Newport Beach, the place where all the hot stuff happens, must be really small. There is no apparent way to hide your wrongdoings (and sins) as somebody is going to be watching you. Marissa’s mom, Julie, (Marissa is the heroin in the O.C.) dates the way-younger Luke while divorcing hubby in progress. Marissa and Ryan (the James-Dean-Ramble-Fish from Chino) and Ryan’s legal brother, Seth, plus Summer, Seth’s girlfriend, go to the movies. Marissa gets out in tears, movie’s depressing or she is, I vote that she is, and out there who do they meet? Mum and young heart-throbber Luke. More tears.

The same above bunch but this time Marissa is dating Luke (don’t laugh, this is a soap after all) heads to Tijuana. Luke is going downrange as well on his own. Ryan is upset as he usually is but the group holds together in the name of fun and heads to one of a gazillion bars in town (and Tijuana is not a small town). Marissa (and 3 witnesses) steps upstairs to the dance floor and who does she see? Luke with another girl, smooching each other all over. Tears (and break-up on-the-spot). Surprise, Tijuana is after all a small place too!

At this point it looks like Luke is being kicked out of the plot, which is a shame, may the Gods of Orange County have him under good shelter.

The O.C. is a well written nightmare, cool at times and where parents for once don’t exhibit a brain the size of a turtle's (unless sex is on the menu). Mostly everybody are borderline alcoholic, use drugs, drive SUVs and are either millionaires or on the verge of bankruptcy. But the leading couple, while the grinding engine throughout the whole plot, geez, what do we make of these guys?

Marissa is a master of “clueless”. To find anything remotely close to Melinda Clarke’s acting in the O.C. (Marissa Cooper) I’ll have to send you back to Shelley Duvall (the Wendy Torrance in “The Shining”). In Shining was raw terror, here is pure clumsiness. I agree, the producers probably agree too, that this mish-mash of clueless eye-hand-shoulder moves is the fascinating part of Marissa’s character. Slipping like an eel away from language not knowing why. The result is (and I have yet to go over Season 2) tiring. Very very so. (sorry girl, but you're cute)

Ryan is very different from Marissa. In a way, opposite. Grown up in Chino, no money, no college, sideline criminal and violent, adopetd by millionaires and with moral vectors to spare due to rebounding guilt. Now, one of the goods of the series is these kids are not being instructed every 10 minutes on what they are supposed to do and act like. But here comes Ryan with an advice, a statement, a moral line for each. Self-righteous 101, that is Ryan. The result is tiring. Very very so. (sorry man, you should get loose a bit) And, are you ever going to have sex with Marissa anyway? We are very concerned about that. I heard this is going to drag you guys all the way to Season 3. I’ll quit here if that is true.

I know many of you are or have been on this already and possibly the long-term developments of these observations are clear. I remind those who have never been on a soap ever that to be stoopid is your right, an hour a day, as is filing your nails by the pool (if you have one:)

For more on the O.C. visit fox.com

SPOILER for the not in the advanced: At end of Season 1 everybody is in tears. Ryan is leaving with Theresa, heading to Chino, to deliver her baby. (See, he has sex, just not with the one we expect). Don't you people cry, this is an easy fix. Theresa will lose the baby. Sorta. After three months and with Marissa and Ryan back together (why keep Theresa once she loses your child, duh!) we expected the leading couple to proceed further in their relationship, correct? Well, not quite. Marissa is ready to bounce off again. And this time it is not straight vodka or painkillers or another casual boyfriend. What is it? The stepfather? The hunchback? Midgets? Or a girlfriend?

A girlfriend?

More tears:-)