California dreaming
Dubai welcomes Newport Beach’s finest to its sunkissed shores for second season of teenage tears and tantrums courtesy of The OC.
It’s hard being a teenager – all those raging hormones, angst and rebellion bottled up in an awkwardly selfconscious, acne-ridden shell. But for most of us it’s a period we look back at with golden-tinged nostalgia – conveniently forgetting about the results of our first taste of tequila, the cringe-worthy first boyfriends or girlfriends we brought home to meet the parents, the lunchtime punch-ups we had with best friends or the time we took our parents’ car out for a 3am spin. Going out in the shortest skirt possible was something you’d sacrifice your life for while getting grounded meant your life might as well be over – and, dare we say it, ‘I didn’t ask to be born!’ could be heard screamed over the top of Radiohead’s ‘Street Spirit’ from the depths of your black emulsioned bedroom on more than one occasion.
The subject of the adolescent rite of passage into adulthood is a firm favourite with TV producers – exactly for the above reasons. Teenagers do stupid things; they experiment, take risks, live life to the full and recover from hangovers much more quickly, not to mention looking good enough to go out wearing short, short skirts. From the classic My So Called Life look at teen troubles to the saccharinely sick moral musings of Dawson’s Creek and the elitist world inhabited by the Beverly Hills 90210 brats, it doesn’t take a genius to work out that teenagers mean ratings. Add a bit of basketball to the formula and you’ve got One Tree Hill, a dash of Kelly Osbourne and you’ve got Life As We Know It, but one of the most watchable (and remarkably unrealistic) teen series to come out of the US has to be The OC.
Mischa Barton, Adam Brody, Benjamin McKenzie and Rachel Bilson – collectively known as Newport Beach’s beautiful brat pack – came to the attention of the world in 2003 when the pilot showed almost as many fist fights breaking out between the clear-skinned and coiffed contenders for prom king as screeched of ‘oh my gawd…’ from the glossed lips of the cheerleaders. In season one houses were burnt down, cars were crashed and Cupid’s arrow was shot even more times than the jocks changed their Calvin Klein boxers. For those who failed to schedule the season finale into their PDAs we (very secretly) shed a tear when Seth sailed off into the sunset, Ryan returned to Chino, Summer packed her cases for a seasonal vacation in Europe and Marissa made out with the lowly pool boy. If you’ve been missing your weekly OCfix, fear not, the sophomore season crashed onto our sun-kissed shores last week bringing with it even more teenage tears and tantrums.
There’s more bare flesh, pornography and paternity tests going on second time around, as well as a same-sex relationship – which will of course be cut to shreds by the censors. Plus, there’s some adultery, bribery and alcoholism to look forward to in the eternally sunny playground of the super-rich – no we’re not talking Dubai, but the Orange County. While feisty Summer, melodramatic Marissa, wisecracking Seth and vest-wearing bad boy Ryan get up to more mischief and less homework this semester, Seth’s ridiculously bushyeyebrowed dad Sandy (Peter Gallagher) and neurotic drunk mum Kirsten (Kelly Rowan) continue to play a central a role in the action while their 20-year marriage doesn’t look like it’ll make it to another anniversary. Marissa’s Mrs Robinson-esque mother Julie (Melinda Clarke) stays on true form and she gets herself into more hot water – and we don’t mean of the bubbling Jacuzzi variety. And there’s more boy-from-the - wrong-side-of-the-tracks clichés when Logan Marshall-Green comes to town to play Ryan’s older brother Trey – who’s just been released from the pen and is trying to stay clean at the hostel formerly known as the Cohen family’s multi-million dollar house – as dull as the storyline sounds, he makes a welcome addition to the cast.
Adam Brody comes of age as a comic talent and continues to ad-lib a lot of the witty one-liners found in the show, while Rachel Bilson shines as the loveablyoutspoken and immaculately manicured Summer, who plays with the heartstrings of her two love interests for much of the show. Waif-like Mischa Barton gets to try some serious acting on for size – aside from her typecast bleached blonde tears and lingering kisses – and even the sullen Benjamin McKenzie gets to lighten up and smile. Forsaking a good amount of last season’s light comedy for sheer drama, The OC gets a little too soapy in season two, but fans will continue to lap it up and it will get the rest of you singing the ridiculously catchy Californiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa theme tune again if nothing else.
Now that Sex in the City’s fashion is dated, sorry retro, girls are watching The OC for their onscreen fashion fixes. Yes, the girls are tottering down a school corridor, but it might as well be a Paris catwalk as they turn and pout at their lockers dressed in head-to-toe Chloe or Chanel. The boys in the cast also provide eye candy, but female viewers should remind themselves that the actors are all in their 20s every now and then.
You’d think the poor little rich girl (and boy) routine would be enough to make you sick with envy, but we’ve been rubbing our hands with glee in anticipation of this second OC helping. Much like Melrose Place or Beverly Hills 90210 the series hinges on the fact that the audience watching these kids prance around their privileged playgrounds only get to see how this half live on TV. But the (young himself) creator Josh Schwartz welcomingly rewards us with the smug satisfaction that if you take away the million dollar yachts, designer clothes, make-up artists and buzzing social calendar you still end up with the spotty, bedroomdwelling, teenager we all know and love. Michelle Byrne.
The OC, America Plus, Thursdays at 22:00.