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"Premiere" is the pilot episode in the first season of the Fox drama series The O.C.. The episode premiered on the fifth of August, in 2003.

Synopsis[]

A troubled teen's, Ryan Atwood, life is forever changed when, upon landing in jail for a crime his brother committed, a public defender, Sandy Cohen, from Orange County, California decides to take him into his home to live with Sandy's wife, Kirsten Cohen, and their son, Seth Cohen. Ryan forms a bond with Marissa Cooper, an emotionally troubled girl next door with problems in her own family with her mother, Julie Cooper, and father, Jimmy Cooper. Ryan is introduced to "The O.C. life" but is met with trouble as his behavior gets the best of him.

Plot[]

The show opens in an alley way where two brothers approach a ‘70s Camaro parked on the street. The older one says, "I'm your older brother. If I don't teach you this, who will?" He smashes the window with a crowbar and gets into the car. The brother, his name is revealed as Trey, gets in and tells his younger brother to get in. He hesitates when he sees a police car pass by. When the police car turns around and drives toward them, the younger one, his name is revealed as Ryan, gets into the car. The police chases them, and they eventually crash and give themselves up.

In jail, Ryan meets with his public defender, Sandy Cohen. Ryan asks about his brother and Sandy says that Trey was not a minor and would be serving time. Sandy says that he can make the charge a misdemeanor and encourages Ryan to try and change his behavior. Ryan has been suspended several times in school, his grades are not very good, but he has exceptional test scores. Sandy asks him if he is thinking about going to college which Ryan laughs at. Ryan starts talking about social security and how he would have to commit to a job that he would have to live with for a long time. He says he doesn't want to commit to anything to soon. Sandy encourages him to develop some aspirations in life. Ryan tells Sandy that having a dream doesn't make him smart but knowing it won't come true does.

Ryan & Sandy - Premiere

Ryan meets Sandy Cohen.


Ryan gets out of jail when his mom gets out of the car and yells at Ryan, asking what she did to deserve it. Sandy introduces himself to Ms. Atwood and she tells him how he should have let Ryan rot in jail like his dad and his brother. She screams at Ryan to get in the car when Sandy hands Ryan his card in case he needs it. At their house, his mom tells Ryan she can't do this anymore and tells him she wants him out of the house. Ryan asks her where he is going to go and her boyfriend intervenes and tells him to go. Ryan tells him it isn't his house and A.J. intervenes and punches Ryan. A.J. starts hitting Ryan more and throws him to his room. Ryan grabs his bags and starts packing. He rides off on his bike and tries to call some friends at a pay phone as Phantom Planet's "California" plays in the background. After being rejected several times, he takes out Sandy's card and calls Sandy. Ryan waits until Sandy pulls up. They drive out of Chino and head to Orange County. Ryan points out how nice his car is and Sandy explains that his wife makes a lot of money. They drive back to Sandy's house in Newport Beach and Sandy has Ryan stay in the car while he goes to speak to his wife, Kirsten. Kirsten is shocked Sandy brought him home and reluctant to let Ryan stay, considering his trouble with the law. She says how Sandy is endangering them all and asks if he even thought of Seth, their son. Sandy said it would just be for the weekend and tells her how he has no where to go. Kirsten eventually relents and gathers supplies for Ryan to use in the pool house.

Ryan Atwood - Premiere

Ryan Atwood on his way to The O.C. with Sandy Cohen.


Meanwhile, Ryan goes down to the end of the Cohen's driveway to smoke a cigarette. He looks over and sees the girl next door, waiting at the end of her own driveway. She looks over at Ryan and asks who he is. Ryan says, "Whoever you want me to be." He looks at her before lighting a cigarette and she asks to bum one for herself. Ryan walks over to her, gives her a cigarette, and she lights hers from his. They exchange several glances as Ryan walks back. She asks him what he is doing there and he tells her the story and it lead to Mr. Cohen taking him in. She then asks if Ryan is their cousin from Boston to which Ryan agrees in order to avoid social awkwardness, considering the town's judgmental nature. Sandy comes back out to find Ryan and says hi to Marissa Cooper. Marissa quickly drops her cigarette and says hi to him. She tells Sandy how she was just meeting their nephew to which Sandy responds, calling Ryan his favorite nephew all the way from Seattle. Noticing that Ryan lied to her she questions him and Ryan lies to her saying his dad lives there and his mom lives in Boston. Sandy goes on to say how excited he is about her fashion show fundraiser and she also questions this. Sandy says no and she laughs as some guy drives by them, picking up Marissa. Marissa tells Ryan to come by if he doesn't have any other plans and gets into the car and they drive off. Sandy starts to walk Ryan into the house and tells Ryan that he can't smoke in the house, so he drops his cigarette and Sandy ashes it for him.

