Veronica Mars - 1st Season Really Good, Deserved To Be Watched

[modage]

this is a really good show.  i just finished watching season one.  i would never have expected a UPN show about a high school Private Investigator could be this good.  but AICN is always raving about the show, and the AFI named it one of TV's 10 Most Outstanding Programs last year so i thought i would check it out.  i would've expected it to be cheesy Nancy Drew crap but there is a darkness about the show that keeps it really interesting (especially the first and last episodes of the season).  and Kristen Bell is great.  the repartee between her and her dad, who is a P.I. is hilarious and there are a lot of noir private investigator mystery elements that i really liked. i especially love shows that have storylines that run for long periods of time, and in Season 1 there are 3 central mysteries:

SPOILERS
the murder of Veronicas best friend Lily Kane
the possible rape of Veronica
and the disappearance of Veronicas mother

nothing really turned out like i expected and like Lost the show does a good job of not letting any of the characters be as simple as they first seem.  ('bad guys' arent always bad, vice versa).  so my only hope is that they havent killed the show by solving its big mysteries by seasons end.  so we'll see how season two shakes out.  its not really like any other show i can think of but if i had to try i'd say its probably like Freaks & Geeks, Twin Peaks & The OC rolled into one.  so if you like any of those or you like Film Noir, you'll like this show.  Mean Girls fans should note that Amanda Seyfried appears all throughout Season 1 (NOW AVAILABLE ON DVD!) as Lily Kane. 

[Pubrick]

it's alrite at best, boring mostly. it is completely unbelievable, without any reference to reality whatsoever. if you like your shows to be completely ridiculous, this is for you.

i only saw a couple of episodes. i seriously doubt, based on the episodes i saw, that it will ever be anywhere near twin peaks or freaks and geeks, which you compare them to. those shows had a palpable realism. characters and plot developments were stylized to an extent only to service the internal "real" logic of the show. the only worthy comparison to twin peaks would be if all that show meant was "mystery to be solved", or if Freaks and Geeks only meant "show about young ppl".

[modage]

twin peaks main storyline solving murder of laura palmer = veronica mars main storyline solving murder of lily kane
freaks & geeks being a show about high school outcasts = veronica mars being a show about a high school outcast

and i'm not saying its in a league with those shows, because it's not, but i'm saying if you enjoyed those (as i did) you will find elements like the ones above to draw you into VM as well (in addition to some OC like soap opera).  and yes, it doesnt resemble reality at all the same way that alias doesnt but there are still real emotions going on underneath the noir storyline.  i think you'd enjoy it more if you followed the whole season.  its not a show that should be watched randomly out of context, see it from the beginning.

[Raikus]

Agree with Mod. It's a consitantly good show. Very few week episodes and the episode to episode storyline always gets punched up. Check it out if you have the time.

[modage]

the other week both George Michael (Michael Cera) AND Maeby (Alia Shawkat) guest starred.  it was awesome. 

[tpfkabi]

the other week both George Michael (Michael Cera) AND Maeby (Alia Shawkat) guest starred.  it was awesome. 

as the AD characters?

[modage]

hey Raikus, how 'bout that season finale?  pretty awesome right?  season 2 was nearly or maybe as awesome as season one.  they had even more mysteries but none were quite as involving as the lily kane murder. 

Herc from AICN gave it 5 Stars (highest rating)

fingers crossed for it getting picked up by CW for another season...

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Your Veronica Mars Questions Answered!
Source: TV Guide

With the much-anticipated season finale of UPN's Veronica Mars  upon us (tonight at 9 pm/ET), many fans are still trying to recover from the shocking not-guilty verdict delivered at Aaron Echolls' trial in last week's episode, while others are already looking ahead to a potential third season. In his latest exclusive Q&A, Mars creator Rob Thomas provides plenty of insight about recent happenings and answers TVGuide.com readers' burning questions about Veronica's future.

