REACTION: Welcome to the OC, Bitches Episode 6

Tuesday’s “Welcome to the OC, Bitches” was all about “The Girlfriend”… and Mischa Barton.

“The Girlfriend,” the sixth episode of “The O.C.,” introduces Caleb (Alan Dale) as the father of Kirsten (Kelly Rowan), who shows up in Newport with a much-younger girlfriend named Gabrielle (played by Nichole Hiltz). Gabrielle hitting on Ryan (Ben McKenzie) causes him trouble with Marissa (Mischa Barton) while Seth (Adam Brody) gets some unexpected affection from Summer (Rachel Bilson).

The episode’s script was a joint collaboration between creator Josh Schwartz and writers Erica Messer and Debra J. Fisher. Fisher worked on the first season of “The O.C.” as an executive story editor and later teamed up with Bilson as a co-executive producer on the short-lived series “Take Two.” (I was a fan!) Messer was also an executive story editor for this first season. Notably, she went on to become the executive producer and showrunner of “Criminal Minds,” and was last working on an ABC pilot called “Triage” with Kathleen Robertson (Clare, Beverly Hills, 90210).

This was the only hour directed by Steve Robman, who also directed one episode of “Dawson’s Creek.” Bilson and Melinda Clarke (Julie) dissected the ep with the help of Fisher, whom they called Deb. Then they were joined by Danny Pellegrino, with whom they talked about the recent controversy with Mischa.

Welcome to the OC, Bitches Episode 6, “The Girlfriend with Deb Fisher + Mischa Barton Rumors”

• Deb spoke about how “The O.C.” was the second job she ever had. Now she’s the showrunner for Netflix’s “Ginny & Georgia.” She explained a little bit about how that show came about and how she references “The O.C.” in the writer’s room.

• Melinda noted how Josh starting as a show creator and showrunner at such a young age is “not the norm.” Indeed, Deb explained how you usually start as a staff writer, then become a story editor, then an executive story editor, etc. The titles are dictated by the WGA.

• On “The O.C.,” Deb said her job was to be a “non-stop pitch machine.” The bonus is getting to write an episode script and have the majority of the draft kept. The challenge is imitating the voice of the creator-showrunner.

• Rachel pointed out two “Hart of Dixie” connections to “Ginny & Georgia” — Scott Porter and Leila Gerstein.

  • Leila also worked on “The O.C.” and “Gossip Girl.”

• Melinda wanted to know the “secret to writing good dialogue.” Deb explained how people try out different lines in the writer’s room, but again emphasized the importance of echoing Josh’s voice.

• In preparation for today’s podcast, Deb rewatched the first six episodes of the show and shared how they referred to it as the “summer season” in the writer’s room because these episodes aired in August. She said they would reference how “Beverly Hills, 90210” had its summer season(s).

• Deb said “Seth was Josh” and spoke about “putting Schwartzisms” in the scripts. She said they would hear Josh talking in their head as they wrote. She also credited Stephanie as Josh’s “right-hand person.” They would break stories together in the writer’s room and then the assigned script writer would go off and write the particular episode. Then Josh would revise and polish.

• Rachel wanted to know what’s changed between writing for shows then and now. Deb said there are a lot more female writers in writers’ rooms today, though “The O.C.” had a lot for its time. She said the rooms are more politically appropriate now with their language and ideas. Rachel said as she watched this episode, she wondered if they could do some of the same plot points today and if they’d still be acceptable.

• Deb revealed Summer originally was going to be “really sex positive,” but then they decided to make her a (secret) virgin.

• They dove into the specifics of the episode after about 20 minutes. Melinda rightly said that having the writer with them would add another layer to the discussion.

• Melinda noted how this was Alan’s first episode and said Caleb was based on businessman Donald Bren, one of the wealthiest people in the U.S. She said Caleb was “intimidating and a jerk,” but Alan wasn’t. Rachel quipped that Caleb had “quite a dapper girlfriend, I might add.”

• Melinda called this the “most sexualized” episode so far. She even revealed there is a blooper of Adam, as Seth, watching Nichole, as Gabrielle, emerge from the pool with him looking at her and then saying, “I gotta go do something.” Rachel: “That tracks.” Melinda said it was a “teenage boy fantasy.” Deb said that it would still be a realistic reaction today, but they would have to be more cautious with Seth and Ryan only being 17 — she didn’t know if Ryan hooking up with Gabrielle would “fly now,” especially on a network show. Melinda pointed out how when Julie and Luke hooked up, there was a line specifically mentioning that he was 18.

• Rachel said it was “so realistic” that Marissa was “motivated” to lose her virginity to Luke after walking in on Ryan and Gabrielle. Melinda pointed out that Kirsten was drinking wine so early in the day and discussed how she is “so deeply affected” by her dad. She suggested Kirsten married Sandy in part because it was a “little bit of an FU” to Caleb.

