I watched 90210 and Melrose Place (not religiously, but I did). I was aware of Dallas and Dynasty. I know that nighttime soaps are not supposed to be sweetness and light. Catfights, threats, rivalry…none of these are new.
But based on the promos for The O.C., it seems like this show reaches a new height (or depth) of nastiness. Every exchange is like, Woman1: “I HATE YOU!!” Woman2: “I HATE YOU BACK, YOU B!TCH!!!” Man1: “You’re dead.” Man2: “No, you’re dead.”
It just seems like they’ve bypassed all the intrigue and plotting that drew me into 90210/Melrose (despite myself!), and gone straight to Springer territory. No subtlety, no plot development: just everybody hates everybody else and wants them dead. Is it really like that, or is Fox just highlighting the core confrontations?
I’ve followed most of the first season, and yeah, in most of the promos Fox seems to be almost ironically highlighting the melodrama. Sure, in most episodes there’s some kind of a fistfight, often at a fancy party, but that’s certainly not all there is to the show. I’m certain that I’ve seen some commercials highlighting other aspects of the show… the teen romance and the comedy.
I would say that it’s definitely less nasty than Melrose Place or, (from what I can remember,) Dallas/Dynasty, about the same level as 90210 in the middle-early years. You have your villainnous characters, you have your absolute sweeties who would rarely hurt anyone, and you have your put-upon loner rebel who tries to do the right thing but has trouble keeping his temper.
This may or may not be true. I don’t watch the show and have no interest in it, but that was something that always bugged me about Dallas. If these people all hate each other, why do they all live in the same house? Generally speaking, if I hate somebody I would do whatever I could to minimize contact with them.
I see shows like “THE OC” as symptomatic of American’s fascination with wealth and priviledge. Here you have people living in one of the wealthiest suburbs in the world, big house, big incomes, big status. And what of their kids? All spoiled brats. The girls outdo eachother in ther vanities, and the boys are well trained in the satus game. Not once do you see any of these bored teenagers discussing anything they MIGHT do to help the poor and suffering. I wonder what the reaction would be if one of the girls announce that she was spending the summer working with “Habitat for Humanity” or tutoring ghetto kids in East LA. Nope, its…“is Daddy going to buy me a Beemer for graduation” or, how can I fuck the captain of the football team"?
Enetertaining? possibly, but shallow beyond belief.
Okay, clearly you’ve never watched the show Ralph. (Which might be because the advertising gave you completely the wrong idea of it, I admit.) Admittedly, the idea of setting a night-time soap in a wealthy and privileged area to try to attract people who are fascinated with such things, but there are a lot of elements in the show’s first season that run completely counter to the sort of things you’re talking about…
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[li]The series begins with an orphan teenager from the slums getting arrested, and his public defender takes him home out of the warmness of his heart. (A typical variation on the ‘rags to riches’ plotline, yes, but also flying in the face of the ‘spoiled rich people’ notion you’re talking about. And it’s not just the adults who are shown to be compassionate; the PD’s son, Seth, welcomes Ryan into the family like a long-lost cool older brother.[/li][li]Seth is about as far from a ‘spoiled brat’ character as possible - well, maybe not quite. He’s used to growing up rich and has some blind spots because of that, but he’s also friendly and generous, always willing to empty out his bar mitzvah fund or hock his most treasured posessions if that’s what it takes to help out a friend.[/li][li]One of the vainest girls in the whole county, Summer Roberts, develops over the season as her plotline with Seth continues - to begin with, he’s the geeky kid that she insults for the fun of it, until she realizes bit by bit that he’s more interesting and desirable than the football captains or what have you.[/li][li]The stereotypical ‘rich arrogant teenaged guy’ character, Luke, also grows and becomes more complex …[/li][/ul]
You may have a good point with the volunteering for charity thing… but I wonder if a lot of people would just say that the show was ‘getting too preachy’ and was insincere about it. You can’t please everybody…
