1. Introduction
2. Packaging
3. Season 1 Mini-Review
4. Season 2 Mini-Review
5. Season 3 Mini-Review
6. Season 4 Mini-Review
7. Video
8. Audio
9. Final Thoughts

The O.C. is a television teenage melodrama that was created by Josh Schwartz. The series first aired in 2003 and ran for four seasons until 2007. The series produced a total of ninety-two episodes. The premise of The O.C. was nothing new to television, but its delivery -- supplemented with topnotch writing, strong dialogue, solid acting performances, nonstop drama, and subtle carefree humor -- made for a pretty remarkable series. In the show's first season, it developed a huge fan base and quickly found a place in modern day pop culture.

The series, set in Southern California -- Orange County, is about three youths and the resulting drama that occurs after a fourth is introduced into their lives. The fourth comes from an unprivileged background. When introduced to the privileged and wealthy lifestyle of the O.C., he finds himself in a sea of drama. Supplementing the youthful four are the parents and other adults who are caught up in similar degrees of drama.

In short, The O.C. is a teenage-oriented soap opera with plenty of engaging and exciting developments for everyone to enjoy. The series starts off with a bang and continues until the end with the right level of melodrama for viewers to enjoy. For more details about this series, please refer to the mini-reviews of the four seasons included in this review, or DVD Talk's full season reviews of season one, season two, season three, and season four.

The show's complete series collection includes all of the season four episodes and the same DVD content as the individual season sets, as well as some exclusive content. Seasons three and four have special features not originally included in the original season sets. (Refer to the bonus section of the mini-reviews and look for EXCLUSIVE! extras to see what's new.) In addition, the season one was remastered to a widescreen format -- season one was released in a full frame format. The complete series set also comes with some very unique packaging -- a booklet that holds twenty-eight DVDs and contains glossy pictures, interviews, and episode descriptions.

For fans of the series, the complete series collection offers new content and a better looking first season one. While this set contains all of the same content as the individual releases and has exclusive special features, there really is not a whole lot to the extras that makes this set worth double-dipping if you have already purchased the individual season sets. But owning season one in widescreen is nice upgrade and that aspect might be the best deciding factor. On the chance you have not been collecting this series on DVD, then this massive set is a great way to go.

The remainder of this review will consist of a review of the complete series collection packaging, summary reviews of each season with an overview of the bonus features (if there are any), audio/video details, and concluding thoughts. Each season review will have a link to the full season review (if you want more details).

Return to the Table of Contents

The packaging for The O.C.: The Complete Series is a unique booklet style case. The custom packaging is visually attractive and holds all four seasons, twenty-eight DVDs, in a fairly secure manner. The case is a booklet and comes in a heavy-duty plastic cover. It is a nice protective cover. To get the booklet out, it slides out from the side.

The first page of the booklet has a stock photo of the main cast (same as season one packaging). On the next page is a letter from creator Josh Schwartz. Pages 3-6 are a conversation with Josh Schwartz and executive producer Stephanie Savage. The following pages contain glossy pictures of the cast, screenshots from the season episodes, a sneak peek at the comic "The Atomic County", episode descriptions, bonus feature breakdowns, and the actual DVDs.

The pages with the DVDs are sturdy cardboard and hold the discs fairly well. (I can hold the booklet upside down and shake it with little disc movement.) Surprisingly enough, the DVD to cardboard contact does not appear to cause much scratching to the discs. The DVD artwork is also new. A common theme appears on all the DVDs, with discs labeled from 1 to 28.

All in all, I really like the packaging. It is slick looking and holds the DVDs very well. While it is not very compact, it is still smaller than the individual season sets together. However, it is sized oddly and probably won't utilize space on your shelves in the most optimal fashion. On the flipside, after limited use the booklet spin appears to suffer from wear and tear.

Here are some pictures of the set. The last two pictures show the condition of the spin.

These last two pictures show where the wear and tear of opening the booklet after limited usage.

