New Episodes of Fox”s The OC won”t premiere until November 4 (that”s 36 days, 4 hours and eight minutes, but who”s counting), but in the meantime, there is plenty of debauchery to go around. The monster hit has created a monster, and I”m not talking about the tabloid rumors of cast squabbles, but there are those too. Since the show premiered last fall The OC copycats seem to have popped up everywhere, with everyone trying to capitalize on the show”s success. Tuesday night marked the premiere of perhaps the most offensive: MTV”s Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, which promises to show the ‘reality’ of the show”s famed So-Cal life.
Will the real OC please stand up?
Laguna Beach follows eight uber-attractive high school students on the quest for love and good times in the world of money MTV calls the ‘other’ OC. There are the senior girls, Lauren or ‘LC,’ Christina, Morgan, and a fourth simply known as ‘Lo’ who is being called ‘Laguna Beach”s very own Paris Hilton.’ In the first episode, the girls plan a ‘Black and White’ party and invite all their friends, including Junior Talan, and seniors Trey, and Stephen. The latter who is caught between the advances of best friend ‘LC’ and junior girl Kristin. Shot in sleek digital video, the show seems less like a reality show and more like a fantasy world. It was reported during filming that the producers actually had to tone down the sexual lives of the high schoolers. You can”t make this stuff up people. The only thing Laguna Beach is missing is a theme song by Phantom Planet and, of course, Seth Cohen and a plotline. The show doesn”t exactly make for interesting television but MTV is hoping you won”t notice.
Not be outdone, the original OC seems to be doing its best to avoid a sophomore slump. When we last saw Seth Cohen, he was headed out to sea on his sailboat, Summer. This season promises three new characters to spice things up. In October The OC: Season 1 is being released on DVD. Also, rumors are surfacing about a crossover with the Emmy winning Fox comedy Arrested Development, which also premiered last year and is also set in Orange County. The OC Mix 2, the follow up to The OC Mix 1, a collection of so-hot-right-now songs from the show is also being released in upcoming months.
As for the juicy on-set drama, it seems that although the cast presented together at the Emmys, there is trouble in Orange County. Apparently OC star Mischa Barton, who plays Marissa on the show, has become a bit of a diva, sparking comparison to 90210″s Shannen Doherty. Speaking of Doherty, the artist formerly known as Brenda Walsh, has also jumped on the Orange County bandwagon, guest starring on FOX”s North Shore, another copycat show.
Archived article by Logan Bromer
Red Letter DAZE Staff Writer