synopsis :
Official Episode Description:
'The O.C.' opens with bad-boy Ryan Atwood, finding himself in trouble- in trouble with the law, and in trouble at home. Against all odds, pro-bono public defender, Sandy Cohen, takes Ryan under his wing, and back to his home in Newport Beach, Orange County, California. Ryan finds himself immersed in this high-class society but soon realizes nothing is as it seems.
Troubled youth
Poor Ryan - his brother inaugurates him into the world of car theft in
a singularly incompetent manner. His public defender is an interfering
do-gooder. His drunken mom throws him out of the house - but not before
her boyfriend roughs him up a little. What could possibly go right?
Movin' on up
Actually, Sandy, that meddling lawyer, may not be such a bad thing after
all. He's impressed with Ryan's smarts and potential, and invites Ryan
to stay with his family for the weekend. Much to Ryan's surprise, Sandy
lives in an ocean-front mansion in way-upscale Newport Beach. "I didn't
think your kind of lawyers made money," Ryan says. "We don't," Sandy replies.
"But my wife does."
Meet the neighbors
Ryan waits outside while Sandy breaks the news to his wife, Kirsten, that
a felon-in-training is their new houseguest. Ryan meets gorgeous girl-next-door
Marissa, who doesn't buy his bad-boy story. She thinks he's just the cousin
from Boston, but is obviously still intrigued - even as she drives off
with her rich boyfriend. She invites Ryan to a charity fashion show the
next night.
Come sail away
Kirsten reluctantly agrees to let Ryan bunk in the pool house - which,
by the way, is swankier than most places any of us will ever see. The
next morning, Ryan meets Seth, Kirsten and Sandy's geeky son. They bond
over video games (despite Seth's "Grand Theft Auto" foot-in-mouth moment)
until Sandy kicks them out into the sunshine. Seth takes Ryan sailing,
and confesses his undying love for Marissa's friend Summer. No, he's never
spoken to her. These things take time.
Going to the show
Sandy tells the guys when they're leaving for the fashion show. Seth doesn't
want to go until Ryan asks if Summer will be there. Suddenly, Seth's interested.
Next door, Marissa's buffed and Botoxed mother looks away from her own
reflection only long enough to cut down her kid. Very nice. Good thing
Marissa's dad is perfect, right? Right?
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Ryan: "Wow, this is a nice car. I didn't know your kind of lawyer made this kind of money."
Sandy: "We don't. But my wife does."
Ryan (to Sandy): "Where I'm from, having a dream doesn't make you smart. Knowing it won't come true, that does."
Seth (to Ryan about the glitzy pre-fashion show reception): "Welcome to the dark side."
(Later...)
Ryan to Seth: "Welcome to the dark side." (to Seth about the drug infested, achohol-soaked teen after-party)
Seth: Why do they even need a fashin show? Every day is a fashion show for these people.
Marissa: Who are you?
Ryan: Whoever you want me to be.
Marissa (smirking): Okay.
Marissa: So, what do you think of Newport?
Ryan: I think I can get in less trouble where I'm from.
Marissa: You have no idea
Luke (to Seth): Hey! Suck it queer.
Ryan (to Sandy): Way to salt his game, Mr. Cohen.
Seth: Oh wow, I should really learn how to knock.. just in case there's a threesome going on.. in the bathroom.
Summer: Chino...ewww
Luke: Welcome to the OC, bitch! This is how it's done in Orange County.
Sandy (to Kirsten): Don't salt his game, honey.
Shots of metal bars and handcuffs lead us to Ryan -- now wearing a fetching blue jumpsuit -- as he is led into a gated room, where wait Peter Gallagher and his magnificent eyebrows. He looks up from his paperwork and introduces himself as "Sandy Cohen," Ryan's court-appointed public defender. Ryan visibly appraises him, and Sandy points out that he could "do worse." He is all about Ryan's welfare, but Ryan is more concerned about his brother until Sandy explains that since Trey is over eighteen, stole a car, and possessed the criminal's triple threat of a gun, drugs, and priors, he's looking at jail time. But Sandy doesn't care about Trey! He cares about Ryan! A lot! Perhaps excessively! Perhaps excessively in a potential child molester sort of way! In any case, it's Ryan's first time "in lockup," and Sandy assumes that Ryan's not planning on coming back. He shuffles through Ryan's file, reading aloud about his "okay" grades, suspensions for fighting, and three "bouts of truancy." He raises his eyebrows -- for any other actor, the equivalent of springing from his seat, waving his arms in the air, running in circles, and yelling "Whoopee!" -- as he sees that Ryan scored in the 98th percentile on his SATs. He suggests that if Ryan starts going to classes, he can consider college. Ryan scoffs at the thought, causing Sandy to exclaim, "Dude, I'm on your side!" Peter Gallagher, incidentally, should never again use the word "dude." Ryan dolefully looks into the distance as he emotionlessly drones that modern medicine is advancing to the point where the average life span is a hundred years, but that Social Security will run out in 2025, so people will have to work until they're eighty; he doesn't want to commit to anything too soon. ["The average life span is a hundred years? Doubtful. Yes, this is the ridiculous plot point I'm focusing on. Sorry." -- Wing Chun] Sandy laughs, before somberly explaining that he can plead Ryan's offense down to a misdemeanor, but that Ryan should "know this": stealing a car because his brother told him to is "stupid and it's weak, and those are two things [Ryan] can't afford to be anymore." Ryan snaps, "Two more things!" Sandy responds that if Ryan wants to change that, he needs to get over his crappy life, before expositioning that he and Ryan are "cut from the same deck"; Sandy grew up poor in the Bronx with no father and a working mother, and was "pissed off and stupid." Ryan snits, "And look at you now," before sneaking a grin at Sandy. I'm not sure how it helps the scene, but it's a cute grin, all right. Sandy cocks his brilliant eyebrows and says that a smart kid like Ryan needs a plan and a dream, but Ryan counters that "having a dream doesn't make you smart. Knowing it won't come true...that does." (more...)
