An "O.C." Reunion That Might Be Acceptable All-Around

I'm just taking a wild guess about this.  But, here goes.

Recently, the TV show "The O.C." (which ran from 2003-2007) celebrated its 10-year anniversary.  Of course, I only heard about the thing a little over a year ago, so I don't have that long of a history with it.  Some people, though, have loved and adored it from its premiere episode all those years ago right up on to the present day.  And many, if not most, of these long-time fans would love to see a reunion.  But, there are apparently some problems with this reunion concept, not the least of which is the reluctance of a couple of the main stars of the series to do such a thing.  I don't really blame them for this.  Life goes on; other appealing and challenging projects present themselves.  A reunion may seem a bit like going backwards to something that -- even though it was a wonderful cultural phenomenon -- might be best left to iTunes and DVDs.

On the other hand, I feel a bit bad for these scores of faithful fans.  So, I have been wondering about an "O.C." reunion format that might be amenable to those who may be a bit hesitant to participate.

I get the impression that when most people think about a reunion, they think about a continuation of the story.  They imagine the original actors reprising their roles, bringing the tale of the Ryan Atwood and Company up-to-date.  To my mind, there are difficulties with this concept.  The series ended on a very satisfying note, bringing the hope of happiness for each of the beloved characters.  Each fan has his/her own idea about the details of what the future will hold for Ryan, Seth, Summer, and everybody else.  Of course, we are given some clues, such as a glimpse of Seth and Summer's nuptials.  A lot, though, is left to the imagination.  And this, to me, is a good thing.  If the story were to be continued -- a la Josh Schwartz -- there is a lot of risk.  Because of the necessity for tension in stories -- not everything will be happy -- many fans may find themselves being let down.  And even if everything ends happily once more, it may not end happily in the manner each die-hard fan has been imagining for the last several years.  The show left all of us with many warm, fuzzy feelings and good memories.  Introducing controversy into that equation is at least a little bit dangerous.

There is an alternative, though, to this.  Instead of continuing the story and requiring Ben McKenzie to once again don his white wife beater, maybe there could be a rather informal gathering of the cast members to reminisce.  Each actor could choose favorite scenes to be shown, describing his or her memories and feelings.  Anecdotes could be told.  There could be a general atmosphere of levity.  This would require a minimal financial investment and would not require a great deal (if any) preparation by the actors.  Mischa Barton could even participate, even though her character died tragically at the end of Season 3.  And I know many people would enjoy that -- seeing "Ryan and Marissa" together again on TV, even though they'd be appearing as their real selves.  Perhaps audience members could submit questions -- either in advance or in real time -- via Twitter or some other internet mode.  It could be a lot of fun for the fans.  It could even be fun for the cast members and Josh Schwartz.  No pressure on anybody.  Just a celebration of what is -- at least to many people -- one of the biggest television joys of our time.

"The O.C." And The Best Of Liberal Thought

As I have mentioned before, I really enjoy watching "The O.C."  Yes, I am behind the times a bit.  And, yes, this show has many dramatic soap-opera elements about it.  But, it has many other elements, as well.  The one I will be discussing today is how, to me, this "sexy, teenage soap" espouses the best of liberal thought -- at least, the best of liberal thought as I have experienced it in my life.

I am a pretty conservative person -- religiously, politically, in my life as a wife and mom.  I did earn my college degree at San Francisco State University, though.  And most of my teachers at that storied institution, and many of my friends, were pretty (extremely ?) liberal.   In watching "The O.C." I have been reminded of my experience in college and the things I learned to appreciate there from those who embraced the more "progressive" view of things.

One of the main characters in "The O.C." is a man named Sandy Cohen.  He is a Jewish, Berkeley-educated public defender married to a beautiful, kind, very wealthy Protestant woman.  These two have a 16-year-old son, Seth, who is rather socially awkward, but has great potential for a certain romantic coolness.  The premise of the show is that, in the course of doing his job, Sandy comes across an enigmatic, soulful young man (Ryan Atwood) who has run afoul of the law (albeit, rather unintentionally).  Seeing the goodness in this young man, Sandy doesn't want to leave him to the whims and vagaries of "the system," so he brings the teenager home to live with his family in a monied area of Orange County.

