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« The O.C.
January 25, 2007: Groundhog Day Escapades
Groundhog Day is an often overlooked holiday in the television landscape, so tonight’s episode of The O.C. was a real treat. But, as with most holiday celebrations, some things worked and some did not. Let’s start first with the good: Taylor stalking Ryan in that adorable giant groundhog suit. Of course, Taylor’s stalking practices are not limited to costume capers; we learned that she also loiters in malls, keeping logs of her target’s activities. She does this not with malice but out of love, because, as she shared with her therapist, “Sometimes when I like someone, I stalk them.” Her psychobabble in the shrink’s office actually made some sense when she explained that the lack of nurturing she received from an absent father and cold, critical mother leads her to latch on to anyone who shows her the slightest bit of love. This also put her quickie marriage in France into perspective. I understood her desire to work things out while being on her own. But at the same time, Ryan was so understanding there was almost no reason for her not to be with him. (Loved that he missed her so much he pulled out that scrapbook she made for him.)
Nevertheless, I had no love for Che and Seth Newport's Chuck-stealing escapade. Summer and Che’s rabbit-freeing debacle was one of the low points of this season, so why would this near carbon-copy subplot fair any better? And this story line took way too much time. I was ready to say goodbye to Che weeks ago, and yet, still he lingered. I guess his chanting in the opening scene was supposed to be funny, but instead it was just annoying. Che not only had me missing Everwood’s Bright Abbott, but he almost had me missing Oliver. The jail scene with him and the girl groundhog communicating without words – how stupid was that? Thankfully, I think we’ve finally seen the last of Che.
And thankfully, we got the return of Bullitt. I like this crazy Texan. He and his peanut Kaitlin are still adorable together. I only wish he and Julie had that same chemistry. Maybe they’ll get there. I’m glad that Julie answered his wedding proposal with a 'no' for now, but perhaps later. Obviously, she doesn’t know him well enough yet, but it’s good to see she’s giving him another chance. And really, how can she be mad at Kaitlin for sending deceptive e-mails to Bullitt when her actions were at the level of a Julie Cooper-like scheme? Julie now sees how much Kaitlin wants him as a substitute dad, but I hope she doesn’t say yes to him for this reason only. On the other hand, she was sneaking around with Ryan’s dad?! With his abusive, ex-con past and her tendency to break the law (running prostitution rings, playing a part in trying to off Volchok, etc.) – as I’ve said before, I don’t think any good can come from the teaming up of these two.
Speaking of teams, it looks like team Cohen is about to get a little bigger. At first, I thought this plot twist was a bit cliché – it reminded me of countless ‘80s sitcoms in which the parents of teens suddenly realize they are going to have a baby. But Kirsten and Sandy have always been one of my favorite couples on this show, and they seemed genuinely happy to abandon their empty-nest plans and welcome this big change.
And perhaps we can welcome yet another O.C. holiday before this series comes to a close. In this season alone they’ve already tackled Thanksgiving, Chrismukkah, New Year’s and Groundhog Day. Here’s to hoping for one wild and crazy President’s Day episode.
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Jan 25, 2007 11:18 PM
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Hopefully they do a Valentine's Day special.
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Jan 26, 2007 8:23 AM
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another good episode. I saw the Kirsten plot coming but still nice. Love Sandy's surprise to Kirsten. And Please if there is a god let that be the last of CHE. he is awful. Oh loved Taylor in the Groundhog suit stalking ryan. THe Bullitt and Kaitlin are cute together.
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Jan 26, 2007 8:59 AM
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oh please don't ever say "I miss Oliver" even in jest. Che may be annoying and beyond weird, but he's not psycho. But like Oliver, he is starting to overstay his welcome...
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Jan 26, 2007 10:03 AM
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How cute was Ryan when he was leaning on the car door trying to talk to Taylor? I thought I might have been annoyed at him pining for her, but it was sweet. Mostly because the story line was short lived, I think. Let's let them have something else to worry about during the last 4 eps. They are too cute together.
Also, I just about died laughing when Seth leaned in from the back seat to say "I hear they throw great parties" in response to Sandy's CIA comment. His face and delivery were classic. I think even more than Chrismukkah, I'm going to miss the funny lines (usually from either Seth or Sandy) right before the intro music!!
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Jan 26, 2007 2:44 PM
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I love the OC, this episode was great. Everyone was so cute, I really can't believe we're almost at the end. I hope Julie will fall in love with Bullit, even though she already did the whole marrying for money thing and supposedly is in love with Kevin Sorbo. I hope the creators are not letting her end up with Ryan's dad just because of that.
I'm so sad there's only 4 episodes left, this was the best season ever, without all the drama and stuff.
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Jan 26, 2007 5:50 PM
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Solid ep. I do agree that it is time for Che to go. He was going to turn gay because of a dream?! Oh brother. And the jail house connection was beyond hokey. And so was the caper.
The other stuff was good. The Bullitt has grown on me. I didn't like him at first, but he is endearing after a while. He just kinda cracks me up. And he has a great relationship with Kaitlin.
I have always liked the Taylor-Ryan pairing. Even though she does have some needs, she doesn't feel as needy as his previous girlfriends.
I didn't catch on to Kirsten being pregnant. I really did think it was something life threatening. This is one of the first times in my TV watching career that I was glad that a character was pregnant. Babies kill shows. Just destroy them. I guess that is one good thing about this show being cancelled. We don't have to see wacky babysitting eps with Ryan or Seth. Or any of the characters making idiotic faces at the kid.
It is sad that this is the end though. The creator has said recently that he probably threw too much in that first season. And also that the show didn't have enough younger characters to really go in many different directions. Remember that 90210 had about 8 major young characters, while this show had the main 4. This season has been fun. It won't top the first season. That season was just perfection and new and had many more episodes than this season. Not sure if I want a wedding or any big event like that in the final ep. I guess Julie could get married again. This could be her 4th marriage in as many seasons. She doesn't waste time. I wouldn't mind some old favorites returning like Anna, Luke or Jimmy. Especially Anna. I thought she was going to have regular role this season. But I guess not.
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Jan 27, 2007 1:03 AM
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