[Buckeye Native 001]

In the LA Times this morning. I always find these types of articles interesting when they talk about cities (or counties in this case) and their pop-culture influence on the rest of the country/world.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-me-uncool12dec12,0,6989606.story?coll=la-headlines-entnews

Sunset for 'The O.C.'? That depends
The show that made the county famous is on the ropes. What that means for the county's image is up for debate.
By Yvonne Villarreal and Ashley Powers, Times Staff Writer
December 12, 2006

On Saturday afternoon, Emma Murphy, a 16-year-old from Sydney, Australia, gazed at Newport Bay's choppy waters, gripping a Guess purse and a perception of Orange County gleaned solely from the small screen.

Aboard "The O.C. Experience Tour" boat, Emma spotted something that tore her attention from the surrounding yachts to the Balboa Fun Zone.

"Oh my God! That's the Ferris wheel that Ryan and Marissa had their first date on!" she yelled, referring to two main characters on the TV series "The O.C." "I have to go on, Mum."

With a mix of soap opera antics and pop culture smarts, "The O.C." has been a boon to its hometown, culminating the county's transformation from Los Angeles' ho-hum neighbor to a trend-maker perched on the endless Pacific. Its pull was so strong that a county supervisor suggested turning John Wayne Airport into "The O.C. Airport," and when characters ripped on Riverside residents as "white trash," officials in the inland city mulled their legal options.

But in the show's fourth season on Fox, its ratings have plummeted to 97th among prime-time shows, with an audience of 3.7 million, according to recent Nielsen numbers. Up against juggernauts such as "Grey's Anatomy," the show appears close to its demise, with fans posting "Save The O.C." pleas on YouTube. Like a homecoming queen stripped of her tiara, Orange County is facing a future without a series that served as a weekly hourlong infomercial for Newport Beach and has even persuaded families to cross oceans for a firsthand look.

"It makes you dream of living here, in this beautiful atmosphere," said Emma, who sported oversized sunglasses like the show's female characters and begged her mom to buy a pink sweater "like Marissa's." "It was my first look into the lifestyle over here. It's a teenage fantasy."

If Beverly Hills, Miami and other cities tied to television dramas are indicators, Orange County's newfound national brand will last well past the final episode of "The O.C." — sparking both delight and consternation. Some say getting hitched to the depiction of Newport's bronzed and Botoxed chattering class could box in county image-makers for decades. Just ask officials in Dallas (more on its Texas-sized headaches later).

Simon Hudson, an associate professor at the University of Calgary, has studied how films boost tourism in locales splashed across the screen. Television shows — sometimes recycled for decades in domestic and international syndication — appear to have a similar effect, he said.

The Ewing clan, which schemed for more than a dozen seasons on "Dallas" starting in 1978, roped in about half a million tourists a year, according to a study by Hudson and a colleague published in the Journal of Travel Research. Boston toasted the estimated $7 million a year in unpaid advertising that "Cheers" brought to Beantown.

The effect of the small-screen is so strong that Palm Springs officials are already salivating over "Hidden Palms," a show slated as a midseason replacement on the CW network (it's shot mainly in the Phoenix area).

"Films are one-offs and no guarantee — most of them fail," Hudson said. "Whereas TV series are around for a long, long time."

"Miami Vice," for example, helped turn the Florida metropolis into a playground for bling-toting hip-hop stars.

"Miami was more known as a retirement center; it was dark and shuttered," said David Whitaker, a spokesman for the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The late-1980s crime show "caressed that landscape," said Robert Thompson, a professor of television and pop culture at Syracuse University. "It gave Miami this evil but incredibly seductive look ... like an evil that you wanted to get a taste of." Miami tourism officials latched onto that, promoting images of "beautiful people in evocative settings," Whitaker said.

