Letters to the Editor
-
If only...
The general premise is pretty accurate - the show did go downhill, quickly, after Season 2 - but it would be helpful if the author had his facts right. The "timbers" were the MODEL home - not a tract house, Seth burned down an OFFICE, not a home. RYAN burned the MODEL HOME but that was in the first season, not the last.
This article sounds like another attempt by someone who only scanned a few episodes and read the work of other misinformed/inattentive critics. Such glaring inaccuracies appear immediately to any longtime viewer, and cast a shadow on both the author and the site. A critic's opionion is a powerful voice, but it is easily weakened by irresponsibility. Sarcasm and wit are poor substitutes for facts.
-
OC can you say
I agree with Rita that the critic would do well to actually view the series. It was initially interesting because of the abuse/class issues, the quirky relationship between Ryan and Seth and a few other things. Mischa Barton's wooden acting in a character written entirely by the book was not among those things.
Broadly, the male characters tend to be interesting. The female characters are all (1) witches like Julie and the school principal (2) drunks (even without much evidence of drinking) like Kirsten and Marissa or (3) serial manipulators like Dawn or Theresa but sometimes with a heart of gold like Summer. Not a pretty sight, and one made worse by the strange habit of (1) casting actors in their 20s as mothers of characters in their teens (2) casting actors in their 30s as women in their teens.
The quality feell off badly about the middle of Season 1 and really has not found it s feet since. Apparently Schwartz is going to be much more involved in the new season. Perhaps that will be a good thing.
-
Yes, the magic is gone...but not for the reasons stated!
I’ll also agree with Rita…and point out two other inaccuracies cited by the author of this review.
I’m not sure what his comparisons were being made to, but he notes, “…while Marissa dallied in one of the lamest lesbian romances ever put to tape.” In fact, The OC developed a wonderful storyline of a young girl suddenly questioning her sexuality when she finds herself falling for the “perceived new bad girl in town,” but the bad girl with a heart of gold…who likewise found herself ‘falling hard’ for Marissa. Both actresses involved (Mischa Barton and Olivia Wilde) did a wonderful job of portraying their characters and managed to pull off a fantastic and very believable chemistry as their relationship developed. It was only when the writers caved to the homophobic pressures of the TV honchos and ended the developing relationship so horribly--by having especially Alex’s character do a complete 180--that it became lame.
Which leads to a second inaccuracy. He states: “By the second season, the world had begun to leave the show behind.” Alex’s character was brought in early in the 2nd season. And whether with Seth--the good guy who briefly tried to be bad to attract her only to find out she didn’t want a bad boy, she liked his good guy--or with Marissa, she brought a lot to the show. And by the time the Marissa and Alex storyline occurred midway through the 2nd season, viewership was up rather significantly again from the declining numbers of the start of the 2nd season. Only after Alex’s character was written off the show did the numbers again begin declining. Olivia Wilde’s Alex brought an important and different element to The OC, a character who had interesting storylines with the older inhabitants of The OC (whether dealing with Seth’s Dad when he appealed to her to not see his son, helping the same character pull off a 20th anniversary surprise for his wife, etc.) as well as the younger ones.
But the author is correct is saying “the magic is gone.” The magic is sure to be gone from the 4th season! Because just like they wrote Alex’s character out in the 2nd season, they’ve now written out the “most high-profile” actress Mischa Barton (the author may wish to note that it was not her choice to leave as he seemed to imply). Without Marissa, you no longer have “the girl-next-door” to confound Ryan’s tortured man-boy, you no longer have the sweetness and aggravations that come in the friendship of her and Summer (the bitch of the 1st season who’s not so nasty after all), you no longer have the complicated yet entertaining relationship with a mother who although she tries to do everything for her daughter, fails miserably due to her own efforts to ensure a place among the wealthy (sleeping with the same guy who took said daughter’s virginity along the way as well as other rich and not-so-rich denizens of the The OC), and you no longer have the young girl hurting from the absentee father who she loves tremendously regardless.
Yes, the author did get one thing right, the magic is gone! Mischa made us care about Marissa and want her to be okay in the end. But after the writers put her through most every ordeal imaginable (granted, allowing her some meatier roles that allowed her talent to show through the lameness of one failed effort after another with Ryan), they tried to turn this night-time soap into a tragedy by killing her off. This isn’t Shakespeare, it’s escapism! But they seem to have forgotten that, and the glue that held this escapism together is now gone. So yes, with Mischa/Marissa gone, any hope for magic is sure to be gone as well!
-
A correction
Thank you Rita for pointing out my mistake. Indeed, when Seth goes to pot he burns up the Newport Group office, not another home. (I sat through too many episodes this last season, though I missed that one.) I will ask my editors for the mistake to be corrected.
I am, however, going to hold my ground on the timbers of the tract home. The model home that was torched in the first season was part of a development of similar houses, which is the definition of tract housing. It is possible to be both a tract home and a model home, just as it is possible to be a bird and a penguin.