I just wondered if anyone else has watched this show. I'm watching the DVDs of Season 1 and after five episodes, I'm totally hooked. It's very CSI meets Buffy, but the storytelling is top notch, and the writing is near-perfect. I'm afraid to say too much for fear of giving some stuff away, but I do want to make the point that no one should write this show off based on face value -- it definitely has a more broad, grown up appeal than something like The OC.

*bump*

 

Is anyone else watching this show? I have long since made it through Season 1, which was fantastic, but Season 2 makes Season 1 look amateur by comparison. The depth of the characters and the number of stories going on right now is pretty awe-inspiring.

 

I should also point out the funniest inside joke of all time:

 

Veronica receives a fortune cookie that says the following. Lost fans will get a chuckle out of this:

 

True love stories never have endings.

Lucky numbers: 4 8 15 16 23 42

The excitement for The Show Only I Watch continues, as the kids from Arrested Development are joining the cast before the end of this season (which also includes Charisma Carpenter, although there are supposedly no plans for her after this season), with their only request being that they aren't in any scenes together.

I watched Season 1 on DVD in December. I loved it.

 

But I can't join Season 2 in progress so I have to wait for the DVD's to come out or someone who has taped all of them!!

I know nothing about the show and in my ignorance I have cast it aside as a teeny bopper program. I did the same thing with Buffy, the OC, Smallville and others. I'm probably missing out on some quality shows.

It's actually more of a 50s-style noir detective show where several of the main characters happen to be in high school.

I'll be checking my first episode out tonight (going in cold turkey). I'll edit the post with my thoughts after.

 

I enjoyed the episode and can definitely see myself digging this show. Liked the characters of Veronica and her father as well as the plots b/w Hannah/boyfriend and Terrence/Father/Lobo. I'll def. try to keep up with this for the rest of the season.

Cool.

 

Glad you liked it, and even happier that you didn't spoil it since my TiVo sold me out when I tried to watch it after work Wednesday night.

 

 

The show is expected to get a Season 3 at this point, but it's not confirmed. Ratings are still horrible.

 

The show is going to get complex from here until the finale because they're running so many story arcs this year and the writers have said everything will be resolved by the season finale. If you have any questions, post them here and I'll answer. I might also suggest watching the Season 1 DVDs if you get a chance. Everything was resolved from that season, but there are storylines that reference Season 1 all the time and you get a feel for the characters for sure.

For anyone looking to get into the show midway, they're doing series-long recaps at the beginning of every show right now to catch the viewers up. If the ratings don't start going up soon, this show is probably not going to see a third season. So please don't wait six months and see the DVDs and then wonder why you never watched when this was on. Please? For me?

If you're all looking for a good "starter" episode, last night's episode fits the bill, and it's being re-aired tonight on UPN. WATCH IT! Also, I thought I'd actually provide some specific information instead of just repeatedly saying "IT'S THE GREATEST SHOW EVAR!" This is all from the excellent MarsInvestigations.net website.

 

The old Veronica. Daughter of Lianne and Keith, the respected local sheriff. Popular. Loved by Duncan. Laughed with Logan. Best friends with Lilly.

 

Then...Lilly was murdered.

 

Veronica's life fell apart. Abandoned by her mother. Ostracized for standing with her disgraced and discarded father. Ignored by Duncan. Target of a vindictive Logan. Drugged and raped while trying to stand tall. Balancing high school with the work of a junior PI in Mars Investigations. Finding answers for others while her own questions remain.

 

"Who Raped Veronica Mars?"

"Why Did Lianne Mars Leave Neptune?"

"Who Killed Lilly Kane?"

 

With sassy dialogue, smart scripts, plot twists you don't see coming, an amazingly talented cast, and characters that fascinate, Veronica Mars is the epitome of must-see TV.

 

"You want to know how I lost my virginity? So do I."

 

After Lilly's death and Keith Mars's removal from the sheriff's office, Veronica was ostracized. She had sided with her father against the 09ers, and thus she was banned from the in-crowd.

 

But she didn't let that get in her way. To show their whispering and backstabbing did not affect her, she went to a party at Shelly Pomroy's; all the usual 09ers were there, including Duncan and Logan. There, someone handed her a drink which was your average "rum, Coke, and roofie." She drank and became unconscious.

