The O.C.
The Distance
TV Flash files “The Distance” as a desk essential hour — The O.C. (2003–2007) on Fox, season 2, episode 1, aired 2004-11-04, 60 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S02E01: listed hour 28 of 92 in the The O.C. guide, first listed hour of season 2. It aired 2004-11-04 (60 min). The listed hour before it is “The Ties That Bind” (S01E27). Next is “The Way We Were” (S02E02).
Essential hour: “The Distance”. The Distance reopens year two on a title that sounds like a relationship status: Fox teen soap now a lifestyle export, the mix CD still doing half the work.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
With the end of summer quickly approaching, tension fills the air in THE O.C. The Cohen family is desperate to convince Seth, who ran away at the beginning of the summer, to return home. Meanwhile in Chino, Ryan is working construction while a pregnant Theresa waits at home. Back in Newport Beach, while Summer is finding ways to deal with Seth's disappearance, Marissa is distancing herself from the world and masking her problems by reverting to old habits.
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Distance sit in the The O.C. guide?
S02E01 is listed hour 28 of 92 — first listed hour of season 2, season 2 episode 1.
When did The O.C. S02E01 air?
The Distance aired 2004-11-04 and is listed at 60 minutes.
Is The O.C. required before Gossip Girl?
Not required, but it is the mid-2000s teen-drama template Schwartz later carried uptown — soundtrack as branding, outsider in a wealthy house.
In the series
Why this series still plays
Welcome to Newport: a Chino kid lands in a wealthy house and detonates every carefully lit marriage. The O.C. is teen soap with Cohen-family heart, Chrismukkah as ritual, Adam Brody making nerdy charming, and a soundtrack that branded the lifestyle as hard as the plot.
Fox found a Chino kid, dropped him in a wealthy Newport house, and detonated every carefully lit marriage on a weekday night. The O.C. (2003–2007) is Josh Schwartz's soundtrack-forward teen soap: Benjamin McKenzie as Ryan Atwood, Mischa Barton's Marissa, Adam Brody's Seth Cohen making nerdy charming mainstream, Rachel Bilson, Peter Gallagher, Kelly Rowan. Cohen-family heart. Chrismukkah as ritual. A mix CD doing half the marketing. Four seasons, 92 episodes, and a lifestyle export that later CW glamour still…
Filed against
- Benjamin McKenzie as Ryan Atwood
Benjamin McKenzie’s Ryan Atwood detonated The O.C.’s carefully lit marriages — a Chino kid in a Newport house, Cohen-family heart, Chrismukkah as ritual, Adam Brody making nerdy charming, a soundtrack that branded the lifestyle as hard as…
- Mischa Barton as Marissa Cooper
Mischa Barton’s Marissa Cooper made The O.C.’s Newport look like a carefully lit marriage waiting to detonate — 2000s teen soap, Cohen-family heart, Chrismukkah as ritual, Adam Brody making nerdy charming, a soundtrack that branded the…
- Adam Brody as Seth Cohen
Adam Brody’s Seth Cohen made The O.C.’s Newport a nerd with a soundtrack — Chino kid in a wealthy house, detonated marriages, Chrismukkah as ritual, teen soap with Cohen-family heart. Lifestyle branded as hard as the plot. TV Flash files…
- Rachel Bilson as Summer Roberts
Rachel Bilson played Summer Roberts on The O.C., 2000s Newport teen soap — a Chino kid detonating carefully lit marriages, Cohen-family heart, Chrismukkah as ritual, Adam Brody making nerdy charming, a soundtrack that branded the…
- Peter Gallagher as Sandy Cohen
Peter Gallagher played Sandy Cohen on The O.C., 2000s teen soap with a Chino kid landing in a wealthy Newport house and detonating every carefully lit marriage. Cohen-family heart, Chrismukkah as ritual, Adam Brody making nerdy charming,…
- Kelly Rowan as Kirsten Cohen
Kelly Rowan's Kirsten Cohen was The O.C.'s adult heartbeat in Newport — a Chino kid landing in a wealthy house, Chrismukkah as ritual, teen soap with Cohen-family warmth. Soundtrack as lifestyle brand. TV Flash files her as 2000s craft:…