welcome to the oc

i know this is such a dumb post, but here it is.

i have been re-watching the O.C. the last several weeks. because of it's killer first season, the network was disappointed in any kind of decline in ratings and it was canceled after 4 seasons (meaning it's pretty easy to watch in several weeks' time).

can i just tell you i love this show? it's my favorite in the genre (i have to say that because friends is still my fav in the comedy arena). what i love about this show, and why it still trumps all the knock-offs to come after (gossip girl, 90210, etc ... although to be fair they're all beverly hills 90210 knock-offs) is because it has the most clever writing, it's really funny, it has tons of heart, the show is really centered on relationships - be it romantic, family, friendships, etc., and the music supervisor kick started a fabulous trend of loading up the episodes with great tunes.the teen storylines are really well done - they take you right back to the hilarity (in hindsight, of course) and drama (oh the drama!) of being 16. of course, for tv, the issues are quite magnified, but the emotion is there, nonetheless.i think seth-summer (sethummer) are right up there with ross & rachel. they are one of those onscreen couples that have great chemistry (think julia roberts and richard gere) and are so much fun to watch and you are puzzled by the fact that they aren't still actually a couple, you know ... in real life ... where i do really live, i promise.

the ryan atwood in the story is so heartfelt - a boy trying to overcome himself once he's given a real chance to succeed. a boy trying to live with and learn to trust and love a family that adopts him as a 16 year old. the dynamics between ryan and sandy, ryan and kirsten, and especially ryan and seth are my favorite. i'll be honest, i wasn't all that sad when marissa cooper died. she was so annoying the 2nd and 3rd seasons, i was kind of glad to see her go.

the adult characters are just as, if not more so, endearing than the young kiddos. sandy and kirsten cohen are another couple of great characters that i could keep watching ... if only there were a spinoff created of their life together in berkeley. wouldn't you love to see sandy cohen in action teaching class? or kirsten raising little sophie - a girl in the house? love it! if only.

after watching the series finale this afternoon, i decided this would make an embarrassingly fun blog post. yes, it's my guilty pleasure. if the show had to end so early, they did a fantastic job on the last episode. during the last few minutes of showtime, they wrapped everyone's storylines up by jumping about 6-7 years into the future: sandy and kirsten have sweet little sophie rose, julie is raising her frank jr. and graduating from college, kaitlyn is in college, sandy teaches law at berkeley, and seth and summer finally get married. it's all montaged together with patrick park's life is a song, which i love. way to go, oc team! you did a great job and i love you for it!!!