WHATCH THE O.C!
So You Want to Watch The O.C.? (Trust Me, You Do)
THURSDAYS at 9 on FOX.
A Beginner's Guide to Orange County
THE STORY:
Three years ago, underage hottie Ryan Atwood (Benjamin McKenzie) was caught stealing a car with his delinquent older brother, Trey. Ryan’s public defender came to visit him in juvie - and changed his life forever. Why? Because Ryan’s public defender was Sandy Cohen (Peter Gallagher). Sandy is a relentlessly good man and saw something special in Ryan.
Since Ryan’s dad is in prison and his mom is a drunken mess (abusive boyfriends, gambling problems, the whole deal), Sandy took Ryan into his Newport Beach mansion. At the Cohen home, Ryan met Sandy’s wife, Kirsten (Kelly Rowan), and his lonely, geeky son Seth (Adam Brody). Seth and Ryan bonded pretty much instantly, both of them being outsiders in the glitzy, glamorous world of Newport. Kirsten was a harder sell, but eventually she, too, let Ryan into her heart.
Along with the Cohens, Ryan got to know the family next door, the Coopers. In particular, he got to know Marissa (Mischa Barton). Ryan and Marissa had an off-and-on relationship for the better part of three years.
Marissa was a mess from start to finish - drinking until she passed out, almost overdosing in Mexico, befriending skeezy and/or unstable guys who always wound up falling for her and then going insane/dying. At the end of season 3, after every possible kind of drama, Marissa died in a car wreck. The Jeep Ryan was driving was forced off the road by another one of the psycho guys Marissa had befriended.
Marissa’s mom, Julie Cooper, is trouble with a capital “T.” A girl from the wrong side of the tracks, she got pregnant at a young age by Jimmy Cooper, who “did the right thing” and married her. Jimmy Cooper and Kirsten Cohen grew up together and dated as teenagers. They’re still friends, but Jimmy Cooper split early last season because he owed money to scary guys.
Seth was madly in love with Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson). She was only vaguely aware that he was alive before Ryan came, but eventually his years of stalking her crushing on her paid off, as he recited a poem she’d read back in elementary school and she kissed him. They’ve been together pretty much ever since, not counting assorted triangle-y drama here and there.
Early last season, we first met Taylor Townsend. She was originally introduced as Summer and Marissa’s Type A-nemesis. She got Marissa and Ryan kicked out of school (she was sleeping with the Dean) and tried to steal Seth from Summer. As we got to know her, it came out exactly how lonely she was, and she became friends with Seth and Summer, and Ryan and Marissa to a lesser degree.
Midway through last season, we were re-introduced to Kaitlin Cooper, Marissa’s younger sister. She’d been shipped off to boarding school in the first season and managed to age about 5 years in the course of a year and a half. Impressive! Kaitlin is very much her mother’s daughter, and it’s kind of awesome. She’s trouble, but she seems to have a good heart.
THE PEOPLE:
Ryan Atwood
Ryan Atwood is the main character on The OC. He used to live in Chino until he got thrown in juvie, where he met Sandy. Sandy and Kirsten adopted him and Ryan came to Orange County. While he seems to be your standard bad boy with a heart of gold, Ryan actually has unseen depths. Or something. His skills include punching people, avoiding having to dance and looking really hot.
Sandy Cohen
Sandy is Ryan’s adopted guardian. He’s happily married (most of the time) to Kirsten. He’s a public defender and takes pride in defending kids from the streets. He’s very moral, except for a lapse in the 3rd season when he got involved with some corrupt business deals. He likes surfing, claims to hate Newport and puts the -ukkah in Chrismukkah. (Translation: He’s Jewish. And loves his bagels.)
Kirsten Cohen
It was in her twenties that, while rebelling against her parents by living in a mail truck. Kirsten got married to Sandy. In the beginning of the series, she ran her father’s company until handing it over to her husband. She always liked her white wine until it blossomed into full alcoholism, and she went to rehab in late Season 2. Despite this, she’s a good mother and recovering well. She also likes to throw lots of parties where plot points tend to happen. While at first hesitant to take Ryan in, she now considers him her son.
Seth Cohen
Speaking of sons, Seth is Sandy and Kirsten’s. He likes sailing, comic books and video games. Generally considered a dork, he talks a mile a minute and was somewhat of a social outcast in high school. And yet, here in the real world we all love him. Ryan is Seth’s best and sort of only friend, with the exception of his girlfriend, Summer. He had had a huge crush on Summer for years, even naming his boat after her.
Summer Roberts
Before she went away to college, Summer’s interests included shopping, gossip, tanning and shopping. And tanning. She never talked to Seth, ignoring him and his slight obsession with her until Ryan came along. Then she and Seth started dating privately until he confessed his love to her while standing on a coffee cart in the middle of their school. Now that she’s gone to Brown, Summer has become something of an environmental activist. Her latest act of, um...activism was freeing bunnies from a Brown lab, which got her kicked out of school. She’s home now, unsure of what to do with her life except be with Seth and her stolen bunny, Pancakes.
