The O.C. - TV-PG

Sex, drugs, and designer labels rule.

TV Rating: TV-PG Network: Fox Cast: Adam Brody, Mischa Barton, Benjamin McKenzie Genre: Drama
Available on: DVDDownload

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that this is a show full of teen drinking, drugging, fighting, sex, and -- of course -- angst. Put it this way: A single episode dealt with the fallout from a shooting, included scenes set in a rehab facility, and showcased the usual melodramatic relationships and random smooching that we've come to expect from evening soaps. Every season, the stars try to escape the consequences of their actions and get away with as much as they can. Bottom line? If your kids behaved the way these teens do, you'd still be really worried about their values.

Since teens are watching, we strongly recommend that you watch with them and ask them if their friends are doing what these kids on the screen are. Talk about safe sex, sex for favors, the consequences of drinking and acting out. Your conversations could lead to real revelations about your kids' lives or expectations. Try to put your two cents in about what's realistic and what isn't. A definite reality check is required for kids absorbed in this popular sensation.

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Common Sense Media

THE O.C. clearly owes its origins to the long-running Beverly Hills 90210. And then it goes on steroids. At the center of much of it are the handsome boy from the wrong side of the tracks and geeky Seth (Adam Brody), but don't think the plot is anything more than interstitial tissue holding together sex scenes, drug scenes, and fashion obsessions.

This series makes no apologies for its spoiled-rich-kids setting. But the show is unbelievably popular, picking up where David Kelly's Boston Public left off with kids pushing the envelope of acceptable or responsible behavior.

That said, even though the script is well written, it's throbbingly unoriginal. But that probably doesn't matter if you're a teen looking out at the world wondering where the edges are.

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Content		CS	adults	kids
Content
Sexual Content Shirtless guys, talk of hooking up, sex on the brain, bodies on the beach.
Violence There are fist fights and verbal threats.
Language "Bitch" is the favorite word.
Message
	Social Behavior Fist fights, drug taking, homosexual slurs, friends leaving friends drunk on the sidewalk. Nothing you'd want your kids doing.
	Commercialism Designer labels and thing-lust permeate most episodes. Now the show has put its name on clothes, music, and perfume, too.
	Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco High schoolers shown drinking heavily, smoking pot, snorting coke, and -- oh yeah -- drinking so much that the sympathetic main character is deposited on her front walk passed out cold. Over the top and really irresponsible.