Premiere (The O.C. episode)

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The Pilot
The O.C. episode

Ryan and the Cohens at the fashion show.
Episode no. Season 1
(2003-2004)
Episode 1
Written by Josh Schwartz
Directed by Doug Liman
Production no. 475197
Original airdate August 5, 2003 (FOX)
Episode chronology
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"The Model Home"

"Pilot" is the first episode of the FOX television series, The O.C.. The episode was written by Josh Schwartz and was directed by Doug Liman. It originally aired on Tuesday August 5, 2003.

Contents

[edit] Guest stars

Actor / actress Character
Melinda Clarke Julie Cooper
Daphne Ashbrook Dawn Atwood
Chris Carmack Luke Ward
Rachel Bilson Summer Roberts
Ruth Williamson Peggy
Drew Fuller Norland
Ashley Hartman Holly Fischer
Shailene Woodley Kaitlin Cooper
Bradley Stryker Trey Atwood

[edit] Plot

Ryan Atwood, a 16-year-old boy from Chino, steals a car with his older brother Trey Atwood. They crash the car and are arrested. Sandy Cohen, a public defender, goes to visit Ryan and leaves a card just in case. Ryan's mother, Dawn Atwood, throws Ryan out after picking him up at the juvie hall. After calling several friends and not finding a place to stay, Ryan calls Sandy. Sandy picks him up and takes Ryan to his house. But before that, Sandy has to convince his wife Kirsten Cohen to allow Ryan to stay; Kirsten worries that Ryan will be a bad influence to their son Seth Cohen. Kirsten finally gives up arguing with "charming" Sandy, and lets the homeless boy stay in the pool house.

During the time that Sandy is convincing his wife to let Ryan stay, Ryan walks out to the end of the driveway to smoke and sees Marissa Cooper, the girl next door, waiting for someone at the end of her driveway. They talk until Marissa's boyfriend Luke Ward arrives to pick her up. Just as Marissa is leaving, she invites Ryan to stop by her fashion show fundraiser the following night.

Morning. Ryan meets Seth and they play video games together. The pair go sailing, and Seth reveals to Ryan his obsession with sailing and Summer Roberts, to whom he has never spoken. Seth even named a boat after her.

Meanwhile, two federal agents come to Marissa's home to find her dad, Jimmy Cooper. Marissa is worried because it is not the first time they showed, but Jimmy comforts her. Marissa then leaves for the fashion show with Jimmy, her mother Julie Cooper and sister Kaitlin Cooper.

Seth shows how he is the "geek of Newport" at the fashion show. Ryan, however, proves far more popular. During the show, Jimmy breaks down in the toilet after hearing usual Newport "rich talk" (it was hinted earlier in the episode that, as a financial planner, he had been embezzling from his clients' funds).

After the show, Summer, who is attracted to Ryan, invites Ryan to come to a party. Ryan takes Seth along with him. During the party, a drunk Summer makes a play for Ryan, who rebuffs her. Jealous Seth misunderstands and tells the truth about Ryan's background. Suddenly Ryan is not welcome.

Angry Seth stumbles off towards the beach, where he stumbles upon a group of water polo players who tease him and start pushing him around. Ryan runs over to help Seth, attacking the leader, Luke. A fight ensues, which Ryan and Seth lose. The fight culminates with the delivery of Luke's famous line "Welcome to the O.C., bitch. This is how it's done in Orange County." as he finishes beating up Ryan.

Ryan and Seth go back to the Cohen's, where Ryan sees drunk, passed-out Marissa being dumped outside her home by Summer and Holly. Ryan, who cannot find Marissa's front door key to get her into her own house, carries her back to the pool house and tucks her in.

The next morning, when Ryan awakes, he finds out Marissa has left. Kirsten, who sees bruises on both Seth and Ryans' faces, is not happy that her prediction was right. She demands that Sandy return Ryan to his mother, although she feels a little bad about this when she finds that Ryan has made breakfast for the family. Sandy drives Ryan to Chino, only to find his mother has gone, and the house where they were living is empty. "Come on. Let's go." Sandy says, taking him back to Orange County.

[edit] Music

[edit] Trivia

  • This is the only episode of The O.C. where the episode title doesn't begin with "The"
  • This episode was the only episode to be filmed in an actual house, after that they moved to a set because of filming costs
  • The episode premiered at 7.5 million viewers in the US Nielsen ratings.
  • When Mr. Cohen is driving Ryan up to their house, there is no wind and it is not raining. However, when Mr. and Mrs. Cohen are arguing about Ryan in the kitchen, it is raining outside and the trees are blowing wildly. During the next scene, when Ryan and Marissa meet for the first time, it is no longer raining, and the wind is gentle again.
  • The waiter who offers Ryan hors d'oeuvres at the fashion show is portrayed by the same actor as one of the men living in Kirsten and Sandy's house in "The End's Not Near, It's Here."
  • During the pre-party at the fashion show, we see many people who will star in later episodes, including Veronica Townsend milling about.

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
The O.C.
Episodes   |   Website
Primary
characters
Ryan Atwood | Marissa Cooper | Seth Cohen | Summer Roberts
Sandy Cohen | Kirsten Cohen | Julie Cooper | Jimmy Cooper
Taylor Townsend | Kaitlin Cooper | Caleb Nichol | Luke Ward
Secondary
characters
Alex Kelly | Anna Stern | Dawn Atwood | Frank Atwood | Trey Atwood |
Carter Buckley | Gordon Bullit | Sophie Cohen | Theresa Diaz
Holly Fischer | Lindsay Gardner | Johnny Harper |
Charlotte Morgan | Hailey Nichol | Neil Roberts |Kevin Volchok
Zach Stevens | Veronica Townsend | Oliver Trask | Rebecca Bloom
Locations Newport | Orange County | Chino | Berkeley | Brown
Music Mix 1 | Mix 2 | Mix 3 | Mix 4 | Mix 5 | Mix 6
Related Chrismukkah
Key producers Josh Schwartz | McG | Stephanie Savage | Allan Heinberg
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