Taylor Townsend
Taylor began as a reccurring guest star in the 3rd season. She formed a friendship with Summer despite Summer’s resistance, fell slightly in love with Seth and wanted to be Marissa. Now, she’s gone off to Paris and gotten married to a French sexual jedi. Ryan helped her get divorced by kissing her, which after a bit of dancing and fake sleep therapy led to the show’s newest pairing, Ryan/Taylor. Taylor is currently living at Julie Cooper’s after being kicked out of her own house upon breaking the news of her marriage to her “she-wolf of a mother”.
Julie Cooper
Julie is the mother of Kaitlin and Marissa. She’s been in a string of relationships and marriages, some for money, some for love. Most recently she was engaged to Summer’s father until he had an affair, leaving her with his house. This was a relief to her because, as she was not independently wealthy, her last home had been a trailer. However, now she has gone into business with her friend Kirsten Cohen on a dating service called NewMatch.
Kaitlin Cooper
Kaitlin is Julie’s daughter, Marissa’s younger sister. She recently came home from boarding school to be with her family. Somewhat wild, Kaitlin enjoys drinking and partying just as much as her sister. She spends her time smoking, buying fake IDs and hanging out with the Ward twins, Eric and Brad. She also attends Harbor High -- Ryan, Seth and Summer’s alma mater.
Marissa Cooper
Marissa was the girl everyone wanted to be in high school. She dressed in designer labels, threw the best parties and could drink with the best of them. Summer Roberts was her best friend. She and Ryan were “the couple,” on and off throughout the first 3 seasons. Marissa had the same kind of relationship with her mother-the on and off part, I mean-and, in a fit of rebellion, moved out and became a lesbian for a few episodes in Season 2. After being kicked out of school for shooting Ryan’s brother and therefore saving Ryan’s life, she befriended Johnny in public school. He, of course, fell in love with her, ultimately resulting in his drunken death. This, in turn brought her closer to Volchok, a hardcore surfer dude (isn’t that an oxymoron?) who led her into the world of skipping school to take drugs and go to parties. This went on until he cheated on her at prom. Marissa then decided to go live on a cruise ship with her dad, meaning she wouldn’t see her friends for about a year. While Ryan was driving her to the airport, Volchok, in an attempt to talk to Marissa, ran them off the road in a car crash that killed her. While half of the fandom cried with sorrow, the other half cried with joy. (OK, it was more like 10 percent sorrow, 90 percent joy.) The thing is, since her death, the show has turned around, become much less over-the-top dramatic and is now even better than it was in the beginning.
THE CONNECTIONS
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Ryan: Seems to have finally made peace with Marissa’s death. He’s working at a local restaurant and starting a relationship with Taylor.
Sandy: Is just Sandy. Not much going on with him at the moment.
Kirsten: Has gone into business with Julie Cooper on a dating service called NewMatch. She doesn’t know yet that a bunch of their young male clients are offering some “services” of their own to wealthy divorcees.
Seth: Is still in love with Summer. He’s going to RISD next year and is working in a comic book store in the meantime.
Summer: Is still in love with Seth. She got kicked out of Brown until next year for freeing rabbits from the science lab. As of now, she’s just kind of puttering around in Newport.
Taylor: Is living with Julie, Kaitlin and Summer in the Cooper house. She was at the Sorbonne, but ran back to the U.S. to escape her French husband, oops. She’s pursuing (quite literally!) a relationship with Ryan.
Julie: Is working on NewMatch with Kirsten. She does know about the “services”, so we’ll see how that plays out. She’s also reluctantly seeing an obnoxious tycoon, Gordon Bullit, who’s a silent (but not all that silent, unfortunately) partner in NewMatch.
Kaitlin: Is in high school, smoking weed and being sort of an outsider. She doesn’t fit in to the pretty princess mold of her classmates.
Marissa: Is still dead.
Sold yet? Pretty much all of the season so far is on youtube. Here’s Part 1 of 4x01 to get you started. It’s pretty easy to find the rest from there.
Remember: Thursday nights at 9 on FOX!
Want more info?
*Visit the official site: The O.C.
*Check out the recaps on Television Without Pity.
4.01 - The Avengers
4.02 - The Gringos
4.03 - The Cold Turkey
4.04 - The Metamorphosis
4.05 - The Sleeping Beauty
4.06 - The Summer Bummer
4.07 - The Chrismukk-Huh?
Questions? Comments? Contact khestral and/or piratesdaughter.
Want to post this to your own journal? Copy and paste!
So You Want to Watch The O.C.? (Trust Me, You Do)
THURSDAYS at 9 on FOX.
