TV

OK, so, I discussed some TV a month or so ago. I must use this post to do something almost no one on this blog and perhaps friends of said bloggers may be willing to try, since most of us are in our late twenties.

But, guys, you must absolutely watch "The O.C.," much for the same reason people always wanted to get me to watch "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." The show is as witty (if not more so) and contains almost as many vampires. Well, actually, maybe the vampire content isn't as high, but it's still a good show.

The reasons for watching such a show are not the usual soap opera conventions, but for the humor. "The O.C." is an eyelash away from being an hour-long comedy. Whenever Adam Brody (as Seth Cohen) shows up onscreen he has some of the best lines you will ever hear, and delivered in such a manner that it draws you in. He's the brightest spot in the show with many bright spots. Sure, there are people having illicit affairs, and there's complex drama with ex-boyfriends and ex-wives and so on, but it never wallows in it.

In the first season, "The O.C." had its growing pains (as all first seasons of shows do) and some people who gave it a chance decided to quit on it. The main character, Ryan (Benjamin McKenzie), was so tense that every episode seemed about to combust with fight after fight, but even then there was Brody, and another fine comedienne Rachel Bilson (playing Cohen's girlfriend), lightening everything up. Now, they've decided to ease up on Ryan, and McKenzie is playing it lighter (although the upcoming episodes suggest more combustion).

But the drama is nothing to be ashamed of, either. In the past week's episode, every major character shows up in the Cohens' kitchen. All of them have some sort of relation to each other, whether being an ex or family, and there's a secret only a few know that is going to connect them all, completely. As the final two characters enter the kitchen, making 11 people all in one room, Seth says, quietly to Ryan, in a line that is not only funny but shows how self-aware the show is, "Good thing the kitchen is roomy," with the accompanying subtle hand gesture at the mention of "roomy," that just withdraws laughter uncontrollably. It may not look like anything great as I write it, but if you know all the relationships and get into the spirit of it, it's fantastic.

I told Jeremy once when I saw a preview of it coming on that it's not a show I'm going to try to force on anyone. But it's more than just a guilty pleasure. It's more than a show for teenage girls. It's worth a try.