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ENTERTAINMENT
May 22, 2007 "It's like I'm back in high school." The saddest part is they weren't ready to go. The Veronica Mars season three finale, which unfortunately also turned out to be the series finale, wasn't an ending. It didn't resolve anything, provide any type of closure, or put a firm stop at the end of a unique three year ride. It didn't intend to say goodbye. What the finale did do was call back to the beginning and reclaim what Veronica Mars had been sorely missing, the angry, outraged mood of season one. It surprised us by bringing back familar faces we didn't miss (Jake Kane, his head of security, a portrait of Duncan Kane) and one face who is very much missed (Lilly Kane, also via portrait. When Veronica saw it, the viewer was as shocked and taken aback as she was.) It also did a welcome thing by highlighting the special bond between Veronica and Wallace. Wallace risked his safety once again trying to help her, which honored how in the beginning it was the two of them, outcasts, against all of Neptune High. It also went a ways to redeem Logan, whose character had become almost unrecognizable, but here he gained some sympathy by trying to be Veronica's brawling protector. The two episodes that comprised the series finale had a lot of great moments. Veronica bailing Weevil out yet again. Weevil secretly screwing her over, but then volunteering to back her up in her revenge schemes, which is typical of their their warm/cold alliance. Veronica coolly flashing her brand-spankin' new P.I. badge. Veronica facing down the room full of rich kids who framed Weevil. All of the Veronica and Wallace scenes. All of the Veronica and Mac scenes. "Rob Thomas is a whore." Wallace flying his plane at the beach. Dick Casablancas apologizing to Mac, trying to kiss her, and Mac blocking his face away. Veronica to Dick: "After all these years, haven't you learned instinctively fear me?" Veronica hunting down the smug assholes who distributed the video. "Cause you had a bad day..." The Logan vs. Piz smackdown. Even better, Logan kicking the rich asshole's ass and laughing at the death threat made at him. Logan's apology to Piz. Keith erasing the DVR evidence against Veronica. Seeing Lilly Kane again, even if it was just a portrait. Keith jokingly calling Veronica a "spoiled brat." Keith and Veronica eating dinner. The futile vote Veronica cast for her dad. Veronica walking away all alone in the rain.. The finale also returned Veronica Mars to the way we love her best: as a vindictive, dangerous outsider shunned and scorned by her peers. Once again, Veronica was personally violated in a sexual fashion. This time she was unknowingly recorded having sex with Piz and the video was distributed throughout Hearst College. The culprits were typically the rich and powerful. Her reputation was again sullied. She was again the butt of jokes made by smug, rich bastards who need to be taken down by several pegs. This is when Veronica Mars is at her best, when she's seeking justice while concurrently hellbent on revenge. The final episode returned both Veronica and Keith to where they began, for better or worse. Most importantly, the series finale reaffirmed the heart of the series: the love between father and daughter, how Keith Mars will do anything to protect Veronica, even at great personal and professional cost. Even when he knows she did wrong, though he can't ever know why. They weren't ready to be canceled. Turns out I'm not ready either, damn it. Yet, here we are, without Veronica Mars anymore. And it sure sucks. May 17, 2007 We Used To Be Friends Veronica Mars is done. Canceled by The CW due to its perpetually low ratings. This isn't a case of a network unfairly killing a show in the midst of a storyline (like Firefly or Drive) or not giving a great show enough time to find an audience (Wonderfalls). Veronica Mars had three whole seasons. Few, a loyal few, but still very few, watched. Like Arrested Development, it had all the chances in the world. Unlike Arrested, Veronica doesn't leave first run television at the height of its powers. I'm fine with Veronica Mars being over. I was absolutely in love with that show in its first season but it gradually became less essential viewing as the show hit season 3. A lot of shows initially set in high school suffer from the transition to a college setting. Veronica started season 3 out strongly but gradually faltered. New characters were intoduced but except for the late dean played by Ed Begley, Jr., none of the new characters were as memorable or formidable as Veronica's pre-existing supporting cast. Meanwhile, said supporting cast, beloved characters like Wallace, Mac, and Weevil, were often shuffled to the sidelines and made afterthoughts. Worst of