Showing posts with label The O.C. Mystery. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The O.C. Mystery. Show all posts

Friday, July 19, 2019

The O.C. Mystery: Where are Seth Cohens Tahiti Supplies?


In the season finale of Season one, Seth Cohen, very angry that Ryan decided to head back to Chino after "knocking-up" Theresa", gets on his Catamaran to escape it all and head to Tahiti. It was a callback idea from the pilot episode, Seth wanted to sail "The Summer Breeze" all the way to Tahiti in maybe 42 days. The big question though is where was his survival supplies??





Seth is seen grabbing a backpack and setting his sail up for the trip but a journey of that length would have required a ton of supplies! Was this intentional due to Seth's very spontaneous nature or was this a big TV goof? If you ask us, he never had a chance...

Here's what Entertainment Weekly thought about it in 2004:

"We love Seth Cohen, so we’re hoping that duffel bag he packed for his 42-day sail to Tahiti has 42 gallons of fresh water in it — and a few snacks, too. The O.C.’s tearjerker season finale ended with Ryan (Benjamin McKenzie) heading back to Chino and an angry Seth (Adam Brody) splitting from Newport Beach in his catamaran, bound for the South Pacific island. Seth’s vessel, the Summer Breeze, could withstand the 4,093-mile journey, says Peter Bretschger of Newport’s Balboa Yacht Club. But Seth himself would need a gallon of water a day, plenty of sunscreen, and some food or a grill to cook fish (if he can catch ’em). Without that, ”he’d probably last a week.”

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

The O.C. Mystery: Sandy reveals how many extra rooms their house has in an early pilot draft!

the cohens mansion the oc


Earlier we wrote a post attempting to solve the age old O.C. question of why Ryan had to sleep in the pool house and why the Cohens seemed to only have 2 bedrooms in their mansion, you can find that here. Since then a bit of new and exciting evidence has been recently discovered inside an earliest found draft of the O.C. pilot script written by Josh Schwartz. The answer to the "how many rooms did the Cohens have" could finally be solved! Furthermore the script snippet goes into a little more detail on why Ryan had to sleep in the pool house!



As you can see in this early draft snippet explains a lot! Sandy says they have 5 extra bedrooms! Keyword EXTRA. Even Sandy seems puzzled about Ryan having to stay in the pool house when they have so much extra room inside. Ryan is sent out to the pool house (which most can assume) mainly because of Kirsten, she didn't feel safe having him (a stranger and a felon) roam around their house. She didn't want to run a halfway house. For what ever reason the final draft of the script had the extra 5 rooms line edited out. We can all assume however that there had to be at least 5 extra rooms in their house, I mean its huge! Lets lay that mystery to rest once and for all!


ryan sleeping on couch the o.c cohens

During the series the amount of extra rooms the house had fluctuated for dramatic and convenient comedic effect. For instance Ryan having to sleep on the couch when Hailey (Kirsten's sister) arrived or when Theresa stayed over Ryan had to sleep in Seth's bedroom floor, Ryan constantly got the shaft! Perhaps the extra rooms were actually filled with more expensive things, basically like storage!

Among tons of other differences, this draft is also missing the bit about Sandy being self righteous. This draft also calls the pool house the guest house (which is essentially the same thing). So now you know, 5 extra rooms plus Seth's room and the master bedroom! So next time a so called fan of The O.C. wants to school you in O.C. trivia, just lay them to rest with this uber rare bit of knowledge. The answer is 5 extra rooms buddy! *Drops the mic*.

Monday, May 29, 2017

The O.C. Mystery: Was the model home Ryan was staying at really set on fire?


Recently in The Official O.C. Reddit subreddit a user hopesdead asked a great question: What happened to the model home set? While researching this very question we stumbled on some mystery worthy information!

In season 1 episode 2 "The Model Home" Ryan decides to skip out on going to a foster home and hideout into the night. As Ryan is leaving Seth catches him and talks Ryan into camping out in one of his mom's housing developments instead. Marissa also tags along since she has a car and all. They quickly gather all the "necessary supplies" including a tent to sleep in, loofah, many candles, a stereo, putting green and food. Later in the episode Marissa leaves a party that Luke and his boys were hanging out at and heads straight to Ryan. Luke getting increasingly suspicious of Marissa's infatuation with Ryan decides to tail her all the way to the model home. When Marissa confronts Ryan about wanting to stay the night with him Ryan says they are from two different worlds and if she stayed over it would only make things harder. Ryan tells her to go!


Marissa runs out of the model home balling crying, Luke and his boys witness the whole thing as they hideout in the shadows. Marissa drives away and then Luke and his boys head into the house to find and beat up Ryan Orange County style!