 

The next morning she woke up in a bed and her panties were on the floor. After reporting this to Sheriff Lamb, who did nothing, she was left to figure it out herself. She did not tell her father about the rape, because she wasn't sure what he would do with that information. Who gave her the drink? Who raped her? How could she find out who it was if she couldn't remember anything about that night?

 

Seeing stars and Chinese lanterns in a video of a drugged girl doing unmentionable things with a Popsicle, Veronica remembered the party and the presence of those same stars and lamps. She found proof that it was the same night, the same party. Questioning the girl's boyfriend revealed a horrific truth: the supplier of the drug, GHB, was Logan Echolls. Veronica had not allowed herself to dwell on the rape, but was now compelled to uncover the truth.

 

Investigation and interrogation led her to see the party through the eyes of others and piece together the sordid events of that night. Of how Dick begged some GHB from Luke, to make girlfriend Madison less lukewarm. Of how Madison rejected the sugar-filled drink just as Veronica came into view. Of Madison's nasty little trick of giving those she dislikes a "trip to the dentist" by spitting in their drink. Of Veronica drinking the vile brew and succumbing to the deadly mix. Of Veronica stumbling over bodies in her intoxication and finding brief respite on a quiet sun lounger. Of the boys of Neptune, including Logan, entertaining themselves with body shots and pouring alcohol down her throat, sowing the seeds of her sluttish reputation. Of Duncan, who tried to help her and was slipped GHB by Logan. Of Dick carrying her unconscious body to a bedroom so brother Beaver could get his first lay but who chickened out and ran away.

 

And so to the last act. To Duncan, himself drugged and lacking the inhibitions that had kept him away from her after being told she was his sister, finding her there, soft and loving. They make love, but the next morning, horrified, Duncan flees and leaves her to wake up alone with no memory of what happened.

 

Veronica had vowed to find her rapist and make him pay, but everyone was guilty of something. With so many people responsible and yet no one to take the blame, uncovering the truth about that night has become her closure.

 

When Lianne Mars was in high school, she was Lianne Reynolds, queen of the prom to Jake Kane's king. All their classmates assumed that Jake and Lianne would make a life together. They were wrong. Years later, Jake lived the life of a very successful businessman with wife Celeste, son Duncan and daughter Lilly. Lianne lived a less prosperous but nonetheless good life as the wife of Sheriff Keith Mars and loving mother to their daughter Veronica. Or so it seemed.

 

All was not, however, as it seemed and it took the murder of Lilly Kane to shatter many of the illusions of Veronica's life, not least, those pertaining to her own family. Her parent's marriage did not have the strength to survive the public humiliation and loss of status brought upon them in the wake of Keith's dismissal for pursuing Jake as the murderer of his daughter. Lianne fell apart; she drank heavily. At the time Veronica thought Lianne abandoned her family because of Keith's determination not to be run out of town despite the loss of status, income and their home. The music box and note Lianne left behind were no comfort to her. An unforgiving Veronica, left to face ostracism, economic hardship and the consequences of her rape alone, lived with yet another illusion, that of her mother as nothing more than a coward.

 

But as she peeled away the layers in her search for the truth about the death of her best friend Lilly, Veronica discovered that she was still far from knowing the truth about her own mother. Or herself. She found that before Lianne left, she had been sent photographs of Veronica upon which gun sights had been drawn, that the man responsible was Kane Software's head of security, Clarence Wiedman, that Jake may be Veronica's father and that Lianne hadn't just left town, she was on the run, begging Veronica in a rare call not to try to track her down, a sentiment echoed by Keith, who unlike Veronica is prepared to move on with his life without Lianne.

 

For Veronica, that was no option. She found her mother, drunk and terrified in a lonely bar. Reluctantly, Lianne told her tale, of having been certain Jake did not kill Lilly because she was with Jake at the Neptune Grand hotel at the time Lilly was killed, a time Veronica knew to be inaccurate, and that Celeste confronted them there, staying only 20 minutes. Such information was dangerous for the Kanes and the false alibis they gave. Lianne was convinced that she could not be with Veronica because to do so would risk her daughter's life. Lianne's conviction was reinforced by Clarence Wiedman following Veronica to the bar.

