The OC: Vidas Ajenas

This might sound silly but i'm not lying or being exaggerating - this tv show changed my life. It gave me a good feeling for the rest of my life. I could watch this show many times all over and all over again without getting bored or tired.

Everything about this show is perfect, everything! The views, the music, the far-out characters, the lines, the sets, the clothes and THE MOST OF ALL - THE CAST!!

I remember starting watching this show around the time when i just got a depression. I would sleep and then in between drown myself into this blue world of drama and comedy. This show got me through it. This show made me feel alive and became as my passion.

This show was never long-wided, NO WAY! You never knew what was about to happen. This show had everything - excitement, funny humor, drama, thriller and love!

I'm so thankful for Josh Schwartz making this show because it LITERALLY CHANGED MY LIFE. I MEAN, LITERALLY. I admire it and look it as a perfection. I've showed this show to all of my friends and they thought that this is at least very good! I also managed to turn the other one into a fan.

I want everything to watch OC if they haven't seen it because this show gave me a lot and still means a lot to me! No kidding!

I come from a part of Australia called the Sunshine Coast where most people come to escape city life and live by the sea. Most of the people who live along the coastlines here are just as beautiful-looking in that sun-drenched, California way, but not only that: this is a place where people come to avoid their problems, only to end up taking them with them. For all the glitz, glamour and romance of this place, I have never come across a more dysfunctional group of self-absorbed people in my life.

That's what immediately drew me to "The O.C.". I noticed the obvious plot lines that have been faithful to Soap Operas for decades, but this show has such a pungent wit about the nature of these people. They may look like they have a life that people aspire to, but they really don't and in some ways the nature of their environment only enhances these problems. I found that this show perfectly captured the reality of this sort of lifestyle, albeit modified for T.V.. A movie version of this would be much more vicious, if made by the right people, but please don't talk to me about the corniness of this show and how it doesn't reflect real life. I know these people. They exist. And they really are contemptible.

Have we seen this plot before? yes we have albeit not in a place this great looking and thats part of the charm of this fantastically addictive series. So many shows like this take place in a normal setting. This one defies the rules and showcases it in a very rich, very snobby like area full of interesting people.

There are several reasons why this show is great and successful

1. Seth Cohen is the most interesting character the show has to offer. Ya know it all started out with ryan who is the main character but after about 5 episodes it was clear who the real star is. No other character is as fleshed out and real as he is. and funny with his wisecracking demeanor. Seth has actually changed and become more real as the season went on. Most everyone else has stayed the same. Like ryan who hasn't showed any other kind of side or major insecurities, and he's still a hot head.

2. It doesn't try and shove morals down your throat. Just about every show in this vein out there tries to make every episode a "dont do this" episode, and its very refreshing. They present each episode as a day in their life and thats it.

3. Finally parents get their due. Seth's parents are not some stupid "john hughes" parents with little or no screen time and who's pets have bigger brains that they do. Instead they have a decent amount of screen time, fight, make up, and actually have a life that we see.

Is this show perfect . . . . no that would be unfair to say it is or expect it to be. Its fun, interesting, and is the most refreshing addition to the teen genre by far.

OK this show is without a doubt hilarious. The user who said it was boring, i can simply not fathom. Okay, so the storyline may be a little bit of a cliché, a kid from the wrong side of the tracks, posh galas every week and people who are too pretty to exist in the real world. But isn't that what T.V is? An escape from the real world? This is the only show the me and my family actually agree on. Why? Because the story lines, although they may seem obvious, are interweaving. (E.G Caleb is kirsten's dad, who is marrying Julie Cooper, the ex-wife of Jimmy Cooper, who was kirsten's high school sweetheart.-OK, when i put it like that it sounds like a sunset beach episode.*shudder-twitch*)

But the point is this, The O.C is different from all those other "Ooh it's sunny, we're rich and pretty but our lives are so hard" shows because it makes fun of itself. Its is not afraid to make fun of itself. It knows that it's a show about a group of beautiful people with loadsa cash but not so much happiness. Bottom line, It's a cliché and there are too many black-tie events, but at the end of the day, it's easy going and will make you laugh out loud. Give it a go.

Having watched this entire series twice. Once when it aired back in 2003 and now in 2021, I can honestly say that they don't make shows like this anymore. The plot line is simple and at times predictable with high volumes of unnecessary drama. But it has a deep honestly rooted in realism. The characters and plot line actually feels real. This is one of those teen drama's that even after almost 20 years feels fresh.