During Luke and Ryan's confrontation and beat down a large array of candles get pushed over setting parts of Ryan's indoor campground on fire. Ryan gets ferociously gang beaten and falls down to the ground. Luke and his boys notice the flames getting higher and they decide to bail. As Luke is going down the stairs he realizes that he cannot leave Ryan laying there to get burned alive. Luke's conscious kicks in and Luke picks Ryan up and carries him outside leaving him on the dirt driveway, he tells Ryan "Run!". This is a turning point for the viewer, we start feeling like this Luke guy has a heart and a conscious.

As you can see the bottom blue arrow represents where Ryan is supposed to be staying in. The arrow at the top represents the pool that the gang first hung out at, the pool that Seth skateboarded in. Later in season 3 the pool is used in the season finale.


Then we are showed this aftermath scene of the model home as Seth and Sandy check things out. The room that Ryan was supposedly staying at and the garage area to the left are seen burnt down and destroyed.

Now the question is: Was the interior fire real and was the exterior of the house really set on fire for the show?

Our initial theory is that the room that the fire broke out in was filmed inside a set in a controlled environment and that the flames were real. Although they did film at the actual model homes interior and exterior, the room that the fire flared up was somewhere else. Then as far as the model home's exterior really being destroyed, we doubt it really was, we guess that CGI was involved. Because logistically why would they destroy a several million dollar home!



On the flip-side while analyzing photos of the actual houses window detail and comparing them to the interior room Ryan was staying in, they match (one window with 3 rows of 2 windows) This begs the question that The O.C. producers somehow got the builder of that home to O.K. them setting a few medium sized controlled fires within the newly built house. Seems like this request would be a stretch but the owner of the house sure did seemed fond of them using it in multiple episodes. Never the less if you review the episode, the flames look very real unlike what were about to show you next..


If you look closely while Luke carries Ryan out of the house, the camera pans up to the window in which was suppose to be where Ryan was staying. You see a burning window, the fire looked great but it does have a slight CGI vibe to it. Upon further research if you go to the credits of the episode there is a listing for "Digital Visual Effects" - it was done by Look! Effects Inc., they specialize in awesome special effects including fire. Normally the O.C. required few effects so this was a huge hint to solving half of this mystery. Then by luck we stumbled upon Look! Effects Inc. fire reel and by golly we have a match! After watching several other fire projects in the clip we saw a familiar window, it's the model home! Watching the clip above gives you an idea of how the special effects company pulled off such a realistic fire effect, using several layers of fire and smoke. Since we have learned that the exterior flame effects were faked we can assume that the scene of the aftermath of the fire has also been CGI'd.



For now this particular O.C. mystery will stay unsolvable but under constant speculation! However we do know now that the exterior fire was completely faked and can assume the exterior aftermath was destroyed with the help of slick CGI and smoke effects! The only question now remains did they actually set fires within the model home walls or was that done on a controlled environment sound stage? Regardless we are happy to share the exclusive info we were able to figure out. Part of the problem with an older TV show is lots of the info regarding it has been either forgotten or under lock and key! Please stay tuned for further mysteries and possible solves! Also feel free to tweet us any type of questions you may have, who knows we may even publish an O.C. Mystery article in your honor!

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

The O.C. Mystery: How many friends came to beat up Ryan at the model home?


Exhibit A. After listening to Luke and his posse go on and on about how much they are going to beat Ryan up, Marissa can't take it anymore and storms out of Holly's party aka "thing". Marissa then drives straight to the model home mansion where Ryan is camping out (literally tent and all) and confronts him.


Marissa really wants to stay the night at the model home with Ryan but he knows that he has to jet in the morning and doesn't want to let it complicate things, thus making it harder to leave. So Ryan painfully denies her and tells her to go.


Marissa storms out in a frustrated and rejected sob. She then drives home in her Jeep.


Little does she know that there is a can of O.C beat-down lurking in the shadows in a pimped out GMC truck! Luke and his water polo companion goons (a few from the Pilot episode) tailed Marissa to the model home to sniff out what she's been up to. So as you see in the above close-up photo evidence Luke, Nordlund and Chip Saunders are the only ones in the truck.


Rewind! Did you catch it? Before they zoom into the cab of Luke's truck the camera shows a wider angle of the truck. Look there in the orange circle, in the back near the tailgate. It's someone else! By golly what is going on here! A 4th person? They brought four people? Luke knew Chino was tough but that's just excessive!


