Looking to get a jump on everyone else for the fall — plus hook viewers hungry for scripted programming — Fox on Tuesday premieres an ambitiously modern prime-time drama/soap called “The O.C.” that delves into the rich and dysfunctional lives of families in the gated-community world of Orange County.

The series will air for seven weeks, then go off the air as Fox shows major league baseball playoffs and the World Series. It returns Oct. 30. This is a big scheduling gamble because viewers won’t come back unless the first seven episodes are stellar.

The pilot is superb. The knee-jerk reaction to “The O.C” would be to assume that years after the fact, Fox is just looking for a little “Beverly Hills 90210″ action to bolster ratings. But that ignores the pretty decent pedigree of the people behind “The O.C.,” not to mention that the series is compelling on more than a few levels, able to hook both young viewers and their parents.
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