Juicy plots, pretty faces add to appeal of 'The O.C.'

By Robert Bianco, USA TODAY

The county may be Orange, but the TV ZIP code is pure 90210. That's not an insult, or not necessarily. Beverly Hills, 90210 was TV's most successful teen soap, so it's no wonder Fox — which has seen the genre move to WB and prosper — wants to reclaim a bit of the teen-idol action for itself.

The O.C. is reminiscent of Beverly Hills, 90210 .

Previous Fox attempts to get back in the game have failed. But with The O.C ., the network finally seems to have recaptured some of that 90210 magic, and it might even have improved upon it. ( Related item: See a clip from The O.C. )

On the 90210 scale, The O.C. is better-written and better-acted by a cast that just might be, incredibly enough, even better-looking.

Even so, adults should not inflate their expectations. O.C. is still teen-soap territory, a land where rationality is stretched to the breaking point and even the poor delinquents from the wrong side of the tracks are smart, blond and hunky.

In place of 90210 's fish-out-of-water Midwest emigrants, O.C. substitutes a 16-year-old juvenile delinquent, Ryan Atwood, who is played by star-to-be Benjamin McKenzie. Though at 24 he's a bit old for the role, McKenzie has the skill, charm and looks needed for a show like O.C. to work.

Arrested for car theft and thrown out of the house by his trashy mom, Ryan calls his attorney. And as any lawyer would, Sandy Cohen (Peter Gallagher, another cast standout) takes this total stranger home with him.

Sandy lives in the wealthiest section of Orange County — or, as they apparently call it, "the O.C." As in "welcome to the O.C.," or "this is how we do things in the O.C." If this is how they say things in the O.C., no one watching is going to believe it.

Luckily for Sandy and his family, Ryan is one of those proverbial Noble Savages— wise beyond his years, kind to all — and is obviously morally superior to the spoiled rich kids in the neighborhood. Sandy's wife, Kirsten (Kelly Rowan), however, is unconvinced.

Ryan does win a fan, though, in the beautiful girl next door, Marissa (Mischa Barton, who is indeed exceedingly beautiful). But Marissa already has a lunkhead boyfriend (Chris Carmack), though to the show's credit, he becomes less cartoonish as the episodes move on.

So far, so standard. What separates The O.C. from past Fox failures, aside from the skill and attractiveness of its cast, is its ability to come up with a few smart deviations from the genre norm.

For one, there's the big-brother relationship between Ryan and Sandy's adorably geeky son Seth, extremely well played by young Adam Brody. In real life, the boys would probably have nothing to do with each other, but the show and the actors make you believe in the friendship.

For another, The O.C. makes at least a passing attempt to connect with the real world and real-life class distinctions. The show recognizes, sometimes humorously, that not everyone in Southern California is rich, although they're clearly all beautiful.

Yes, it would be nice if Marissa had even one friend who was not a spoiled loser. Some of the plot twists are a bit farfetched, as are Ryan's recuperative powers. But if a teen soap is what you want, chances are O.C. will deliver.

'Cause that's how they do things in the O.C.

Last Updated Sat, Aug 30, 2003