Return to the Table of Contents

The Mini Review

Ryan Atwood is a young sixteen year old who grew up in Chino, California. He was a troubled teen and recently sent to jail for stealing a car with his bad boy brother Trey. His attorney, Sandy Cohen, is a rich and generous guy. He feels for Ryan's situation and after he gets Ryan off the hook, Ryan is kicked out of his home. Sandy, being a good guy and all, decides to give him a second chance at life. He takes him into his care with his wife Kirstin and son Seth... giving Ryan access to the rich and beautiful lifestyle of Orange County (O.C.). At which point, Ryan's life and the O.C. would never be the same.

For a first season, The O.C. starts off with a bang and does not stop. It offers compelling, eye rolling drama from start to finish and keeps viewer's interest with several twists, scandalous love affairs, and corporate mishaps. It is a really good drama for those who enjoy solid soap opera quality features. There is also a nice subtle level of humor that helps offset the heavy dramatic moments and keeps the content fresh. The show also benefits from well-written dialogue and strong acting performances.

The primary focus is Ryan adapting to his new way of life and the drama that ensues from his new family and friends. Ryan and the Cohens' daily lives are closely intertwined with another wealthy and beautiful family, the Coopers. Of note is Marissa Cooper, who after meeting Ryan has immediate chemistry with him. Of course, she is attached to rich bad boy Luke Ward. Ryan, Marissa, and Luke embark in a lusty love triangle filled. Seth also finds himself in a romantic endeavor with Summer Roberts.

Other major storylines include Jimmy Cooper, Marissa's father being under investigation by the federal government for a fraud scandal, Sandy leaving public sector to join a private law firm, Marissa's relationship with the troubled Oliver Trask, Julie Cooper's sexual scandals and marriage to Cabel Nichol (Kirsten's father), Luke dealing with his father's sexual orientation, Seth running away from home, and Ryan facing fatherhood.

Bonus Features

• An audio Commentary is included for episode "Pilot" with creator Josh Schwartz and producer Stephanie Savage.
• "The O.C. Music Guide" is a special feature that uses DVD subtitles to display information about a band while their song plays. This feature is included for episodes "The Model Home", "The Outsider", "The Secret", "The Countdown", "Telenovela", and "The Goodbye Girl".
• "Casting The O.C." (15:01) stars Josh Schwartz and casting director Patrick Rush. They talk about their experiences in hiring the cast. Peter Gallagher, Mischa Barton, Kelly Rowan, Benjamin McKenzie, Adam Brody, Rachel Bilson, Tate Donovan, and Melinda Clarke join them and offer opinions and thoughts about their casting experiences and characters.
• "The Music of The O.C." (10:04) is a featurette about the music selection process for The O.C. with music supervisor Alexandra Patsavas, creator Josh Schwartz, Tate Donovan, Mischa Barton, and Adam Brody. There is also discussion about how the music impacts and represents the show.
• "Inside the Real O.C." (12:12) stars executive producer "McG" speaking with real-life O.C. high school students James, Laura, Kurt, Samantha, and Christian. He interviews them and gets their take on the show. It is a pretty dull featurette with little purpose or entertainment value.
• "The O.C. Unseen" (10:51) is a collection of deleted scenes for episodes "Pilot", "The Debut", "The Girlfriend", "The Third Wheel", "The Heartbreak", and "The Telenovela". The deleted scenes can be watch individually or in a sequence. There is also an optional introduction with Josh Schwartz.
• "Season 2 Sneak Peak" (3:32) is a sneak peak into the next season with Josh Schwartz, Adam Brody, Peter Gallagher, Benjamin McKenzie, Mischa Barton, Rachel Bilson, Tate Donovan, and Melinda Clarke. They talk about potential directions for the next season.

