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crack_van2003-09-30 11:55 pm
autumnyte.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2003-09-30 11:55 pm
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The O.C.: An Overview
Hi, all! Before I get into this, I’d like to preface my overview with a few disclaimers.
I’ve tried to keep this description as spoiler-free as possible, but a few were unavoidable, especially for the Pilot.
This series has only had 7 episodes so far, thus the fandom is very new and the information may be subject to change.
Also, I’ve tried to be fairly objective in my descriptions, but I'm sure this is peppered with my opinions anyway. In no way do I presume to speak for the fandom at large. I’m very into the slash on this show and my corner of the fandom is slash-heavy, so this write-up has a slashy bent.
Overview (What the heck is an O.C. anyway?)
The O.C. refers to the locale of the series, which is set in the affluent Newport Beach community of Orange County, California.
Our story begins when Ryan Atwood, troubled teen, is caught helping steal a car. He is forced to spend the night in juvenile hall, where he meets his Public Defender, Sandy Cohen. Sandy, a bleeding-heart sort, immediately takes a shining to Ryan. After Ryan is let go, Sandy leaves him with a business card and a standing offer of assistance.
Ryan returns home from jail, only to be kicked out of the house by his alcoholic mother and her abusive boyfriend. Having nowhere to go, Ryan is forced to call upon Sandy. Sandy brings Ryan home to the Cohen residence, just until he can figure out what to do with him. There we meet Kirsten, Sandy’s wife, who is reluctant to help this stray juvenile delinquent. We also meet Seth, Sandy and Kirsten’s son, who forms an instant bond with Ryan.
To make a long story short, what starts as a temporary living arrangement for Ryan quickly transforms into a permanent one. Sandy and Kirsten decide to become Ryan’s legal guardians, and he moves into their poolhouse. (Which is semi-private. Aww, yeah!)
As the story unfolds, we become aware that the Newport Beach community has almost as much dysfunction as it does money. I'm not going to go into details about the rest of the plot or storylines, because it's not necessary for the overview.
The O.C. is an ensemble drama, and though it is focused primarily on the teenagers, the adult characters are well fleshed-out and given their own storylines. Which leads me to....
Character bios and descriptions of the central characters.
Ryan Atwood: Troubled teenager and woobie extraordinaire, Ryan comes to the OC from the rough side of town (which in this series, is Chino). Transplanted suddenly into the wealthy Newport Beach community, Ryan tries his best to fit in. Instead, he is instantly judged by most of the community to be a troublemaker, and despite his best efforts, trouble often seems to find Ryan. In the tradition of all great tortured, angsty protagonists, Ryan has an inexplicable fondness for wife-beater t-shirts. He is loyal and protective, particularly of his best friend, Seth. Ryan is romantically interested in Marissa, but doesn’t make a move because, in addition to the fact that she has a boyfriend, he thinks she deserves better. (Or, it could just be that he’s previously occupied with Seth. *g*)
Seth Cohen: Seth is quite a character. He has never fit in with the other Newport Beach kids, but he works the whole outcast thing with his own geeky charm. Seth is into skateboarding, Samurai, sailing and Jack Kerouac. He is witty, self-deprecating, inexperienced and endearing. He hasn’t had many friends in his life, thus he values his friendship with Ryan immensely. The banter between the two friends is, IMO, the best part of the show. Seth has also crushed on Summer from afar since the 6th grade.
Marissa Cooper: Marissa is the epitome of the “poor little rich girl”. She is gorgeous, popular and she has dated the same (Ken-like) boy since grade school. But her family is falling apart, and beneath her outward appearance of perfection lurks conflict and discontent. Among other things, she is torn between her long-time boyfriend and the prospect of starting something with Ryan. Judging from the first seven episodes, she seems to have a bit of a self-destructive streak as well.
Summer Roberts: Marissa’s best friend. Summer is all about popularity, wealth, and all the trappings of Newport Beach society. She’s manipulative, unapologetic, and snarky, but not completely cold. She’s demonstrated that she can be a good friend to Marissa, and her interactions with Seth are amusing.
Sandy Cohen: At the beginning of the series, Sandy is a poorly-paid, but highly idealistic Public Defender. After several episodes, he is wooed by a prestigious law firm, and cautiously accepts their generous offer of employment. Sandy constantly struggles with feeling comfortable about his wealth (most of which comes from his wife). He doesn't feel like he really belongs in Newport Beach. He sees a lot of himself in Ryan, which is part of the reason he wants to help him. Oh, and he likes to surf.
Kirsten Cohen: Kirsten works in high-end real estate. She is employed her father, a wealthy O.C. real estate Mogul. Though she is far from a vapid socialite, Kirsten does enjoy their comfortable lifestyle, an attitude that results in some friction with her idealistic husband. She has developed a warm relationship with Ryan, despite the fact that she was initially cautious of him. Years ago, she “almost married” Jimmy Cooper, and they still have a very close relationship.
