"The O.C." Moment: In the beginning...

I can remember the night “The O.C.” premiered. August 5, 2003.

I remember it because I actually had no intention of watching it—no matter how much FOX promoted it. But it came on, and I was so sucked in by those first five minutes, I had to keep watching.

The show began with a bang as Trey and his younger brother, Ryan, stole a car and then crashed it running from the police. Ryan’s lawyer, Sandy Cohen, showed up and the series moved from there. From the first moment I heard those opening strains of Phantom Planet’s “California” as Ryan tried to find a place to stay, I knew that “The O.C.” was something special…

TV pilots are a tricky thing. You have to make enough of a splash to get people to notice. But you also have to introduce enough of the characters and story to get people to come back. “The O.C.” did both beautifully. The clothes were hot, the music was cool, the scenery was gorgeous, the writing was snappy and smart and the characters were well-defined as we found out everything we needed to know in that first episode.

All of the typical teen soap elements were there as well including a love triangle (Ryan-Marissa-Luke), unrequited love (Seth and Summer) and disapproving parents (Kirsten and Julie). But on this show they didn’t seem quite so clichéd.

I have to admit I get a little sad watching the pilot now, because no matter how good the show was, nothing it ever did compared to that first amazing hour.

If you have SOAPNet, you’ll be able to watch reruns of “The O.C.” beginning next month. I encourage you to check out that first episode to see what good television is all about. It’s just a shame that it couldn’t stay that way…