Beautiful People in Soft Lighting

Fox TV announced recently that The OC would not be picked up for a fifth season. Entertainment News bids a fond farewell the show even though I have never seen a single episode. To me The OC has always transcended television. It represents what the entertainment industry should be all about—maybe not in terms of writing, character development or quality television production in general, but in terms of casting. I can't speak for the acting abilities of the cast (although Mischa Barton was excellent in The Sixth Sense as Kyra Collins, the girl who was poisoned by her mother), but I can say this: The cast of The OC is beautiful. You see, normal-looking people like me don't want to turn on the TV and see other normal-looking people. The world is full of normal-looking people. I want to see beautiful people on TV, although apparently not enough to watch The OC. Maybe that's why it's getting the ax. With The OC's departure from the airwaves, it has become necessary to crown a new beauty queen. We here at Entertainment News have taken on the responsibility of choosing the show with not only the most beautiful cast, but the show that best represents beautiful people everywhere. It was difficult and I'm sure many people will disagree, but I'm afraid the decision is final. So here is the countdown of the 10 nominees given in ascending order of the number of votes received from our panel of judges: (Others receiving votes: The Ghost Whisperer, ER, Desperate Housewives, America's Next Top Model, Fear Factor, Dog the Bounty Hunter, Battlestar Galactica and ABC Family Channel's Beautiful People and Wildfire) 10. Bones: Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz are both considered beautiful, but with only two main characters, the show was a long shot from the beginning. 9. What About Brian: I really know nothing about this show other than somebody out there is probably watching because they think Brian or his friends are hot. 8. CSI: Miami: David Caruso amazes me. Not since William Shatner have we seen such an unattractive actor trying to get by on looks alone. Don't ask me why the ladies love him. It's a good thing he has a strong (and by strong I mean beautiful) supporting cast. 7. Without a Trace: I have to agree with Entertainment Weekly's assessment that adding Roselyn Sanchez to the cast did little more than increase the amount of great hair on the show, but at least there is now male-female balance. Office romance has never seemed so dangerous. 6. Lost: Sure, they look like beach bums, but they're beautiful beach bums. Do not underestimate the talents of the lighting crew and makeup artists. It's their job to make sure the cast looks beautiful. 5. Friday Night Lights: Since my post inviting people to watch Friday Night Lights, there were a few episodes where things got a little soap opera-ish, but then they evened out a little bit. The teen angst is still top notch, something I'm sure OC fans can appreciate. 4. Smallville: This is the longest running of the nominees, something that has only been made possible by adding more and more beautiful people to the cast over the years in order to combat the bad plot twists and bizarre story lines. Maybe adding more beautiful people would have saved The OC. 3. Grey's Anatomy: As someone once said of this show, "It's like ER, only sexier." What more needs to be said? 2. One Tree Hill: This show is the epitome of everything the old WB came to stand for: beautiful teens with problems bigger than yours. Somehow it survived the WB/UPN merger, but is still all about hot teen angst. 1. Las Vegas: While the show's creator may not be beautiful, he has done well to capture the superficiality that is Las Vegas. I don't watch most shows on this list, and Las Vegas is no exception (although I did see part of the episode where Jean-Claude Van Damme guest appeared as himself and died on the show), but with The OC's departure, it is comforting to know that there is a show carrying on the tradition of providing an outlet where normal-looking people like me can go to see what we should aspire to look like.