Return to the Table of Contents

The Mini Review

In The O.C.'s second season, the drama gets kicked up a notch with more even more nonstop, soapy, eye rolling moments. The first season closed with a lot of big developments. Seth ran away from home and was staying with Luke in Portland, Oregon. Julie and Caleb tied the knot and Julie enters season two as the new chief executive officer of The Newport Group. Ryan went back to Chino to face parenthood with ex-girlfriend Theresa Diaz.

Both Ryan and Seth return to the O.C. as their individual issues are tied up. The couples Ryan-Marissa and Seth-Summer face new problems, as both girls are unhappy with their now ex-boyfriends. They date other guys and it causes a lot of romantic drama. Marissa's situation is especially of note. She continues to deal with her drug addiction, while dating the Nichol's gardener DJ and then Seth's ex-girlfriend Alex Kelly.

Another pretty big development involves Ryan's brother Trey. While Ryan did not get sent to prison, he did. After being released from prison, Sandy offers him a better life in the O.C. He eagerly takes the opportunity and unlike his brother uses it to his advantage. Trey quickly resorts to his bad boy lifestyle, using drugs and stealing. His bad behavior makes for a lot of drama. At the end of the season, Trey is involved in of those big "holy crap" moments. It involves Trey, Ryan, Marissa, and some pretty bad intentions.

Other season two events include gold digger Julie having an affair with her ex-husband, which Caleb finds out about, Ryan dating Lindsay -- a girl who has a shocking past, Kirsten's alcoholism getting reaching new levels, Sandy's close relationship with old female friend Rebecca Bloom, and Julie doing the unthinkable to attain her wealthy status. Overall, it is another solid season with some pretty thick and soapy drama.

Bonus Features

• Audio commentaries are included for episodes "The Chrismukkah That Almost Wasn't" with Josh Schwartz and Bob DeLaurentis, and "Rainy Day Women" with Josh Schwartz, Stephanie Svage, Alexndra Patsavas, and Matt Ramsey.
• "The O.C. Unseen" (0:29) is a deleted scene for episode "A Catered Affair".
• "Beachy Couture" (15:28) is led by Stephanie Savage and costume designer Karla Stevens. They are joined by various cast members (Peter Gallagher, Melinda Clarke, Rachel Bilson, Kelly Rowan, Adam Brody, Mischa Barton, Alan Dale, Benjamin McKenzie) and speak about giving The O.C. the right look, selecting outfits for specific characters/scenes, etc.
• "The O.C.: Obsess Completely" (32:50) is a retrospective documentary that aired on the FOX network. The documentary focused on the show's highly successful first season.
• "The O.C. - Take 1: Gags and Goofs Season 1" (9:54) is a collection of outtakes, bloopers, goofs, and mess-ups during filming of season one.
• "The O.C. - Take 2: Gags and Goofs Season 2" (12:43) is a collection of outtakes, bloopers, goofs, and mess-ups during filming of season two.

Return to the Table of Contents

The Mini Review

Like the first two season, three is packed with drama. The stories range from the aftermath of the Ryan-Marissa-Trey season cliffhanger, Kirsten dealing with her alcoholism, Caleb's estate (or rather lack of), new friends and old faces, character deaths, con artists, the SATs and college, teacher/student affairs, teenage bad boy surfers, and more. It is another solid season with lots of nonstop drama.

Marissa is again at the fore with a pretty big storyline. Her family's powerful status goes south with the reading of Caleb's estate. It turns out Caleb was not as rich as he appeared. Julie and Marissa end up with nothing. To make matters worse, Marissa's social life goes deep six in the aftermath of the Ryan-Marissa-Trey cliffhanger. She is looked down upon by her peers and expelled from school for her actions. She attends public high school and meets some new faces like Johnny Harper, a surfer who has his own drama that eventually leads to his death, and Kevin Volchok, a tough guy surfer who makes Beverly Hills, 90210's Dylan McKay look like a puppy dog.

