In the second season of "The O.C.," we return to the land of the McMansions, perilous pool fights, catchy California tunes, and troubled teens.

With its witty banter and smart send-ups layered in with egregcious eye candy and some lowbrow blowouts you get a one-of-a-kind guilty pleasure which fans follow without abandon. What will Sandy's bushy brows furrow over next? Will Marissa and Ryan reconcile and get back together? What about Seth and Summer?

Page 3 talked with actor Tate Donovan, aka: Jimmy Cooper. We asked Micha Barton's primetime dad about working with the nighttime drama, real-life relationships and finding time to direct shows and train for triathlons.

1. What can "The O.C." fans expect this season? Any pool fights?

You know, there aren't any drop down fights so far, but there's a lot going on and a lot of new kids coming in. My character gets involved with an ex-girlfriend of his, and it gets pretty tawdry. We actually just shot a love scene that ... get this, Fox flipped over! I mean, Fox is kind of racy, and they were just like, What? Yes, you are "The O.C." but we can't put that on television!"

The ex's name is Hailey, she's Kirsten's sister. Amanda Righetti, the actress who plays Hailey, actually has another show (Fox's "North Shore") right now, so she comes on and sort of dumps me right off. So Jimmy, once again, feels worthless after she leaves. He's doing well financially but he's living on a boat and drinking a lot ... you know, basically living a rudderless life.

2. OK, imagine there's been yet another knockdown "The O.C." pool fight and bodies are in the pool. You can only perform mouth-to-mouth one character: your daughter Marissa, her best friend Summer, your ex-wife Julie, the neighbor you've longed for Kristen "Kiki" Cohen, or your loyal friend Sandy Cohen. Who would it be?

(Laughs) I've got to go with Kiki. Sandy is a great guy, but mouth-to-mouth? I'd say Jimmy has to go with Kiki.

Which character is hotter overall, Julie or Kristen?

Julie Cooper is hysterical. I love her character so much, she cracks me up. She's such a superficial nightmare of a woman, yet, for some reason, I tend to go for the bitchy-types of the world ... which is really is something I should take up with a professional therapist. I guess I'd go with Julie.

3. Growing up, were you a jock like Luke or more like comic book-loving Seth?

I was a huge jock when I was a kid, but I didn't hit puberty until I was like, 17. When I was 12-years-old, I was set on being a professional quarterback. That's all I thought about. I was set on becoming a professional athlete. I was an all-star in little league baseball, football and soccer and all that stuff. But since I didn't reach puberty, I was 90 pounds and 5-foot-4 up until my senior year, and it just totally ruined all of my athletic dreams.

That's when I got into theater and I started going to New York City. I went to art museums, saw plays and went to French movies and stuff. So I guess I started out as a Luke and ended up a Seth in high school. And thankfully, I finally reached puberty in college.

4. You are now a big-time triathlete. You've won the celebrity division of the Malibu Triathlon two years in a row now. Would you ever consider doing the Ironman in Hawaii? What size races do you compete in?

The half-Ironman (swim:1.2 miles, bike: 56 miles, run: 13.1 miles) is my favorite race. I can't imagine, running a marathon after 112 miles of cycling. I can't imagine doing a full Ironman (swim: 2.4 miles, bike: 112 miles, run: 26.2 miles).

How do you fit training in with your shooting schedule?

You squeeze it in when you can. I go during lunch. In fact, right after this interview, I'm going to take a run. So, you do what you can. I've been lucky because it's a big ensemble cast, so my schedule hasn't been too demanding, but there have been times it's been tough. Now that I'm starting to direct some episodes my schedule will get really tight.

5. Have you recruited any cast members to try triathalons?

It's been frustrating, I still want to get an "The O.C." team for the Malibu Tri. I almost got it together, but they all backed out. I think everyone is scared of the swim. You really have to get a swimmer on your team, because it is not just about swimming in the ocean, it's swimming alongside hundreds of swimmers, so it can get nasty in that water. You get cracked on the head, you get grabbed, and other swimmers will knock your goggles off. It can get really crazy in the water, so it scares some people off.

Are you competitive with other celebrity athletes such as David Duchovny and JAG star David James Elliott?

Dave Duchovny is an awesome swimmer, so he kind of kicks back after he wins the swim and relaxes from there. It is fun to try to beat some of these people. A cocky, soap opera guy won the Malibu Tri a couple years in a row and after I won last year, people would come up to me and say, "Thank you for beating Ingo."

The guy is so competitive. I had never met him, but after he came in second place to me, on the way to the medal stand I said, "Hey, congratulations." He turned to me, and with this weird Australian-German accent said, "Yeah, I always knew eventually I'd be beat by a little weasely guy."

I was floored. Let's just say it was nice to repeat and win again this year.

Editor's note: Said "cocky, soap opera guy" is "General Hospital"'s Ingo Rademacher

6. You originally hailed from the New York/New Jersey area. Are you a big Yankees fan?

I was born and raised a Yanks fan. I am an avid Yanks fan, especially since my brother tried out for the Yankees. He was obsessed with the team, so I became indoctrinated to the Yankees' lore.

However, I recently did a book on tape of a book by David Halberstam called "The Teammates." It's about four Boston Red Sox players -- Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, Dom DiMaggio, and Bobby Doerr -- who played for 20 years together and remained friends for years after retiring. It's an awesome tale. So, even though I am a Yankees fan I was pulling for the Red Sox to win the World Series.

7. You were in the cult hit "Spacecamp." With all of the recent news involving the private sector's race to space, would you ever consider flying into space aboard Branson's SpaceShipOne?

I would definitely do it! I can't tell you how desperately I wish I could get up to space -- especially after shooting that movie and getting to meet some astronauts. Just to have that perspective. To look back on earth, going 17,000 per hour in orbit, that's got to be one of the best views in life. I only hope they get it together before I croak, and that I'm rich enough to be able to do it.

8. Let's have more fun with the '80s. You also starred as Jamie Masters, Robin Master's nephew on "Magnum PI." Which locale is nicer, Orange County or Hawaii?

Well, you have to remember Magnum PI shot their whole show in Hawaii. As much as "The O.C." experience has been great, I have to give it up to Hawaii -- it's about as pleasant a place as you can imagine. As soon as we finished a take, I would cut out and head to the most beautiful beach in the world. It was pretty awesome.

9. And "Love Potion Number 9?" You dated co-star Sandra Bullock and later dated Jennifer Aniston. Now, you star alongside some of the sought after women on television. What's the secret potion?

My advice would be that being a goof ball isn't as bad as we think. I think that guys are petrified of appearing like a total goofball, while I found, oddly enough, women would turning to me and liked me because of it. I have really lucked out in that way, because this goofball hasn't been cool a day in his life!

10. With a lot of copycat shows out there, what makes "The O.C." so special?

It has a sense of humor to it that the others don't have. Other shows take themselves a little too seriously. Josh Schwartz, (creator and writer of "The OC") refers to it as a "soapity." It is sort of like a soap opera, but with great narrative, and yet it is also very funny. The characters are funny and there's a lot of good humor and as I mentioned before I think not taking yourself too seriously is incredibly important.

Shane Igoe is a writer/producer. His first book entitled "Taking the Hill: 100 Presidential Pitches from Opening Day 1904-2004" debuts next year. He can be reached at sigoe@youie.com.