Question: First, I trust you. Second, please tell me the whole STD thing will make sense after seeing the finale? I'm torn between whether Duncan slept with Kendall or Aaron paid the doctor.... Do tell! — Holli
Rob Thomas: All will be answered in the finale.

Question: A lot of people are commenting on how Aaron Echolls' attorney obtained Veronica's medical records to reveal in court that she was treated for an STD. Were her medical records obtained illegally? — Jamie
Thomas: Probably. I'm not sure how they were obtained. I'm not even particularly interested in how they were obtained. At the end of the day, Aaron Echolls got off — like O.J., like Michael Jackson, like Robert Blake — because he's famous. Finding 12 jurors who would convict this famous man was simply not going to happen. It's a noir world. Unfair things happen.

Question: Wasn't Kendall the last to use Duncan's shower? Yet she pulled "evidence" pointing to Duncan and not herself from the drain.... — Dan
Thomas: She could tell the hairs apart. Duncan's are shorter.

Question: Is there any significance to the ring Veronica has recently been wearing on her right ring finger? — Sherry
Thomas: No.

Question: After Keith and Veronica's fallout in the "Donut Run" episode, I expected there to be a little more tension between our favorite daddy-daughter team. In "Happy Go Lucky," we saw that tension resurface for an instant, when it was clear Veronica is still hiding things from Keith. In your mind, where do they stand? Did Keith really forgive Veronica for her con so quickly? Or was it repressed and the aftermath is still pending? — Courtney
Thomas: In truth, I think we underplayed the Keith-Veronica riff in the aftermath of "Donut Run." I'm sure everyone is aware that by the time we cut together an episode, the next three episodes are already written and are prepping or shooting. I don't think I was quite prepared for how powerful that moment would be. It's the curse of working with really good actors. After we filmed the scene and cut it together, I realized that we'd kind of already blown the aftermath. I think we had a similar problem after Episode 20 ["Look Who's Stalking"] — the final Logan-/Veronica scene begged some fallout in Episode 21 that we really didn't have in the script. We live. We learn. We try to do better.

Question: Have you considered giving Veronica some self-defense classes at some point, so she can at least defend herself a little bit? — Jessica
Thomas: I don't want the show to be about Veronica kicking ass. Alias and Buffy were great at that sort of thing. Veronica outwits people. And occasionally Tasers them. That's how I like it.

Question: The rich kids are always referred to as "the 09ers." I watch and watch and still don't get why there are called this. Can you help? — Salie
Thomas: The rich kids live in a zip code that ends with 09.

Question: Loved, loved, loved Dick's Texas T-shirt in "Look Who's Stalking"! Hook 'em Horns! Whose idea was it for him to wear the shirt? — Susan
Thomas: Sal, our head of wardrobe, put Dick in the UT shirt. I think he knew it would make me happy.

Question: Do you or someone else on staff have a background in police or detective work to make this show some of the best television ever? I'm truly intrigued about the creative process behind the show. — Jill
Thomas: No. In fact, quite the opposite. In television drama, writers are often thought of as either "character writers" or "procedural writers." Procedural writers tend to write for police shows, law shows, medical shows. Character writers tend to write things like Freaks and Geeks, The Sopranos, Northern Exposure. I haven't hired any procedural writers for the show; everyone comes from a "character" background. We do have a private-investigator adviser whom we call on pretty regularly.
 
Question: Just curious — are any of those tattoos that Weevil [played by Francis Capra] sports real? Thanks. — Diane
Thomas: All of them are real.

Question: First, I wanted to thank you for giving the fans such quality week after week. Now my question: Were the kids in the back of the van [in the "Plan B" episode] Weevil's niece and nephew? — Stacie
Thomas: No. Those were just random kids waiting for their mom to come out of church.

Question: Is Mac going to be a regular for Season 3? Is she going to Hearst? Will she and Veronica be roommates there? — Lisa
Thomas: We hope that Tina Majorino will be back with us next year. We're trying to negotiate a deal to bring her on as a series regular. We absolutely want her. As for the roommate/college situation, we're still figuring that out.