In the pilot episode, we meet our main characters. Ryan Atwood (Benjamin McKenzie), an intelligent kid living in Chino, California, with his mom Dawn (Daphne Ashbrook), her boyfriend A.J. (Ron Del Barrio), and his older brother Trey (Bradley Stryker), seems to have trouble follow him. He never intentionally starts anything, but he suffers from “wrong place, wrong time” syndrome. One night, while hanging out with his idiot brother, they are arrested after Trey smashes in a car window with the intention of stealing it. Since Ryan is under 18, he is let go under the supervision of Sandy Cohen (Peter Gallagher), the public defender. When he tries to go home, Dawn kicks him out. After fruitless attempts to stay at the homes of friends, he calls Sandy, who had offered to help him out in any way he could. This doesn’t make Sandy’s rich architect wife Kirsten (Kelly Rowan) too happy. She doesn’t like the idea of having a criminal in their house in Newport Beach, especially if he is a bad influence to their teenage son Seth (Adam Brody.) She agrees to one weekend, but insists that he leave after that. On the first night with the Cohens, Ryan meets Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton), the daughter of the next-door neighbor. There is an instant attraction, but she already has a boyfriend, a jock named Luke Ward (Chris Carmack.) The Coopers have some problems of their own. Marissa’s father, Jimmy (Tate Donovan), is having money problems, but is hesitant to tell this to his spoiled wife Julie (Melinda Clarke), or either of his two daughters, Marissa and Kaitlin (Shailene Woodley.) Back at the Cohen house, Ryan meets Seth for the first time the next morning. They hang out, and Seth tells Ryan that he has the hots for Marissa’s best friend Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson.) That night, they go to a charity fashion show that Marissa had invited Ryan to. Summer meets Ryan and likes him, so she invites him to an after-party at the house of Holly (Ashley Hartman), one of Marissa and Summer’s friends. Ryan invites Seth to go with him, saying it was Summer’s idea. Summer keeps hitting on Ryan, and Seth gets mad, so he tells everyone that Ryan is from Chino (which apparently is a place people in Newport Beach don’t like) and storms off. Luke and his friends decide to hassle Seth, and Ryan comes to his rescue. Seth forgives Ryan for the Summer thing, since Ryan is one of the only people to be nice to him. Ryan later notices Summer and Holly drop a passed out Marissa off at the end of her driveway. He moves her to a beach chair by the pool house behind the Cohen house. The next morning, Kirsten is furious at Ryan for corrupting Seth, which is something she had feared would happen. Sandy drives Ryan back to his trailer house in Chino, only to find Dawn had abandoned it, and just left a note for Ryan. The episode ends with Sandy taking Ryan back home with him.
ratings :
news, notes & interesting facts :
Air Date
Viewers1
Rating2
Share3
Rank
08.05.03
7.5
5.0/6.8
8/11
26
1In millions,
2% of all households (nat./over),
3% of households watching tv (nat./over).
This episode was reaired on Thursday Aug. 7, 2004 (3.2/5) and Monday August 11, 2004 (3.4/6)
recaps & reviews :
We open in a deserted alley at night. Two thuggish-looking teens -- one bearing a crow bar -- prowl around a car. As the thuggier-looking boy (black shirt with cut-off sleeves, an eyebrow piercing) raises his hand to smash the car's window, he expositions, "If I don't teach you this, who will?" Self-identified big bad big brother, "Trey," hops in the car, while the cleaner-cut of the two -- who resembles Russell Crowe and is named, we find out through his brother's constant yelling, "Ryan" -- says he doesn't know. As Trey gently coaxes Ryan into the car by yelling, "Quit bein' a little bitch!," a police car drives past on a cross street, then peels backwards -- sirens on -- toward the brothers. Ryan makes a series of conflicted faces before finally deciding to jump into the car with Trey, who is already driving away. As we cut between flashes of the car chase and of Ryan's troubled face, we see that he may or may not have a cold, as snot appears to be running down his nose. Surprisingly, that plot point goes nowhere. Instead, the car chase concludes with a crash in which no one is hurt, but Trey and Ryan are cornered.
By: Joanna Hughes (TWoP)
I’ve been hearing FOX’s “The O.C.” being described as the reincarnation of “Beverly Hills, 90210,” and for the most part I agree. While there are a few differences from the tales of the Walsh family, it looks like we finally have a decent new nighttime soap.
By: Shawn McKenzie
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