A Beginner's Guide to Orange County
THE STORY:
Three years ago, underage hottie Ryan Atwood (Benjamin McKenzie) was caught stealing a car with his delinquent older brother, Trey. Ryan’s public defender came to visit him in juvie - and changed his life forever. Why? Because Ryan’s public defender was Sandy Cohen (Peter Gallagher). Sandy is a relentlessly good man and saw something special in Ryan.
Since Ryan’s dad is in prison and his mom is a drunken mess (abusive boyfriends, gambling problems, the whole deal), Sandy took Ryan into his Newport Beach mansion. At the Cohen home, Ryan met Sandy’s wife, Kirsten (Kelly Rowan), and his lonely, geeky son Seth (Adam Brody). Seth and Ryan bonded pretty much instantly, both of them being outsiders in the glitzy, glamorous world of Newport. Kirsten was a harder sell, but eventually she, too, let Ryan into her heart.
Along with the Cohens, Ryan got to know the family next door, the Coopers. In particular, he got to know Marissa (Mischa Barton). Ryan and Marissa had an off-and-on relationship for the better part of three years.
Marissa was a mess from start to finish - drinking until she passed out, almost overdosing in Mexico, befriending skeezy and/or unstable guys who always wound up falling for her and then going insane/dying. At the end of season 3, after every possible kind of drama, Marissa died in a car wreck. The Jeep Ryan was driving was forced off the road by another one of the psycho guys Marissa had befriended.
Marissa’s mom, Julie Cooper, is trouble with a capital “T.” A girl from the wrong side of the tracks, she got pregnant at a young age by Jimmy Cooper, who “did the right thing” and married her. Jimmy Cooper and Kirsten Cohen grew up together and dated as teenagers. They’re still friends, but Jimmy Cooper split early last season because he owed money to scary guys.
Seth was madly in love with Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson). She was only vaguely aware that he was alive before Ryan came, but eventually his years ofstalking her crushing on her paid off, as he recited a poem she’d read back in elementary school and she kissed him. They’ve been together pretty much ever since, not counting assorted triangle-y drama here and there.
Early last season, we first met Taylor Townsend. She was originally introduced as Summer and Marissa’s Type A-nemesis. She got Marissa and Ryan kicked out of school (she was sleeping with the Dean) and tried to steal Seth from Summer. As we got to know her, it came out exactly how lonely she was, and she became friends with Seth and Summer, and Ryan and Marissa to a lesser degree.
Midway through last season, we were re-introduced to Kaitlin Cooper, Marissa’s younger sister. She’d been shipped off to boarding school in the first season and managed to age about 5 years in the course of a year and a half. Impressive! Kaitlin is very much her mother’s daughter, and it’s kind of awesome. She’s trouble, but she seems to have a good heart.
THE PEOPLE:
http://i13.tinypic.com/2rnek36.png>
Ryan Atwood
Ryan Atwood is the main character on The OC. He used to live in Chino until he got thrown in juvie, where he met Sandy. Sandy and Kirsten adopted him and Ryan came to Orange County. While he seems to be your standard bad boy with a heart of gold, Ryan actually has unseen depths. Or something. His skills include punching people, avoiding having to dance and looking really hot.
http://i12.tinypic.com/2f061bt.png>
Sandy Cohen
Sandy is Ryan’s adopted guardian. He’s happily married (most of the time) to Kirsten. He’s a public defender and takes pride in defending kids from the streets. He’s very moral, except for a lapse in the 3rd season when he got involved with some corrupt business deals. He likes surfing, claims to hate Newport and puts the -ukkah in Chrismukkah. (Translation: He’s Jewish. And loves his bagels.)
http://i17.tinypic.com/2ir6scy.png>
Kirsten Cohen
It was in her twenties that, while rebelling against her parents by living in a mail truck. Kirsten got married to Sandy. In the beginning of the series, she ran her father’s company until handing it over to her husband. She always liked her white wine until it blossomed into full alcoholism, and she went to rehab in late Season 2. Despite this, she’s a good mother and recovering well. She also likes to throw lots of parties where plot points tend to happen. While at first hesitant to take Ryan in, she now considers him her son.
http://i12.tinypic.com/2n0n4g5.png>
Seth Cohen
Speaking of sons, Seth is Sandy and Kirsten’s. He likes sailing, comic books and video games. Generally considered a dork, he talks a mile a minute and was somewhat of a social outcast in high school. And yet, here in the real world we all love him. Ryan is Seth’s best and sort of only friend, with the exception of his girlfriend, Summer. He had had a huge crush on Summer for years, even naming his boat after her.
http://i13.tinypic.com/2pzibts.png>
Summer Roberts
Before she went away to college, Summer’s interests included shopping, gossip, tanning and shopping. And tanning. She never talked to Seth, ignoring him and his slight obsession with her until Ryan came along. Then she and Seth started dating privately until he confessed his love to her while standing on a coffee cart in the middle of their school. Now that she’s gone to Brown, Summer has become something of an environmental activist. Her latest act of, um...activism was freeing bunnies from a Brown lab, which got her kicked out of school. She’s home now, unsure of what to do with her life except be with Seth and her stolen bunny, Pancakes.