Ryan & Marissa - Premiere

Ryan meets Marissa Cooper.

Ryan and Sandy walk into the pool house where he will stay and Ryan meets Kirsten Cohen. Kirsten welcomes Ryan and tells him to let her know if he needs anything. Ryan thanks her and they leave him. Ryan wakes up the next day and walks out of the pool house to take a good look at Orange County. The Cohen's live up on a hill with a view of the ocean. Ryan walks into the house and meets Seth Cohen, who is playing video games. He invites him to play, and eventually Sandy comes in and tells Seth to show Ryan around. Ryan asks what they do around town and Seth takes Ryan sailing on his boat he named the Summer Breeze. Seth tells Ryan that he wants to sail to Tahiti with his crush, Summer Roberts, whom he has never spoken to. Sandy tells them what time they are going to Marissa's fashion show. Seth doesn't want to go and Sandy tells him Ryan has to go because Marissa invited him. Seth is surprised since he has lived next to her for years and never even hung out. Ryan tells Seth that Summer might be there and Seth says probably since she is Marissa's best friend and agrees to go.

Ryan & Seth - Premiere

Ryan meets Seth Cohen.


At Marissa's house, she sees the Seth, Sandy, and Ryan walking back up the hill when the doorbell rings. Two SEC agents are there and ask to see Marissa's father, Jimmy Cooper. She tells them he isn't home and says she doesn't know where he is. They tell her they really need to speak with him and they give her their card, second one so far, and leave. She goes into her father's office where he is and her dad thanks her for getting them to go away. She then asks about them and why them keep coming over. Jimmy says it isn't a big deal, but Marissa is skeptical. Ryan is trying to tie his tie but gives up. Sandy figures out he doesn't know how to tie a tie and helps Ryan out. They start to talk about Seth and Ryan says he is cool which Sandy smiles at. Ryan looks at himself in the mirror as Sandy tells him it beats a jumpsuit.

Ryan & Sandy - Premiere 2

Sandy helps Ryan tie a tie.

Back at the Cooper house, Marissa's sister, Kaitlin Cooper, and her mother, Julie Cooper, are getting ready for the fashion show as Marissa enters. Julie says to Marissa that her hair pulled back is harsh on her angles. Jimmy walks in and they all head to out. At the fashion show, Ryan shows up with the Cohens and is offered fancy appetizers to which Seth tells him, "Welcome to the dark side." Ryan is disturbed by the people around him, and tries to order a 7 and 7. Kirsten catches him and he gives her the drink, embarrassed. She tells him that she wants Sandy to be right about Ryan. Seth tries to start up a conversation with Luke Ward, but he blows him off and calls him a name. Luke passes him and Ryan purposely runs into Luke. Seth then points out Summer to Ryan. Summer looks over at Seth and Ryan and asks Marissa who Ryan is. Marissa says she isn't sure and Summer plans to find out. Sandy catches them and points at Summer, embarrassing Seth. Seth walks away and Ryan tells Sandy, "Way to salt his game, Mr. Cohen."

Summer Roberts - The Premiere

Summer and Marissa are curious about the new boy in town.


Seth and Ryan sit at the kids table and they all stare at Ryan. The fashion show begins and Marissa thanks everyone for coming. Marissa says how they throw the fashion show to raise money for a women's shelter and tells them to enjoy. Summer walks out first and models for everyone as Seth admires her. Backstage, all of the girls are getting ready. Marissa is getting ready in the bathroom when Summer barges in with glasses of champagne, that she stole. Marissa then pulls out a bottle of vodka from her purse. They toast and drink the champagne glasses. Marissa walks across the stage and models for everyone. She makes eye contact with Ryan and gives him a look, which Luke sees. Luke turns to his friends and asks who Ryan is. Kirsten tells the Coopers how beautiful Marissa is and they talk about Jimmy's experience with handling money. They talk about how Jimmy is a great financial advisor which makes him uneasy. Jimmy is disturbed by this and goes to a stall in the bathroom. Ryan is there and hears Jimmy break down.

Marissa Cooper looks at Ryan - Premiere

Marissa and Ryan exchange looks as she models at the fashion show.


After the fashion show, Summer comes up to Ryan and invites him over to Holly Fischer's house and offers him a ride. Ryan tells Seth that they should go and that Summer wanted Seth to come. Summer and her friends wave them over and Seth says it makes no sense but agrees to go. Seth and Ryan hop into their car when Ryan looks back to see Marissa getting into the car behind them with Luke. Ryan and Seth arrive at the party and are obviously uncomfortable with the new situation and Ryan repeats Seth's comment earlier about the dark side.

Hollys Beach House - Premiere

Holly's Beach House.