The guys then walk into the mansion to find Ryan packing up his things and preparing to leave. Here we still only see Luke, Nordlund and Chip. They ambush Ryan and ruff him up pretty good. To make matters worse someone kicks over the candles in the room and a fire starts roaring uncontrollably.


As the flames reach higher and Ryan approaching unconsciousness the three guys attempt to run out of the place before the whole home goes up in flames. Just before Luke reaches the staircase to leave his guilty conscience hits him and he goes back to carry Ryan out of the burning inferno.


Luke lays Ryan on the ground outside of the home and tells him to "Run!". Luke then hops in the back of his truck as Nordlund or Chip drives away to head back to Holly's. As you see Luke is now the only one in the back tailgate area of the truck. Where did the 4th man boy go?

ETOC theory: Luke asked another unknown friend to come ride in the back to keep lookout. As the flames start erupting the mystery 4th guy starts Luke's truck and prepares to pick up the rest of the dudes to get out of there. Other more likely possibilities could be blamed on a continuity error. In the full truck photo above, it could be that Nordlund or Chip was to sit in the back of the truck to give the idea that there is a whole gang of people ready to fight. Alternatively the editors perhaps noticed you can barely see someone in the back of the truck therefor having the inside truck shot of all three friends together necessary. Meanwhile they then forgot to erase the guy in the back. It also could have been a film crew member caught on camera. Alternatively and just as likely it could be the ghost haunting the supposed cursed unfinished model home.

Final verdict, this one stays a mystery..Whatever the case, we'll leave it up to you to decide!


Where to find:

Season 1 Episode 2 "The Model Home"

Friday, August 28, 2015

The O.C. Mystery: The Cohen's Roof Never Destroyed?!

In the last few episodes of The O.C. we find out that the beloved Cohen home was "destroyed" by an earthquake. 6 months later, according to the inspector, "the house is in a non repairable state". Their roof and structural damage was so bad that the Cohen's were forced to abandon the house, hit the road to Berkeley (where Seth was born) and convince the current owners of their old house to sell it to them.


The problem though with all of this is if you watch the end of "The Night Moves" closely (OR NOT) the establishing shot of the Cohen house paints the roof in perfect untouched condition. Look at the photo above, this is the shot they show us after the earthquake, you can even see the old Cooper house to the left in great condition as well. So as the Cohen's pull up to the house they are in great spirits, I would be too because the house looks wonderful. Only till they open up the front door do the Cohen's realize the true destruction within.

As they walk in they see the true devastation, look at that destruction! The roof is completely off the house, (living room portion) which could have included Seth's room above it (although I don't see captain oats among the wreckage). I mean look at that hole, clearly we would be able to see that kind of damage from the outside house shot.

The sky is completely viewable, its basically like a huge sunroof only it doesn't close again! Look at that sky! I must say good job to the CGI folks for the moving blue sky special effects! We get a taste of how the Cohen backyard could have looked like if they applied a green screen to the backdrop behind the pool instead of the painted one.
Here's another angle of the destruction complete with a real pelican l just walking about the wreckage!
I know that the Cohen house was filmed on a sound-stage at Raleigh Studios but the fact that the creators didn't alter the front house shot a little baffles me. I get it though the Cohen's and the viewer weren't suppose to see any damage until they walked into the house (for a dramatic twist effect) but come on, there should have been a little damage on the outside!
Then 3 months later to episode 16 "The End is Not Near It's Here"(boo the last episode of The O.C.), the house inspector and the Cohen's meet. The inspector lets the Cohen's know the sobering truth. Interestingly enough the lighting in the living room gives you the illusion that the roof was rebuilt and or covered.
Eager as a Cohen waiting for their bagel, they stand waiting for the inspector to give them the 411.

Inspector bad news then gives the Cohen's his verdict on the state of the house. He dishes the bad news on a cold dish! The foundation has been apparently ruined by the earthquake as well as other portions of the home. The Cohen's are discouraged to hear the bad news. Sad thing is they don't even get a second opinion! They just start looking for a new house right away!

Perhaps in the 3 months since the earthquake the Cohen's tried getting things repaired but realized after the inspectors news that it was a lost cause and a waste of money. We may never solve the mystery of the Cohen disappearing and reappearing roof but one things for certain the Cohen house on The O.C. was pretty much just another character on the show and one that was hard to say goodbye to!
Here is a sample of how the shows creators should have depicted the Cohen house as the Cohen's pulled up in the driveway in pure horror to see their home after the storm! 
I can see it now:
Sandy: "Oh look honey, on the bright-side we got ourselves a convertible!"
Seth: "Yeah cause mid-life crisis's work with houses too dad."
Kirsten: "Sandy!"
Sandy: "I'm just saying our heating bills are going to be through the roof is all.."
Seth: Zing dad literally, through the roof, get it..due to the roof being missing.."
Kirsten: "Seth!"
Ryan: "Looks like the pool house was completely unscathed guys, roof and all...
who wants to move in?"
Seth: "I'll be right there Ryan, I just gotta find captain oats...Nayyyy little buddy Nayyyy!"