http://i13.tinypic.com/2mwvxfn.png>
Taylor Townsend
Taylor began as a reccurring guest star in the 3rd season. She formed a friendship with Summer despite Summer’s resistance, fell slightly in love with Seth and wanted to be Marissa. Now, she’s gone off to Paris and gotten married to a French sexual jedi. Ryan helped her get divorced by kissing her, which after a bit of dancing and fake sleep therapy led to the show’s newest pairing, Ryan/Taylor. Taylor is currently living at Julie Cooper’s after being kicked out of her own house upon breaking the news of her marriage to her “she-wolf of a mother”.
http://i14.tinypic.com/2w4wdw2.png>
Julie Cooper
Julie is the mother of Kaitlin and Marissa. She’s been in a string of relationships and marriages, some for money, some for love. Most recently she was engaged to Summer’s father until he had an affair, leaving her with his house. This was a relief to her because, as she was not independently wealthy, her last home had been a trailer. However, now she has gone into business with her friend Kirsten Cohen on a dating service called NewMatch.
http://i17.tinypic.com/29qkr5j.png>
Kaitlin Cooper
Kaitlin is Julie’s daughter, Marissa’s younger sister. She recently came home from boarding school to be with her family. Somewhat wild, Kaitlin enjoys drinking and partying just as much as her sister. She spends her time smoking, buying fake IDs and hanging out with the Ward twins, Eric and Brad. She also attends Harbor High -- Ryan, Seth and Summer’s alma mater.
http://i10.tinypic.com/29vyo3k.png>
Marissa Cooper
Marissa was the girl everyone wanted to be in high school. She dressed in designer labels, threw the best parties and could drink with the best of them. Summer Roberts was her best friend. She and Ryan were “the couple,” on and off throughout the first 3 seasons. Marissa had the same kind of relationship with her mother-the on and off part, I mean-and, in a fit of rebellion, moved out and became a lesbian for a few episodes in Season 2. After being kicked out of school for shooting Ryan’s brother and therefore saving Ryan’s life, she befriended Johnny in public school. He, of course, fell in love with her, ultimately resulting in his drunken death. This, in turn brought her closer to Volchok, a hardcore surfer dude (isn’t that an oxymoron?) who led her into the world of skipping school to take drugs and go to parties. This went on until he cheated on her at prom. Marissa then decided to go live on a cruise ship with her dad, meaning she wouldn’t see her friends for about a year. While Ryan was driving her to the airport, Volchok, in an attempt to talk to Marissa, ran them off the road in a car crash that killed her. While half of the fandom cried with sorrow, the other half cried with joy. (OK, it was more like 10 percent sorrow, 90 percent joy.) The thing is, since her death, the show has turned around, become much less over-the-top dramatic and is now even better than it was in the beginning.
THE CONNECTIONS
http://i14.tinypic.com/2eumkbr.png>
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Ryan: Seems to have finally made peace with Marissa’s death. He’s working at a local restaurant and starting a relationship with Taylor.
Sandy: Is just Sandy. Not much going on with him at the moment.
Kirsten: Has gone into business with Julie Cooper on a dating service called NewMatch. She doesn’t know yet that a bunch of their young male clients are offering some “services” of their own to wealthy divorcees.
Seth: Is still in love with Summer. He’s going to RISD next year and is working in a comic book store in the meantime.
Summer: Is still in love with Seth. She got kicked out of Brown until next year for freeing rabbits from the science lab. As of now, she’s just kind of puttering around in Newport.
Taylor: Is living with Julie, Kaitlin and Summer in the Cooper house. She was at the Sorbonne, but ran back to the U.S. to escape her French husband, oops. She’s pursuing (quite literally!) a relationship with Ryan.
Julie: Is working on NewMatch with Kirsten. She does know about the “services”, so we’ll see how that plays out. She’s also reluctantly seeing an obnoxious tycoon, Gordon Bullit, who’s a silent (but not all that silent, unfortunately) partner in NewMatch.
Kaitlin: Is in high school, smoking weed and being sort of an outsider. She doesn’t fit in to the pretty princess mold of her classmates.
Marissa: Is still dead.
Sold yet? Pretty much all of the season so far is on youtube. Here’s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irxuK0bRm_A>Part 1 of 4x01 to get you started. It’s pretty easy to find the rest from there.
Remember: Thursday nights at 9 on FOX!
Want more info?
*Visit the official site: http://www.fox.com/oc/>The O.C.
*Check out the recaps on http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/articles/category_1207.html>Television Without Pity.