 

Maybe Lianne was a coward. Maybe she was just protecting her daughter. Maybe there is more to her disappearance, for it was never explained why she was meeting with Jake Kane at the Camelot motel. But one thing was certain. Veronica Mars was no coward and would not be terrorized into losing her mother again. With all of her savings, her investment for her future, Veronica placed Lianne in a rehabilitation center. Veronica's dream to reunite her family came true when her mother came home, but once Veronica discovered that Lianne had started drinking again, she put aside her childish dream. Her college fund squandered on a worthless investment, Veronica ordered her mother to leave. Lianne did, with money earmarked to rebuild Veronica's future.

 

A true free spirit, Lilly Kane was the daughter of software billionaire, Jake Kane. She was a bright, sexy, fun-loving girl. She had a strained relationship with her mother Celeste, a woman for whom social standing and decorum was all. Lilly's circle of friends included her brother Duncan, her boyfriend Logan Echolls and her best friend, Veronica Mars. On the day she died, Lilly was high on life and reveling in a secret.

 

The town of Neptune, much in debt to the Kane family for the success of many of its inhabitants, was shocked when, on October 3rd, 2003, Lilly was murdered. Someone had dealt her a deadly blow and her body was discovered that night by the Kane family pool. The public story of the death of Lilly Kane ended with the conviction of Abel Koontz, a disgruntled former employee of Kane Software, when items belonging to Lilly were found in his possession and he confessed the crime.

 

The public story tells nothing of the truth.

The truth was that the effect Lilly's death had on those who knew her was devastating. It ruined the Mars family, split asunder by Sheriff Keith Mars' conviction that Jake Kane was involved in the murder. He lost his job, his good name, his wife, and made an outcast of his supportive daughter. It ruined Duncan who took refuge in a colorless life of drug-induced suppression of emotion. It ruined Logan who turned to malevolence and hate to ease his guilt and pain. It touched many of the citizens of Neptune.

 

The public story is a lie.

Veronica channeled her grief into finding the truth, in the hope that it would set her free from the anguish caused by the destruction of her former life. With unwavering determination, she wove her way through the lies and the obstructions that blocked the way until the sordid facts were finally revealed.

 

The dying Abel Koontz was a willing patsy who sought to secure his daughter's future with a generous settlement from the Kanes. Jake and Celeste Kane had found Duncan with Lilly's body and believed he'd had a fit and was responsible for her death. Their actions to protect Duncan perverted the course of justice as, with the help of Clarence Wiedman, they falsified evidence and closed down the investigation. But Duncan did not kill Lilly. Nor did her boyfriend Logan, despite faking his alibi on the day she died. Nor did Weevil, the biker bad boy with whom Lilly had an affair. Lilly died because her light attracted a charming and violent predator, Aaron Echolls. He killed her in a rage when she refused to return the proof of their sexual relationship that would destroy his reputation, his career, and his family.

 

In finding the truth, she exonerated both Duncan and her father, and betrayed Logan, ending their budding romance. But Veronica has made her peace with Lilly.

 

So gentle readers, for you we've done

A whistle-stop tour of Season One.

(From the Reduced Thomas Company)

 

Veronica Mars's life sucks with Shakespearean grandeur after her best friend Lilly is murdered, her boyfriend Duncan dumps her, her father loses his job and reputation, her mother leaves her, and she is drugged and raped at a party. Oh, and everybody hates her. Rather than get to a nunnery, she deals the best way she can ? by searching for and finding the truth.

 

She survives the taunts and slights of high school by facing life with a quick wit and street smarts that would make Philip Marlowe proud. She helps with her father's fledging P.I. business as he rebuilds his reputation. She enhances her own reputation at school as a badass, takes-no-prisoners investigator of the problems of the kids at school, most from the wrong side of the deep economic chasm that separates the residents of Neptune. She deals with fraudulent credit cards, missing persons, email scams, lost cars and pi?atas, corrupt elections, faked test results, cults, theft, and harassment.

