Veronica Mars (Season Three)

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Rating 4½


Created by Rob Thomas

Written by Rob Thomas (three episodes), Diane Ruggiero (five episodes), Phil Klemmer (five episodes), John Enbom (seven episodes), Jason Elen (one episode), Jonathan Moskin (two episodes), David Mulei (two episodes), Robert Hull (two episodes) and Joe Voci (two episodes)

Directed by John Kretchmer (five episodes), Harry Winer (three episodes), Jason Bloom (two episodes), Nick Marck (three episodes), Michael Fields (three episodes), Steve Gomer (one episodes), Rob Thomas (one episode), Tricia Brock (one episode) and Dan Etheridge (one episode)

Starring Kristen Bell, Jason Dohring, Enrico Colantoni, Percy Daggs III, Francis Capra, Michael Muhney, Ryan Hansen, Tina Majorino, Chris Lowell, Julie Gonzalo, Ed Begley Jr, Patrick Fabian and James Jordan



Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) has now graduated from Neptune High and enrolled at the local Hearst College, as have various other graduating students from the high school, including Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring) and Wallace Fennel (Percy Daggs III). Veronica continues to live at home with her father, Keith (Enrico Colantoni), the former sheriff, who now works as a private investigator. Wallace moves into a dorm room on campus, as does another friend of Veronica’s from high school, Cindy ‘Mac’ Mackenzie (Tina Majorino). Logan is living in a suite at the Neptune Grand, a luxury hotel, where he is later joined by his friend Dick Casablancas (Ryan Hansen). Veronica soon finds herself investigating a series of rapes on the college campus and gets embroiled in campus politics, falling foul of the Dean, Cyrus O’Dell (Ed Begley Jr).

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The third and final season of ‘Veronica Mars’ marked several changes. The main characters had now graduated from Neptune High and, mostly, enrolled at Hearst College, requiring a new setting. There was also a change of network, following the merger of UPN and WB to create the CW Television Network.

The show had initially been commissioned by UPN to fill the gap left when ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ came to an end. It was heavily promoted as the “New Buffy”, which it clearly wasn’t, but once again it is impossible not to compare the change brought about at the beginning of this third season with that in season four of ‘Buffy’, when that show made the change from its original high school setting to a university campus. ‘Buffy’ made the transition successfully, although it certainly wasn’t welcomed by all fans, and ‘Veronica Mars’ does the same. In fact, it proves, I think, to be a better setting for the show.

This third season introduces a new title sequence, intended I imagine to create a more sophisticated and noir feel, complete with a new (inferior) version of the title song, ‘We Used To Be Friends’ by the Dandy Warhols. Although hardly the most important aspect of the show, it did take me a while to get used to it. As a friend remarked to me, it sets the mood, which might partly explain why I felt slightly underwhelmed and disappointed during the first few episodes.

In the first two seasons, each episode would house a self-contained story, a “case” for Veronica to solve, and also hold clues to the wider murder mystery, a story-arc told across all 22 episodes of the season. Season three follows a similar format, but this time rather than having one season-long story arc, there are three, dividing the season into smaller segments. There are also threads connecting one segment to the next. It perhaps does not flow as smoothly as the earlier seasons, chopping and changing as it moves through the episodes and leaving the impression that something is either missing or being held back from us. Some characters now feel sidelined and have a lesser impact than before; Wallace, for example, and, in particular, Eli “Weevil” Navarro (Francis Capra), although it is interesting how believable his change from the leader of a motorcycle gang to a maintenance man at Hearst College actually turns out to be. Ultimately, however, I think I enjoyed the third season even more than the first two seasons, although I do not claim it necessarily to be the best of the three.

There are 20 episodes in total this time around. I am not sure why this is. The final episode leaves a number of storylines unresolved and, having not paid close enough attention to the DVD set when I first purchased it, I was fully expecting two more episodes. As a result, the ending felt anti-climactic and left me disappointed. In retrospect, I think it actually works quite well, although I will have to wait until I watch the season again in its entirety before I discover just how well.