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/articles/content/a12600/>4.01 - The Avengers
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/articles/content/a12621/>4.02 - The Gringos
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/articles/content/a12628/>4.03 - The Cold Turkey
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/articles/content/a12658/>4.04 - The Metamorphosis
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/articles/content/a12691/>4.05 - The Sleeping Beauty
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/articles/content/a12704/>4.06 - The Summer Bummer
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/articles/content/a12712/>4.07 - The Chrismukk-Huh?
Questions? Comments? Contact and/or
Want to repost this? Grab the html
THURSDAYS at 9 on FOX.
A Beginner's Guide to Orange County
THE STORY:
Three years ago, underage hottie Ryan Atwood (Benjamin McKenzie) was caught stealing a car with his delinquent older brother, Trey. Ryan’s public defender came to visit him in juvie - and changed his life forever. Why? Because Ryan’s public defender was Sandy Cohen (Peter Gallagher). Sandy is a relentlessly good man and saw something special in Ryan.
Since Ryan’s dad is in prison and his mom is a drunken mess (abusive boyfriends, gambling problems, the whole deal), Sandy took Ryan into his Newport Beach mansion. At the Cohen home, Ryan met Sandy’s wife, Kirsten (Kelly Rowan), and his lonely, geeky son Seth (Adam Brody). Seth and Ryan bonded pretty much instantly, both of them being outsiders in the glitzy, glamorous world of Newport. Kirsten was a harder sell, but eventually she, too, let Ryan into her heart.
Along with the Cohens, Ryan got to know the family next door, the Coopers. In particular, he got to know Marissa (Mischa Barton). Ryan and Marissa had an off-and-on relationship for the better part of three years.
Marissa was a mess from start to finish - drinking until she passed out, almost overdosing in Mexico, befriending skeezy and/or unstable guys who always wound up falling for her and then going insane/dying. At the end of season 3, after every possible kind of drama, Marissa died in a car wreck. The Jeep Ryan was driving was forced off the road by another one of the psycho guys Marissa had befriended.
Marissa’s mom, Julie Cooper, is trouble with a capital “T.” A girl from the wrong side of the tracks, she got pregnant at a young age by Jimmy Cooper, who “did the right thing” and married her. Jimmy Cooper and Kirsten Cohen grew up together and dated as teenagers. They’re still friends, but Jimmy Cooper split early last season because he owed money to scary guys.
Seth was madly in love with Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson). She was only vaguely aware that he was alive before Ryan came, but eventually his years of stalking her crushing on her paid off, as he recited a poem she’d read back in elementary school and she kissed him. They’ve been together pretty much ever since, not counting assorted triangle-y drama here and there.
Early last season, we first met Taylor Townsend. She was originally introduced as Summer and Marissa’s Type A-nemesis. She got Marissa and Ryan kicked out of school (she was sleeping with the Dean) and tried to steal Seth from Summer. As we got to know her, it came out exactly how lonely she was, and she became friends with Seth and Summer, and Ryan and Marissa to a lesser degree.
Midway through last season, we were re-introduced to Kaitlin Cooper, Marissa’s younger sister. She’d been shipped off to boarding school in the first season and managed to age about 5 years in the course of a year and a half. Impressive! Kaitlin is very much her mother’s daughter, and it’s kind of awesome. She’s trouble, but she seems to have a good heart.
THE PEOPLE:
Ryan Atwood
Ryan Atwood is the main character on The OC. He used to live in Chino until he got thrown in juvie, where he met Sandy. Sandy and Kirsten adopted him and Ryan came to Orange County. While he seems to be your standard bad boy with a heart of gold, Ryan actually has unseen depths. Or something. His skills include punching people, avoiding having to dance and looking really hot.
Sandy Cohen
Sandy is Ryan’s adopted guardian. He’s happily married (most of the time) to Kirsten. He’s a public defender and takes pride in defending kids from the streets. He’s very moral, except for a lapse in the 3rd season when he got involved with some corrupt business deals. He likes surfing, claims to hate Newport and puts the -ukkah in Chrismukkah. (Translation: He’s Jewish. And loves his bagels.)
Kirsten Cohen
It was in her twenties that, while rebelling against her parents by living in a mail truck. Kirsten got married to Sandy. In the beginning of the series, she ran her father’s company until handing it over to her husband. She always liked her white wine until it blossomed into full alcoholism, and she went to rehab in late Season 2. Despite this, she’s a good mother and recovering well. She also likes to throw lots of parties where plot points tend to happen. While at first hesitant to take Ryan in, she now considers him her son.
Seth Cohen
Speaking of sons, Seth is Sandy and Kirsten’s. He likes sailing, comic books and video games. Generally considered a dork, he talks a mile a minute and was somewhat of a social outcast in high school. And yet, here in the real world we all love him. Ryan is Seth’s best and sort of only friend, with the exception of his girlfriend, Summer. He had had a huge crush on Summer for years, even naming his boat after her.
