The University's Thursday night social scene is no longer dominated solely by long lines at bars and beer-covered frat floors. "The O.C.," Fox's hit teen drama, has taken over the primetime Thursday slot and has many University students glued to their television sets.
Fourth-year Engineering student Melissa Yingling said she is a big fan of the show.
"Every week me and my roommates watch it," Yingling said. "I think it has gotten so popular because it is cheap drama. It's the soap opera of our generation."
Fourth-year College student Jennie Stoneburner agreed that it is the soap-opera quality of the show that makes it so attractive to college students.
"It's a good show in that it is bad acting and a lot of melodrama," Stoneburner said. "Those are the things that make it so much fun. You make fun of it and at the same time kind of wish your life was a little bit like it."
According to second-year College student Cleo Brock-Abraham, the strength of "The O.C." can be assessed by its impact on the lives of viewers.
"You know a TV show is good when you forsake your own social life for that of a fictional character's," Brock-Abraham said.
Stoneburner said she also finds the physical aspect of the show appealing.
"One of the reasons everyone watches the show is that characters are very good looking," she said. "For me, Ryan is definitely an incentive to watch it."
For Brock-Abraham it is not Ryan, but Seth Cohen, another O.C. character, who defines the show.
"Seth is a golden God," she said.
Yingling said that she also is a big Sethfan, but she said she has trouble personally relating to any of the characters.
"It's not like 'Sex and the City' where you are like, 'I am a Samantha,' or 'I am a Carrie,'" she said. "I'm never like 'I am a Marissa.'"
Many of the students agreed that an aspect of realism is missing from the show -- although, that might be part of its allure.
"It's not realistic," Yingling said. "Little parts of it you can see in our daily life, but if it was exactly like ours, then I don't think anyone would watch it."
On the other hand, Brock-Abraham, who hails from Los Angeles, said she finds the show's depiction of California life quite realistic.
"Our fashion style really is that cool," she said. "As far as the clothing goes, it really is representative of the Californian lifestyle."
Whether you love "The O.C." for Seth's run-on sentences, Marissa's long legs or the just for the teen angst drama, be sure to catch it at 8 p.m. tomorrow night.
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