Rape, specifically rape involving the use of a so-called “date rape drug” on the victim, such as GHB, was a theme of both the first two seasons and is dealt with again in the third season, in greater detail this time around. ‘Veronica Mars’ is not a gritty hard-hitting realistic show and an in-depth exposé of this serious and very emotive subject should not be expected, but it does deal with it in an interesting and, I think, responsible way, looking at the issue from various angles.

A feminist group on campus wants the Pi Sig fraternity house shut down, but campaigns for their cause in a very confrontational manner. Veronica argues that she is searching for the truth, whereas they are seeking revenge and simply direct their anger at the most obvious target. Equally, the attitudes of the members of the frat house, and the activities that allegedly take place there, are repulsive – as reprehensible as the stance taken by the Dean, who refuses to accept that the institution he represents has any responsibility in the matter.

Various characters are used to represent different views and attitudes. Dick Casablancas, another graduate from Neptune High and a member of Pi Sig, is a repellent sexist, his attitudes born out of ignorance and arrogance. A friend of mine commented that he was impossible to relate to on any level, even simply laughing at him, because he was the kind of person who would be capable of raping a woman without even realising he was doing it. I understand the sentiment, but I don’t agree. As objectionable and downright offensive as Dick clearly is, I think he does know the difference and I actually don’t think he would be capable of rape, in as much as such a statement can be made with any degree of certainty. In fact, I suspect the character was used to make this very point, that the very overt juvenile and simplistic sexism of someone like this is not, in itself, an indication of his likely inclination towards perpetrating rape, knowingly or otherwise.

One aspect of the show that many television critics picked up on for particular praise across the three season of the show is the relationship between Veronica and her father, Keith. I concur. It was a highlight of the show – one of many.

The viewing figures for season three increased slightly from the season two average of 2.3 million to 2.5 million, although this is perhaps to be expected because CW has greater network coverage than UPN did. However, it was officially announced in January 2007, four months before the final episode of the season was broadcast, that the show would not be returning for a fourth season.

In September 2008 it was confirmed that creator Rob Thomas has been working on a possible film script. It has also been claimed that executive producer Joel Silver is keen on the idea of a film version, but in January 2009 it was stated that Thomas’s priority is the new television series ‘Cupid’, an updating of his short-lived 1998 series of the same name.

‘Veronica Mars’ was not a groundbreaking television series in the way that, as examples, ‘M*A*S*H’, ‘Twin Peaks’ and ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’, were. The influence of that latter show is obvious, but so are other influences. One storyline, in season one, about an inspirational teacher who proves to be anything but perfect, is a copy of an episode of the earlier ‘My So-Called Life’, a series that ‘Buffy’ also borrowed heavily from.

In the end, ‘Veronica Mars’ is just a very likeable show that easily becomes addictive viewing, helped by some good casting and a constantly impressive performance by Kristen Bell in the lead role. Given its viewing figures, the cancellation was inevitable and, in fact, it did well to survive as long as it did, but its demise is to be lamented.

Review posted 1 February 2009





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Veronica Mars (Season Two)

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Rating 4


Created by Rob Thomas

Written by Rob Thomas (three episodes), Diane Ruggiero (five episodes), Phil Klemmer (six episodes), John Enbom (six episodes), Dayna Lynne North (three episodes), Cathy Belben (four episodes), Russell Smith (one episode) and John Serge (one episode)

Directed by John Kretchmer (six episodes), Nick Marck (three episodes), Jason Bloom (two episodes), Harry Winer (one episode), Kevin Bray (one episode), Steve Gomer (two episodes), Rob Thomas (one episode), Guy Norman Bee (one episode), Sarah Pia Anderson (one episode), Rick Rosenthal (one episode), Michael Fields (two episodes) and Martha Mitchell (one episode)

Starring Kristen Bell, Percy Daggs III, Jason Dohring, Teddy Dunn, Enrico Colantoni, Francis Capra, Tessa Thompson, Kyle Gallner, Ryan Hansen, Charisma Carpenter, Steve Guttenberg, Krysten Ritter, Harry Hamlin, Michael Muhney, Jeffrey D Sams, Erica Gimpel, Alona Tal, Amanda Noret, Alyson Hannigan and Amanda Seyfried


The simmering conflicts between the super-rich residents of Neptune, California and the poor majority have reached boiling point following the arrest of the killer of Lilly Kane (see season one of the show). Woody Goodman (Steve Guttenberg), the self-styled “Mayor”, intends to incorporate Neptune (with reference made to the genuine Californian charter city of Palo Alto, home to Stanford University) and thus marginalise the poor even further. Gang warfare is rife and when a Neptune High school bus is blown up during a field trip, Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) is convinced she was the intended target.