Similarly, some Orange County officials would like to keep tacking "the" in front of "O.C." As the show pops up on televisions in Britain, Germany and other countries, the Newport Beach Conference & Visitors Bureau has charted a 20% increase in website hits. A map directing tourists to the Balboa and Newport piers and other locations that made "O.C." guest appearances remains the bureau's most-requested item, though most scenes are filmed in Los Angeles County.

"We never really sold ourselves as 'the real O.C.,' but the concept of using the term 'O.C.' has become so ingrained that I think we will continue to use it," said Gary Sherwin, the Newport bureau's president and chief executive.

Beverly Hills still gets calls seeking directions to the Peach Pit, the fictional diner from "Beverly Hills, 90210," which ended its run six years ago. In fact, when the city's visitors bureau director, Kathy Smits, took her first tour of the Museum of Television & Radio in Beverly Hills several years ago, she stumbled upon Japanese tourists crowded around a "90210" episode.

The major distinction between Beverly Hills and the sun-bleached county to the south is that the former is perennially cast in films and TV shows, much like New York City, Los Angeles and Chicago. Orange County, said Thompson, the Syracuse University professor, is probably watching its "television renaissance" fade to black.

The county's other toeholds in public consciousness have been canned ("Arrested Development"); maligned ("Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County") or banished to DVD (the film "Orange County"). There's still the Bravo series "The Real Housewives of Orange County," but O.C.'s hipper-than-thou image can't rest on five older women in Coto de Caza.

"Orange County is going to be called 'The O.C.' for at least a generation," Thompson said. "For the fans, everything they know about Orange County they learned from 'The O.C.' "

Though that might seem tempting to tourism officials, consider how the Ewings have plagued Dallas. The nation's ninth-largest city has been stuck with the show's big-oil, big-hair image like a teenager with a despised childhood nickname.

Though it tried and failed to lure the shooting crew of the coming "Dallas" movie, the city's visitors bureau has otherwise worked to shift its small-screen reputation by wooing travel writers and meeting planners to tour downtown. Its brochures — slogan: "Live Large. Think Big" — tout an updated skyline, high-end shopping and dining, and photos that reflect Dallas' diverse population.

In part, the efforts stem from when the bureau asked folks several years ago what images the city's name conjured. Nearly a quarter-century after "Dallas" debuted, officials blanched at the top responses: 3) Tex-Mex and margaritas; 2) giant-haired women; and 1) J.R. Ewing.

yvonne.villarreal@latimes.com
ashley.powers@latimes.com

[BTinSF]

Er, I think somebody needs to consult with counsel about a potential plagiarism charge. The article :previous: seems awfully derivative of this one published 11 days ago in the Wall Street Journal:

December 1, 2006

How 'The O.C.' Got Beached
Missteps in Story, Casting Hurt Shore-Town Hit;
Fans Pan Con-Artist Jeri
By BROOKS BARNES
December 1, 2006; Page W5

When "The O.C." debuted three years ago on the Fox TV network, the soapy teen drama was an immediate hit. With its buzzy young stars, snappy writing and catchy theme song, "The O.C." attracted so much attention that Fox hoped it would become "Beverly Hills, 90210" for a new generation.

But after that sizzling debut, "The O.C." started hemorrhaging viewers. More than 26% of its young-adult audience had vanished by season two, and 15% more by season three. This fall, its fourth season, the series has suffered an even bigger drop, losing 39% of viewers in this crucial 18-to-49 age group, according to Nielsen Media Research. Of the 119 shows aired by broadcast networks "The O.C." ranks No. 96 -- a position so low it risks being canceled.

The show's decline has hurt Fox this fall, mostly because its attempts to launch new shows have fallen flat. But the News Corp. network notes that even with its low ratings the program is luring a bigger audience in its highly competitive Thursday time slot than the show it replaced.

What went wrong at "The O.C."? It's impossible to pinpoint an exact reason, since TV series aren't assembly-line products that can be scrutinized by a quality-review board for flaws. But with "The O.C.," a series of decisions -- involving story lines, scheduling and casting -- appears to have hobbled the program further as it slid.