Question: It seems pretty obvious that Veronica will be at Hearst College next year and the serial rapist story line will also show up again. Can you give us some other clues about what to look forward to next season? — Jessica
Thomas: The biggest news is that we will be going to a three mystery-per-season format next year. This way, the mysteries will play uninterrupted by repeats or preemptions. We're hoping this will help us cast guest stars in smaller arcs, allow newbies to jump in easier, and lessen the too-much-going-on complaint we heard in Season 2.

[modage]

Title: Veronica Mars
Released: 22nd August 2006
SRP: $59.98

Further Details:
Warner Home Video has revealed artwork for the second season of Veronica Mars which stars Enrico Colantoni, Francis Capra, Kristen Bell and Jason Dohring. The six-disc package will be available to own from the 22nd August, and should retail at around $59.98. Each of the 22 episodes will be presented in anamorphic widescreen, along with English Dolby Digital Surround tracks. According to our friends at TVShowsOnDVD.com, extras will include a behind the scenes featurette, a gag reel, and deleted scenes.



don't be afraid to catchup, everybody. 

[Pubrick]

it's no AD.

[Raikus]

I was pretty disappointed with the Season 2 finale. It was still good, but after the first season's end this one just felt forced.

SPOILERS AHEAD:

There were a lot of cheap things. Like Keith getting blown up in the plane. Did anyone, even for a second, believe he was dead. Also, all the Beaver-the-mad-bomber-what-bombs-at-midnight was hard to swallow. He made all the bombs, placed them and had them set to speed dial on his cell phone? Also, blowing up the bus because the two other kids Woody has molested (and seriously, what self-respecting parents lets their kids get coached by a guy named Woody?) were coming forward about it?

And the coup de grace of the whole episode - Beaver not only RAPED Veronica but gave her an STD too. Ok, all of that was just too much of a "pin it on that guy and hate him real fast" feeling. It seemed lazy.

END SPOILERS

I really hope 7th Heaven didn't knock VM out of the CW spot. I'll keep watching this show. It needs to give me a good 3rd season to make up for the ending of the 2nd.

[Kal]

Havent read some of the comments because I'm not done with all the episodes, but this is actually very good. I read sometimes the Michael Ausiello column, and he always recommended the show, so I thought I'd get the first season. I watched almost all of it during my last trip (where I had almost 18 hours of flying time), and then I got so hooked on it that been watching almost every night since I got back. I'm mid way through the 2nd season and although I thought the Lily Kane murder (plus all the other mysteries) of Season 1 were better than Season 2 so far, it still maintains a very good level.

The only thing that sometimes pisses me off is what Pubrick said: you can relate and many of the situations are real, but sometimes it gets a little ridiculous and impossible. And after 30+ episodes the scene of the bathroom and everyone asking her for help, its a little too much. How does she go to class, spend time at the office, spend time working at the cafe, spends time helping students, then solving other cases with the fater, plus helping Logan, etc... its a little too much for a 18 year old, whoever she is.

Logan is the best character.

[modage]

Logan is the best character.

veronica is the best character.  but i do love the LOSTian way it introduced characters (most notably Logan) as people you hate and completely reversed your opinion within a season.  thats pretty amazing. 

[Kal]

Veronica is like a given that you like her and thats why you watch the show. She has layers, but at the end you kinda know her and what she wants and what she would do in different situations.

What I liked about Logan is how many changes the character went through (and I still have another 8-9 episodes to go) but once you know the character better you can also understand the reason why he sometimes is an ass, or why sometimes he seems nice, and what is the real Logan.

Wallace is one of the best sidekicks I've seen in a while... I thought he would be just the "token black guy", but he ended up being a very cool character. Same as the father ,and even Sheriff Lamb.

