Wednesday, March 16, 2005

Discussion Topic of the Week (zap2it.com) Please explain Billy Campbell's sideburns on "The O.C." Does he think he's hanging out at The Peach Pit? Discuss. --- Seth & Ryan argue about "The O.C.'s" disappointing season"'The O.C.' has always been incredibly self-referential, but this may be the most blatant case yet of the writers using the characters as their mouthpieces," Alan Sepinwall says of a scene from Thursday's episode. Here's an excerpt: Ryan: "This year's just flying by."Seth: "And you know, I gotta say, this year? Not as good as last."Ryan: "You think?"Seth: "I do. I mean, look, we all tried some new things, and that was fun. Yard guys, illegitimate daughters, less fighting, more live music." Ryan: "Maybe you remember last year as better because it was all new."Seth: "So you think I've sentimentalized the past all out of proportion?"Ryan: "Yeah. Come on. You can't keep living in last year." "Mallpisode" infuriated fans; Josh Schwartz promises return to "O.C.'s" roots Here's a "2,600-word love-letter" --- How to save "The O.C.": Get rid of guest stars (Kim Delaney) and gimmicks (Beck) --- How should it end? How will it end? TV writers don't know!For the makers of serialized dramas "Lost," "Desperate Housewives," "The O.C." and "24," now is the time for fretting -- the time to devise the perfect season finale to bring their shows home after a long, wayward season. "The monster of production is at your back; you're writing closer and closer to deadline," says "Lost's" Damon Lindelof. His eating companion, "O.C." creator Josh Schwartz, recalls a similar reaction last year with his freshman finale: "How did I get here? How am I ever going to sustain this? This is all going to go down in flames. The whole thing's riding on me. You know, that sort of wired exhaustion." --- ??? not appearing on "The O.C.," at least according to the IMDB --- Learn more about Bret Harrison and other OC news on Rockin' the OC

posted by Jen @ 3:56 PM |

Tuesday, March 15, 2005

After ‘The O.C.,’ is it safe to get back in the water? Fans of Fox’s "The O.C." know that Ryan’s girlfriend Lindsay Gardner just left town. But the actress who played her, Shannon Lucio, will soon be back on screen. "It was definitely time for me to move on," she says. Lucio stars in "Spring Break Shark Attack" with Kathy Baker and Bryan Brown. Surprisingly, the movie about a group of killer sharks attacking a beach full of bikini-clad co-eds is airing on typically older-skewing CBS (March 20, 9 p.m.). "Hey, we’re cool," says Bela Bajaria, senior vice president for movies and miniseries at CBS. "There’s a lot of competition on Sunday night, and we wanted to be competitive, and we wanted to do something fun." She notes that CBS had success with its disaster movie "Category 6." "So with Shark Attack, the idea was, ’Let’s do something that skews younger but also will bring the core audience.’ " Lucio stars as Danielle, a sheltered high school senior who joins her friends on a spring-break trip to Florida.

posted by Erin @ 4:46 PM |

SAVE 'THE O.C.' IT'S unclear what grade the kids from "The O.C." attend in high school, but it's certain they're suffering a sophomore slump. With second-season ratings, quality - and, most importantly, buzz - shrinking faster than a major-leaguer's biceps, The Post offers suggestions for how to save "The O.C." 1. Re-establish the characters: At the start, misfits - Ryan (too Chino), Sandy (too noble) and Seth (too Seth-y) - struggled in the high-class/low-morals world of Newport Beach and gave viewers - an average of 9.4 million an episode last season - a reason to root. Now, Ryan's so comfortable around the rich kids, the pool house might as well be Hef's grotto. Marissa went from social chair to throwing tables, Summer became the looker with a heart of gold, and viewership's down about 2 million a week. Ryan should be putting brats in their place instead of pool-sharking Caleb. And tap into the conflict that naturally would exist between Ryan and Seth, even if it's an argument over who gets the last bagel. Because if they're not careful, these bosom buddies are bound to dress up like women in order to live in a cheap apartment. 2. Slow down: Story arcs on this show look more like an EKG. Lindsay showed up, fell for Ryan, found her father, bonded with her new sister, then left town in the span of 12 episodes. "The Brady Bunch" didn't solve problems that fast. 3. Make sense of Seth: An Adam Brody fan site says his character was "created in the image of the show's writer and producer ... Josh Schwartz." That explains how a sympathetic, underdog geek became a self-absorbed chatterbox who could hook up with Summer and the hottest, bisexual teenage bar manager on the West Coast. 4. Draw some real triangles: Give teens a reason to gossip at their lockers Friday morning. Zach was more bland than C-Span; no one except Seth cared that he was with Summer. Bring back jerks (like Luke) and sweethearts (like Anna) so they can pick sides. 5. Limit the guest stars and gimmicks: If you're going to get Kim Delaney to play Sandy's ex, get the real Kim Delaney, not the one who showed up looking like she had the idea for "Fat Actress" first. Last Thursday's episode featured five songs off Beck's new album and the latest "Star Wars" trailer. We were surprised Janet Jackson didn't show up at halftime. Ironically, the most blatant ratings stunt - the girl-girl romance of Marissa and Alex - is the only story this season that makes sense. Marissa's life is in upheaval - it's natural she rebel and experiment. See, "The O.C." still can do something right.

posted by Erin @ 4:37 PM |

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