As Crushgasm nears its one-year anniversary, it’s apparent some names have become common ‘round these here parts. Adam Brody’s Seth Cohen being one of them. Way back during the show’s fourth week when the lovely Be the Spark Cosplay dished about her fictional crushes from Aladdin to ‘Once Upon a Time’s’ Captain Hook, I too served up some fictional crushes of my own with Seth Cohen rightfully being listed among them. So while he’s quickly been mentioned here before, it’s time to give him a proper, lengthy homage.
Everyone has moments where they think they should have existed during a different period of time. I’ve often felt drawn to the aesthetics and revolutionary times of the ‘70s, but then Fox dropped ‘The O.C.’ in 2003 and as a 16-year-old obsessed with TV – I felt perfectly placed on this timeline for the second time in my life. The first was when I discovered the Backstreet Boys.
As a kid my mom let me get addicted to ‘Melrose Place,’ and my time with chickenpox led to a fascination with daytime soaps. All of that and being part of the prime audience for ‘The O.C.’ led to living and breathing this damn show…until it went to shit, but those first few – teen drama gold and shining brightest was, of course, Adam Brody as Seth Cohen.
Those who craved danger and rebellion fell for Ben McKenzie’s Ryan Atwood, but so many leaned towards the awkwardly endearing nature Seth Cohen possessed. He was adorkable long before Zooey Deschanel delightfully sang and asked, “Who’s that girl?” Yes, absolutely no boy from my high school or yours both looked and acted like Seth, but how many of us dialed into Miss Cleo asking when we’d get our own Seth? In many ways, Seth Cohen was the reason the idea of male perfection was warped inside my head for years. He was on a pedestal for many and remains there always and forever when talking about the most crushable people of the 2000s.
It wasn’t just that Seth Cohen was worth every second spent looking at him. Yes, he was attractive as hell, but he also had the personality to back it up. He was a self-deprecating nerd who came quick with wit. Plus, he was one-half of one of the most addicting love stories of that era. His will-they-won’t-they with Summer Roberts was everything to my generation. It was my people’s ‘90210’ and not until ‘Euphoria’ has a teen show given audiences so much to talk about. Except ‘Degrassi,’ because that’s some evergreen entertainment.
Almost 20 years have passed since we were welcomed to ‘The O.C.,’ bitch. Since then, I’m sure Adam Brody has grown tired as fuck hearing about Seth Cohen but dammit – it’s not our fault he played a crush so perfect, we’re still holding on for dear life.
Crushgasm 