The O.C. Basement: Sidekick II Sweepstakes plus more!

Back in 2005 the official fan club of The O.C. "The O.C. Insider" featured an awesome contest!
You simply had to fill out the contact form with basic stuff like name, email, birth date and wallah your submission went out! The prize was none other than the very high-tech Sidekick II. Which was timed perfectly with the release of Season 3's episode 5 "The Perfect Storm", also known as the camera phone that captured the Dean Hess and Taylor Townsend making out!

The O.C. featured product placement such as this throughout the series but none are as obvious as the Sidekick II! When sandy tells Dean Hess "This little puppy is a phone, surfs the web and unfortunately for you it transmits photos" its a clear sign that Josh Schwartz was welcomed to the dark side. But never the less it was done tastefully!

Here's one of the close-up shots of Taylor Townsend using her bedazzled Sidekick II. She is messaging Dean Hess, notice the Dean's messaging handle "Dartman 4 U", wonder what that even means. Even more interesting is the date on Taylor's Sidekick, September 15th. The episode didn't air until November 3rd, so September 15th could very well be the day the filmed the episode or scene!

Lets take a look at the beefy specs shall we!

• Flip screen 
• Screen Size: 5.1″ x 2.6″ x 0.9″
• Weight: 184g (6.2oz)
• Display: 240×160 pixels, over 65,000 colors (16-bit color), Transflective TFT screen viewable in bright sunlight
• 5-row QWERTY keyboard , dedicated number row , dedicated 12-key dialpad area , includes easy access key for @ symbol
• Backlit screen and keyboard with light sensor
• Integrated VGA (640 x 480 pixel) camera, supplemental LED for close-range illumination , night mode setting for darker environments, convex mirror for self-portraits
• Navigation and Controls
• Scroll Wheel with push capability
• Send/End buttons (with page up/down capability)
• Directional pad
• Control buttons: Menu, Jump, Done, Cancel, Volume up/down, Power , Application-specific shoulder buttons
• Front and back speakers
• Speakerphone
• 12-voice polyphonic sounds
• Vibration Motor
• GSM/GPRS radio Tri-band (900/1800/1900 MHz) Multislot Class 10 functionality
• Wireless off “airplane mode”
• Memory: 32 MB RAM, 16 MB Flash
• Battery, Rechargeable internal Lithium polymer battery
• Interfaces: Audio jack, Power jack, Lanyard attachment

Interestingly enough Big Boi, Paris Hilton, Burt Reynolds, Molly Shannon, Snoop Dog and Wee Man were all featured in the promotional commercial above. Did Molly Shannon just say let me Ask Jeeves!?! Ewwwwww, good gosh the worst search engine known to man, even back then! Ahhh a true spectacle of the early 00's sigh..Who would have thought that devices like these would soon take over our lives in a much bigger way than just looking up recipes and chatting! One thing is unsolved though, who won the Sidekick II?!

To read more about O.C. Insider click here!

The O.C. Fan Fiction: The O.C. Crystal Pepsi!

Its 8:00am Seth, Ryan and Kirsten are all hanging out in the kitchen, chit-chatting before they head out to "the man" OR school..Sandy walks in the kitchen with a overly chipper step interrupting them as he hands them each a soda..

Sandy: *in a kid in a candy shop tone says* They did it guys, they brought it back! I'm presenting to you the holy grail of the soda world, a glimpse in the obscure and exotic..soon you will be calling my Sandy the soda king

*Seth, Ryan and Kirsten pick up the frosty cold soda's looking at them as if they were something from Mars*

Seth: I thought Michelle Obama upped the standards for breakfast requirements dad? What happened to a nice glass of OJ?

Ryan: *just gives a look*

Kirsten: *giving a happy smirk* Oh I remember these..

*Before Kirsten can get another word out Sandy super enthusiastically says*

Sandy: It's a Crystal Pepsi! Its the drink of champions, back in the early 90's these babies made my year...well...something special.

Seth: Yeah if you call 69 grams of sugar special

Kirsten: 69 grams of sugar?!?

Ryan: *gives a surprised raised eyebrow look*

Sandy: Well yeah but you see, this is a classic and it's only here for a limited time so drink up....

*Family is loosing enthusiasm*

Seth: Yeah dad such a classic, that it *looks at his phone* only lasted a year before it was taken off the shelves. I guess Pepsi was blown away by the major success that they cancelled it?

Sandy: You know, you're lucky to be having one of these things son they are rare as ever!

Kirsten: Rare? How much did you pay for these sugar bombs?

Sandy: *Sandy starts to get shy* Well, you know like I said it was a special occasion and they are highly sought after..I kind of made a little, I mean not so little eBay bid for the bundle.

Ryan: *gives a surprised look plus a one-eyed eye brow lift as he goes in for another sip, enjoying the drama unfolding before him*

Kirsten: *starting to get annoyed* Don't dance around the question Sandy!

Seth: This tastes kinda funny actually..does anyone notice the after taste?

Sandy: My stomach is feeling a bit strange but I blame that on the excitement..

Kirsten: Well yeah its filled with high fructose corn syrup, a ton of calories...

*before Kirsten has can finish her sentence Ryan blurts out*

Ryan: And has an expiration date of JULY 1993.

*Sandy immediately spits out one of his last gulps of the drink, wipes his mouth on his suit sleeve in utter amazement, shock and disgust and says*

Sandy: Well that explains the price!!

Kirsten: SANDY!!!

Seth, Ryan, Kirsten and Sandy end up spending the next 30 minutes throwing up the expired Crystal Pepsi drink. It wasn't pretty. Rosa was later called to the scene and spent 3 hours cleaning up the whole kitchen until it was crystal clean.

THE END

The O.C. Fun Fact: How old were The O.C. actors when the pilot episode aired?

Ever wondered how old The O.C. actors were when The O.C first started? Well question no more! We did all the crazy math and have the answers that you were too lazy to find yourself! Look below..

Look at all those baby faces, a truly vintage promotional photo taken during the filming of the pilot episode at The Battered Women's Shelter Fashion Show.


When The O.C. aired, Mischa Barton (Marissa) was 17, Chris Carmack (Luke) was 22, Benjamin Mckenzie (Ryan) was 24, Kelly Rowan (Kirsten) was 37, Peter Gallagher (Sandy) was 47, Tate Donovan (Jimmy) was 39, Melinda Clarke (Julie) was 33, Adam Brody (Seth) was 23 and Rachel Bilson (Summer) was 21.

The O.C. Casts Birthdays: 

Tate Donovan was born on 08/25/1963 - 39 years 11 months 11 days at the time of The O.C. Pilot
Chris Carmack was born on 12/22/1980 - 22 years 7 months 14 days at the time of The O.C. Pilot
Adam Brody was born on 12/15/1979 - 23 years 7 months 21 days at the time of The O.C. Pilot
Rachel Bilson was born on 08/25/1981 - 21 years 11 months 11 days at the time of The O.C. Pilot
Mischa Barton was born on 01/24/1986 - 17 years 6 months 12 days at the time of The O.C. Pilot
Kelly Rowan was born on 10/26/1965 - 37 years 9 months 10 days at the time of The O.C. Pilot
Peter Gallagher was born on 08/19/1955 - 47 years 11 months 17 days at the time of The O.C. Pilot
Ben Mckenzie was born on 09/12/1978 - 24 years 10 months 24 days at the time of The O.C. Pilot
Melinda Clarke was born on 01/20/1970 - 33 years 6 months 16 days at the time of The O.C. Pilot