'The O.C.' takes a long look at itself

[OCallyFaN80]

What makes us who we are? Is it an untouchable essence at our core that guides our actions, or does our environment sculpt our character?

Nature versus nurture - an age-old question, indeed.

Wrestling with it, and often punching it in the face, was Ryan of "The O.C." - a smart, respectful kid who just needed a change of scenery and some wealthy benefactors to fulfill his potential.

Likewise, the once-beloved, soon-to-be-deceased "O.C." is a charity case - a winner at heart, but not making many new friends while stuck in a Thursday night ratings war (read: massacre) with "Grey's Anatomy."

If surroundings killed "The O.C.," then its introspection made it what it was.

Despite its notorious attention to all things pop, the program remained even more fascinated by its own reflection, brimming with self-referentiality both vainglorious and self-deprecating. To eulogize this cannibalistic impulse, we offer a list of the show's most memorable moments in self-awareness.

While not the first show given to navel-gazing (lest we forget Seinfeld's "show about nothing"), never before has a mainstream television program so thoroughly borrowed from its own cultural impact to develop new material. Come the last episode, don't be surprised to see the whole Newport gang mourning over its own grave, the program finally having swallowed itself whole.

These are the great meta moments in "O.C." history.

Flashbacks to What Was Then...
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Source: CentreDaily.Com
By: Martin Mulkeen
Thanks to vinni2 for the article!