 

All the while, Veronica works hard to solve the big mysteries. At the center of those is the Kane family: billionaire Jake; his glacial wife, Celeste; his son, Duncan; and his effervescent daughter, Lilly. The deeper Veronica delves, the clearer the facts become until she knows the truth. Jake and Lianne Mars, Veronica's mother, were high school sweethearts. Their relationship continued after they married other people, and Lianne never knew which man was Veronica's biological father. Celeste Kane hated Lianne for it and hated Veronica as the representation of her husband's infidelity. Whether it was this or the thought of losing her beloved son to someone she considered so unworthy, Celeste acted to split them up irrevocably by telling Duncan that Veronica was Jake's daughter. Duncan, suffering from a form of epilepsy that made him prone to blackouts and violent outbursts, attacked his father, but nonetheless dropped Veronica without explanation. Shortly thereafter, Lilly was murdered. Her body was found by the side of the Kane pool by Duncan, who went into shock and suffered a three-day blackout. Jake and Celeste found them and believed that Duncan had killed Lilly in a fit. They worked quickly to cover it up. With the help of Kane Software's security chief, Clarence Wiedman, they manipulated the temperature of Lilly's body to indicate that she died earlier in the day, at a time when Duncan had an alibi. Their own alibis were still suspect, and Lianne could contradict them. This, plus her hatred for Lianne, led Celeste to run Lianne out of town, with the help of Wiedman, by threatening Veronica's life. Despite their attempts to protect Duncan, Sheriff Keith Mars wasn't fooled and he pressed his suspicions of the Kane family. The Kanes, with money and power their tools, paid a patsy, Abel Koontz, to take the fall on the promise of three million dollars to be paid to his estranged daughter. Keith was voted out of office.

 

Veronica's decision to stand by her father lost her the rich friends her position as Duncan's girlfriend and Lilly's best friend had garnered. Wanting to stand up to her ostracism, she attended one of their parties and, through a series of mishaps, drank from a glass that had been intended for another. The drink was spiked with GHB and gave her the appearance of being very drunk. She was abused by Duncan's best friend Logan Echolls, who organized body shots as she lay unresponsive, and by Dick Casablancas and Sean Friedrich, who fed her alcohol and laid her on a bed so Dick's brother, Beaver, could lose his virginity. Beaver chickened out and left her alone on the bed where Duncan, whose own drink had been spiked by Logan, found her. They were both semi-conscious and uninhibited, and they consummated the love they still shared. When Duncan woke up in the morning and realized that he had slept with his half-sister, he panicked and ran, leaving Veronica to wake up alone, with her panties on the floor and with no memory of events.

 

For all their actions to protect their son, the Kanes instead unintentionally protected the real killer, until he was unmasked by Veronica. Logan's father, Aaron Echolls, a vain and philandering movie star with a violent streak, was having an affair with Lilly, the girlfriend of his son and a minor. He taped them having sex for his own pleasure, an act that proved foolish when Lilly discovered and stole the tapes. He demanded them back, but Lilly taunted him, a fatal mistake on her part. Aaron struck her with an ashtray and killed her. When Veronica found the tapes, Aaron went after her to get them back, nearly killing her and Keith in the process. His escape attempt was ended when he was struck by a passing truck. He lives and awaits trial.

 

The mysteries are solved, but the real heart of the story of Veronica Mars is the relationships she forges as she makes her way through the maze. In Wallace Fennel, she finds a real friend, one who is there when she needs him. In Logan Echolls, she unexpectedly finds a new but dangerous love, one that struggles to survive her determination to find Lilly's killer when she suspects him. In Weevil, head of the local biker gang, she finds an unexpected ally and protector. In Duncan, she finds that love hasn't died, and is ready to re-ignite on the news that Veronica is in truth Keith's daughter. In Lianne, she finds that not every hope can be realized, as her alcoholic mother abandons and betrays her again. But it is her beautiful and realistic relationship with her father Keith that is the true heart of the tale.

 

The summer

The night Aaron Echolls was unmasked as the killer of Lilly Kane, Logan was attacked on the Coronado Bridge by Weevil and the PCH bike gang in the mistaken belief that Logan was the murderer. Logan knocked Weevil out, leaving Weevil's deputy, Felix Toombs, to marshal the assault. Logan was beaten senseless. When he regained consciousness, urged awake by a stranger, Logan had a knife in his hand and Felix lay dead next to him. Logan threw the knife in the water and made his way to the door of Veronica's apartment, from where he was arrested. Veronica stood by Logan over the summer as the case against him was dropped for lack of credible evidence; the testimony of the bikers that they saw Logan stab Felix did not bear up under cross-examination. The town of Neptune was split by the case, because Logan was seen by the non-09ers as a rich boy who got away with murder. He became the focus of unrest and attacks against the 09ers. There was an incident when someone on a bike blasted a shotgun into Logan's car while he and Veronica were making out. Logan led the retaliation against these attacks, culminating in his burning down the public pool, an act that compelled Veronica ? desperate for things to return to normal ? to end her relationship with him.