Jimmy Cooper: Marissa’s father. He’s an investment broker who has gotten himself into quite a bit of hot water legally and financially, by “borrowing” from his clients. His relationship with his wife is falling apart as a result, even though her constant pressure and demands on him contributed to what happened. He did try to tell her what was happening, and she didn't want to hear it. Despite his bad behavior, he has charisma, and is not completely unlikeable. Some lingering feelings for Kirsten are also apparent.
Julie Cooper: Sometimes, Julie makes me forget I’m not watching Dynasty or Melrose Place. She is unmistakably the “bitch” of the series. (Every soap needs one!) It is alluded to that she didn’t grow up with wealth, and perhaps that is why she clings to it so desperately. Julie is an overly materialistic socialite. Money is her number one priority. As far as I’m concerned, we haven’t yet seen hints of much else in her personality. Still, she’s fun to watch.
Luke Ward: Luke is an interesting character. He is Marissa’s popular, jock-type boyfriend. On the surface he is mostly a jerk. He cheats on Marissa, and he likes to pick on Seth and get into fights with Ryan. (He also likes calling them “homo” and “queer”, which kinda makes you wonder about him. I digress.) Thing is, he’s not completely evil, either. When he gets Ryan into some trouble, Luke steps up to the plate when he could have just let Ryan take the fall. It’ll be interesting to see where they take his character.
Minor characters you might see in fic include:
Marissa's little sister, Kaitlin (thank you,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dammitcarl and stopawhile). She loves horses, and that's about all there is to it.
Anna: A sassy girl from Pittsburg who hit it off with Seth. She only appeared in one episode thus far.
Holly: A popular girl who hosts wild drinking parties. She has her sights set on Luke.
Dawn Atwood: Ryan's mom. She has a drinking problem, and asks the Cohens to take care of Ryan because she is incapable of it.
Relationships and Pairings
Slash
The most common slash pairing in the fandom is Seth/Ryan. I think most of the slashiness stems from how intense Ryan and Seth’s relationship quickly became. Despite their different backgrounds, neither one is accustomed to having a close friendship. They have quite an impact on each other. Seth represents to Ryan the security he’s always craved, and Ryan both stands up for Seth and helps him break out of his shell. Because of these things, they tend to value each other much more deeply than two sixteen-year-old boys usually would. They share some very amusing and sweet moments, which I won’t spoil for you with my crappy description. *g* Some people are shipping Ryan/Luke and Summer/Marissa as well.
Het
The primary het pairings on the show are Ryan/Marissa and Summer/Seth. There hasn’t been much fic for either of these, but the fandom is still young. At the moment, Ryan and Marissa have a “will they, or won’t they?” thing going on in the series. They have almost gotten together a couple of times, but various events have thwarted them thus far. While Seth is enamored with Summer, she hasn’t yet shown any interest in having him as a boyfriend. From what we know so far, she’s after a rich, older and not so geeky type. Still, the two of them delight in swapping insults and snarking on each other.
Why I like The O.C.
Sure, the teen drama has been done many, many, many times. But in my opinion, The O.C. does it in a better and fresher way than I’ve seen before. The show works hard at developing its characters and the relationships between them. It does an excellent job of showing instead of telling. We aren’t just told that Seth and Ryan are best friends, we see it develop through actions, reactions, touches and gestures. This is an element of the show that, in my mind, sets it apart from the rest.
At the same time, it’s no Masterpiece Theater. It is fun, cheesy drama at its best. The slash is abundant. The het is abundant. There are delicious love triangles everywhere. The show is just plain sexy.
The only fic I have come across thus far is slash, so all the links below are for slash. If anyone is aware of a good source for het fic, please comment below. Because the fandom is young, most of the fic is posted either directly in the author’s LJ, or in one of the LJ communities.
The fanfic communities that I know of are:
![[profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
theoc100
oc_slash
theoc_slash
sail_to_tahiti
theoc_fiction
Added 11/04, a femmeslash LJ community!
theoc_girlslash
Edited to Add:stopawhile has created an all-pairing, all genre OC archive: The OC fanfic Vault. I will continue to edit this post as updates such as this come to my attention.
I hope this was helpful. In the all too likely event that I’ve missed something or screwed something up, please help me out by leaving a comment. Cheers!
I’ve tried to keep this description as spoiler-free as possible, but a few were unavoidable, especially for the Pilot.
This series has only had 7 episodes so far, thus the fandom is very new and the information may be subject to change.
Also, I’ve tried to be fairly objective in my descriptions, but I'm sure this is peppered with my opinions anyway. In no way do I presume to speak for the fandom at large. I’m very into the slash on this show and my corner of the fandom is slash-heavy, so this write-up has a slashy bent.
