SO LONG, NEW PORT!

Grade 11 & 12 Journalism Journal Entry Question #5 &6 (this one is worth 2 blogs)3. Free Choice. 600 words.

SO LONG, NEWPORT!

For four years Seth Cohen has been the best thing to enter the TV screen, from those crazy sweater vests of his, to his witty sense of humor that got his fans to keep watching him every week. The song “California, here we come,” will have almost no effect on the fans because, well, let’s just say that California won’t be coming… ever again. The O.C’s last show was scheduled to air on February 22, 2007, because of its inability to compete with other popular Thursday night shows, such as Grey’s Anatomy and CSI. After killing off one of the main characters, Marissa Cooper, (Mischa Barton), the show suffered drastically when trying to bring up the ratings in the beginning of the 4th season without her presence.

Ever since the first season, teenaged viewers were hooked on the high school drama that Newport’s rich crowd provided them with.In the first season, we all watched Ryan Atwood, who was played by the charming Benjamin McKenzie, fight his way through every episode in his tight wife beater that hung oh so nicely to his muscles, and watched as his rugged personality continued to develop throughout each season. What Ryan did not know was that there were other ways to solve problems, rather than constantly physically attacking total strangers. Ryan just needed someone to believe in him and support him; that someone quickly became Seth Cohen, a loner who had no friends or social life before meeting Ryan, who was played by Adam Brody. He grew closely acquainted with his new brother and best friend Ryan, after the Cohen’s took him in and strived to give him a better life. The Cohen family taught Ryan day-after-day the true meaning of life, and reassured Ryan that he was a “somebody”. Seth, the comic book obsessed geek, finally snagged his dream girl, Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson), and Ryan won over party girl Marissa Cooper.

Fans watched week after week as Marissa overdosed on hardcore drugs in Tijuana, which was one of the many things that led her family to fall apart. Everyone watched as her mother Julie Cooper married, and then remarried again; not for love, but for money. Also, viewers were nearly brought to tears as they saw the super nerdy Seth Cohen get rejected from his dream college, Brown. I think it is safe to say that none of us know how many times Marissa and Ryan, and Seth and Summer, broke up and got back together again within the four years of the show, but it is clear that they kept us tuned in to see what the next step in their relationship was. You can see that popular shows, such as this one, can set out many career paths, and create breakthroughs for actors and bands that are trying to make it in the business. The O.C had tremendous power as it gave life to many bands such as Death Cab for Cutie and Rooney.

It is sad to say that this was the last Chrismukkah where we would all enjoy wearing our yarmulkes decorated as Santa hats with the whole cast. Rumors had been circulating that the CW network would be picking up the series for a fifth season. It would make sense to many because Warner Bros. co-owns both The O.C and the CW network. However, Josh Schwartz has different plans to launch his new show, which circulates around the novel series “Gossip Girls”. So, it is final; The O.C will never be returning. All that fans are left to do is take in every episode that will re-run, buy all the seasons on DVD, and continue to support the actors involved in the show as they try carry on with their acting careers!