Summer Roberts
Before she went away to college, Summer’s interests included shopping, gossip, tanning and shopping. And tanning. She never talked to Seth, ignoring him and his slight obsession with her until Ryan came along. Then she and Seth started dating privately until he confessed his love to her while standing on a coffee cart in the middle of their school. Now that she’s gone to Brown, Summer has become something of an environmental activist. Her latest act of, um...activism was freeing bunnies from a Brown lab, which got her kicked out of school. She’s home now, unsure of what to do with her life except be with Seth and her stolen bunny, Pancakes.
Taylor Townsend
Taylor began as a reccurring guest star in the 3rd season. She formed a friendship with Summer despite Summer’s resistance, fell slightly in love with Seth and wanted to be Marissa. Now, she’s gone off to Paris and gotten married to a French sexual jedi. Ryan helped her get divorced by kissing her, which after a bit of dancing and fake sleep therapy led to the show’s newest pairing, Ryan/Taylor. Taylor is currently living at Julie Cooper’s after being kicked out of her own house upon breaking the news of her marriage to her “she-wolf of a mother”.
Julie Cooper
Julie is the mother of Kaitlin and Marissa. She’s been in a string of relationships and marriages, some for money, some for love. Most recently she was engaged to Summer’s father until he had an affair, leaving her with his house. This was a relief to her because, as she was not independently wealthy, her last home had been a trailer. However, now she has gone into business with her friend Kirsten Cohen on a dating service called NewMatch.
Kaitlin Cooper
Kaitlin is Julie’s daughter, Marissa’s younger sister. She recently came home from boarding school to be with her family. Somewhat wild, Kaitlin enjoys drinking and partying just as much as her sister. She spends her time smoking, buying fake IDs and hanging out with the Ward twins, Eric and Brad. She also attends Harbor High -- Ryan, Seth and Summer’s alma mater.
Marissa Cooper
Marissa was the girl everyone wanted to be in high school. She dressed in designer labels, threw the best parties and could drink with the best of them. Summer Roberts was her best friend. She and Ryan were “the couple,” on and off throughout the first 3 seasons. Marissa had the same kind of relationship with her mother-the on and off part, I mean-and, in a fit of rebellion, moved out and became a lesbian for a few episodes in Season 2. After being kicked out of school for shooting Ryan’s brother and therefore saving Ryan’s life, she befriended Johnny in public school. He, of course, fell in love with her, ultimately resulting in his drunken death. This, in turn brought her closer to Volchok, a hardcore surfer dude (isn’t that an oxymoron?) who led her into the world of skipping school to take drugs and go to parties. This went on until he cheated on her at prom. Marissa then decided to go live on a cruise ship with her dad, meaning she wouldn’t see her friends for about a year. While Ryan was driving her to the airport, Volchok, in an attempt to talk to Marissa, ran them off the road in a car crash that killed her. While half of the fandom cried with sorrow, the other half cried with joy. (OK, it was more like 10 percent sorrow, 90 percent joy.) The thing is, since her death, the show has turned around, become much less over-the-top dramatic and is now even better than it was in the beginning.
THE CONNECTIONS
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Ryan: Seems to have finally made peace with Marissa’s death. He’s working at a local restaurant and starting a relationship with Taylor.
Sandy: Is just Sandy. Not much going on with him at the moment.
Kirsten: Has gone into business with Julie Cooper on a dating service called NewMatch. She doesn’t know yet that a bunch of their young male clients are offering some “services” of their own to wealthy divorcees.
Seth: Is still in love with Summer. He’s going to RISD next year and is working in a comic book store in the meantime.
Summer: Is still in love with Seth. She got kicked out of Brown until next year for freeing rabbits from the science lab. As of now, she’s just kind of puttering around in Newport.
Taylor: Is living with Julie, Kaitlin and Summer in the Cooper house. She was at the Sorbonne, but ran back to the U.S. to escape her French husband, oops. She’s pursuing (quite literally!) a relationship with Ryan.
Julie: Is working on NewMatch with Kirsten. She does know about the “services”, so we’ll see how that plays out. She’s also reluctantly seeing an obnoxious tycoon, Gordon Bullit, who’s a silent (but not all that silent, unfortunately) partner in NewMatch.
Kaitlin: Is in high school, smoking weed and being sort of an outsider. She doesn’t fit in to the pretty princess mold of her classmates.
Marissa: Is still dead.
Sold yet? Pretty much all of the season so far is on youtube. Here’s Part 1 of 4x01 to get you started. It’s pretty easy to find the rest from there.
Remember: Thursday nights at 9 on FOX!
Want more info?
*Visit the official site: The O.C.
*Check out the recaps on Television Without Pity.
4.01 - The Avengers
4.02 - The Gringos
4.03 - The Cold Turkey
4.04 - The Metamorphosis
4.05 - The Sleeping Beauty
4.06 - The Summer Bummer
4.07 - The Chrismukk-Huh?