Kirsten also continues to deal with her alcoholism and the loss of her father Caleb. This is about when she has a run in with a con artist played by Jeri Ryan. With the Nichol estate bankrupt, the Newport Group is a sinking ship. Sandy decides to take over as president and CEO to use the company to do some good in the world by building low income housing. Something his father-in-law never saw eye to eye with him about. Joining Sandy as vice president is a young businessman from New York named Matt Ramsey, who has a taste for strippers.

Other major developments include Ryan being targeted by the district attorney's office, Ryan, Marissa, Seth, and Summer dealing with Taylor Townsend who brings a lot of drama to the bunch, Kaitlin Cooper returns to the O.C. to spice things up and after befriending Johnny, plays a role in his death, Ryan finds romance with Johnny's cousin Sadie and his ex-girlfriend Theresa, and Ryan being blackmailed by Volchok.

Bonus Features

• "Making of the Subways" (2:56) is a short clip with the band members of the Subways. It shows behind the scenes footage with the band on set. It also features a short interview. Nothing very exciting happens or is said.
• "What's in a Name?" (13:48) is a featurette that stars creator Josh Schwartz. Schwartz begins with a brief introduction and prelude to the featurette's contents. The O.C. has a lot of characters and he started using names of people he knew. He talks about the characters with the names Jeff Frankel, Cameo McMillan, Matt Miller, Matt Ramsey, Nick Mercer, Joel McKuin, Kevin Volchok, Lisa Robin, Jim Mercer, Diana Kahn, and Steve Peiser, and relates the names to the real people.
• "From Script to Screen: The Party Favor" (16:14) features a variety of cast and crew talking about the episode "The Party Favor". It begins with various cast and crew giving their experiences with prom (or at least a semi-humorous attempt). Apparently, only a couple of these beautiful people went to prom (or remember going). Next, we are given a behind the scenes look into various aspects of production (writing, props, directing, etc.) while Josh Schwartz, Stephanie Savage, John Stephens, David Karl Calloway, Michael Lange, Thomas Fichter, and others talk about the writing process, production, and everything else necessary to put an episode together.
• "Pass the Remote" (19:28) stars Josh Schwartz and John Stephens. They provide a video commentary about the episode "The Pot Stirrer". The two talk about select aspects of the episode, e.g., the characters humorous dynamic, the storyline, illegal use of drugs, and so on. Afterwards, Schwartz joins J.J. Philbin and they have a similar discussion for the episode "The Undertow".
• "Gags and Goofs" (11:14) is your basic bloopers reel. It captures a side that you do not see in most of the cast members due to the dramatic nature of their roles. It is worth a few laughs.
• EXCLUSIVE!: "Pass the Remote" (24:37) stars Josh Schwartz and Bob DeLaurentis. They provide a video commentary for episode "The Game Plan". Next, Schwartz joins Stephanie Savage to talk about "The Sister Act". The topics are similar to the other "Pass the Remote" extra.
• EXCLUSIVE!: Deleted scenes are included for episodes "The End of Innocence", "The Anger Management", "The Sister Act", "The Pot Stirrer", "The Heavy Lifting", and "The Road Warrior". The scenes can be watch individually or in a sequence. Each scene begins with an introduction with Stephanie Savage.

Return to the Table of Contents

The Mini Review

For The O.C.'s fourth and final season, the episode billet was shorter than past seasons, with only sixteen episodes. The series was facing cancellation. The C.W. network considered to pick up the show for a fifth season, but it did not happen. Needless to say, The O.C.'s fourth season continues to deliver the goods. Fans of the show will enjoy the soapy sixteen episodes like candy.

The fourth season picks up where the third left off. In the close of season three, Volchok was pissed at Ryan and Marissa. While drunk, he ran their car off the road. The accident proved fatal for Marissa and left Ryan fueled with hate. Volchok runs for the border to seek freedom. In the aftermath, Ryan leaves the Cohens and starts underground fighting. Julie knows of his anger and tries to use him to kill Volchok. However, Sandy and Kirsten prove clearheaded and work with him to bring Volchok to justice.