Killing Off Characters

"Shows aimed at young adults and teenagers are particularly fragile," says John Rash, director of broadcast negotiations at Interpublic Group's Campbell Mithun, a Minneapolis ad-placement agency. "In the case of 'The O.C.,' I think there were several mistakes." Among them, he says: The storytelling has been uneven and its time slot shifted too often.

Nobody agrees more than Josh Schwartz, the show's 30-year-old creator and executive producer. In a business where people rarely accept responsibility for missteps, Mr. Schwartz concedes his fair share. "Last season I wasn't as focused as I should have been," he says. "I've learned a lot about what to do and what not to do."

Mr. Schwartz had almost no TV experience before "The O.C." As a result, he says, he didn't have a clear idea of how his high-school soap opera would unfold. Would the quartet of quirky teens at the show's center progress a school year with each season, or would they linger in high school perpetually, the usual case with teen dramas? Mr. Schwartz decided on the former, which has introduced its own complexities since two of the characters have moved on to college.

Complicating matters, Mr. Schwartz decided early on to tackle dual plot lines. Along with chronicling the privileged lives of teens in a posh beach town in Southern California's Orange County, the show would also examine the lives of their parents. Keeping all those balls in the air, however, proved difficult.

When the adult story line started to sag, Mr. Schwartz opted to write a popular character off of the show. (Caleb Nichol, the evil patriarch, suffered a heart attack in his infinity-edge pool.) Mr. Schwartz stands by that decision as smart. Not so, perhaps, was his move to kill off another character, Marissa Cooper, a hard-partying, hard-shopping mess played by Mischa Barton. From following online chat rooms he says he knows that some fans, particularly teenage girls, were annoyed.

"Ultimately, we felt the show needed to be jolted off its foundation," Mr. Schwartz says. Despite the decline of "The O.C.," Mr. Schwartz is a hot commodity in Hollywood; he's working on a film for Paramount and has a new TV pilot at NBC.

"The O.C." also suffered a blow in 2004 with the departure of Fox entertainment President Gail Berman. Ms. Berman, an executive with a keen eye for youth programming, left for a top post at Paramount. "Gail was a great cheerleader and was intimately involved in a positive way," Mr. Schwartz says. He says she engaged him in long discussions about the show's plot lines and the dialogue among the characters.

Ms. Berman's successor, Peter Liguori, got deeply involved, too -- but not in a way that Mr. Schwartz appreciated. Arguing that Fox needed something fresh to promote about the show, Mr. Liguori asked Mr. Schwartz to add a new character and cast a brand-name celebrity in the part. The problem: Mr. Schwartz had outlined seven full episodes and had to figure out how to insert the character without destroying the story lines. "We didn't really have an option," Mr. Schwartz says.

Actress Jeri Ryan ended up joining the show as a con artist -- which many fans thought was a clunky and unbelievable plot twist. Ms. Ryan has since moved on to the CBS drama "Shark." Asked if he regrets ordering the stunt casting, Mr. Liguori responds: "I think Jeri Ryan is doing great work on 'Shark.' "

Baseball Hiatus

Perhaps the biggest buzz killer for "The O.C." has been Fox's schedule. As with other Fox shows, "The O.C." has gone off the air each fall when the network airs Major League Baseball playoffs. "The O.C." has particular trouble maintaining ratings momentum with the interruption because its young fans can be fickle, says Mr. Rash. Other networks were only too happy to steal the audience of "The O.C." in the interim, most notably MTV with its popular reality show "Laguna Beach."

This season, Fox moved the series to 9 p.m. Thursdays, where it faces ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" and CBS's "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" -- two of TV's most popular shows. Mr. Liguori says "The O.C." has been Fox's way of staying in the game in the time period. "'The O.C.' has been doing a yeoman's job in helping us get a foothold on Thursday," he says.