Questions? Comments? Contact khestral and/or piratesdaughter.
Want to post this to your own journal? Copy and paste!
So You Want to Watch The O.C.? (Trust Me, You Do)
THURSDAYS at 9 on FOX.
A Beginner's Guide to Orange County
THE STORY:
Three years ago, underage hottie Ryan Atwood (Benjamin McKenzie) was caught stealing a car with his delinquent older brother, Trey. Ryan’s public defender came to visit him in juvie - and changed his life forever. Why? Because Ryan’s public defender was Sandy Cohen (Peter Gallagher). Sandy is a relentlessly good man and saw something special in Ryan.
Since Ryan’s dad is in prison and his mom is a drunken mess (abusive boyfriends, gambling problems, the whole deal), Sandy took Ryan into his Newport Beach mansion. At the Cohen home, Ryan met Sandy’s wife, Kirsten (Kelly Rowan), and his lonely, geeky son Seth (Adam Brody). Seth and Ryan bonded pretty much instantly, both of them being outsiders in the glitzy, glamorous world of Newport. Kirsten was a harder sell, but eventually she, too, let Ryan into her heart.
Along with the Cohens, Ryan got to know the family next door, the Coopers. In particular, he got to know Marissa (Mischa Barton). Ryan and Marissa had an off-and-on relationship for the better part of three years.
Marissa was a mess from start to finish - drinking until she passed out, almost overdosing in Mexico, befriending skeezy and/or unstable guys who always wound up falling for her and then going insane/dying. At the end of season 3, after every possible kind of drama, Marissa died in a car wreck. The Jeep Ryan was driving was forced off the road by another one of the psycho guys Marissa had befriended.
Marissa’s mom, Julie Cooper, is trouble with a capital “T.” A girl from the wrong side of the tracks, she got pregnant at a young age by Jimmy Cooper, who “did the right thing” and married her. Jimmy Cooper and Kirsten Cohen grew up together and dated as teenagers. They’re still friends, but Jimmy Cooper split early last season because he owed money to scary guys.
Seth was madly in love with Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson). She was only vaguely aware that he was alive before Ryan came, but eventually his years of
Early last season, we first met Taylor Townsend. She was originally introduced as Summer and Marissa’s Type A-nemesis. She got Marissa and Ryan kicked out of school (she was sleeping with the Dean) and tried to steal Seth from Summer. As we got to know her, it came out exactly how lonely she was, and she became friends with Seth and Summer, and Ryan and Marissa to a lesser degree.
Midway through last season, we were re-introduced to Kaitlin Cooper, Marissa’s younger sister. She’d been shipped off to boarding school in the first season and managed to age about 5 years in the course of a year and a half. Impressive! Kaitlin is very much her mother’s daughter, and it’s kind of awesome. She’s trouble, but she seems to have a good heart.
THE PEOPLE:
Ryan Atwood
Ryan Atwood is the main character on The OC. He used to live in Chino until he got thrown in juvie, where he met Sandy. Sandy and Kirsten adopted him and Ryan came to Orange County. While he seems to be your standard bad boy with a heart of gold, Ryan actually has unseen depths. Or something. His skills include punching people, avoiding having to dance and looking really hot.
Sandy Cohen
Sandy is Ryan’s adopted guardian. He’s happily married (most of the time) to Kirsten. He’s a public defender and takes pride in defending kids from the streets. He’s very moral, except for a lapse in the 3rd season when he got involved with some corrupt business deals. He likes surfing, claims to hate Newport and puts the -ukkah in Chrismukkah. (Translation: He’s Jewish. And loves his bagels.)
Kirsten Cohen
It was in her twenties that, while rebelling against her parents by living in a mail truck. Kirsten got married to Sandy. In the beginning of the series, she ran her father’s company until handing it over to her husband. She always liked her white wine until it blossomed into full alcoholism, and she went to rehab in late Season 2. Despite this, she’s a good mother and recovering well. She also likes to throw lots of parties where plot points tend to happen. While at first hesitant to take Ryan in, she now considers him her son.
Seth Cohen
Speaking of sons, Seth is Sandy and Kirsten’s. He likes sailing, comic books and video games. Generally considered a dork, he talks a mile a minute and was somewhat of a social outcast in high school. And yet, here in the real world we all love him. Ryan is Seth’s best and sort of only friend, with the exception of his girlfriend, Summer. He had had a huge crush on Summer for years, even naming his boat after her.
Summer Roberts
Before she went away to college, Summer’s interests included shopping, gossip, tanning and shopping. And tanning. She never talked to Seth, ignoring him and his slight obsession with her until Ryan came along. Then she and Seth started dating privately until he confessed his love to her while standing on a coffee cart in the middle of their school. Now that she’s gone to Brown, Summer has become something of an environmental activist. Her latest act of, um...activism was freeing bunnies from a Brown lab, which got her kicked out of school. She’s home now, unsure of what to do with her life except be with Seth and her stolen bunny, Pancakes.
