"The O.C." has shown a natural and should be expected turn from engaging to ridiculous. The fortunate thing for the series creators is that they did such a good job getting people interested in the lives of the show's main characters and even the supporting characters for that matter that subsequent years only need find these characters in any form of trouble to keep the plotlines interesting. Audiences love finding their favorite characters in peril only because they know they will soon get out of it, the only question is how, and despite how crazy the solution may be it is sure to be interesting. So you think the show is incredibly ludicrous and far from reality. Guess what, then the writers have done their job, if it was reality you wouldn't be interested.
Season three continues down the spiral of fictional storytelling as drugs, drinking, violence, death, beach parties, sex, rock and roll, love, hate and raucous behavior are only the tip of the iceberg. "The O.C." is a show displaying all the worst decisions a group of individuals can possibly make and somehow we tolerate it only because next week we know the idiots will become the smart ones because there are sure to be a larger group of idiots on display.
If you don't like spoilers than skip this paragraph as I will reveal to you my number one reason why the third season of "The O.C." is good... Okay, spoiler alert over and Marissa Cooper is DEAD!!!! I have already gotten over my fear of whether or not my enjoyment of the death of anyone real or fictional is a sane thing. If you were wondering the same thing, when it comes to Mischa Barton's Marissa character it is sane. Marissa Cooper, from season one thru the final episode of season three, was by far the most annoying character I can ever remember seeing on television or film. As the season went on I was beginning to wonder if it would happen, and when it did... while it was a little stupid, the end result outweighed the means.
As for this DVD set you are going to get all 25 season three episodes on seven discs and a small group of special features including a featurette called "What's In a Name?" which details how several of the guest stars' names are chosen using friends of the show creators, yeah, revolutionary feature. The rest are equally unimpressive as they tell you how they designed the prom pirate ship set, a stupid selected scene commentary, a gag reel and a making of the Subways video feature. What I wanted was a "Killing of Marissa Feature" and how much fun it was to do. Unfortunately they don't even broach the subject.
Buying season three of "The O.C." depends on your commitment level. If you already own the first two seasons then you buy the third, this is not something you just jump into; you have to start from the beginning. If I was to compare the first three seasons the first season easily comes in at one and I think I enjoyed the third more than the second only because I accepted the fact that they were going ridiculous, but now with Marissa's sister in the mix all new storylines are on the horizon and with college and summer vacation on the way the fourth season could really get the show back to its truly winning ways.
Good like in the movies Mischa, I am sure we'll see you partying with Lohan or Paris soon.