I am one of the few that didn't really care for Chrismukkah last season, even if it is the perfect holiday for the TVgasm offices. Despite that, I am really starting to get into some of the story lines, so I really looked forward to this episode. One of the things I haven't enjoyed about this season is the 1000% Seth that we have seen this year. Adam Brody is a talented actor, no doubt, and his comedic talents are one of the best parts of the show, but there is too much of a good thing, and I believe that sometimes there has been too much of a reliance of Seth Cohen schtick to get them through the episodes. We know he is quirky, slightly neurotic, etc., you don't have to spell it out for us every week.

Seth always does a good job of bringing out the best in his holiday, and the best in this case is his sweater. I am not sure what homeless guy he had to mug, or if his mom knitted it or something, but the reindeer thing he had going on at the beginning of the episode was a sight to be seen. With the weather hitting 75 and 80 degrees in LA this past week, nobody is thinking about sweaters anyway. Within the first five minutes, Seth has already mentioned cultural zeitgeist and Death Cab, so I am really fearing for my life. To top it off, the writers surprised everybody with a new Chrismukkah phrase. For those not in the spirit of Chrismukkah, you can now simply say Oi Humbug! The OC writers have really become Santa Putzes.

Besides taking care of a lot of the preparation, Seth wants to include as many people in his celebration as possible. Although at first he was sort of hesitant about inviting his new "girlfriend", Ryan decided to invite Lindsay anyway. It turns out that Lindsay wasn't that much of a fan of the holidays, since as a little girl she had always just wanted her dad to show up. As she said, some kids stop believing in Santa, she stopped believing in her dad. I don't want to complain too much about this exchange, but come on! We know it is going to devolve into a big campy mess at the end, why try and pretend you are on the Hallmark Channel?

So, Lindsay decides to come to Chrismukkah. I wonder what Marrissa and Summer will be doing? As it turns out, Zach has conveniently left early for his winter break, and Marissa is scheduled to spend the day with her dad, meaning both have pretty open plans. Conveniently, Seth straddles on up to them at the coffee stand just as they are shaking down what is to go on that evening. I should take this time to mention that Marrissa is looking positively normal this week, but the bad wardrobe designer is still on the set, and decided that she would dress up Rachel Bilson in the laughably hideous duds this time around. Summer is wearing some sort of sweater that it was attacked by moths, or a pair of scissors or something. Yes, it is fun to bash Mischa for the outfits the wardrobe have given her, but in the interest of fairness, I should mention that Rachel hasn't been looking all that glam either. While the OC writers are making the trends, I don't think Summer and Marissa are quite at the point where they will be adjusting the course of fashion a la Sex and the City. But here's hoping they do, if for nothing else than to get that ridiculously huge billboard of Sarah Jessica Parker forever removed from Sunset. It really ruins my mood as I travel towards Sunset Plaza. Seth invites them both to Chrismukkah, and the both agree because, well, it would really have made the story much less intriguing if they weren't there to see everything that went on.

While the kids are worrying about the ghost of Chrismukkah present, the ghosts of adultery past and present stop to pay a visit among the adults. It was a slight surprise when we found out that Lindsay was in fact Caleb Nichol's estranged daughter, and this revelation added another layer onto the already complicated Cohen-Nichol familty. He had hid his indiscretion to protect his family, but somehow it all started crumbling before his eyes. With Caleb worried about all of the things he is worried about, he hasn't had enough time with his wife. I am sure the Viagra or Cialis or whatever was enough to get them through "the not so" hard times, nothing prepared Julie to be neglected for lack of self-interest. So, just like the last time she needed a scratch itch, she sought out an available man. After Luke, she probably wasn't going to go back to an old high school romance, but that didn't mean she couldn't back to her old husband, so Jimmy has been shaking the spot several times a week now. I thought she would have at least given the water pik a few more chances to do its thing.

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Posted by J-Unit on December 17, 2004 9:30 AM