Oh si, O.C.

The once great teen sudser that almost everyone agrees has been going downhill for awhile now knocked one out of the park tonight with an amusing and poignant offering. It's been a long time since the writing has been this funny or the characters this rich. I couldn't believe I found myself actually admiring Kaitlin. First, she completely upstages the snobby popular girl at her school without breaking a sweat, just to show her some humility. And then, proving that nothing fazes her, she actually called the cops on her own party because she got tired of it. As for adult characters, they have a winner in straight-shooting Bullet. The boisterous tycoon provides mounds of comic relief, but as rough around the edges as he is, even he can be (as Sandy Cohen might say) a real mensch.

I'm curious to see next week's It's A Wonderful Life homage. It's always interesting when a show breaks formula and does a "what if" episode. I'm going to have a hard time buying that Sandy could ever be married to Julie Cooper, though--he's just too classy for her. But "The O.C." always does a good job on their Chrismukkah episode, so I think it'll be good.

Speaking of things to look forward to on shows that I'm not typically excited about, tonight's preview for upcoming episodes of "Smallville" has me jazzed about the forming of the Justice League, which apparently takes place in the second new episode after the holidays, when the younger versions of The Flash, Green Arrow, Aquaman, and Cyborg all return.