all, Logan was annihilated. The brooding antihero Logan of season one disappeared and was replaced by a neutered lovesick mope who looked like Logan Echolls but was otherwise unrecognizable as a character. I still like the characters of Veronica, Keith, Wallace and Mac a whole lot, but they all feel like they're stuck in a weird limbo. Rob put it best when I told him Veronica was done: "I feel like I already finished a great story but the characters are still hanging around for some reason." This is a very accurate assessment of the show's current creative footing. Nothing came close to matching the "Who Killed Lilly Kane?" mystery in season one and season 3, especially these last few episodes, felt like the show is hanging on for the sake of hanging on. The proposed "fast forward to Veronica in the FBI" direction for season 4 could have been interesting but Veronica Mars's best days were when she was an angry loner in high school solving mysteries while tracking down who killed her best friend. I'll miss Veronica Mars but she'll always be there on DVD. To clarify something about Veronica Mars: This is not a case of season one being excellent and the other two seasons sucking. For all three seasons, Veronica Mars is a very good show. Always well written, well acted, entertaining and enjoyable. January 24, 2007 The depth of the Veronica Mars' writers' ability to draw from geeky pop culture for their little injokes never ceases to impress me. "Goodbye, cruel world" was the supposed suicide note of the dean of Hearst College played by Ed Begley Jr who mysteriously died at the end of the fall finale. May 18, 2006 Veronica Mars
Veronica graduated high school, solved the mystery of who crashed the school bus and killed a bunch of her classmates in the first episode, and even found out who raped her two years ago. But this year, sadly, it was just harder to care as much. Unlike season one's emotionally charged and deeply personal murder mystery of who killed Lilly Kane, the bus crash mystery was actually several mini-mysteries in one. It was a labyrinthine series of plotlines that I couldn't explain to you with a map and a minotaur. Veronica herself didn't have the same fiery drive about getting to the bottom of the bus crash as she had about who killed her best friend (and how could she?) and that rubbed off on this viewer. Still, there was an abundance of good stuff this year: Charisma Carpenter getting naked regularly, a lot more of Tina Majorino as Mac, cutting Teddy Dunn's Duncan loose as he was never anywhere near as interesting a love interest for Veronica as Jason Dohring's Logan is, and one of the high points of the series: an episode guest starring Alia Shawkat and Michael Cera of Arrested Development . (With the possibility of recurring roles for them in season three as well as a permanent role for Majorino.) Veronica's graduation moment when everyone applauded her was just shy of Buffy's prom moment when she was voted “class protector.” And while the central mystery itself was difficult to invest in, the finale where Veronica confronted the real killer and nearly lost her father was gut-wrenching. But the best stuff this year was saved for Logan, who had a four-episode arc where he seduced a girl named Hannah who was the daughter of the witness to his murder prosecution and ended up falling for her and breaking both of their hearts. The episode set in the school carnival where Logan first picked Hannah up was practically a master's class for boys on how to pick up a girl (the formula: 60% asshole, 40% sensitive, sweet guy). And then there is Logan 's evolving relationship with Veronica, which hit one of the series' highs during the anti-prom when Logan drunkenly confessed his love for Veronica and then crushed her heart when she returned the next morning to reciprocate and found him in bed with Charisma Carpenter. Lastly, the finale was satisfying, with a pretty daring fantasy sequence showing what Veronica's life would have been like had Lilly never been murdered, and closing with the kickoff of next year's mystery. Season three will be Veronica's freshman year at Hearst college, where there's already a serial rapist to hunt down, one of a series of smaller mysteries solved in mini-arcs of episodes instead of the full-season mysteries of seasons past. Unfortunately, ratings are down in season 2, a reflection not of the quality of the show, but of how difficult it was to penetrate its storylines for the layman or veteran viewer. This has resulted in a 22 episode order for next year that can be cut down to 13 (and then cancellation) if Veronica Mars's ratings don't improve. But 22 or 13, I'm glad the show is coming back for another go. It's still one of the best shows on television. May 11, 2005 "Veronica, I am without a doubt your father.”