Duncan, his relationship with Meg having ended, was left in Neptune by his parents, who moved to Napa to prepare for their upcoming trials for obstruction of justice. The Kane house was closed, and Duncan moved into the Presidential Suite of the Neptune Grand Hotel to finish high school in Neptune. He took to having coffee daily at Java the Hut, where Veronica started working as a hostess and waitress. After Veronica and Logan broke up, and after Duncan gave Veronica a fortune cookie that said "True love stories never have endings" for her eighteenth birthday, they re-established their romantic relationship and were a couple again.

 

The bus crash

Veronica and other journalism students, including Duncan, Dick, Beaver, Meg, and new student Gia Goodman, took a school trip to Shark Field, owned by Gia's father and soon-to-be mayor, Woody Goodman. The students met baseball legend Terrence Cook at the field. After Dick complained of a bad smell on the bus that had brought them on the field trip, his father organized a limo back for Dick and a select few, all 09ers. Unknown at the time but later discovered by Keith, a dead rat was taped under one of the seats. Veronica elected to go back on the bus to take the opportunity to make peace with an unfriendly Meg, an effort that failed. After stopping at a gas station, Veronica was left behind when the bus continued its journey. She escaped the fate of the rest when there was a small explosion on board, as recorded in a voicemail one of the students was making, and the bus veered off of a cliff. Five students, the journalism teacher, and the driver were killed, and Meg was left in a coma. After a brief return to consciousness, Meg also died.

 

Sheriff Lamb rushed to condemn the bus driver, Ed Doyle, and label the event a murder/suicide by a mentally unstable victim of depression who would never have had the job if Keith Mars ? years before as a sympathetic deputy ? hadn't let Doyle off a drunk-driving charge. This revelation cost Keith his bid to be re-elected sheriff. However, Lamb was forced to re-evaluate his conclusion when Veronica uncovered the recording of the explosion.

 

Veronica became convinced that she was the target of the sabotage. She believed that Aaron Echolls was responsible through the actions of his former stunt coordinator, Curly Moran, whose body was washed up on the beach shortly after the bus crash with Veronica's name written on his hand. Before he died at the hands of a person or persons unknown, Curly denied any responsibility for the crash, although he told Weevil that he knew who was responsible.

 

As more and more is learned of both the people who were on or should have been on the bus and of the goings-on of the people of Neptune, Veronica's conviction is called into question. Each of the victims had their own stories, their own secrets, and, perhaps, their own enemies. Spearheading his own investigation, Keith agreed to help his flawed hero, Terrence Cook, who is currently Lamb's prime suspect due to his relationship with the journalism teacher who died on the bus, the presence of explosives in the hangar where he keeps his cars, and his suspicious break-in attempt at Miss Dumas's home. Veronica found the same explosives at the site of the Shark Field stadium. Danny Boyd, a member of the local crime family, the Fitzpatricks, worked on the site, which Woody Goodman, a man with his own secrets, owned along with the hangar.

 

Felix's death

Logan was the prime suspect and was re-arrested when Dr. Tom Griffith, a respectable plastic surgeon, came forward and stated that he was on the bridge and witnessed Logan, bloody knife in hand, ranting like a maniac over Felix's body. He was not the same person previously seen waking Logan on the bridge. Veronica learned that Griffith had connections to the Fitzpatricks.

 

Weevil burned down Logan's house while Logan was in custody, but he began to have doubts about his gang's story of what happened on the bridge when he discovered that a PCHer was dealing drugs. After arranging Logan's interrogation Weevil was satisfied that Logan was not responsible, instead, coming to believe that someone inside the gang was working with the Fitzpatricks. He and Logan acknowledged their mutual need to find out what was going on and worked together. Weevil discovered that Thumper, his second-in-command since Felix's death, was working with the Fitzpatricks and confronted him, only to learn that it was the whole gang, not just one bad apple, who was working for the Irish thugs. Weevil was deposed as leader of the PCH bike gang.

 

Left to his own devices, Logan charmed Griffith's teenage daughter, Hannah, to force Griffith to recant his evidence for her sake. It worked and Griffith withdrew his evidence. However, unexpectedly smitten with the one person who showed faith in him when nobody else would, Logan wasn't willing to let Hannah go, so Griffith took matters into his own hands and sent his daughter to a boarding school on the other side of the country.

