Let’s talk about The OC.
For those drug abusers out there, the topic is not oxycontin, as the abbreviation might imply, but a new TV drama that fans say has the same addictive effects as the pain-killer.
Fox has hit another home run on the small screen with this drama centered around teen-age angst we can all identify with.
The OC stands for Orange County and is where the drama takes place. The basic plot is simple. Rich man helps underprivileged teen, teen gets kicked out of his house because the mom is abusive and doesn’t care. Rich man brings kid home out of pity, becomes his new guardian and helps him fit in to the aristocratic society and his new family. It’s kinda like the “new lease on life” soap opera for the young and old alike.
Voted Guiltiest Pleasure by VH1 at the “Big in 2003 Awards” this year, The OC began its second season last Wednesday with, what else, a public service message about suicide.
The Fox drama has won many viewers since its premiere last summer. Plots of teen-age unrequited love and challenged family values complete with a comedic twist have won the hearts of Americans. It keeps them tuning in week after week to see what the one-hour program has Marissa (played by Mischa Barton), Ryan (Benjamin McKenzie), Seth (Adam Brody), Anna (Samaire Armstrong) and Summer (Rachel Bilson) doing in their lap of luxury this week.
If there is one thing this drama can teach America, it is that the rich along with the poor go through the same tribulations in life.
For example, Ryan, the underprivileged teen, and Marissa, the rich girl next door who longs to be a bad girl but is intrinsically good, are from completely different worlds but share the basic components required for a true love story.
Ryan laid eyes on Marissa and knew instantly he was in love. Marissa, on the other hand, had to contend with a mother who did not agree with her dating someone beneath her status. The chemistry between the two is amazing and leaves the viewer sighing and wishing for a love like that.
Seth brings comedy as he has to choose between the snobbish Summer he has loved since he was in kindergarten but who won’t give him the time of day, and Anna, the pixie-haired beauty from Pittsburgh who thinks he hung the moon.
Seth, being torn between two beauties, has never had to deal with a problem like this before. He was considered the geeky “comic book kid” until Anna took notice of him and Summer took notice that Anna took notice and got a little jealous.
Now Seth must choose between two women whom he wishes had one body. In the end, he chose Anna but still has feelings for Summer and the saga continues.
Of course, with any good, sappy, bet-your-boyfriend will-never-watch-this-with-you drama, the subplots are just as good as the main story line.
Intertwined with Ryan and Melissa and the Seth/Anna/ Summer drama, are the parents, played by Peter Gallagher (Sandy) and Kelly Rowan (Kirsten).
They have drama of their own to contend with but at the same time leave the viewer wishing she had parents like that. They provide the unconditional love Ryan needs and the iron fist he hasn’t quite become used to yet.
Even if you have missed the last episodes of this heart-felt drama, you can tune in on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on Fox.
Now that you are all caught up on the story line, you’ll be hooked in no time and won’t even have to see a doctor for a prescription.

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