Maybe I am biased because I have watched this show from the very beginning -- it started right when I moved to NYC and has been with me ever since so I guess I have a sort of attachment to it.
The reason the OC is such a good show is because of the writing, and perhaps Adam Brody's character's ad-libs throughout add to this - I've heard he ad-libs his lines (and probably actions too -- the hand on the windowpane at the end of the first scene in the most recent "raining in the OC" episode).
The adult characters are just as rich and developed as the young characters, unlike 90210 (which twenty-somethings seem to want to compare this show to). I was never a big fan of 90210; I thought it was only soap opera material and sex, whereas The OC is not. The Seth and Summer romance is pure and so sweet and well-acted (I believe they are engaged in real life).
The writing is smart and hilarious and subtle. A lot of crazy soap-opera-like things have happened, but the way they approach it with candor and humor makes it sophisticated and meaningful. They are always pulling these "meta" plots, like the show "The Valley" that has the character just like Seth, and how Summer would of course like the TV him better than the real him (which is so ironic because Seth IS the TV him). (See trivia about this show for more "meta" plot twists -- I remember also one episode where Summer makes a crack at one of the show's critics in a scene in the hospital.) Sandy and Kirsten are the moral center, and really are good people and wonderful role models - the only sane people in the show. But even they are written realistically; they are not without their faults and downfalls (Sandy's recent near-adultery, and Kirsten's on an upcoming episode).
The music is always really good, and they make a point to bring in real bands and have them play on the show as acts at the club in town.
They bring in the town of Chino (other side of the tracks) with Ryan and his ex-girlfriend. The first episode started it all off with Ryan's classic line in response to Marissa's, "Who are you?" "Whoever you want me to be." Though this may sound cheesy and clichéd, I think it started the whole show off with a sexy mystique that let you know that you wouldn't know where this one was going. You get the sense that the writers don't even know where they are going with it - which is exciting and keeps you on your toes. You don't get the sense that the writers even necessarily knew what would happen with the whole Julie and Jimmy Cooper saga - eventually Jimmy was completely written off, but not until they went through a divorce, a few affairs, a failed business deal with Sandy, living on a boat, and a remarriage (Julie and Caleb, the beautiful red bridesmaid dresses).
Although people bash Mischa Barton's acting, I have to say you can't help but be entranced by these young and beautiful actors. Especially Rachel Bilson, who is able to pull off humor unlike any other. Seth as well. And Kirsten is gorgeous, and Sandy's dry wit and humor make him so lovable. I remember him from While You Were Sleeping with Sandra Bullock. His part in that movie was really small--he only got to play the comatose love interest of Sandra Bullock, but he was really cute and you can't forget those eyebrows. And you can't forget him in the Robert Altman films Short Cuts and The Player he's got some charisma.
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