Apparently when the bell tolled for Marissa Cooper, it also spelled curtains for the entire O.C.
After ordering up an abbreviated season of what was once TV's hottest prime-time teen drama (Beverly Hills, 90210 with even more beach time, if you will), Fox announced Wednesday that it has officially deep-sixed The O.C. The finale will air Feb. 22 after a nonstop run of new episodes starting Thursday.
"The O.C. season four finale will also be the series finale. This feels like the best time to bring the show to its close," O.C. creator and executive producer Josh Schwartz said in a statement. "Thanks to the hard work of our cast, crew and writers, we have enjoyed our best season yet, and what better time to go out than creatively on top."
At least the gang got to spend one more Chrismukkah together.
When the soapy series premiered in August 2003, 8.4 million people enjoyed its initial seven-week run, and the conclusion of the first season, which ran from Oct. 29, 2003, to May 5, 2004, attracted a 9.7 million-strong audience. In turn, Mischa Barton, Rachel Bilson, Ben McKenzie and Adam Brody became fodder for People and Us Weekly.
Alas, the ratings have been steadily sinking ever since, despite the popularity of the show's main actors; the hot new musical artists that have received career-boosting airtime, starting with Phantom Planet, the band responsible for the anthemic theme song "California"; and the rise of reality spinoffs based on The O.C.'s glam-lifestyle premise, such as MTV's Laguna Beach: The "Real" Orange County and Bravo's The Real Housewives of Orange County.
Fox moved The O.C. to Thursdays at 9 p.m. for its second season, where it improved the network's overall performance in that time slot but lost more than 2 million viewers.
Season three saw those numbers drop to 5.6 million, despite a Mar. 9 episode that attracted 7.4 million. Impressive, until you see that it lost 72 percent of its American Idol lead-in.
Last, and definitely least, this season has pulled in a dismal 4.1 million viewers on Thursdays, where it's up against the two-headed CSI-Grey's Anatomy monster. A valiant attempt to test the Wednesday waters was a failure, as well, with a brand-new episode scoring a measly 3.5 million on Nov. 8.
"It has been an amazing experience and a great run," Schwartz said. "For a certain audience, at a certain time, The O.C. has meant something. For that we are grateful."
And despite the fact that it hasn't meant as much to as many for some time now, The O.C. certainly had its day, and obviously the 285,479 fans who lent their signature to Fox's online Save The O.C. petition are not ready to say goodnight.
Those O.C. hopefuls can turn their heads to blogs like the CW Source, which is reporting the rumor, fanned by TV Guide columnist Michael Ausiello, that The O.C. could pull a Buffy and end up on another network next season, although likely without its most prominent talent.
Opinions on a possible move to the CW seem to be ranging from the "yes, good idea" variety to "bring it on, pu-leeese!"
"A well-promoted move to the CW would definitely gain back a lot of the old O.C. fans, especially since I'm sure many of them will have heard about how much better season 4 is but have gotten too into Grey's to go back to the O.C.," read a posting from Nate on CW Source.
Then there was Nick Baxter, who wrote, "I'm a huge fan of The O.C. and it fits perfect with the Big Green. One Tree Hill and The O.C. on the same network will bring down the house!"
Reality was the name of the game on other sites, however, with various pragmatists squashing the idea of a fifth-season comeback.
"Is anyone else sitting at their comp crying over The O.C. being canceled?" wrote the OCer on Fox's O.C. message board.
Don't worry, OCer, you're not alone.
"As lame…as this sounds," commiserated KikiSandy2 in response to the OCer's posting, "when I was reading the article I started crying. Like you I am so emotionally attached to this show and obsessed with it I am going to be extremely depressed when this is over…I'm going to miss seeing the cast's faces every Thursday or the extremely funny banter, the sarcasm, the dirty propositions, the lying, cheating, stealing, sex, drama."
The O.C. also spawned six soundtrack albums, including Have a Very Merry Chrismukkah and Covering Our Tracks, which just dropped in December, featuring all indie acts, such as Band of Horses, Lady Sovereign and Mates of State.
Brand-new music from Coldplay, U2, Beastie Boys, Gwen Stefani and Imogen Heap has had its debut on The O.C., and artists who have put in face time by the shores of Los Angeles' sunnier, ritzier cousin include the Killers, Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie and T.I.
The series was responsible for 7 Days in Memphis, the debut solo album from Peter Gallagher (hip, concerned dad Sandy Cohen). The collection, released in 2005, featured his cover of Solomon Burke's "Don't Give Up On Me"—"as seen on The O.C.," of course.
For the show's 20-something stars, at least, The O.C. was probably just the beginning of the rest of their careers.
Mischa Barton, who got a head start on moving on when Marissa was killed off at the end of season three, won the 2006 Teen Choice Award for Choice Actress and has at least four movies in the pipeline, including the upcoming period romance Closing the Ring, costarring Shirley MacLaine and Christopher Plummer.
In addition to her Summer O.C. duties this year, Rachel Bilson starred in The Last Kiss with Zach Braff and is filming the Doug Liman-directed sci-fi adventure Jumper alongside Hayden Christiansen and Samuel L. Jackson.
Adam Brody, who showed up in Mr. and Mrs. Smith and took a memorable turn in Thank You for Smoking last year, will be back on the big screen in '07 in the romantic dramedy In the Land of Women after spending one more month as privileged heartthrob Seth Cohen.
And Ben McKenzie, aka The O.C.'s loveable rogue Ryan Atwood, starred in the acclaimed indie film Junebug in 2005 and is up next in the thriller 88 Minutes, costarring Al Pacino, Leelee Sobieski and Alicia Witt.