Overview (What the heck is an O.C. anyway?)
The O.C. refers to the locale of the series, which is set in the affluent Newport Beach community of Orange County, California.
Our story begins when Ryan Atwood, troubled teen, is caught helping steal a car. He is forced to spend the night in juvenile hall, where he meets his Public Defender, Sandy Cohen. Sandy, a bleeding-heart sort, immediately takes a shining to Ryan. After Ryan is let go, Sandy leaves him with a business card and a standing offer of assistance.
Ryan returns home from jail, only to be kicked out of the house by his alcoholic mother and her abusive boyfriend. Having nowhere to go, Ryan is forced to call upon Sandy. Sandy brings Ryan home to the Cohen residence, just until he can figure out what to do with him. There we meet Kirsten, Sandy’s wife, who is reluctant to help this stray juvenile delinquent. We also meet Seth, Sandy and Kirsten’s son, who forms an instant bond with Ryan.
To make a long story short, what starts as a temporary living arrangement for Ryan quickly transforms into a permanent one. Sandy and Kirsten decide to become Ryan’s legal guardians, and he moves into their poolhouse. (Which is semi-private. Aww, yeah!)
As the story unfolds, we become aware that the Newport Beach community has almost as much dysfunction as it does money. I'm not going to go into details about the rest of the plot or storylines, because it's not necessary for the overview.
The O.C. is an ensemble drama, and though it is focused primarily on the teenagers, the adult characters are well fleshed-out and given their own storylines. Which leads me to....
Character bios and descriptions of the central characters.
Ryan Atwood: Troubled teenager and woobie extraordinaire, Ryan comes to the OC from the rough side of town (which in this series, is Chino). Transplanted suddenly into the wealthy Newport Beach community, Ryan tries his best to fit in. Instead, he is instantly judged by most of the community to be a troublemaker, and despite his best efforts, trouble often seems to find Ryan. In the tradition of all great tortured, angsty protagonists, Ryan has an inexplicable fondness for wife-beater t-shirts. He is loyal and protective, particularly of his best friend, Seth. Ryan is romantically interested in Marissa, but doesn’t make a move because, in addition to the fact that she has a boyfriend, he thinks she deserves better. (Or, it could just be that he’s previously occupied with Seth. *g*)
Seth Cohen: Seth is quite a character. He has never fit in with the other Newport Beach kids, but he works the whole outcast thing with his own geeky charm. Seth is into skateboarding, Samurai, sailing and Jack Kerouac. He is witty, self-deprecating, inexperienced and endearing. He hasn’t had many friends in his life, thus he values his friendship with Ryan immensely. The banter between the two friends is, IMO, the best part of the show. Seth has also crushed on Summer from afar since the 6th grade.
Marissa Cooper: Marissa is the epitome of the “poor little rich girl”. She is gorgeous, popular and she has dated the same (Ken-like) boy since grade school. But her family is falling apart, and beneath her outward appearance of perfection lurks conflict and discontent. Among other things, she is torn between her long-time boyfriend and the prospect of starting something with Ryan. Judging from the first seven episodes, she seems to have a bit of a self-destructive streak as well.
Summer Roberts: Marissa’s best friend. Summer is all about popularity, wealth, and all the trappings of Newport Beach society. She’s manipulative, unapologetic, and snarky, but not completely cold. She’s demonstrated that she can be a good friend to Marissa, and her interactions with Seth are amusing.
Sandy Cohen: At the beginning of the series, Sandy is a poorly-paid, but highly idealistic Public Defender. After several episodes, he is wooed by a prestigious law firm, and cautiously accepts their generous offer of employment. Sandy constantly struggles with feeling comfortable about his wealth (most of which comes from his wife). He doesn't feel like he really belongs in Newport Beach. He sees a lot of himself in Ryan, which is part of the reason he wants to help him. Oh, and he likes to surf.
Kirsten Cohen: Kirsten works in high-end real estate. She is employed her father, a wealthy O.C. real estate Mogul. Though she is far from a vapid socialite, Kirsten does enjoy their comfortable lifestyle, an attitude that results in some friction with her idealistic husband. She has developed a warm relationship with Ryan, despite the fact that she was initially cautious of him. Years ago, she “almost married” Jimmy Cooper, and they still have a very close relationship.
Jimmy Cooper: Marissa’s father. He’s an investment broker who has gotten himself into quite a bit of hot water legally and financially, by “borrowing” from his clients. His relationship with his wife is falling apart as a result, even though her constant pressure and demands on him contributed to what happened. He did try to tell her what was happening, and she didn't want to hear it. Despite his bad behavior, he has charisma, and is not completely unlikeable. Some lingering feelings for Kirsten are also apparent.
