding scribe who impeccably blended the worlds of TV-soap with that of a realistic undercurrent. So much of The OC
played real that it didn’t matter that it also encompassed a fair bit
of fairy floss… it many respects, it needed the sugar boost to keep its
frame balanced.
Pity all that good work had to be undone by season four.
OK, that’s not totally fair – The OC
was still one of the better American teen series’ on television even
when it did start to dip (sometime between getting rid of Tate Donovan
and killing off Alan Dale it turned to Melrose Place
for inspiration) its just it was such a great competitor out of the
gate it would’ve been nice to have seen it at least get a place on the
finish line. Unfortunately, it was exhausted by the time this, the
fourth season, rolled around. And seriously, no one much cared that it
was a red stamp away from being cancelled.
By Season Four, the
whole ‘fish out of water’ storyline involving Chino rough-kid Ryan
(Benjamin McKenzie) trying to fit in with his new adoptive family
(Parents Peter Gallagher and Kelly Rowan; step-brother Adam Brody) and
the resident rich kids had been scrubbed. Now Ryan was no
less than just another ‘rich kid’… in many respects, he had taken his
step-brother Seth’s place as the goodie-goodie of the family, with Seth
seemingly the one getting up to mischief and learning how to brood…
going through ‘normal’ rich kid predicaments – like which college to
choose; which girl to date and what button-up shirt he should wear to
school on any given day. (Granted, when the season opens Ryan’s still
his tough-talking fist-swinging self, as he attempts to get over the
untimely death of the love of his life, Marisa, by joining a ‘fight
club’).
Sure, there are plenty of things going on this season –
Summer (Rachel Bilson) is off to college, and meeting new friends (yep,
new guys!), so there’s some tension between her and Seth; Ryan finds
new love in the arms of the snootiest girl in school, Taylor; Ryan’s
father (guest-star Kevin ‘Hercules’ Sorbo) returns to town to reconcile
with his son - but nothing holds a candle to the festivities of the
early seasons; it just seems to be going through the motions. It's just sad when good shows go bad. EXTRAS
Extras include audio commentaries (creator commentary on the finale is
probably the only one worth listening to), deleted scenes, a featurette
on ‘Chrismukkah’, and a featurette on Rachel Bilson’s character,
Summer. The 2.0 soundtrack doesn’t exactly pack a punch, but it’s
reasonable – like season four itself. Conclusion:
Movie 65% Extras: 50%
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