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The second season of ‘Veronica Mars’, first broadcast on the UPN television network between 28 September 2005 and 9 May 2006, kicks off in the aftermath of the events that occurred at the climax of season one. It largely follows the format of that season, mixing high school teenage drama and murder mystery, weaving a tangled web of different storylines involving a large number of characters that ebb and flow until they finally come together at the end of the twenty-two episode run. It doesn’t have the freshness of the first season, simply because the format is now familiar, but by and large it maintains the same level of quality. Once again, it is very addictive viewing.

In the first season, Veronica had been ostracised by her former friends, the rich clique at Neptune High. This time around she is, more or less, back in the fold, although her father is not rich by any stretch of the imagination, unlike the parents of her reacquainted friends. This creates a degree of conflict with the people she had got to know when she was an “outsider”. This is perhaps not explored as thoroughly as it might have been, although it is interesting to observe her frequently rather smug disposition become more pronounced and she seems to have some rather ambivalent attitudes generally.

It does seem as if the narrative had to be shoe-horned to accommodate some things that were driven by external factors. There are examples of stunt casting that are all too obvious, such as the cameo appearance by Joss Whedon, the creator of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and a supporter of the show, in episode six, although it passes by painlessly enough. In other areas, budget constraints might have played a part. Wallace Fennel (played by Percy Daggs III, one of the lead cast), Veronica’s best friend, is written out entirely during episodes six through nine and is also missing in episode fourteen. His mother Alicia (Erica Gimpel), disappears from the storyline altogether after episode five and is not seen again until the final episode. Having said this, production standards are high, at least to my untrained eye.

The season-long story arc is a little convoluted, drawing together the blowing up of the bus and the imminent trial of the accused killer of Lilly (Amanda Seyfried), plus several other story strands introduced in individual episodes. This is generally done very well, although it does rather unravel at the very end, becoming particularly chaotic and messy in the concluding episode, which tips over into implausibility and becomes all rather silly. It’s a minor quibble, though, and should not be allowed to take away from what precedes it. This final episode, ‘Not Pictured’, was rated as the best of the series by Empire magazine.

Viewing figures for the show on UPN dropped from the 2.5 million average of season one to 2.3 in season two.

Review posted 22 January 2009





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Veronica Mars (Season One)

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Rating 4½


Created by Rob Thomas

Written by Rob Thomas (six episodes), Jed Seidel (five episodes), Dina Ruggiero (seven episodes), Dayne Lynne North (three episodes), Phil Klemmer (four episodes), Aury Wallington (two episodes), Russell Smith (one episode), John Enbom (three episodes) and Carolyn Murray (one episode)

Directed by Mark Piznarski (two episodes), Harry Winer (one episode), Michael Fields (two episodes), Nick Gomez (two episodes), Sarah Pia Anderson (one episode), Nick Marck (four episodes), Guy Norman Bee (two episodes), Marcos Siega (three episodes), John Kretchmer (three episodes), David Barrett (one episode) and Steve Gomer (one episode)

Starring Kristen Bell, Percy Daggs III, Jason Dohring, Teddy Dunn, Enrico Colantoni, Francis Capra, Harry Hamlin, Kyle Secor, Lisa Thornhill, Michael Muhney, Erica Gimpel, Corinne Bohrer, Alona Tal, Alyson Hannigan and Amanda Seyfried


A year has passed since Lilly Kane (Amanda Seyfried), the best friend of Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) and sister of her former boyfriend Duncan Kane (Teddy Dunn), was brutally murdered. Veronica’s father, Keith Mars (Enrico Colantoni), was the local sheriff at the time, but when he accused Lilly’s father, Jake Kane (Kyle Secor), a billionaire philanthropist, of the crime, he was removed from office and his wife Lianne (Corinne Bohrer) walked out on the family and left town. He now works as a private investigator. Veronica, who was ostracised by her former friends because of her father’s actions, does some sleuthing of her own.