Ryan and Seth are making their way through the party when Summer says how she brought Ryan. Marissa keeps adding more and more vodka to her drink when the girls say how cute Ryan is. Summer is interested in Ryan but Marissa looks up and Ryan is looking at her. Luke takes a blonde girl out to walk along the beach and she asks about Marissa, but Luke tells her not to worry about it as Ryan sees them. Kirsten is taking out the trash and sees Jimmy walking his dog. Kirsten asks Jimmy if he is actually okay and Jimmy says yes he has just been working hard. Jimmy asks Kirsten about Ryan and she tells him, Ryan is Sandy's client that he brought home for the weekend. Julie peaks out and asks Jimmy if he got her frozen yogurt and he says he forgot but will go back to get it and Julie says hi to Kirsten. Jimmy asks Kirsten if she ever thought this would be their lives and Kirsten asks her if Marissa is back yet. He tells her that she is usually out late and Kirsten says how Seth never goes out. Jimmy tells her not to worry

Marissa finds Ryan at the party and she asks him what he thinks of Newport and takes Ryan's drink. He tells her he thinks he could get in less trouble where he is from. Marissa then tells him he has no idea and leaves. Summer gets drunk and tries to make a move on Ryan. Seth misinterprets the conversation and gets upset, telling Ryan he named his boat after her which Summer hears and gets disgusted. Ryan tries to explain himself but Summer keeps making a move and Seth walks away. Ryan goes after him but pushes Ryan and tells him to head back to Chino and steal a car. The party-goers overhear this, and express their disgust. Seth heads off to the beach and Ryan rushes inside. Everyone starts pointing and talking about Ryan.

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Marissa asks Ryan what he thinks about Newport.

Some water polo players see Seth and start to pick on him. Ryan sees them and comes to Seth's defense. They pick up Seth and Ryan tells them to put him down. Luke asks Ryan if he has a problem and Ryan punches Luke. They both start fighting and Luke's friends jump in. Seth tries to stop them and ends up getting punched. The water polo guys and start to beat up both Ryan and Seth. As Ryan lays on the ground, Luke tells him, "Welcome to the O.C. bitch."

LUKE

The iconic phrase Luke says to Ryan about how things are done in Orange County.

Seth and Ryan go into the pool house with bruised faces. Seth doesn't know what to say to Ryan. He goes on to thank Ryan for having his back. Seth says that if Ryan taught him some moves, they could take them next time. They high five and Seth says how that isn't how he wanted to first speak to Summer but is grateful to be on her radar. Seth asks Ryan if he should tell her about Tahiti and Ryan laughs and says not yet. Seth says he wanted to make sure they were on the same page as Ryan continues to laugh. Seth crashes on some cushions in the pool house and tells Ryan he won't forget their night. Ryan goes out to the side of the house to smoke and sees Marissa's friend's car pull up to her house. Ryan sees Summer and her friends carry a wasted Marissa to her driveway and leave her by her front door. Ryan goes over there and tries to wake her up. He looks through her purse to find her keys but can't find them. Ryan carries her to the pool house as Into Dust by Mazzy Star plays. Ryan places Marissa in his bed and covers her up.

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Ryan carries Marissa to the pool house.

The next morning, Ryan wakes up on the floor in the pool house with Seth sleeping soundly. He looks over to find Marissa gone from the bed. Kirsten walks in and grateful to find Seth and Ryan in the pool house. Kirsten sees Seth's face and he tells her he got in a fight. Kirsten asks with who and why and looks at Ryan. Seth says he doesn't remember because he was drunk. Kirsten drags Seth out of the pool house and she slams the door. Kirsten tells Sandy that Seth got into a fight and they argue about allowing Ryan into their home. Sandy says at least Seth has someone to hang out with tells her not to "salt" Seth's game. Sandy says he would rather have Seth hang out with Ryan than a trust fund kid in their town. They talk about their own experiences growing up but Kirsten still refuses to let Ryan stay.

Kirsten tells him to take Ryan back to his own family. Ryan is in the kitchen when Kirsten walks in and tells him it's nothing personal. Ryan made bacon and prepared some other breakfast items for the Cohens. Kirsten apologizes but Ryan says he understands and tells her she has a nice family. Ryan goes upstairs and says goodbye to Seth. Ryan tells him he has to go back and figure things out at home. Seth tells him it's cool. Ryan puts his hand out for a handshake but Seth pulls him in for a hug. Seth says that he will go down to Chino to visit him. Before Ryan leaves, Seth gives him a map of the Pacific Ocean, for ideas on where to go. Ryan slaps him with it and leaves.

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Seth hugs Ryan before he heads back to Chino.


Sandy pulls out of their driveway when he sees Marissa in her driveway. They look at each other as he leaves. Ryan turns around to take one last look at her as they drive back to Chino. When they get back to Ryan's house, the house is empty and find that Dawn and her boyfriend have moved out, leaving only a note scribbled on the back of napkin. Ryan looking lost and abandoned when Sandy walks in. Sandy tells Ryan to get back in their car and they both head back to Newport.