 

Weevil was still determined to see justice done and recruited Veronica to find evidence against Thumper. Veronica convinced Logan to help her find the man on the bridge, a Latino truck driver. He was reluctant to come forward, fearing retaliation by the PCHers, but eventually told Lamb that he saw one biker stab another and put the knife in Logan's hand. From his description of the bike the killer rode away on, it was Thumper. Veronica also obtained a recording of Liam Fitzpatrick saying that Felix, who had been seeing Molly Fitzpatrick, had badmouthed her to the PCHers and that she should be glad he was dead. He added that if Molly's father had not been in prison, he would have done it himself, which Veronica took to be a near-confession. Lamb was not so convinced and seemed unwilling to investigate further.

 

Impatient to see justice done for Felix, Weevil took matters into his own hands by stealing Thumper's drug money and planting it on his bike, to convince the Fitzpatricks that Thumper was cheating them. The Fitzpatricks were persuaded, and Thumper was left confined in the Shark Field stadium when it was demolished by explosion. The unknowing executioner, the person who pushed the button, was Logan Echolls.

 

Something rotten in the state of Neptune

The rich of Neptune got richer at the expense of the poor. Dick Casablancas, Sr. fleeced his small investors in a property fraud and escaped to a life in the extradition-free tropics. The new mayor actively worked to incorporate and enrich the town to barricade the privileged from the economic drain of the disadvantaged. Some 09er parents in Neptune went to extreme lengths to control their children, bordering on abuse. Even baseball heroes like Terrence Cook were not free of corruption. The PCH bike gang got meaner under the leadership of Thumper, selling drugs and encouraging an initiation by way of muggings. Racism abounded as they turned on those who interacted too intimately with the white community.

 

Happy families...not

Wallace learned that Hank Fennel was not his biological father. He was instead the product of Alicia's first marriage to a Chicago cop, Nathan Woods. Alicia's deception upset Wallace and caused her to argue with Keith, ending their romance. Wallace, after being failed by his mother, his best friend, Veronica, and his new girlfriend, Jackie Cook, decided to take some time with his dad and moved to Chicago for a while. There, his basketball career flourished until he was forced to take part in a cover up of a hit-and-run. He returned to Neptune and, with Veronica's help, exposed the truth. He and Veronica were friends again. He and Jackie were friendly, but Wallace began dating Jane Kuhne, a classmate who had a crush on him, until his interest in Jackie revived and he finished with Jane. Hoping to pick up where they left off, Wallace was disappointed when Jackie, seeking to redeem her reputation, rejected him.

 

Left to fend for themselves after Big Dick fled justice, Dick and Beaver Casablancas and their stepmother, Kendall, remained at the Casablancas home. Dick and Beaver successfully accessed their trust funds. Beaver used his money to set up another Casablancas property company with Mac's help and their relationship began to develop romantically, only to be snuffed out when Beaver's reluctance to be intimate and Mac's admission to talking to Veronica about it led to Beaver walking away. Kendall, with no trust fund, looked to her lover Logan to support her, without success. Duncan was not interested in her either, and she accepted an offer by Beaver to head his property company but who was playing who remains unclear.

 

Duncan's residual feelings for Meg led him to visit the hospital every day, although he wasn't allowed to see her by her hostile parents. Meg was pregnant, and once she awoke from her coma, she secured Veronica's promise that her baby wouldn't be left with those parents, who abused her younger sister Grace. Meg died, although her baby girl was saved, and with Veronica's help, Duncan kidnapped the baby, fleeing to Mexico to raise her away from the influence of the Mannings.

This is kind of a threadjack, but I just got Reefer Madness: The Musical from Netflix, it was a made for Showtime thing that stars Veronica Mars herself, Kristen Bell.

 

Highly recommendd (no pun intended), and it turned me on to the greatness that is Ms. Bell.

Bell is a fantastic actress that I know will land on her feet even if the show doesn't. She did a Maxim spread recently that she really didn't care to do, but was convinced would be good publicity for VM and her movies, so she agreed.

