LAST year’s runaway hit, “The O.C.,” comes back to morrow night after a summer hiatus during which Ryan (Benjamin McKenzie) ran off to take care of his ex-girlfriend who was otherwise knocked up; Seth (Adam Brody) sailed off because Ryan had run off; Marissa (Mischa Barton) had slunk off because Ryan had run off; and Summer (Rachel Bilson) – the person, not the season – had cooled off with Seth and heated up with another guy.
Got it? Good.
You’ll be happy to know that the “kids” and all their equally screwed-up parents not only survived the summer, but also grew up somewhat in this time. Unfortunately, that’s the bad news.
For one thing, Ryan, who was living with his ex-girlfriend and her mom, looks and acts too much like a grownup for us to believe he’s a vulnerable high school kid anymore. (But then again he isn’t – in real life he’s 25 – and it’s beginning to show.)
And the nerd thing with Seth? That’s getting a little long in the tooth too because, really, he’s survived a summer living with his friend and his friend’s gay dad in Portland, so you’d think he’d have matured beyond comic-book dork.
Meantime, the screwy parents . . . the Cohens – Sandy and Kirsten (Peter Gallagher and Kelly Rowan) – are miserable that Seth has run off and Ryan has had to leave to do the right thing for all the wrong reasons.
The notorious Julie Cooper (Melinda Clarke), who married Adam’s grandpa, Caleb (Alan Dale), is still simmering in her mansion, completely oblivious to the fact that the DA has been investigating her new/old groom. This gives her lots of excuses to wear bikinis and jewels in her kitchen. If she ever goes for a swim, she’ll drown with all those diamonds.
While things move along briskly in the first two episodes, it’s hard to write about them without giving it all away – other than to say that in addition to girls in bikinis, there are so many buff construction workers with their shirts off, the show’s looking a bit like a The Village People-meets-Chippendale’s reunion.
Of course, in life as in soaps, shirtless construction workers and sweating, shirtless lawn boys can’t go unfulfilled – and neither can seething, bikini-clad rich babes. So you can imagine what ensues.
What’s good: The acting, the actors.
What’s bad: The lack of real tension that was there last season.
What’s there: The same characters and the same storyline.
What’s not: Anything really new to get excited about.
Of course, since “The O.C.” is so much better than your average nighttime soap, we have just come to expect so much more.
Hopefully, there will be much more, although so far, it’s not quite there. Or maybe everyone just grew up too much.
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“The O.C.”
[***] (Three stars)
Tomorrow night at 8 in Fox
