"The O.C." - A Look Back

In the middle of the summer, not too long ago
Everyone started buzzing about “the next 90210”

Beaches and babes; surfer dudes and sun,
The O.C. turned up the heat – California…here we come!

A guilty pleasure so deliciously good,
From the moment Sandy Cohen met Ryan Atwood.

Sandy took Ryan from Chino, to the land of the filthy rich,
The mythology began – “Welcome to The O.C, Bitch!”

Driving to the Cohen’s, Ryan had no clue what was in store,
Brooding by the driveway where he met the girl next door.

Marissa “Coop” Cooper was the beautiful, troubled teen,
The life of the party – the homecoming queen.

Then there was Kirsten – Sandy’s wine guzzling wife,
And their son Seth – who had a sailboat and no life.

Ryan quickly became a member of the Cohen family,
As he made his mark on the citizens of Atomic County

Like the self absorbed Summer, who was always saying “EW!”
Coop’s best friend and sidekick – a pal that’s true blue.

And Marissa needed a friend like this, truly –
To cope with two parents like Jimmy and Julie.

Jimmy was stealing money; Julie was buying a horse;
A blow up at cotillion meant imminent divorce

And Marissa’s boyfriend Luke didn’t make things better,
Cheating on her just days after they first slept together.

Lucky for Coop, Ryan punched him in the nose,
Then turned around to save her from an overdose.

Those Tijuana troubles were only the beginning,
By the time Oliver got to town, our heads were spinning.

Jimmy kissed Kirsten since he was all alone and sad,
Then he hooked up with her sister while Julie hooked up with her dad.

The gruesome twosome - Caleb and the Dragon Lady
Made daddy’s little girl, Kiki absolutely crazy.

Meanwhile Seth Cohen’s social life was off the hook,
Summer dressed as Wonder Woman, Anna made a comic book…

On our first happy merry Chrismukkah – which soon we knew
Was invented by Seth, the progeny of a Catholic and a Jew.

Amid all the holiday cheer, Marissa started therapy,
Where she met the aforementioned Oliver – a nut to the Nth degree.

Now, Coop began to show just how annoying she could be –
While Seth and Summer hopped in bed – goodbye virginity.

And Marissa’s life became even more of a mess,
When her ex boyfriend and her mother started having sex.

Luke moved to Portland; Julie married Cal by season’s end,
And Ryan went back to Chino with his pregnant ex girlfriend.

Marissa moved to the tower, Seth sailed far away,
Yet everyone but Luke was back by Labor Day.

We all tuned in to see what the second season had in store
Some of us skeptical that it wouldn’t be as good as the one before.

With Ryan off in Chino, Marissa’s life seemed so much harder,
She became an alcoholic and started screwing the gardener!

Summer found Zack, and though on paper they were perfection,
He turned out to be a boring version of Seth and there was no love connection.

So though the super cool comic book club ultimately came to an end
Zack and Seth created their own graphic novel based on all of their friends.

And for Ryan, there was a new girl in town – a red head with an oboe,
But Lindsay was Cal’s illegitimate daughter (Kiki’s sister, Seth’s aunt, etc); So…she had to go.

The bait shop was the place where Alex and Marissa felt that intense spark;
But let’s face it – Marissa’s not a lesbian and the bait shop’s not the After Dark.

Sandy almost cheated on Kirsten – with an ex he thought was dead;
Kirsten turned to alcohol while Sandy was messing with her head.

And we’ll always remember just before Cal descended from his royal throne,
Kiki screaming, “I may love my chardonnay but at least I won’t die alone!!”

The season ended with the shot heard throughout The O.C.
Marissa fired a gun at Ryan’s brother – and he woke up in Season 3.

At this point, Seth and Summer are a pretty solid pair,
And Ryan and Marissa…does anyone still care?

Kiki’s in rehab; Sandy’s holding down the fort while she’s away,
Marissa’s been kicked out of school after shooting Trey.

So moving to Hawaii with her family sounds super,
As her mother prepares to be Julie Cooper Nichol Cooper.

But Jimmy screws up again and he has to leave her,
And we meet Taylor Townsend, a type A overachiever

Who’s gunning for Marissa’s social chair position,
But soon becomes a friend in the O.C. tradition.

Sandy tries to revive the Newport group –a failing enterprise,
And gets caught up in a tangled web of deception and lies.

His son starts smoking pot and his office catches fire –
Kirsten falls off the wagon – oh Sandy, just retire!

How is Ryan the most stable member of the gang,
And what outrageous stunt will end the season with a bang?

It turned out a tragic car crash would take a member of the group,
Rest in Peace Marissa - Mischa Barton’s flown the Coop!

With all the residual grief at the start of season four,
It wasn’t hard to believe that cancellation was in store.

And the clearest warning that the show would be heading for the hills,
Was when Bilson and Brody announced they were splitsville.

Yes, the old OC magic was gone – distant memories,
Instead we got fight clubs, prostitution rings, and Summer hugging trees.

Little sister Caitlin took over as the hell raising Cooper girl,
And Taylor Townsend melted Ryan’s heart after a visit to alt world.

Summer came back to Newport – now, none of the kids were in college,
Instead we had pregnancies, proposals and earthquakes to acknowledge.

It all was leading to the ending - the OC’s final day -
But the audience (and Summer’s dad) are watching a hypothermic Dr. Grey.

For those of us who tuned in, it was a jam packed hour, truly,
Babies and Berkeley and Bullet… Go Team Julie!

We found out that Summer and Seth eventually become man and wife,
And watched as Ryan looked back on how the Cohen’s saved his life.

Yes, we have to recognize what the OC gave to all of us,
Adam Brody, emo music, and merry Christmakkuhs.

It made comic books trendy; it made it cool to be a geek,
And it gave us Peter Gallagher’s eyebrows every week.

Thus, as The O.C. says goodbye, Ryan’s words we must endorse –
We’d do it all the same again, except for Oliver of course.