[MacGuffin]

Breaking TV News: THE FIRST SCOOP ON VERONICA MARS - SEASON THREE AND PREPARE FOR SOME CHANGES TO FORMAT
Only 13 episodes have been committed to, and if the show rides out its 22 episode order, the mysteries will be divided up into three mini-arcs
Source: iF Magazine

THE SKINNY: Big news (both good and bad) for VERONICA MARS fans. Creator Rob Thomas appeared at the CW's Summer Television Critics Press Tour to drop some major bombs for people hoping the move to the new UPN/WB hybrid network would buy the cult fave some stability.

Unfortunately, according to Thomas, the CW has only given an initial commitment of 13 episodes to VERONICA MARS, even though the creator is confident the show will ride out a full 22.

"I'm not bummed about the 13," he says. "I'm bummed a little bit because I like to book our back-nine directors, but we're either going to do well and do 22 or we're not going to do well and we're not going to make it to 13. So it doesn't matter. I always look at it like if we're doing well, we're going to do 22 episodes.

And honestly, if we're struggling now in our third year, I don't imagine that the fervor of our fans and the very kind response from the press is going to buy us another year. I think we're actually in a make-or-break time now. I think we need to come on in this new time slot and do well."

The other big change is unlike the first two seasons that featured an overall 22-episode "Big Bad" mystery resolved in the final episode, Season Three will feature three different mini-arcs.

"Our first mystery is going to be nine episodes," reveals Thomas. "There will be no preemption's, no repeats in there. Our second mystery will be seven episodes with no preemption's or repeats. And our final mystery of the year will be six episodes with no preemption's or repeats. That's spoken with the confidence of a man who thinks he's going 22 episodes."

While die-hard fans may balk at this reworking of the show's formula, Thomas feels it will actually allow for a larger audience to get hooked on the show.

"To service a 22-episode mystery, you have to have a large playing field," Thomas explains. "To service a 9-episode mystery, we can keep that tighter, more focused. Instead of having 12 people who can be in the running for the villain, there might be five in one of those mysteries. I think it will be much cleaner. I think it will also give a new audience more jumping-in points."

As for what to expect in Season 3, Thomas reveals that Logan and Veronica will be together at the beginning of the season and all the remaining strands of Season Two will be wrapped up in the first two episodes. Veronica and her friends will also be heading off to college which opens the door for a whole new palette of storytelling.

"Veronica is going to still be living at home, and the detective agency will still be open," says Thomas. "And we will see Charisma Carpenter right away in the series. I don't want to give away a lot more than that, but Charisma Carpenter will be in the show at least once."

And as for the series' new time slot Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m. (where the show won't have to compete against ABC's ratings juggernaut LOST), it follows the more compatible THE GILMORE GIRLS and Thomas couldn't be happier.

"I thought that The CW would be a fantastic thing for us if we made it onto the network," says Thomas. "So I was both nervous, because it seemed like there were going to be twice as many shows for the same number of slots, but I felt like if we made it onto the new network that we'd have such a much better chance at survival because The WB was always the network to go to for teen shows. It felt like we were -- in a way, it was the right place for us to be. I think our lead-in this year is going to be a great help to us, and I'm just fingers crossed they don't move LOST to Tuesdays at 9:00 p.m."

[MacGuffin]

Just Shoot Mars
Source: Moviehole

Former "Just Shoot Me" star Laura San Giacomo will reunite with her former on-screen love interest, Enrico Colantoni, for a few eps of his series "Veronica Mars".

The show's head-honcho, Rob Thomas, tells TV Guide : "She plays a woman who comes into Mars Investigation and asks Keith to prove that her husband is cheating on her, and the two of them kind of hit it off. So Keith is really hoping he finds evidence that he's cheating."

Thomas says Giacomo's connection to Enrico played a big part in her casting. "I don't think she would have done it [otherwise]. She and Enrico are friends. When I saw her name on the list, I said, 'This would be awesome. Let's try to do this.' And I called Enrico first and said, 'Would you be cool with this?' And he was very excited about the idea."