Mr. Liguori says he is pleased with the creative direction of "The O.C." this season -- a sentiment echoed by fans and critics -- and adds the network isn't giving up on the show. The new strategy is to air original episodes through January while competitors in the time slot are in reruns. Mr. Liguori says Fox plans to use the return of "American Idol" and "24" in mid-January to give "The O.C." a push.

"We hope to see a ratings turnaround," says Mr. Liguori. "The show is back to being fun, frothy and surprising -- all of the things fans have always loved."

Write to Brooks Barnes at brooks.barnes@wsj.com1

URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116492875252237363.html


Personally, I find the show a guilty pleasure (it's worth watching just for the opening shots of those clifftop palaces--not to mention some of the human eye candy) and I think the last couple of episodes have suddenly got the old humor and sparkle back. Too bad if nobody but me is watching any more, though.

[bjornson]

Don't worry, you're not the only one. A lot of my friends including myself watch. You're right, it's almost back to the way the first season was.

[sbocguy]

I don't see how the LAT article counts as plagiarism of the one from the WSJ... the former is almost exclusively about the impact of the show's decline on the county's national and worldwide image, while the latter is squarely concerned with the specific problems that are contributing to the show's poor ratings. Pretty much the only things mentioned in both articles are a) the crappy ratings, which come from AC Nielsen and are properly attributed to their source, and b) the fact that Grey's Anatomy airs on the same night, which is hardly an original observation on either paper's part.

[Buckeye Native 001]

I don't watch it, and I hate that everyone calls this goddamn county "The O.C." because of the popularity of this show (and keep in mind that nobody called it anything but "Orange County" before this show went on the air), but I'm always curious to see how a city reacts to being showcased in a TV show/movie like The OC, Dallas and Miami Vice.

[sbocguy]

The "O.C." thing is annoying to me, too... I had actually heard it a couple of times before the show came out, but I don't like how it's gotten proliferated in the last few years. As for the impact of the show, I would imagine the added attention hasn't changed a whole lot except to more emphatically associate the place with the "bronzed and botoxed" Newport Beach set, as the article put it. The perception of the place as a tony playground for rich businessmen/doctors/lawyers who drive Ferraris and went to 'SC and their spoiled kids and trophy wives was already ingrained to some extent in the local psyche, and all the show has done is to export the image to a national audience, as if Newport actually needed another reason to be impressed with itself (annoying boosterism is a civic birthright down there). Tourism was already big down there, with the streets of Balboa Island and the Peninsula regularly packed around the 4th of July and Memorial Day, the office market's been booming for a long time, with Newport Center/Fashion Island having long ago been established as an exclusive business address, and the cost of housing's been through the roof for over a decade. Meanwhile, all the attention gets lavished on a small sliver of the affluent coast and a relatively small island of activity in Anaheim, while the ethnic diversity and continuing urban problems in Santa Ana, Garden Grove, etc. get largely ignored in the national sphere of public discourse. The impact of the show's notoriety hasn't been all that extensive, and I won't shed a tear if and when it goes off the air.

[Buckeye Native 001]

Meanwhile, all the attention gets lavished on a small sliver of the affluent coast and a relatively small island of activity in Anaheim, while the ethnic diversity and continuing urban problems in Santa Ana, Garden Grove, etc. get largely ignored in the national sphere of public discourse.

You mean to tell me there's more to Orange County than Disneyland, Newport and Laguna!? ;)

[LosAngelesBeauty]

^ That's true, I get annoyed that a large swath of land will be connoted to a single area, when there is so much more. Part of that is marketing and LA has gotten the worst PR. LA and the OC is incredibly diverse, yet they are both simplified to Hollywood and Newport Beach, respectively. I think it's unfair. Almost every single website I've seen that lists "Restaurants in LA" will skip the San Gabriel Valley (but always include Pasadena because of its tie to American culture).