Julie Cooper: Sometimes, Julie makes me forget I’m not watching Dynasty or Melrose Place. She is unmistakably the “bitch” of the series. (Every soap needs one!) It is alluded to that she didn’t grow up with wealth, and perhaps that is why she clings to it so desperately. Julie is an overly materialistic socialite. Money is her number one priority. As far as I’m concerned, we haven’t yet seen hints of much else in her personality. Still, she’s fun to watch.
Luke Ward: Luke is an interesting character. He is Marissa’s popular, jock-type boyfriend. On the surface he is mostly a jerk. He cheats on Marissa, and he likes to pick on Seth and get into fights with Ryan. (He also likes calling them “homo” and “queer”, which kinda makes you wonder about him. I digress.) Thing is, he’s not completely evil, either. When he gets Ryan into some trouble, Luke steps up to the plate when he could have just let Ryan take the fall. It’ll be interesting to see where they take his character.
Minor characters you might see in fic include:
Marissa's little sister, Kaitlin (thank you,
dammitcarl and stopawhile). She loves horses, and that's about all there is to it.Anna: A sassy girl from Pittsburg who hit it off with Seth. She only appeared in one episode thus far.
Holly: A popular girl who hosts wild drinking parties. She has her sights set on Luke.
Dawn Atwood: Ryan's mom. She has a drinking problem, and asks the Cohens to take care of Ryan because she is incapable of it.
Relationships and Pairings
Slash
The most common slash pairing in the fandom is Seth/Ryan. I think most of the slashiness stems from how intense Ryan and Seth’s relationship quickly became. Despite their different backgrounds, neither one is accustomed to having a close friendship. They have quite an impact on each other. Seth represents to Ryan the security he’s always craved, and Ryan both stands up for Seth and helps him break out of his shell. Because of these things, they tend to value each other much more deeply than two sixteen-year-old boys usually would. They share some very amusing and sweet moments, which I won’t spoil for you with my crappy description. *g* Some people are shipping Ryan/Luke and Summer/Marissa as well.
Het
The primary het pairings on the show are Ryan/Marissa and Summer/Seth. There hasn’t been much fic for either of these, but the fandom is still young. At the moment, Ryan and Marissa have a “will they, or won’t they?” thing going on in the series. They have almost gotten together a couple of times, but various events have thwarted them thus far. While Seth is enamored with Summer, she hasn’t yet shown any interest in having him as a boyfriend. From what we know so far, she’s after a rich, older and not so geeky type. Still, the two of them delight in swapping insults and snarking on each other.
Why I like The O.C.
Sure, the teen drama has been done many, many, many times. But in my opinion, The O.C. does it in a better and fresher way than I’ve seen before. The show works hard at developing its characters and the relationships between them. It does an excellent job of showing instead of telling. We aren’t just told that Seth and Ryan are best friends, we see it develop through actions, reactions, touches and gestures. This is an element of the show that, in my mind, sets it apart from the rest.
At the same time, it’s no Masterpiece Theater. It is fun, cheesy drama at its best. The slash is abundant. The het is abundant. There are delicious love triangles everywhere. The show is just plain sexy.
The only fic I have come across thus far is slash, so all the links below are for slash. If anyone is aware of a good source for het fic, please comment below. Because the fandom is young, most of the fic is posted either directly in the author’s LJ, or in one of the LJ communities.
The fanfic communities that I know of are:
theoc100oc_slashtheoc_slashsail_to_tahititheoc_fictionAdded 11/04, a femmeslash LJ community!
theoc_girlslashEdited to Add:
stopawhile has created an all-pairing, all genre OC archive: The OC fanfic Vault. I will continue to edit this post as updates such as this come to my attention.I hope this was helpful. In the all too likely event that I’ve missed something or screwed something up, please help me out by leaving a comment. Cheers!
no subject
That's very profound. *g* Great overview, Jenna!
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seth+summer4eva
Nice recap. But you forgot to mention Marissa/Summer. Theirloveissopure.
Re: seth+summer4eva
Well, it's still early. I could definitely see some good Seth/Summer fic happening in the future. Especially after the last episode. I don't personally see them as a romantic relationship at the moment, but I'd happily read that fic.
Nice recap. But you forgot to mention Marissa/Summer. Theirloveissopure.
D'oh!! I was not aware people were shipping that (though I can see it). I've added it now! Thanks for mentioning it.
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caitlin, but god knows if that's the right spelling.
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p.s. Tvtome (and CC) insists that it is Kaitlin with a 'K', but I really don't think it's that important anyway
no subject
*goes to change*
Thanks for the tip, and I'm really glad you liked the overview. *g*
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I liked your overview. Short and to the point. I think you got the characters right. Have to check out your recs. I need new reading material.
no subject
I'm also glad you enjoyed the overview! *g*
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And while there are a few more people searching, there is an awful lack of Ryan/Sandy ...