Throughout the four seasons of "The O.C.", Sandy faces many situations -- with Ryan and Seth, with his wife, in his work and community -- which challenge him and necessitate a response.  He is not a perfect man and doesn't always make perfect decisions, but the humanity with which this character responds to both people and situations reflect what I consider to be the true beauty of liberal values.

First of all, in bringing Ryan home, Sandy personifies the liberal value of reaching out to the less fortunate.  Of seeing the true potential in someone who has been treated rather harshly by life -- unstable family situation, low socioeconomic status, sub-par schools.  He is willing to give that person a chance to see what he can really do with his life.  And Sandy doesn't give up on Ryan when he makes poor decisions at times.  He encourages Ryan to reflect on and rectify situations in which he hasn't handled himself properly.  Sandy trusts Ryan, when all is said and done, to do what is right.  He trusts in that people are, generally speaking, created to be good. 

Which leads me to the next "liberal value" I see Sandy Cohen putting into action.  And that is the value of withholding judgment when someone (especially a young someone) screws up -- allowing that person to learn from his mistakes without humiliation.  Having hope that the person will, in fact, go on to be better for the experiences he has had.  Throughout my education, the liberals in my life  gave me confidence, because they gave me the freedom to try things out -- both actions and ideas -- in order that I could learn and figure things out for myself.  I tried to make good decisions; but, of course, I wasn't always successful in that effort.  And when I made mistakes, I didn't feel condemnation from these progressives.  Instead, I felt compassion and understanding.  This compassion and understanding gave me the strength I needed to pick myself up and move on.  The sense of freedom and trust these individuals gave me also allowed me to express myself with sincerity, instead of making me feel I had to conform to a certain way of thinking out of fear that I would be rejected.  And in being able to express what I truly felt, I was able to "shake out" my ideas -- test them among different people and in various situations, to see if they would truly hold up.  And this is what I see in the interaction of the Sandy and Ryan (and Sandy and Seth) characters.

Sandy Cohen also embraces the best of liberal thought in his religious outlook and community life.  One of my favorite episodes centers around the Jewish celebration of Passover in the Cohen household.  At the Sedar meal, Sandy leads the prayer.  As part of the prayer, he calls to mind an individual's and family's obligation to society -- both in the smaller community and larger world.   And this character does put that idea into practice throughout all the seasons of the show.  He struggles against the temptations of selfish individualism and material greed, always attempting to do what is truly the right thing for people and society.  Even if it costs him personally.

Of course, Sandy Cohen -- progressive maverick -- at times does things much differently as a parent than I would.  I would never be making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for my 18-year-old son so that he could go off to Vegas for New Year's Eve to have sex with his 18-year-old girlfriend.  (Knowing Sandy as I do, I must say that he probably sneaked some condoms into that cooler, along with the sandwiches).  I also would never give my handsome, charming stepson his own pool house, equipped with a king-sized bed made up with satin sheets and fluffy pillows.  And one of my favorite scenes -- I love it especially because it is something I would NEVER do -- is when Ryan is going off on one of his missions of vengeance.  In the COHENS' RANGE ROVER, of all things.  And Sandy is standing calmly by the open driver's side window, trying to calmly talk Ryan out of his insane plan.  And Ryan drives away.  And Sandy calmly lets him.  I WOULD BE FREAKING DIVING INTO THAT WINDOW AND REMOVING THE KEYS FROM THE IGNITION AND DRAGGING RYAN BY HIS EAR BACK HOME AND LOCKING HIM (BY HIMSELF, WITH NO GIRLS) IN THE POOL HOUSE UNTIL HE CALMED THE HELL DOWN.  But -- hey -- that's just conservative old me. ;)