The Chronic Consumer

The Fourth Season of the teen drama The O.C. was its shortest, as the program was canceled midyear due to a significant decline in viewership. This was an unfortunate turn of events, as I really thought the show was returning to Season One form after an admittedly poor second season. The first half of the third season wasn’t anything to brag about either, but the last few episodes were good.

But the Powers That Be at Fox apparently decided enough was enough, and pulled the plug after just 16 episodes. At least the producers, writers, cast, and crew knew the end was coming, which meant they had ample time to wrap up ongoing storylines and tie up loose ends.

The O.C. — The Complete Fourth Season is a five-disc set that contains all 16 eps that aired from November 2, 2006 to February 22, 2007. Some of the memorable episodes from this block include “The Metamorphosis” (where Taylor starts to fall for Ryan), “The Chrismukk-huh?” (that showed what everyone’s lives would be like without Ryan), “The Shake Up” (when Ryan finally admits that he loves Taylor), and of course “The End’s Not Near, It’s Here” (the series finale).

There are only three special features in this box set, which was pretty disappointing given the fact that it’s the final one. They are:

• Unaired Scenes (not very many, actually)
• The Magic That Is Chrismukkah (about the annual holiday episodes)
• Summer Roberts — Beauty Meets Brown: The Creation and Evolution of One of the Show’s Most Lovable Characters
• Commentary from Josh Schwartz on the finale

My favorite bonus feature was the one about Summer, as she was indeed my favorite character of the show. It was cool to see how she developed over the years, and how much of the development was in direct response to fan reaction to Bilson. She was just supposed to be a minor character, but fans loved her so much that she became a regular with a much bigger part.

Overall, The O.C. — The Complete Fourth Season is an absolute must-have for any fan of the TV series. I paid $16.99 for my brand-new copy, and think that’s a very fair price. Heck, I would have paid that much just for the finale alone, as that’s my favorite episode of the entire series (one that I’ve watched numerous times already). If you enjoyed The O.C. and came to love Seth, Summer, Ryan, and Taylor in your own special way, then you MUST buy this box set!