• Deb said she gets Julie more now than she did back then and loves her honesty and how she’s unapologetic. Melinda commented on how they’re “paying attention to so many more details than 10 years ago.” She argued that Julie did love Jimmy, but was a “survivor” and would take matters into her own hands like she did with Caleb and telling Jimmy she wanted a divorce.

• Rachel liked the Seth-Summer stuff. Melinda felt the characters were starting to get their voices and senses of humor, especially with the way they made pop culture references. Deb explained that they wanted to “peel back Summer’s layers” and show she could “spar on Seth’s level.”

• Deb argued “cool nerd culture was born out of ‘The O.C.,” and declared, “Seth Cohen was an icon.” They all loved Seth saying, “Who’s winning right now — me or my hair?” They wondered if Josh wrote that or Adam improvised it because it seemed to “blur the line” between Seth and Josh. Rachel said she would text Josh to find out.

  • It looked like Rachel might’ve texted him right then and there, but then she didn’t say anything about getting a response.

• Melinda said “one of the best scenes” of the episode was Sandy defending Kirsten to Caleb. She liked the revelation about Sandy smoking weed and Seth’s reaction to it. She said that kind of humor is what made the show “unique.”

• Deb wanted to “unpack the Sandy of it all almost 20 years later.” She thought a woman today “would fight her own battles,” as opposed to the husband stepping in. But at the time, it provided great conflict and story for Sandy-Kirsten-Caleb. Melinda said Sandy might be the “idealistic” husband but wasn’t “perfect.” She likes that the conflicts with Kirsten and Caleb lead to “great stories down the line.” She also likes that Kirsten and Sandy stand up for each other and when they do fight, they “recover quickly.” Deb said they have “genuine love” between them.

• Rachel brought up Seth and Summer’s first kiss and then said, “I don’t know if I should be revealing this. It’s like personal. Whatever.” After they kissed for the episode, she recalled thinking, “Do I like Adam?” In terms of crushing on him in real life, “That’s when those wheels started turning.”

• Deb guessed that Rachel and Adam probably had to kiss like seven times for all the different takes, prompting Rachel to joke that it was a “forced kiss” that got her interested in him. Melinda noted that “many times you don’t get excited” about having to kiss someone while other times you’re comfortable because you’re with a friend.

• Deb revealed she named her dog “Brodie” after Adam. Rachel: “Was it a little loud terrier?” (It wasn’t.) Rachel further called Adam “so crushable” and said even Kelly had a crush on him, adding, “How can you not have a crush on Adam Brody?” Melinda admitted her crush was on Ben.

• Melinda said Seth reciting the poem made her want to “kiss him too.” Rachel then cracked that it was the writing that made her like Adam. But she thought that Seth-Summer moment was “so sweet.” Deb: “Every second of that scene I felt all over again... I was reliving it as a fan.”

• Rachel said she “felt” it when Marissa told Ryan, “You’re too late.” Melinda: “Brilliant performance in one line from Mischa.” Deb said that line, combined with the look Marissa had when she rolled over before having sex with Luke, really got her: “I literally have goosebumps right now.”

• Deb said the pressure the teen characters feel and their vulnerability is “still so relatable even 20 years later.” Melinda said hitting on “so many themes is why the show resonated.” She further called it “amazing that such a young showrunner had his hand in such a great show.” Deb said the show is “holding up beautifully” and wanted Josh to know that it’s “really, truly iconic.” Rachel: “He’ll be listening so he definitely will hear.”

• Deb was nervous for the trivia portion but nailed all three questions. How old was Gabrielle? (24) What two firsts happened in this episode? (Marissa has sex with Luke and Summer kisses Seth.) Which character has the first line in the series? (Trey)

• Melinda told Deb they “would love” to have her back on the podcast “if there’s ever a chance.” She stressed how much she “love[s] being educated about the show.” Deb said she would “love to come back in the future… and talk about how special this show is.”

• After Deb’s exit, the fan on the voicemail wanted to know Rachel’s favorite everyday handbag and whether Rachel still has ambitions to be a preschool teacher if she wasn’t acting… particularly after having to teach Briar with remote schooling. Rachel gave some bag recommendations and noted she was in her closet-office so she was looking at what she had to give her ideas. She said she likes finding deals and likes reusing the shopping bags designers put handbags in. As for the second part of the question, she said her daughter went to a co-op preschool in which the parents have to do a lot (even pre-pandemic) and that made her realize, “Holy crap, this is so hard… I don’t think I could do this.” She said kids are her “passion,” but her answer to the “what would you do if you weren’t acting” question would no longer be teaching preschool.

• Melinda said she’s still using a leather tote that was gifted to her while on the show. Rachel was kind of in awe and said she has “nothing” from back then. Melinda: “You were also the victim of theft.” (Rachel was one of the “Bling Ring” victims.) Melinda asked Rachel if she recalled going to a Chanel event with Mischa and getting Chanel bags. Rachel did, but added of the luxury item, “That was definitely stolen.”

