On the flipside to all this are the fun, campy-delights of stories that seem to end before they've even begun. One of my favorite developments last season was the farfetched romance between Luke and Julie Cooper. It was pure, soapy trash, and I loved it. Sadly, after a few episodes, the writers not only put the kibotch on it, but they sent Luke packing to Portland, effectively ending his time on The OC. Yeah, his character by then had turned a little lame, but Luke also represented one of the rare non-dork voices on the show. Losing him meant losing a crucial counterbalance that's desperately needed this season. Other here-today, gone-tomorrow moments: that blond lawyer who hit on Sandy but then wound up with Jimmy; Marissa's friend who hooked up with Luke; Marissa's secret affair with DJ; and any impending lawsuit that Sandy works on for more than two episodes.

Sometimes it's not so much that a story will wrap up quickly but rather that a plot development might occur before the show has really taken the time to pump all the dramatic juice out of it. Taking Marissa's recent lesbian affair as an example, a smart soap would have had fun with it. No, I'm not talking about pillow fights in undies — although I certainly wouldn't disparage that. I'm talking about playing with the secret nature of the relationship. Two weeks ago, Marissa and Alex shared their first kiss. Last week, Marissa told Summer about Alex. This week, Marissa told her mom AND she was caught by Seth who then told Ryan. Oh, and Julie told Kirsten too. So basically everyone knows. Three episodes in and already a major source for dramatic tension has been dispelled. Whatever happened to the old fashioned method of sneaking around, then somebody finds out, then that person is sworn to secrecy, but that causes complications and so on and so forth? Already in that theoretical situation we have a mounting conflict stemming from one dramatic seed. Not only that, as the story line evolves, it draws in more and more characters who organically become relevant to the plot and each other. Which brings me to my next point:

5) Integrate stories and characters more seemlessly.
At this point in the season, we have several plot threads that are more or less tangental at best. It seems as though almost any character could drop out of the show and have minimum impact. As of this week, our four main stories have been Sandy and Kirsten dealing with Rebecca and their marriage; Seth grappling with Summer and Zach; Ryan and Lindsay adjusting to their relationships with Caleb; and Marissa and Alex getting it on. Pretty much none of these stories have anything to do with each other, and their only links come from occasional gossiping between the characters. Any twists in one plot have had no bearing on how another plot has taken shape. Not only is this lazy soap writing, but it serves to only make the show feel disjointed and random. No one's lives seem to intersect except at the inevitable big party, but even then, that's pushing it. Look at Marissa and Summer. They're supposedly best friends, but how often do we see them hanging out together anymore? The answer is rarely — because they're in different story lines.

Comparing with Desperate Housewives again (and yes, I know it's a different show but just humor me), we can see how the characters in that show are completely intertwined. Try to follow this description:

Last Sunday's installment of Desperate Housewives found Gabrielle being courted by a new gardener who wanted to have sex with her. Turns out this kid was Justin, the roommate of John who had previously had sex with Gabrielle but was now dating Bree Van De Kamp's daughter Danielle. Justin told Gabrielle that if she didn't have sex with him, he'd tell her husband that she slept with John. Gabrielle in turn showed up at Justin and John's apartment and told Justin that she was going to tell John that his roommate was trying to sleep with her. Justin pleaded for forgiveness, explaining that he just wanted to sleep with her because he thought he might be gay and it would be the final test. Meanwhile, the sketchy kid who's in love with Susan Meyer's daughter threw a party which everyone went to. Susan had prohibited her daughter from going to the party, and when she went to fetch her, she stumbled upon Justin and Bree Van De Kamp's son, Andrew making out.

So what does this mean in terms of The OC? The above plot description is a great example of characters who have all become interconnected in organic, albeit soapy, ways. A story line pertaining to Gabrielle suddenly impacts a story line pertaining to Susan, with Bree unwittingly caught in the middle. Remove one character from this elaborate string of events, and the entire thing falls apart. Furthermore, this scenario generates conflict as a smooth outgrowth of previous plot developments. What will these two gay teens do? What unique relationship does Susan have with them now? Who will she tell? How will that person react?

Going back to the Alex/Marissa lesbian relationship, that plot exists in a complete bubble compared to the similar story on Desperate Housewives. I suppose the writers are trying to go for a more realistic tone, examining the rise and fall of a relationship, as opposed to the soap opera implications. But then, is that really the sort of show we want out of The OC? Isn't it at heart a soap opera? Trying to be both a serious drama and a guilty pleasure may completely undermine the show.

Posted by B-side on February 28, 2005 3:04 AM