Tuesday, April 28, 2015

The O.C. Mystery: The Case of Trey Atwoods Changing Identity


One of the biggest mystery's in the TV universe is when a main character is completely replaced by another. They are given the same name but look completely different! Even more of a mystery is when none of the other characters in the shows universe say anything about it, they just go along with it like they are under some sort of spell. Apparently alien ships routinely abduct actors working on set all the time cause this happens a lot in the land of TV.

In the case of The O.C. there was only one body transplant and it was Trey Atwood, Ryan Atwood-Cohen's misfit brother. The last time we see Trey played by the original actor Bradley Stryker was in the Thanksgiving episode "The Homecoming". Ryan and Marissa visit him in prison to drop off some turkey and stuffing as well as do a last favor for the guy. Prior to that we saw him in the Pilot episode and was mentioned in numerous episodes. Yes Trey committed a crime but the bigger crime was seeing Trey come out of prison as a new man, literally! Trey comes out looking a little shinier around the edges played by Logan Marshall-Green.

Now we probably could get an answer on why the actors switched from the super busy Josh Schwartz (creator of The O.C.) but he doesn't check Twitter messages often. For now this case will stay a mystery, Bradley Stryker or Logan Marshall-Green feel free to fill us in on the details! I'm going to assume that recasting is done for various reasons, it can be an actors choice to quit the show or movie but most often its the directors choice. Not all actors give off the same mood or fit every scenario. In the case of Trey Atwood I feel like the directors were going for a more diverse actor or one they can mold more easily in different situations or story lines. Perhaps Trey Atwood's character wasn't suppose to go further than the pilot therefor they didn't need to be too picky or have the complete package from the start or Bradley got offered something better. In closing both actors were fantastic but at the end of the day we got punk'd!

Friday, April 17, 2015

The O.C Mystery: The Case of The Missing O.C. Hand-prints




During The O.C.'s heyday, the show was exploding like crazy into the pop culture scene! The O.C was so huge that on On October 28th 2004 at the Historic Balboa Pavilion in Newport Beach, the mayor of Newport handed various actors and creators that attended keys to the city (They actually were beer bottle openers that looked like keys but that's besides the point). This must have been a very exciting honor, I mean the actors and creators look pretty happy to be there (slight sarcasm).


From there the actors/creators were then given the opportunity to put their hands in cement to be immortalized forever..A whole ceremony happened, The O.C. actors etc smiled for photos, fans went crazy, they stuck their hands in cement and even signed their names. It was a big "to do" but where are they now? This was a very obscure and uncovered topic, though research I realized that was just the beginning for the hand prints. Word on the streets of Chino said they were originally suppose to be displayed permanently at the Balboa Pavilion (the same place they had the ceremony in Newport) in a walk of fame type manner as a tribute to the show's success but for some reason never happened. MYSTERIOUS.


From there the hand prints wound up at the Newport Beach Conference & Visitors Bureau. They were apparently displayed in the many visitor center windows and an estimated 200 people a month would pose in front of them and take photos using their hip flip camera phones.


After being there for a few years they made their final home (thus far) at the Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort (uhh random). Graciously the Newport Dunes people rescued these pieces of history and have them proudly displayed in their main office for fans to see.

According to this article on iamnotastalker.com (same place where i got the image above) one of the guys that works at Newport Dunes said “No one else wanted them, so we took them.”, can you believe that!! The front desk clerk also mentioned that "hundreds of people come by to see the hand prints each month, though". I think they are truly awesome and the mystery surrounding them are equally interesting. They are apparently far away from other O.C location spots, so not a convenient spot but i'd say its worth it! Regardless I want to go see them before they move somewhere else! I wonder why Seth (Adam Brody), Marissa (Mischa Barton), Summer (Rachel Bilson) weren't there to partake in the fun?! Further more it is strange that Zach Stevens (Michael Cassidy) was there over other more permanent characters. Regardless mystery solved....For now....I say they will appear on ebay soon and I w ill be the highest bidder.

How to find: 1311 Back Bay Drive in Newport Beach, just off Jamboree Road. (thanks iamnotastalker.com)

Additional close up hand print photos thanks to the site www.concertkatie.com!








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