Keith Mars telling Veronica Mars and us who her real father is was my favorite moment of this television season. I cheered. Honest to God jumped out of my seat and cheered. It was perfect, and I am loath to proclaim anything is perfect. But this moment was. If the season ended right there, I would have been happy, but that was only the first piece of magic the season finale had in store for us. My second favorite moment was the grin on Wallace's face when he said, "Can you do me a favor?" at the same time Veronica asked him.
Sly, witty, character moments like that are something this show does so well. “Hey, who’s your daddy?” “I hate it when you say that.” Those words book ended the season, in episode one and then in episode 22. To me, this was more important than who killed Lilly Kane. Who is Veronica's father? The answer was the right answer, the only answer. It rewarded those of us who’ve been there from the beginning, and it rewarded Veronica, who deserves to be of the same blood as this amazing, incredible man, her father Keith Mars. Finally, Veronica is placed in mortal danger. She solved the murder of her best friend, Lilly's true killer was going to roast her alive, her father saved her and he in turn was vindicated. Veronica Mars is not an action show. It’s about character, smart dialogue, procedurals, mystery, suspense, a little romance, no small bit of humor. But when it came time to for Keith Mars to fight Lilly Kane’s killer and save his daughter’s life the show rose to the occasion and kept us riveted. Who killed Lilly Kane? We found out. The clues were there all along, but it wasn’t obvious. The red herrings were appropriately misleading. Veronica Mars played fair, smartly, confidently, as it had all season. They delivered on their promises, gave us the answers we needed, and knocked our socks off. The good people were rewarded with whatever small bit of happiness and closure they earned. The bad were finally revealed and punished for their crimes. The ones in between did the right thing, or did they? We found out everything we wanted to know, and were left with new questions we’re dying to have answered. That is the mark of excellent episodic television.
The first season is over and it was a triumph. I’ve grown to love these characters, this show. Not since the second season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer ended have I been so sorry to say goodbye to a show for the summer. The good news is it’s only for the summer. Veronica Mars is coming back. It deserves to be back, it deserves to be watched. Listen, you should watch this show. It’s so very good. To Rob Thomas, the producers, writers and crew, and to Kristen Bell, Enrico Colantoni and the talented cast of Veronica Mars, you’re welcome. I did my part. I was watching from the beginning, cheered this show on, urged others to watch it with some success, and I’ll keep on doing it. But more importantly, guys, seriously, thank you. Thank you for a fantastic season of television, for Veronica and Keith Mars and a fascinating cast of characters, for a crackerjack mystery that held true to the end, for 22 hours of genuine entertainment. April 11, 2005 Veronica Mars Gets Season 2
Awesome. UPN is showing impressive, admirable loyalty to the best show on its lineup with an early renewal. Sure, the ratings are low, but UPN's ratings are low across the board. They may never have a top 10 show, or even a show in the top 50. Ratings don't tell the story here. Veronica Mars is fantastic. Jesus, I love this show. Well written with excellent acting from Kristen Bell and her supporting cast, and an interesting premise (season-long murder mystery of the conspiracy surrounding the murder of Veronica's best friend) that works alongside the weekly substories of Veronica's troubles in high school. It's not groundbreaking television, it's not event television, it's not reality television (Thank God), it's just really good television. Veronica Mars benefits greatly by being the right show at the right time, as UPN is trying to find a different identity beyond the black sitcoms, wrestling and Star Trek it's known for. How long the show can last is another story entirely (I feel that shows set in high school should end when high school ends - Fucking Smallville - and Veronica will be a senior next year) but a second season with a whole new central mystery for Veronica to tackle is something I'm definitely on board for in the fall. I'm glad UPN is backing this show. Good for them. Good for me. Good television series are hard to find nowadays. I hope the season one DVDs come out sooner rather than later. |
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