Marissa Cooper - Premiere

Ryan takes one last look at Marissa Cooper before he leaves Newport.

Cast[]

Starring[]

Guest Starring[]

Co-Starring[]

Quotes[]


Marissa: Who are you?
Ryan: Whoever you want me to be.
Marissa: Okay.

Seth: Why don't you go back to Chino? I'm sure there are a bunch of really nice cars in the parking lot that you could steal.
Summer: Chino? Eww!

Marissa: So, what do you think of Newport?
Ryan: I think I could get into a lot less trouble where I'm from.
Marissa: You have no idea.

Ryan Atwood: This is a nice car. I didn't know your kind of lawyer made this kind of money.
Sandy Cohen: No, we don't. But my wife does.

Luke Ward: Welcome to the O.C., bitch. This is how it's done in Orange County.

Kirsten: You brought him home? This is not a stray puppy, Sandy.
Sandy: I know that, Kirsten.
Kirsten: I knew it was only a matter of time before you started bringing home felons.

Seth Cohen: Oh, hey, do you want to play 'Grand Theft Auto'? It's pretty cool. You can, like, steal cars and ... not that that's cool ... or uncool. I don't know.

Ryan Atwood: Way to salt his game, Mr. Cohen.

Newport Woman: Did I hear you were from Canada?
Ryan Atwood: Yes, yes you did.

Ryan: Welcome to the dark side.

Seth: Welcome to the dark side.

Sandy: He's not a criminal mastermind. He's a kid that has no one and nowhere to go.

Ryan: Where's my brother?
Sandy: Uh, Trey is over 18. Trey stole a car; Trey had a gun in his pants, an ounce of pot in his pocket, a couple of priors. I'm guessing right now, Trey's looking at three to five years. But Trey's not my concern.

Ryan: Modern medicine is advancing to the point where the average human life span will be 100. But I read this article which said Social Security is supposed to run out by the year 2025, which means people are going to have to stay at their jobs until they're 80. So I don't want to commit to anything too soon.
Marissa: So, what are you doing here, seriously?
Ryan: Seriously? I stole a car. Crashed it. Actually, my brother did. Since he had a gun and drugs on him, he's in jail. I got out, and my mom threw me out. She was pissed off and drunk. So, Mr. Cohen took me in.
Marissa: You're their cousin from Boston, right?
Ryan: Right.

Newport Woman #1: What are you doing, putting my daughter in Calvin Klein? She was supposed to wear Vera Wang.
Peggy: And she would if she had the chest to hold it up. It's called puberty, honey. It'll happen. Okay, girls, chop chop. Show time.

Julie: Do you like my hair this straight or is it too Avril Lavigne?
Marissa: No, it looks good, Mom.
Julie: Oh, Marissa. You look... oh honey, I thought you were going to wear your hair down. Pulled back like that, it's a little harsh on your angles.

Julie: It's going to be so amazing tonight. Are you going to wear the Donna Karan, Maris? I thought it was very forgiving.

Sandy: Don't salt his game, honey.
Kirsten: What the hell does that mean?

Sandy: There's a whole world outside this Newport Beach bubble.
Kirsten: You don't seem to mind living in this bubble.
Sandy: I know there's something else out there.

Sandy: So, I'd thought we'd head out to the fashion show at around seven.
Seth: Yeah, okay. Have fun.
Sandy: Come on. It's a whole new school year, Seth.
Seth: It's also the same kids, Dad. Why do they even need a fashion show? Every day's a fashion show for these people.
Sandy: Yeah, well, Ryan has to go. Marissa invited him.
Seth: Marissa invited you? I've lived next door to Marissa since, like, forever. Her dad almost got married to my mom even and, like, she's never even invited me to a birthday.
Sandy: That is not true. They did not almost get married.
Seth: Eh.
Ryan: Hey, maybe Summer will be there.
Seth: That's interesting. She is Marissa's best friend. 7:00?

Sandy: Smart kid like you. You got to have a plan. Some kind of a dream.
Ryan: Yeah, right. Let me tell you something, okay? Where I'm from, having a dream doesn't make you smart. Knowing it won't come true? That does.

Seth: Wow, I'm sorry. I should really learn to knock... in case, there's a threesome going on in the bathroom.

Sandy: When did you become so cynical?
Kirsten: When did you become so self-righteous?
Sandy: I've always been self-righteous. You used to find it charming.

Music[]

Trivia[]

  • The punch that A.J. throws at Ryan was Benjamin McKenzie's first stunt, they did 7 takes and used the first, where he wasn't supposed to crash through the table but stayed in character long enough to finish the scene

Gallery[]

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