[BTinSF]

You mean to tell me there's more to Orange County than Disneyland, Newport and Laguna!? ;)

Oh, yes indeedy. I have long known it for this:

PIMCO

We are PIMCO, one of the largest specialty fixed income managers in the world, with more than $641 billion in assets under management and more than 800 employees in offices in Newport Beach, New York, Singapore, Tokyo, London, Sydney, Munich, Toronto and Hong Kong.

Pacific Investment Management Company LLC, 840 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660.


Also for being the source of a heck of a lot of conservative Republican votes in California elections

And for this

http://www.in-n-out.com/images/top_store_1.jpg

In-N-Out Burgers Corporate Office
4199 Campus Drive, 9th Floor
Irvine, CA 92612

[Buckeye Native 001]

Irvine is also home to the Taco Bell world headquarters.

And how many other places can claim that they have an airport named after a psuedo-cowboy? (Shut up, Oklahoma City)

:banaride:

[LosAngelesBeauty]

^ Actually the first IN-N-OUT was opened in LA in Baldwin Park, I believe. But it doesn't really matter, LA-OC-OC-LA, same freakin' thing.

[BTinSF]

^ Actually the first IN-N-OUT was opened in LA in Baldwin Park, I believe. But it doesn't really matter, LA-OC-OC-LA, same freakin' thing.


You're right, but now the HQ is in Irvine--I knew several people who worked there, one of whom scouted locations for new stores but I still couldn't convince her to put one near me in AZ or one in the Mission in SF.

[WesTheAngelino]

^ That's true, I get annoyed that a large swath of land will be connoted to a single area, when there is so much more. Part of that is marketing and LA has gotten the worst PR. LA and the OC is incredibly diverse, yet they are both simplified to Hollywood and Newport Beach, respectively. I think it's unfair. Almost every single website I've seen that lists "Restaurants in LA" will skip the San Gabriel Valley (but always include Pasadena because of its tie to American culture).

Duh, dude, simple American racism. Nothing but Asians and Latinos in the SGV, at least those two groups are by far the biggest cultural influence. So, since traveller/dining websites cater primarily to white people they ignore them because they assume (which may not always be the case) that Todd and Britney McWhitebread wouldn't want to roll in that environment. Old Town Pasadena of course is white as white can be, so some shit ass place like Moose McGillicutty's will make the website but not a unique Asian or Latino restaurant in the greater SGV

[Buckeye Native 001]

You're right, but now the HQ is in Irvine--I knew several people who worked there, one of whom scouted locations for new stores but I still couldn't convince her to put one near me in AZ or one in the Mission in SF.

So Tucson still lacks In-N-Out?

[ocman]

Irvine is also home to the Taco Bell world headquarters.

And how many other places can claim that they have an airport named after a psuedo-cowboy? (Shut up, Oklahoma City)

:banaride:

Del Taco headquaters as well. And Carl's Jr. was born in Anaheilm.

[sf_eddo]

Laguna Beach in real life left a MUCH better impression on me than the TV show. Unexpected little hippie gay artsy RICH enclave, totally unlike what you see on TV, other than the rich part. Also, because of the show, perhaps my expectations were lowered.

[BTinSF]

So Tucson still lacks In-N-Out?

There's ONE--in the center of town. I'm 20 miles south of town in Green Valley. Too far to go just for a burger.

[rs913]

I've always been surprised "the" real-life O.C. is always panned as boring and cookie-cutter. It's not L.A., and it's probably nicer to visit than to live...but as a place to visit, it's underrated. In addition to Disneyland, you've got the Ducks, the Angels, UC-Irvine, the Huntington Beach pier, two of the best malls anywhere (South Coast Plaza/Fashion Island), the Balboa boardwalk, and some jaw-dropping scenery on the PCH between Newport and Laguna. You could do a lot worse.

I'm also surprised the show is circling the drain, given its massive cult-like following. There was even an "O.C. Appreciation Society" at the UC-Berkeley law school!

