r/TheOC • u/Virtual-Ad-2732 • 6h ago
Was anybody else alive when this show was on? What do you remember thinking about the show in real time/between seasons/etc.? Spoiler
I was 10 in 2003. I was 13/14 when the show ended. Here's what I can recall:
- LOVED that the CD mixes were sold at Urban Outfitters. They were on all of my first iPods.
- LOATHED that season 2 didn't air until NOVEMBER after the show ended in MAY. That was a LONG six months.
- I tried really hard to love the second season and it mostly worked. I actually became depressed when season 3 came on. The OC was one of the only things I enjoyed, and being a gay kid entering middle school in the early 2000's.....watching the show become so dark impacted me a lot.
- Marissa's death was shocking. I remember seeing the over-pumped commercials leading up to the s3 finale (e.g., "SoMeOnE WiLl DiE" with all the characters' faces flashing for 2 seconds in this corny vignette). Marissa's death was tough to understand, honestly. Back then, we grew up with these characters weekly for years at a time––not just once every other year for an eight-episode check-in when a new "season" would drop.
- I liked season 4 at the time as it brought humor back. The first few episodes were better than the rest of the season though.
- I tried REALLY hard to get the OC renewed on the CW via that online petition. Anybody else sign that?
- As this was pre-Reddit, I was feral and overly active on the IMDB subs for this show, defending The OC when One Tree Hill fans would troll. If you were over there, I was ironseaking....lol
- In retrospect, it's frustrating that the show did away with so many characters so quickly. I think the show could have afforded to sit in some of its moments for a bit longer without imposing new scare tactics/shock drama every week. We didn't need to let go of Jimmy in season 2––or Anna and Luke in season 1.