The OC: The Complete First Season
Warner Home Video
Cast: Mischa Barton, Rachel Bilson, Adam Brody, Chris Carmack, Melinda Clarke
Extras: Commentary Tracks, Deleted Scenes, Featurettes
Rating:
Just when you thought it was safe to turn on the TV again without being inundated with teenage soap operas á la ’Melrose Place’ or ’90210, ’ along came ’The OC.’ Fortunately for everyone involved, this show is actually much better than its predecessors and as such it is hardly surprising that it became an overnight success.
While ’The OC’ still tells us the utterly unrealistic lifestyle of nothing but super-rich upper crust teenagers – this time in Orange County’s Newport Beach – the topics touched upon in the episodes are much more tangible and realistic than what Spelling’s teenage series ever managed to come up with. Having lived in Orange Country for many, many years now, I feel the attitude of the people in the show has just the right snobby attitude, even though this whole rich-kid ambiance is getting very tiresome very quickly, as the ’real’ Orange County is nothing like what you see on the show. Still, it’s a fun watch.
Warner Home Entertainment has put together a great DVD box set her, featuring all 27 episodes if the first season on seven discs, while also adding a few supplements to the mix, such as commentary tracks, and some music track guides, a few unaired – or should we say, deleted – scenes. A few featurettes are also included covering aspects such as the casting of the show, the music as well as something called ’Inside the real OC.’
The image quality of this fullframe transfer is top notch throughout with strong colors and deep blacks. No blemishes can be found and the transfer also shows great sharpness without edge-enhancement. No compression artifacts are visible.
The audio comes as a Dolby Surround track, which is adequate for the material, and is also free of defects or blemishes. A good frequency response makes sure everything sounds natural while the balanced mix ensures that dialogue is always understandable and the center of attention.
’The OC’ has quickly found its audience and I am sure every follower of this hot new show will eat this DVD set up, so go get it.