[Buckeye Native 001]

My fondest memories of living in Orange County so far are the Santa Ana parking structures. :tup:

[BTinSF]

I'm also surprised the show is circling the drain, given its massive cult-like following. There was even an "O.C. Appreciation Society" at the UC-Berkeley law school!

The writing/plot lines last year did suck. And the first show or two this year sucked worse because they had to spend them straightening out the mess they made last year. I nearly stopped watching along with so many other people. But like I said, I thought the last couple of shows were really pretty clever and watchable like the first season.

[scribeman]

I love California, but I hate that show. From what I know, most Californians feel the same way (is there any bitter angst in NoCal?)

[BTinSF]

I love California, but I hate that show. From what I know, most Californians feel the same way (is there any bitter angst in NoCal?)

Well. I used to have "bitter angst" about Nash Bridges. Not only was it a terrible show with a has-been star, but they were forever messing up my favorite city spots using them as filming locations--including one memorable night they shined klieg lights into my bedroom window until 1 AM (I live a block from City Hall).

http://www.lowtek.com/nash/ucb/cudafrntnorm.jpg

[Buckeye Native 001]

Well. I used to have "bitter angst" about Nash Bridges. Not only was it a terrible show with a has-been star, but they were forever messing up my favorite city spots using them as filming locations--including one memorable night they shined klieg lights into my bedroom window until 1 AM (I live a block from City Hall).

:hell:

You dare speak ill about Don Johnson?

J/k. I heard he can be a real asshole sometimes. I'm just a huge Miami Vice fan. :)

[fflint]

Why would there be "bitter angst" in Northern California about some tanking television show about some other place?

[mind field]

As the article stated matter of factly, television shows can have a very real and lasting economic impact on the places that they portray. When we were visiting LA last year, we HAD to make the trek from our hotel in Studio City to the legendary Laguna Beach just because of the show on MTV. We went there for dinner, the restaurant was right on the ocean and was very good. But there were probably a lot of restaurants with just as good and cheaper food much closer to our hotel in Studio City. I will admit it was nice visiting Laguna Beach, a very beautiful oceanside city.

[urbanflyer]

Unfortunately "OC" fever has just hit Japan very very hard.

[BTinSF]

How can you slam a show that spent the first 15 minutes last night trashing Riverside? :haha: The rest was pretty funny too--especially the "alternate universe" campaign poster with Sandy Cohen (supposedly Mayor of Newport Beach) and The Governator arm in arm.

[bjornson]

^Haha, I'm there with you. Riverside is the "ghetto."

[Buckeye Native 001]

Riverside is just...ewww

[bjornson]

HAHAHA! That's exactly what they said last night!

[Buckeye Native 001]

Ha, and I boycott the show :tup:

[dimondpark]

Unfortunately "OC" fever has just hit Japan very very hard.

well judging by ratings, it never really hit hard here either-except for their target demographic I suppose which is all advertisers care about.

[urbanflyer]

I mean to say it has become rather popular, especially with the target demographic. Unfortunately :rolleyes:

[dragonsky]

Unfortunately "OC" fever has just hit Japan very very hard.

Really? Do you have any detail? I really enjoy this show. Thanks.

[Trojan in NYC]

i'll admit i watch this show. I love the beginning of the show when they show the houses on the cliffs (which i think is the PV peninsula not Newport). If only i could own one of those houses.

[jamesinclair]

Any Arrested Development fans? The show was also based in Newport Beach, and a line that it every 6 episodes or so...

"Look Micheal, we live in the O.C. an-"
"Dont call it that"
"and its time we take the Yacht down to Mexico"


Anyway, this season of the OC has been by far the best, so its a shame its done badly.

[rs913]

It's cancelled (http://www.zap2it.com/tv/zap-theocfinaleannouncement,0,3724323.story?coll=zap-tv-mainheadline).

[cookiejarvis]

Oh boy, are you guys in for a treat. Season 2 of "The Real Wives of Orange County" is premiering Jan 16 on Bravo.

