The OC: Vidas Ajenas

When my girlfriend told me she was going to start watching this show, I figured it would give me 60 minutes a week to myself. But when I actually watched part of the first or second episode, I was surprised to find myself starting to get drawn in.

Here's what I like about this show: First, the kids talk like kids (even if some of them look like adults!). I don't know about anyone else, but after Dawson's Creek and The Gilmore Girls, I find it refreshing to see a show about teenagers who have trouble expressing themselves instead of speaking in pithy, self-aware sound bites.

Second, this show does a believeable job of presenting the class issues involved in having a "poor kid" move in with a "rich family". Others have pointed out that it avoided the initial cliche by having the two teenage boys become friends, but later episodes have shown that in spite of their friendship and common interests (e.g. comic books), there are still deeper issues of class and sexuality that show how different their "worlds" really are.

And finally, I was surprised to see that the writers were actually able to make me care about the problems of the rich characters! (The adults, anyway). For too many nighttime soap operas, portraying the "problems of the rich" are just a way to get us "unwashed" types to sneer at the "problems" that money brings ("I wish I had those problems!"). In "The O.C.", the writers actually explore questions of money, class (again) and love in the various adult couples in a way that brings Jane Austen to mind; we can relate to the struggles the characters are going through even if their day-to-day lives are completely foreign from our own.

All in all, a surprisingly enjoyable TV soap opera that doesn't require you to check your entire brain at the door.

It is one of my favorit series. For the story and for Peter Gallagher and Adam Brody, for atmosphere, love affaires, tension and smart use of the rules of drama. A film about generations, love and friendship. About opportunities and about the way to define them more than use them. Fights and alliances and confessions. And the way for define the meanings of ordinaries lives.

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.

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.