THE OC: WEEK IN REVIEW 3.17.05

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First, some unsolicited advice. If you were to ever write an article and post it on the web, be careful not to use the following terms all together: “OC” “Porn” “Slut” “Bitch.” I speak from experience. These must be some popular search terms because the tracking on my page showed some critically heavy hit action after Friday. 
Last night I broke from my marathon lovemaking session with philosopher Alexis d’Tocqueville in order to repel down my ivory tower and watch The OC. This was an appropriate way to approach the episode as it contained plenty of examples of both the dumb and the surprisingly profound.

Kirsten - “We could be irreverent!”
That dude – “I’d rather be drunk.” 

 

Most of the ladies did a good job redeeming themselves this week, except for Summer. Near the beginning of the episode, she stood with Seth in the middle of rows of mankind’s knowledge but all she cared about was Ryan and Marissa. If books had more reflective surfaces she might be literate. 

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Speaking of Marissa, didn’t your little heart just ache for her when she shed those tears? No! Burn the bitch. Summer even asked her if the reason she couldn’t go home was her love for Alex. Nope. Marissa didn’t want to make her mom happy. What an evil little creature. Had summer possessed access to more than two brain cells she would have realized that was no friend but a sociopath on her bed. Where’s my unicorn?
By the way, Ryan buddy, don’t mess with the whitetrash lesbian. Because, oh boy, she is going to bring it. She will burn your house down. She’s tough, man. She’s from the wrong side of the tracks and doesn’t fit in at pep rallies. But, I have a feeling Ryan could take her because she’s 2-DIMENSIONAL. I guess the writers at the OC were as dismissive of Alex as Marissa. They used her muff diving for sweeps and then discarded her once she wore out her novelty. I’m sure Alex mourned her breakup all night long. What do you think she used to pay her thug-life friends after they threatened Ryan? Bar tips? Noooooooo. 

The town of Newport needs to develop some sort of Batmanesque spotlight signal for Sandy Cohen. He is the go to hero for all your problems. What was going on with him though when Poopernickel dropped that porn? (Yeah, there it is people. Porn, porn, puh puh puh porn! Google. Google. Click on me.)  By the way, it was completely unnecessary for him to watch the tape. If his wife wasn’t such a hose beast he wouldn’t need to “view the footage.” But K K also redeemed herself a little bit too this week. I interpreted her use of the old loser magazine as an act of love to her idealistic husband as much as a life preserver to Sulky McManmeat.

And then there’s the bonfire. At first when I saw they were having strategy sessions for the bonfire I thought, “How stupid are these kids?” You don’t need to do blueprints for a bonfire, you pile up some wood and set it on fire. But then I saw they constructed a giant Trojan horse sculpture. Wha…? And that’s what the OC is to me. At one level, it’s as dumb as mapping out plans for a fire. At another level, there are a lot of Brechtian influences. Brechtian meaning self awareness in art. The constant references to The Valley show the OC knows it’s a fluffy show and doesn’t take itself too seriously. Only someone with Summer’s IQ couldn’t see the destination of the Ryan/Marissa train. But Seth warning Captain Oats about Ryan’s bad touching was comic gold that should be thrust into the anals of television history.

Comments

[Karen]

your funnier than the onion

[David Ely]

Look! A giant set of eyebrows illuminating the sky! Somewhere in Newport, Sandy Cohen must be needed.

[kenji]

I also like the never ending stream of self-referential jokes. When you're going to hell, you might as well have a good time about it. Or something like that.

[xyt]

Oh, and when they were on that rock surrounded by the lava, I think Seth would have kissed Ryan if they hadn't been interrupted by those damn giant eagles.

i see what you did there.