Dorms, fraternities, spring break and falling ratings - all things part of the college experience. At least it is on television. This fall as most high school graduates prepare for a new home, so will their television counterparts like Veronica Mars and the O.C gang who will be more concerned with losing viewers than gaining the freshman fifteen.
Though many shows have attempted to overcome the graduation curse, none have been successful without some struggle. Guilty pleasure shows like Saved by the Bell and Dawson's Creek were unable to sustain interest in the post-high school environment. Whether it's adjusting to the change in atmosphere, the loss of beloved old characters, the addition of annoying new ones or just becoming sick and tired same old storylines, many viewers call it quits at graduation. By the time the teen characters make it to college, the show is no longer fresh and the courting period is over.
Saved by the Bell moved to prime-time from Saturday mornings once the kids hit college, but it was quickly canceled due to low ratings after one season. The high school years were just plain fun and it was easy to overlook that all six main characters had all the same classes. But watching new cookie-cutter versions of fashion queen Lisa Turtle and over-achiever Jessie Spano with the rest of the gang was like watching re-runs of the high school years with less appealing supporting characters and dorm rooms. Take the episode when Zack asks two girls to a concert and while trying to juggle them, the girls find out about each other and both go to the concert without him. It could be something straight out of an Archie comic - good thing those Riverdale kids never grow up.
Though the kids from Beverly Hills 90210 stayed on the air even as the show grew increasingly unrealistic, its successor Dawson's Creek, which was arguably less soapy, became downright ridiculous and didn't last long after the move to college. Dawson's Creek was a show based on the teenage angst of the high school experience. When the kids left small-town Capeside and moved to Boston, the changes were a departure from what made the show popular in the first place. It shifted from being about Dawson to being Joey's show, with some episodes featuring her alone (Joey vs. the mugger/father figure). Pacey didn't go to college and suddenly became a money-grubbing stockbroker with a goatee in a complete butchering of his character. Jen and Jack had some random relationships which were always a footnote to Joey's drama of the week. And Audrey was added as the annoying roomate who was the supposed anti-thesis of Joey Potter, but (surprisingly!) the girls ended up best of friends. By the second year in college, which was the show's last season, main cast members weren't even showing up in every episode. The viewers weren't the only ones who had lost interest.
The soapy teen shows lacked the substance to adapt beyond the high school formula and essentially became college drop-outs. Recent high school graduate, The O.C. definitely has more soap than substance. Already in a rut, and with the Fox network having only ordered about half of a full season, it will take some serious work to revive this show outside the walls of high school. But if the finale is any indication, writers may not be done with the Harbor School yet. Though I'd bet that watching a new generation of O.C. kids, led by Kaitlin Cooper, will be as popular as Saved By The Bell: The New Class. Perhaps Seth can return to Harbor as the Principal's personal assistant.
Karen Woodward - Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, I've lived in Los Angeles since 1994. A communications major at University of Colorado, ...