As the Ryan-Marissa-Volchok storyline comes to a close, new drama comes to the O.C. Ryan's real father Frank Atwood is released from prison and tricks Ryan into seeing him. He lies to Ryan about his health and a fair amount of drama follows. Ryan also hooks up with Taylor. She comes back from Europe hitched to a fellow she does not love. Ryan helps her break off the marriage and the two develop an on and off again romance.

The season also features Seth and Summer's getting very serious, a Cohen pregnancy, Kirsten's matchmaking business blooming, Julie using Kirsten's business to illegally setup "dates", Julie and a love triangle with Frank Atwood and Gordon Bullit (Kirsten's business partner), Summer going to college away from Seth and friends, a devastating earthquake, and Kaitlin taking a more dominate role as a character with a bad girl attitude.

Bonus Features

• An audio commentary is included for episode "The End's Not Near, It's Here" with Josh Schwartz.
• "The Magic That Is Chrismukkah" (16:01) is a featurette that addresses Adam Brody's character Seth and his multi-cultural religious background. Since Seth's parents are both Jewish and Christian backgrounds, he celebrates both holidays as Chrismukkah. This featurette stars the cast and crew; they talk about Seth's fictional holiday. A couple individuals not related to the show also appear and make comments.
• "Summer Roberts - Beauty Meets Brown" (13:26) is another featurette that has Rachel Bilson, Stephanie Savage, and Josh Schwartz. They talk about Bilson as an actress, Summer's relationship with Seth, her personality, and more.
• "Unaired Scenes" (1:42) consists of two deleted scenes.
• EXCLUSIVE!: "Gag Reel" (14:02) is the season four bloopers reel. It captures a side that you do not see in most of the cast members due to the dramatic nature of their roles. It is worth a few laughs.
• EXCLUSIVE!: "Women of The OC" (23:53) stars Rachel Bilson, Melinda Clarke, Mischa Barton, Autumn Reeser, Willa Holland, Kelly Rowan, Josh Schwartz, Benjamin McKenzie, Peter Gallagher, and Stephanie Savage. They talk about the leading female characters and the actresses who play them. There are a lot of compliments and positive things said about everyone.
• EXCLUSIVE!: "Atomic County Webisodes" (38:43) is a collection of fourteen webisodes -- short video clips that are sometimes made available online to supplement a broadcast or cable television show -- that highlight the animated spin-off show "Atomic County", which is based upon the fictional comic book developed by The O.C. character Seth Cohen.

Return to the Table of Contents

The DVD

Video:
The video in this release is given in an enhanced anamorphic 1.78:1 ratio widescreen color format. The picture quality is quite good. It suffers from a slight grain, but detail remains to be sharp and clear. However, there are some occasional moments when the picture suffers compression artifacts. This is a rare occurrence, but it does happen.

Please note the first season was originally released in 1.33:1 full frame color format. This release features the first season reformatted in a widescreen format.

Return to the Table of Contents

Audio:
The audio track in this release is in English 2.0 Dolby digital stereo sound. Overall, the sound quality is very good, providing an audible and clean audio track. Like most TV on DVD releases the majority of the audio track is spoken dialogue and sounds rather flat. However, music does sound rich and vibrant. The release has subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.

Return to the Table of Contents

Final Thoughts:
The O.C. is a television drama about the lives of rich and beautiful inhabitants in Southern California -- Orange County. The show features nonstop drama with lots of romantic love affairs, soap opera quality developments, and more. It also has great writing, addictive storylines, subtle comedy, and more than enough content to keep your interest. This complete series collection includes the show's entire four season run, ninety-two episodes on twenty-eight DVDs. The content includes some exclusive special features that are not available with the individual season releases and the first season in widescreen. All of which is stored in a slick custom booklet-style package. If you haven't already been collecting the season sets, this complete series set is a great way to grab all of the episodes at once. However, if you are considering double dipping, it is worth noting that the exclusive bonus content does not feature anything that is must see.

Return to the Table of Contents