The Chronic Consumer

After watching the first two seasons of The O.C. on DVD, I was hooked on the show. Sure, the second season storylines dropped off significantly in terms of quality and believability from Season 1, but that didn’t seem to matter too much for this particular show. I was already fully invested in the characters, and just had to see how their lives played out. That’s why I continued on and bought S3 on DVD.

The O.C. — The Complete Third Season contains all 25 episodes from Season 3, as well as some nice extra features. These eps aired on FOX from September 8, 2005 - May 18, 2006, and included “The End of the Innocence” (where Ryan and Marissa FINALLY consummate their relationship), “The Day After Tomorrow” (the whole sweatshirt bonfire/Seth college angst storyline), and “The Graduates” (where Marissa dies). Yes, there were only three memorable eps for me in the entire season. What can I say, S3 was terrible!

But, I would never leave an entire season out of a DVD collection, so I purchased this one. At least I got my box set on sale for just $16.99 a couple months ago, which is far more palatable than the current $46.99 list price at Amazon.com.

Oh, before I forget, some of the bonus features include:

• The Party Favor: From Script to Screen
• Making of The Subways Video
• What’s in a Name?
• Pass the Remote: Selected Scene-Surfing Commentary
• Gags and Goofs

“The Party Favor” featurette is about how an episode of The O.C. (in this case, the prom ep) goes from concept to screen in a couple of weeks, and was actually very interesting. “What’s in a Name?” was also fun, as it tells about how producer Josh Schwartz used the names of a lot of his friends for characters on the show.

This Complete Third Season box set comes in fold-out packaging with some nice shots of the main cast on the flaps, as well as individual portraits on each of the seven discs. When stored, a couple of the discs sit on top of each other, so you’ll have to remove the top ones to get to the bottom ones — no biggie for me, but I know some people find this annoying. There’s also a nice episode guide that gives a brief synopsis of and photo from each ep, making it easy to find exactly what you’re looking for.

Overall, despite the lack of quality in The O.C. — The Complete Third Season, this is a box set that every true fan of the show must have for their collection. I recommend waiting for another price drop at Amazon.com so you don’t end up paying more than $20 for it!