When 'The O.C.' aired, it was a phenomenon. I can only imagine what the craze was like in America, but here in Finland it aired when I was in high school and the teachers would talk about it in class. Everybody watched 'The O.C.' and it's no wonder why.
It's not like the show is the pinnacle of television, there are certainly many flaws in it. Some seasons are better than others, some characters are annoying and others totally irrelevant, some plot lines are stupid and some unrealistic, and some jokes fall flat. Actually, the whole premise lacks credibility. A wealthy lawyer adopts a criminal teenage boy because he sees something worthwhile in him? But the show is lovable for its familiar early 2000's music and fashion and its charming and memorable characters. Every teenage boy wants to be confident and good-looking like Ryan, while relating to his tortured brooding. If you don't identify with the nerdy Seth, you will at least know somebody who is exactly like him. The girls are equally familiar and rounded characters, from the troubled and sheltered Marissa to the carefree and sexy Summer and the intelligent and adorable Anna. I'm sure that even now, a decade later, it would still be easy to get into a heated discussion about who should've ended up with whom and how horrible it was that a certain character died...
It's not like the show is the pinnacle of television, there are certainly many flaws in it. Some seasons are better than others, some characters are annoying and others totally irrelevant, some plot lines are stupid and some unrealistic, and some jokes fall flat. Actually, the whole premise lacks credibility. A wealthy lawyer adopts a criminal teenage boy because he sees something worthwhile in him? But the show is lovable for its familiar early 2000's music and fashion and its charming and memorable characters. Every teenage boy wants to be confident and good-looking like Ryan, while relating to his tortured brooding. If you don't identify with the nerdy Seth, you will at least know somebody who is exactly like him. The girls are equally familiar and rounded characters, from the troubled and sheltered Marissa to the carefree and sexy Summer and the intelligent and adorable Anna. I'm sure that even now, a decade later, it would still be easy to get into a heated discussion about who should've ended up with whom and how horrible it was that a certain character died...