“Welcome to the OC, bitch!”
And so the addiction began.
It could have been just another show about teen angst, but
FOX’s “The OC” quickly gathered a cult following.
“I watch it every week basically,” freshman Taylor Thompson said. “Sometimes I have stuff I have to do, but I get the lowdown from a friend.”
The show first aired in August 2003 and is a soap-opera-like story of the lives of high school students in California’s wealthy Orange County. It’s about the not-so-perfect lives of the rich and beautiful and all of the drama that even the most exorbitant amounts of money can’t fix.
The show features 20-somethings as 16-year-old high school students, but that’s not an issue to the faithful followers, the older actors portray much more attractive students than most people gracing high-school halls. The drama is always full speed ahead as make-ups, break-ups, hook-ups and a formal party are critical components for every episode. For
instance, Marissa’s parents get a
divorce, her ex-boyfriend starts
sleeping with her newly divorced mom, and her parents don’t know she has an alcohol problem.
“It’s nice to watch other people and their drama and not have my own drama,” freshman Christina
Early said. Early began watching the show in fall 2003. She works most Thursday nights but tapes the show so she can catch up on it later.
“I asked for season one (the DVD set) for Christmas, but it was sold out,” Early said.
Not to worry though, at least
one person in the 456-member
thefacebook.com group “OC addicts” must own the set and would be willing to loan it to her. The Facebook group is described as being “for
anyone hopelessly addicted to the
delicious drama that is the OC.” The group has men and women. And there are law, business, sociology and landscape architecture students, just to name a few. There is no typical OC addict. Perhaps the addiction runs so rampant because the show can make nearly anyone’s life seem “normal.”
To carry the addiction further, a single Internet search produces fan clubs, message boards, newsletters, magazines, trivia, clothing, posters, music and even a drinking game
created by the show’s faithful.
“The OC” airs Thursday nights at
8 p.m. on FOX.

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