They all live in Neptune, a coastal town in Southern California where the sons and daughters of the super-rich collide uneasily with the have-nots, such as Eli ‘Weevil’ Navarro (Francis Capra), the leader of a teenage Latino biker gang, at the local high school.

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‘Veronica Mars’ premiered on the now defunct UPN television network on 21 September 2004, four months after the finale of ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’, which had moved to UPN for its final two seasons. It was seen as a successor to ‘Buffy’, an attempt by the network to retain the younger audience that had been attracted by that show. During its first season, comprising 22 episodes, it averaged 2.5 million viewers, compared with the 4.1 million viewers who watched season seven of ‘Buffy’ (4.6 million for season six). The show survived for three seasons in all, the third one on the new CW television network, before being cancelled in 2007. During this time, it garnered a lot of critical support.

Stephen King called the show, “Nancy Drew meets Philip Marlowe,” and that is not a bad description. It plays out as a mixture of high school teen drama and murder mystery, with constant nods to the hard-boiled crime thrillers of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler. Is it realistic or believable? Hardly at all, but somehow it creates its own internal realism, just as ‘Buffy’ had done. In the end, ‘Buffy’ was far more believable than, as an example, the hospital-based soap-drama ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, despite the presence of vampires, demons and the supernatural. Something similar happens with ‘Veronica Mars’.

Kristen Bell, who, at 24 years of age, was seven years older than her character and looks it a lot of the time, is excellent in the lead role. It is easy to see why some observers expect big things from her in the future.

All of the cast are excellent. Many of them were new to me, although I recognised Bell from the remake of the J-horror film ‘Pulse’ and Enrico Colantoni from his role as Mathesar in the wonderful sci-fi spoof film ‘Galaxy Quest’. Amanda Seyfried had previously appeared in ‘Mean Girls’ and is now probably best known for her lead role in the hugely successful film version of ‘Mamma Mia’, which has a worldwide box office gross not far short of $600 million and is the biggest selling DVD of all time in the UK. Harry Hamlin, who plays Aaron Echolls, the film star father of Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring), the boyfriend of Lilly Kane, is well known, of course, and Alyson Hannigan from ‘Buffy’ appears in three episodes as Logan’s sister, Trina.

When I first heard about ‘Veronica Mars’, prior to its premiere on UPN, I was very interested. By the time the show arrived in the UK in October 2005 I had lost interest, partly, I suspect, because of the constant claims that it was the “new Buffy” and what appeared to be some decidedly unsubtle stunt casting, seemingly intended to pander to a particular fan base. In any case, it was broadcast on a UK television channel I did not have access to. Over time, as the hype died down and then the show went off the air altogether, my interest began to increase again, but when I finally got to watch a bit of it, a segment from a random episode from either the second or third season, it made no sense whatsoever and I began to suspect this was a show that would just pass me by. However, following a recent conversation with a friend, I was finally persuaded to take the plunge and I purchased a second-hand Region 1 copy of the season one DVD set (it has never been released on DVD in the UK).

The first few episodes passed by painlessly. I enjoyed them, although I had a few minor reservations. Then, without realising it, I started to become completely hooked, ending up watching several episodes (eight, in fact) in a single day, something I have not done in a very long time. It quickly became completely addictive.

The mix of elements is very successful and the murder mystery is actually rather well done and genuinely diverting, with plenty of twists and turns. I found the character Logan, in particular, increasingly interesting. Initially, he is really rather repulsive and that same assessment is reasonable come the end of season, but he is also, by that time, considerably more complex and I found myself questioning my judgement of him.

‘Veronica Mars’ works much better than the similarly themed but significantly more stylised 2006 indie film ‘Brick’, which, despite generally favourable reviews, I found painfully contrived. I now have DVD sets of the second and third seasons and very much look forward to watching them.

Review posted 16 January 2009



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