[dragonsky]

Wednesday, January 3, 2007
The end for 'The O.C.'
Fox soap opera to call it quits after season ends.
By RICHARD CHANG
The Orange County Register

Say goodbye to Ryan, Seth and Summer. The sun has set on "The O.C."

The once popular teen soap opera has met its end after four seasons, Fox TV announced Wednesday. The final episode of the Newport Beach-based drama will air Feb. 22.

When it debuted in 2003, "The O.C." drew nearly 10 million viewers and had a dedicated following among the lucrative youth demographic. But ratings have dropped down to barely 4 million viewers this season.

"This feels like the best time to bring the show to a close," said Josh Schwartz, creator of the series, in a statement Wednesday. " 'The O.C.' season four finale will also be the series finale."

Fox spokesman Jason Clark said the show, which airs at 8 tonight, was not being canceled and that all episodes originally ordered would broadcast through Feb. 22.

"The O.C." brought national attention to Orange County, although it was not always positive. The nighttime soap portrayed Newport Beach residents as rich, spoiled teens drinking alcohol, doing drugs and experimenting in, ahem, other ways.

"With some residents, it was kind of love it or hate it," said Steve Rosansky, mayor of Newport Beach. … There are those who did not think it portrayed Newport Beach in a very flattering light."

However, the internationally broadcast show helped attract tourists from around the world.

"From an economic standpoint, I think it had a positive benefit to the city," Rosansky said.

The series ran into trouble after being rescheduled to Thursday nights, when it had to compete with juggernaut "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" and later "Grey's Anatomy." The death of main character Marissa, played by Mischa Barton, at the close of season three did not help matters either.

"Ever since Marissa died, I haven't been that hooked on it," said Kiana Sabla, 31, of Costa Mesa. Before then, she said, she watched every episode.

"The O.C." was a phenomenon, making Orange County hip in the national consciousness and inspiring shows such as MTV's "Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County" and Bravo's "The Real Housewives of Orange County," which starts its second season Jan. 16.

"On balance, it was probably a good thing," Rosanksy said. "I'm sure it will live on in reruns, people will still be coming to Newport Beach, and some of the positive economic impact will last for a while."

[BTinSF]

I liked the show too, but really it can't be unexpected that a show about high school kids will not survive their graduating from high school. Especially when they are depicted as affluent enough to go to private colleges. It seems artificial if the main characters all go to the same school and it's hard to write a plot if they don't. It's just a shame this show is dying just as it seems to have got it's groove back.

[WesTheAngelino]

I haven ever seen one solitary second of this show, and now I never will.

Give me Friday Night Lights, the best damn show on the four Networks, period.

[cookiejarvis]

^Nah, too much teen agro going on there.

Ugly Betty rawks, especially when Selma Hayek is on the show in her french maid outfit.

[LA/OC/London]

I don't think I've ever watched the O.C but I know many people who love it. I just watched Ugly Betty for the first time last week and though it was pretty funny. I'm out of the loop when it comes to television though - I just don't think that many of the new shows out there are all that good.

[rs913]

Well, the final episode just aired. Too bad there couldn't be a spinoff about the Cohen family living in Berkeley...

[Trojan in NYC]

double post.

[Trojan in NYC]

Well the OC is done. I'm kinda sad but i guess it had to end sometime. I'll never forget that memorable line "Welcome to the OC, bitch" :haha:

[Westsidelife]

I still haven't seen like the last three episodes. I used to love the OC but this season kind of annoyed me. I chose to watch Grey's Anatomy instead.

[BTinSF]

Well the OC is done. I'm kinda sad but i guess it had to end sometime. I'll never forget that memorable line "Welcome to the OC, bitch" :haha:

It was inevitable. The characters wised up and moved to Berkeley. But it was unrealistic too. No way that gay couple would have sold out. First of all, they should have been dykes. And second, they should have had a big mean rotweiler that chased the Cohens off the property.