Finale is tonight! The season-long mystery will be resolved and honestly, I have no idea how they're going to answer every question they've left lingering with 42 minutes of air time, but the critics are calling it one of the best season finales ever and saying that nothing is left unresolved, although there are a few cliffhangers to set up the next season. The next season will be much easier to join in progress, because the mysteries will be 8 episodes long instead of full-season mysteries, and the plan is to treat the first few episodes more like a pilot than an established show, as VM is currently one of the five lowest rated shows on television, unfortunately, and if it even does get renewed, it's going to have to post impressive numbers. So, at the least, I'm hoping people will Netflix Season 1 and Season 2 (which comes out in August, which is purposely being coordinated with the start time of Season 3), because this is must-see TV.

The constant shilling has at least made me curious, Loss, I'll give you that. In a way, I want it cancelled so I can own all this greatness on as few DVD boxed sets as possible.

 

Word-of-mouth on this show is tremendous. I'm afraid I probably still won't be onboard the bandwagon until it's a memory, though, much like I did with Buffy The Vampire Slayer. It's not like my viewership will make a difference in its poor ratings; I don't own a Neilsen box.

 

Also, it's pretty common practice now to release your DVDs a few weeks before the start of a new season. I always manage to catch up on ALIAS (which is in its fifth and final season currently, btw...a similar plight, poor ratings, also sealed Jennifer Garner's fate) this way, watching the entire season in a week's time and then watching the season premiere before NOT watching the show and waiting for the DVDs a year later again. Same thing for "24" but I've actually managed to watch 24 consistently this year.

 

I never skip my FX shows: Nip/Tuck and The Shield, thus I buy the DVDs much later. I always buy The Sopranos the day it comes out even though I watch the season as it progresses.

It's a show with balls for sure. The lead character is an 18-year old high school student who was a rape victim and is currently being treated for chlamydia. How many teen-based TV shows would do that?

Boston Herald jocks the finale.

 

Zap2it joins in the love.

 

SF Gate agrees.

It was definitely an incredibly eventful finale, one I've watched about three times now.

 

Overall, in retrospect, I'd say the first season was the better of the two, just because they stayed on course, and there were too many red herrings throughout this season, and the story almost forgot what it was about at times. That said, more than the stories, it's the characters that make this show work so beautifully more than anything. The plot was a shaky one toward the end, and may have been death in anyone else's hands, but Kristen Bell is a great actress and made it work.

 

CJ, I can set you up with Season 1, so you'll know if you're interested in breaking down and buying the set or not. Let me know.

Just bumping to let everyone know Season 2 is now out on DVD. Those of you who want to catch up on the show prior to the Season 3 debut can do so now pretty easily, as the upcoming season doesn't start until early October.

I downloaded the first two seasons... started to watch them to see what the hype is about. So far I'm very unimpressed.

How so?

Well, I'm just a few episodes in the first season.. and, eh.. it's okay, I guess. And, the dialogue is very well-written. But, that's all I'm digging about it so far.

As more clues start popping up about the first season mystery, I think you'll get more into the story. We'll see though.

Like a lot of people I didn't give this show a shot when it first aired. I picked up the 1st season on DVD and just loved it, and understood all the hype by the critics. Kristen Bell as Veronica Mars is the cutest girl and does a terriffic job as the title role. Watched season 2 as it unfolded on television. It wasn't as good as season 1, but still enjoyeable. It makes my top 5 favorite shows currently airing. Those shows would be 24,Lost,Battlestar Gallactica,Entourage,and Veronica Mars with Prison Break on the fringe.

I'm watching the Season 2 DVDs right now, and this is definitely a show that holds up better on DVD than it did watching it in real time, if only because continuity is so important and the story is fresher in the viewer's mind. They're taking a different approach this year at the network's request in an effort to not alienate new viewers --  more "jumping in" points, 7-ep arcs as opposed to full-season arcs and more exposition, meaning more explanation of things that were already explained in detail in Season 1. The first few episodes could get a little repetitive, but they are lining up a terrific cast for this year, so I'm still optimistic.

 

I specifically think the first half of Season 2 trumps Season 1 in terms of intrigue and character work, but Season 1 had a more consistent storyline with a better payoff and better build. Season 2 is more interesting characters doing interesting things, but much of it is aimless because the storylines are overly complex at times. Still worth seeing. You want to watch VM for the interaction Veronica has with everyone more than you want to watch because it's some intriguing story, even if the plot is usually good.

My main problem of season 2 (I still loved it) was the revelation of who blew up the bus. Throughout the season you really liked this character' then bam massive heel turn. They justified it ok, but they really turned him evil in the finale.