My first star! "Sandy Cohen" from "The O.C."

I literally never turn on the television, maybe because we don't have stations I would watch... but I have seen some American television series on DVD in Paris, where we had a multi-system player. (This is necessary because of the nefarious rules that prevent you from buying an American DVD and playing it on your own player in Paris... there is no excuse for this.) So I watched a few episodes of The Sopranos, The O.C. and West Wing, and my kids learned virtually all they know of America from repeatedly watching the entire ten-year stretch of Friends.

N once told me that Sandy Cohen, the father in The O.C., is his idea of the kind of father he wants to be one day.  I think it's a compliment to the writers of the show, and to the actor who made Sandy real. So I was quite pleased that Peter Gallagher, who played Sandy,  is my first celebrity sighting since I arrived in L.A.. I was getting a little impatient, as everyone else seems to see famous people left and right.

It was a little odd to see him in a normal group of people, looking as if he wondered if you knew who he was....

Not counting meeting the famous rock star that I had never heard of, but whose name really impressed my sister.

I can cross this off my list now!

Comments

[Neil]

You see -- now moving to LA was completely worth it!

[maitresse]

oh, I've been a peter gallagher fan since I was a horny teenager and saw him in "guys and dolls" on broadway. he was the suavest sky masterson ever-- gave marlon brando a real run for his money. I'm sure the OC made him a pile of money but can't help feeling disappointed in such a career choice...

[Erin]

I adore Peter Gallagher! He is why I watched The OC in the first place and I was not disappointed. Sandy Cohen was the best father ever to appear on American episodic television. Nice first sighting! Mine were Julie Andrews & Blake Edwards my first night at work (I used to run a video store in Brentwood.)

As for the NTSC/PAL/EURO distinctions in DVDs, that's because the US, Britain, and other regions in the world all use different creation and encryption systems to create their DVDs, VHS tapes, and players. It's not an American conspiracy, it's actually a technological question that needs to be solved amongst all the countries.