The O.C.

The O.C. (2003)

33 continuity mistakes in season 1 - chronological order

(1 vote)

The O.C. mistake picture

Pilot - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: When Ryan is lighting Marissa's cigarette with his, at the start of the shot it's full, then the shot goes to Ryan and it's still full. But then the shot goes to Marissa and if you look at Ryan's cigarette you can see it is almost all gone. Then the shot goes to Ryan and the cigarette is full again. (00:09:00)

The O.C. mistake picture

Pilot - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: When Marissa is dumped on the driveway by Summer and Holly, Ryan first sees her there her left arm is across her chest with her elbow sticking up. The next shot of Marissa her ams are straight and spread out, and the next they are close by her sides, which is impossible for her to have moved them herself as she is unconscious. (00:34:15)

The O.C. mistake picture

Pilot - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: When Sandy first picks up Ryan, we see in several shots that Ryan's bike is in the trunk, and that the trunk is open. However, when they drive up to the house, the trunk is now closed, with no bike.

Pilot - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: When Ryan and Sandy leave to take Ryan back home, it is supposedly the morning. But as they leave, the sun can be seen over Marissa's shoulder, which is the west (because her back is to the ocean). Since the sun sets in the west, it can't be morning.

The O.C. mistake picture

The Gamble - S1-E3

Continuity mistake: At the part where Kirsten brings Ryan and Seth to help set up the hall, Seth starts to blow up balloons with helium. In one shot he has an orange balloon under his arm and is tying the bottom, and the next he's starting to fill up a different balloon, without time to finish tying it and pick up a new one. (00:15:50)

The O.C. mistake picture

The Gamble - S1-E3

Continuity mistake: When Kirsten and Ryan are talking while setting up for the Casino Night, the camera cuts between Ryan And Kirsten while they talk. Whenever you see both characters in one shot, her fringe is forward, but when you see the individual shot of her, her fringe is pulled back behind her ear. (00:18:10)

The Gamble - S1-E3

Continuity mistake: In the morning when Seth goes into the kitchen where his parents are, he reaches into the cupboard to get a bowl. However, in the next shot he now has a box of cereal.

The Gamble - S1-E3

Continuity mistake: When Ryan's lunch tray gets knocked out of his hands in jail and the guy pushes him onto the table, a fork appears in his hands with no time to pick it up.

The O.C. mistake picture

The Debut - S1-E4

Continuity mistake: In the scene where Ryan and Anna are learning to waltz Anna's hand goes from the top of Ryan's shoulder to the side of his shoulder and back to the top of his shoulder between shots. (00:16:30)

The Debut - S1-E4

Continuity mistake: In this episode Seth, Ryan and Kirsten arrive at the country club in the Range Rover to get the boys ready for Cotillion. In the next scene we see Sandy with the surfboards in the back of the Range Rover as he has just come home and Jimmy arrives to apologise, soon after we go back to the country club where Seth and Ryan are trying on jackets and meet up with Marissa, Summer and Luke, proving that the Range Rover should still be there, not back home.

The O.C. mistake picture

The Escape - S1-E7

Continuity mistake: When Seth and Summer are having breakfast at a cafe he pushes his toast towards her and she eats the crusts. But in the next shot, and for the rest of the scene, the plate is still beside Seth.

The Escape - S1-E7

Continuity mistake: When Marissa leaves the bar, after downing the pills and tequila, she leaves her bag, but presumably Ryan found it. Then, when Ryan sees Marissa down the alley he runs to her, but his hands are empty, yet, in the next shot, where he kneels over her body, Marissa's bag is in his hand and he puts it down beside her.

The Escape - S1-E7

Continuity mistake: After Summer calls Seth and Ryan from the bathroom to say she's found Marissa, she puts her phone on the shelf, and then goes back into the main room to find Marissa gone. Then as Summer walks out the door she shoves her phone back into her bag, even though she left it on the shelf.

The Escape - S1-E7

Continuity mistake: At the beginning of the episode when Seth is eating in the Crab Shack and talking to Ryan, he's holding his drink but in the behind shot he's bringing the drink to his mouth but in the front shot it's resting on the bench and again in the back shot he's sipping the drink but in the front shot it's nowhere near his mouth.

The O.C. mistake picture

The Escape - S1-E7

Continuity mistake: When Marissa and Ryan are out at the vending machine, Marissa hasn't got her cell phone with her, and she hasn't got any pockets, but then later when they are heading back inside just as it rings she is holding it.

The Escape - S1-E7

Continuity mistake: When Summer and Seth are arguing during the car trip to T.J., Summer's hands move from touching her hair to holding her bottle when she says, "You're Jewish?"

The Heights - S1-E9

Continuity mistake: Jimmy brags to Marissa that he is having an "actual phone line" installed that day, when in the episode before he is seen using a cordless home phone when Julie rings him after Marissa ran away from the hospital.

The Third - S1-E15

Continuity mistake: At the end of the game, when the whole group is in the lounge at the Cohens', Luke and Seth are versing each other on the PlayStation. However, the screen shows the game is only in single-player mode, but both Luke and Seth are using controllers.

The O.C. mistake picture

Pilot - S1-E1

Continuity mistake: When Ryan is lighting Marissa's cigarette with his, at the start of the shot it's full, then the shot goes to Ryan and it's still full. But then the shot goes to Marissa and if you look at Ryan's cigarette you can see it is almost all gone. Then the shot goes to Ryan and the cigarette is full again. (00:09:00)

More mistakes in The O.C.

Caleb Nichol: I've come to ask a favor.
Sandy: I'm sorry, what did you say?
Caleb Nichol: You didn't hear me?
Sandy: No, I heard you, I... I just want to make you say it again.

More quotes from The O.C.
More trivia for The O.C.

The Blaze of Glory - S2-E16

Question: When Ryan goes to Marissa and Alex's apartment (after Alex told him to stay away from Marissa), he says, "If you have to work this hard, it isn't working." What does he mean?

Answer: He means that if Alex has to go so far as to forbid Ryan from seeing Marissa in order to maintain her relationship with her, their relationship obviously isn't working.

More questions & answers from The O.C.

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.