  • In all honesty, I could’ve done without the handbag question (such a random topic reminds me of something “9021OMG” would do), but I like that it eventually led Melinda to reveal her husband is a teacher.

• The podcast then cut to an add-on segment with Rachel in a different outfit. Rachel explained they just recorded an upcoming installment with Danny Pellegrino (a comedian who hosts his own podcast). He brought up Mischa’s recent comments and they “decided to address it a little bit in hopes that Mischa would hear us talk about it and would be willing to come join us on the show so we could hear her entire perspective and what she is saying she experienced.”

• The podcast then cut to the conversation with Danny, in which he said he found Mischa’s comments “confusing” and thought she was “talking in circles.” He wanted to know if Rachel and Melinda “understood what she was trying to say.”

• Rachel said she and Melinda spoke “immediately after it came out” and were taken aback. Melinda said that while she can talk about her own experience “with total honesty and transparency,” she can’t “speak for somebody else’s experience,” but acknowledged that the “amount of hours of work” and the “pressure at such a young age” likely affected Mischa. Working so many hours, she said, “at best, you’re exhausted. At worst, it’s overwhelming and chaotic.” She added, “It kind of breaks my heart a little… If it was really that bad of an experience, that’s not right for any young person, but some of the comments were very perplexing to me so I don’t know what the truth is about that, but I do know that, yes, this was a tremendous amount of pressure.”

• Rachel said Mischa’s assertion that she (Rachel) was added “last minute as, after the first season, a series regular” was “completely false” and “not what happened.” It made the interview seem like “misinformation” to her and made her wonder, “Where is she going with this and what is she trying to say?” Rachel said she “would actually like to talk to her and find out what her experience was from her perspective because I saw things a little differently, I guess.”

• Melinda recounted again how she and Rachel were both intended to be series regulars once the pilot started shooting, but they had to be guest stars for a certain number of episodes first.

  • And furthermore, may I add, it wasn’t “after the first season” that they became series regulars. It was still in the midst of the inaugural season with a chunk of episodes still to go.

• Melinda also brought up the “early 2000s scrutiny of the young ladies going out” (like Nicole Richie and Paris Hilton) and how it was a “toxic environment” with the media attention. Melinda: “Rachel and I both think it’s really important, if she wants to come and talk to us and share her story, we would love to explore that. I think it’s something we’re all becoming aware of and it’s important for us to learn in our culture what can be very damaging for people.” She also said that doing a TV show is “not for the faint of heart” and “being that young, I do think it can be an additional stress.”

• Danny said he felt like Mischa was “alluding to cast members” when she said she was bullied and said there’s been “rumors” over the years about the younger cast that he finds “confusing.” Danny: “We needed a camera back then so we can go back and watch the footage.”

• Rachel: “I’m definitely pretty confused by most of it. I don’t know who she’s referring to because I didn’t personally witness any of that so I don’t know who she’s referring to or what because I did not see it myself.”

• Melinda: “I did not either. Like I said, everyone has their own experience. I couldn’t wait to go to work… I just loved being there.” They also noted how Mischa has also said that she loved the show, which Rachel called “mixed messages.”

• Melinda pointed out that when you’re a young actress on a hit show, you’re working long hours under pressure, dealing with the paparazzi, likely getting a lot of film offers that you can’t take, and being pulled in different directions. She wondered, “How do you process all of that?” Melinda: “I don’t want to say anything disparaging. It’s hard for me to speculate because I like to speak from truth. But we can only imagine that it was pretty, like I said, overwhelming.”

• That was essentially the end of the discussion and end of today’s podcast. Danny tweeted that his full appearance on the podcast won’t be released until “August-ish,” which means, man, Rachel and Melinda are working even further ahead than I thought. Good for them.

First off, props to Rachel and Melinda for having one of the episode’s writers join them. One of the (many) disappointing aspects of “9021OMG” is that they haven’t had any non-actors join them besides creator Darren Star and half of The Rembrandts. I so appreciated getting a deep dive of this episode with one of the people who wrote it. It wasn’t a linear discussion and they didn’t go scene by scene, but it was still in depth. I mean, Deb actually used the term “unpack” — they went beneath the surface, as Rachel and Melinda do every week, and that to me is how it should be done.

Secondly, as I said last month, Mischa is entitled to her perspective. Melinda and Rachel are entitled to theirs too. None of us can truly discern what the truth is because we weren’t there. But I do admire how Melinda and Rachel reacted here. For the most part, I think they gave a respectful, honest, and mature response (apart from Rachel joking that Mischa should’ve had a great time on the episode they discussed because she got to make out with Ben… yikes). They didn’t dismiss her claims, but instead recognized that Mischa has her own perspective and said they want to hear more while staying true to their own perspectives.

Compare that to how Tori and Jennie handled Vanessa’s comments back in March. In fact, compare the whole shebang — podcast to podcast. There’s a way to do things and there’s a way not to. At least Melinda and Rachel seem to know right from wrong.

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