Premiere (The O.C.) - Popular Culture

Popular Culture

Luke's line, "Welcome to the O.C., bitch", which he says after beating up Ryan, became a tagline for the show. TV Land placed the line as 83rd in its 100 Greatest TV Quotes and Catchphrases in 2006. Hadley Freeman of The Guardian noted that the teen-focused show made many cultural references due to a "renewed interest in the teen market", adding that the use of cropped tops, micro-minis, and beaded flip-flops showed a "decidedly West Coast approach to fashion". The episode's cultural references to fashion included Julie Cooper's question to her pre-pubescent daughter, "Do you like my hair this straight or is it too Avril Lavigne?", while another mother complains, "What are you doing putting my daughter in Calvin Klein? She was supposed to be in Vera Wang!" Teenage misfit Seth complains that "Every day's a fashion show for these kids".

The episode generated interest in the program's music and was regarded as "the show to be heard on". Michael Peck from TV Guide said that he received a large quantity of mail that inquired about the song "Into Dust" by Mazzy Star, which played when Ryan carried Marissa into his bedroom. Other featured music was The All-American Rejects' 2003 hit, "Swing, Swing", and "Hands Up" by The Black Eyed Peas from their 2003 multi-platinum album, Elephunk. Among Schwartz's favorite musical moments from the show was Joseph Arthur's "Honey and the Moon", which Schwartz claimed helped him write the pilot. The title track "California" introduced the band Phantom Planet into the mainstream.