Taylor Townsend
Taylor began as a reccurring guest star in the 3rd season. She formed a friendship with Summer despite Summer’s resistance, fell slightly in love with Seth and wanted to be Marissa. Now, she’s gone off to Paris and gotten married to a French sexual jedi. Ryan helped her get divorced by kissing her, which after a bit of dancing and fake sleep therapy led to the show’s newest pairing, Ryan/Taylor. Taylor is currently living at Julie Cooper’s after being kicked out of her own house upon breaking the news of her marriage to her “she-wolf of a mother”.
Julie Cooper
Julie is the mother of Kaitlin and Marissa. She’s been in a string of relationships and marriages, some for money, some for love. Most recently she was engaged to Summer’s father until he had an affair, leaving her with his house. This was a relief to her because, as she was not independently wealthy, her last home had been a trailer. However, now she has gone into business with her friend Kirsten Cohen on a dating service called NewMatch.
Kaitlin Cooper
Kaitlin is Julie’s daughter, Marissa’s younger sister. She recently came home from boarding school to be with her family. Somewhat wild, Kaitlin enjoys drinking and partying just as much as her sister. She spends her time smoking, buying fake IDs and hanging out with the Ward twins, Eric and Brad. She also attends Harbor High -- Ryan, Seth and Summer’s alma mater.
Marissa Cooper
Marissa was the girl everyone wanted to be in high school. She dressed in designer labels, threw the best parties and could drink with the best of them. Summer Roberts was her best friend. She and Ryan were “the couple,” on and off throughout the first 3 seasons. Marissa had the same kind of relationship with her mother-the on and off part, I mean-and, in a fit of rebellion, moved out and became a lesbian for a few episodes in Season 2. After being kicked out of school for shooting Ryan’s brother and therefore saving Ryan’s life, she befriended Johnny in public school. He, of course, fell in love with her, ultimately resulting in his drunken death. This, in turn brought her closer to Volchok, a hardcore surfer dude (isn’t that an oxymoron?) who led her into the world of skipping school to take drugs and go to parties. This went on until he cheated on her at prom. Marissa then decided to go live on a cruise ship with her dad, meaning she wouldn’t see her friends for about a year. While Ryan was driving her to the airport, Volchok, in an attempt to talk to Marissa, ran them off the road in a car crash that killed her. While half of the fandom cried with sorrow, the other half cried with joy. (OK, it was more like 10 percent sorrow, 90 percent joy.) The thing is, since her death, the show has turned around, become much less over-the-top dramatic and is now even better than it was in the beginning.
THE CONNECTIONS
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Ryan: Seems to have finally made peace with Marissa’s death. He’s working at a local restaurant and starting a relationship with Taylor.
Sandy: Is just Sandy. Not much going on with him at the moment.
Kirsten: Has gone into business with Julie Cooper on a dating service called NewMatch. She doesn’t know yet that a bunch of their young male clients are offering some “services” of their own to wealthy divorcees.
Seth: Is still in love with Summer. He’s going to RISD next year and is working in a comic book store in the meantime.
Summer: Is still in love with Seth. She got kicked out of Brown until next year for freeing rabbits from the science lab. As of now, she’s just kind of puttering around in Newport.
Taylor: Is living with Julie, Kaitlin and Summer in the Cooper house. She was at the Sorbonne, but ran back to the U.S. to escape her French husband, oops. She’s pursuing (quite literally!) a relationship with Ryan.
Julie: Is working on NewMatch with Kirsten. She does know about the “services”, so we’ll see how that plays out. She’s also reluctantly seeing an obnoxious tycoon, Gordon Bullit, who’s a silent (but not all that silent, unfortunately) partner in NewMatch.
Kaitlin: Is in high school, smoking weed and being sort of an outsider. She doesn’t fit in to the pretty princess mold of her classmates.
Marissa: Is still dead.
Sold yet? Pretty much all of the season so far is on youtube. Here’s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irxuK0bRm_A>Part 1 of 4x01 to get you started. It’s pretty easy to find the rest from there.
Remember: Thursday nights at 9 on FOX!
Want more info?
*Visit the official site: http://www.fox.com/oc/>The O.C.
*Check out the recaps on http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/articles/category_1207.html>Television Without Pity.
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/articles/content/a12600/>4.01 - The Avengers
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/articles/content/a12621/>4.02 - The Gringos
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/articles/content/a12628/>4.03 - The Cold Turkey
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/articles/content/a12658/>4.04 - The Metamorphosis
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/articles/content/a12691/>4.05 - The Sleeping Beauty
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/articles/content/a12704/>4.06 - The Summer Bummer
http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/articles/content/a12712/>4.07 - The Chrismukk-Huh?
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